I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July holiday celebrating our freedoms with your family and friends. I enjoyed the long weekend and feel so incredibly blessed to live in the greatest country in the world.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Justin JJ Humphrey, R-Lane, has presented Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor with a proposed lawsuit against the Biden Administration for what he calls an utter failure to protect the nation’s borders.

First United Bank announced that it has been named to Forbes’ 2022 ranking of America’s Best Banks. The distinction is based on customer feedback and First United is one of only 133 banks in the United States to be recognized, as well as one of only five banks in Texas to make the list, which includes a total of 4,839 regional and community banks from around the nation.

The deadline for the Calendar of Events is 12 p.m. each Tuesday.

After temperatures hitting 110 degrees early in the week, about the only cooling trend we are going to see is 101 degrees by Thursday but 104 this weekend. Lots of sunshine ahead and the only chance of rain looks to be if one of those isolated nocturnal thunderstorms pops up some night late in the week. I would not be surprised if we hit 100 every afternoon for the remainder of July.

Mark your calendars for our August Second Saturday demonstration, Growing Mushrooms at Home! The Fort Towson Historic Site will host a mushroom growing class on Saturday, August 13, 2022, from 1 – 3 pm. The class will be led by Midnight Mushroom Co.

CALERA — To commemorate the Choctaw Cultural Center’s inaugural year, the public is invited to a day of festivities for the whole family on Saturday, July 23. The Choctaw Cultural Center One Year anniversary celebration will take place inside and on the grounds from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) officials and members, including elders, are expected to be joined by other regional government and cultural leaders.

OKLAHOMA CITY — A federal district court has temporarily prohibited the Biden Administration from enforcing new, expansive, and unlawful gender identity mandates against Oklahoma and 19 other States. The Biden “guidance” documents attempted, among other things, to force schools to allow biological males to compete on girls’ sports teams and use the girls’ showers and locker rooms.

TOPEKA — Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has announced that Panasonic Energy Co., Ltd., plans to build a state-of-the-art electric vehicle (EV) battery facility in the Kansas City Region. The largest economic development project in state history, the Kansas Department of Commerce, the Kansas City Area Development Council (KCADC) and its partners, shared that the company’s plans could create up to 4,000 new jobs and result in an investment of approximately $4 billion.

THE IRIS GARDEN CLUB Yard of the Month for June has been awarded to Mike and Beverly Ford. Their beautiful park-like setting features lots of trees, hydrangeas, hostas, flowers, shrubs, lovely rock patios and walkways. Pictured are Shelia Kidd, Harolynn Wofford, Beverly Ford and Sammye Thacker.