OKC Metro Blog

"OKC Metro" has been placed on hiatus, due to budget cuts.  

Col. James Wilhite, US Army, retired, joined us on this episode to talk about his role is helping to establish the National Military Academy of Afghanistan.  

Lori Linstead with 2-1-1 Oklahoma told us about this free, statewide referral service.  

We also shared a poetry reading from Martin Espada, and took one more look at a video essay featuring photos from Mike Klemme, set to the anthem, "Oklahoma Rising." 

Thanks to all of you who were supporters and advocates for "OKC Metro" over the last 14 years. Our goal was to help others along the way, and it was our privilege to have played a small role in making that happen. 

-DKMartin, Producer/Director-

You can view this episode on this website!

The 24th annual Red Earth Native American Cultural Festival takes place each year in downtown Oklahoma City! This is one of the nation's premiere Native American events. Our guests were Jonna Kauger Kirshner, President of the Red Earth Board of Directors, and Gordon Yellowman, Sr., this year's "Honored One."

With kids and out of school, and temperatures rising, "splash grounds" at many of OKC's public parks are proving quite popular! The OKC Parks and Recreation Department also hosts performing arts events for kids of all ages throughout the summer! Many of the park events are free, so take advantage of this wonderful way to keep kids entertained, and cooled off! Our guest was Jennifer Lindsey-McLintock with the OKC Parks and Recreation Department.

One of our favorite metro mystery writers has a new book! Carolyn Hart is very prolific, and just a whole lot of fun as well! Her new book is entitled, "Laughed 'Til He Died." Makes for some great reading while lounging poolside during the dog days of summer!

Thank you for supporting our program over the years.

Due to budget cuts, "OKC Metro" will go on "hiatus" at the end of June. It has been a privilege for Gerry and I to bring you stories of people, places, and things for so many years. Thank you for helping us make "OKC Metro" one of the finest local productions on OETA.

-DKMartin, Producer/Director-

Jobs and the economy were on our minds this week. And the pain is crossing generational lines. Unemployment and furloughs are facing lots of folks who are over the age of 50.

Nancy Coffer with AARP Oklahoma joined us to talk about some of the ways that people in that age group can prepare themselves for layoffs, and deal with the struggle to find re-employment. More than two-million Americans 55+ are officially unemployed; meaning they are looking for work, and can't find it. 

The plight of those in the 50+ age group affects Generation Y pretty deeply. Not as many people are retiring at age 65 or even age 62-and-a-half, and that means workers in their 20's and 30's have a pretty slim career path. And the majority of Gen Y'ers are heavily in debt, due to credit cards and college loans. Some economists think Generation Y is headed for financial catastrophe. Jennifer Wallis, with the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Central Oklahoma, shared some sobering stats on Gen Y, and offered real tips on how to break the cycle of the "I gotta have it now" mentality. 

On a brighter note: the downturn in the economy provided a burst of creativity among some metro entrepreneurs. The Oklahoma City Coworking Collaborative (OKC CoCo) is located in downtown OKC, and it provides a really neat place for business owners to network. Chad Henderson is one of the co-founders of OKC CoCo, and he gave us the specifics of how the collaborative works, who it's made up of, and how others can join this new approach to doing business in the metro.

We think we've got a good show for you, and we appreciate you watching!

-DKMartin, Producer/Director-

OKC Metro was preempted over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. But you can see several recent episodes of our show on this webpage! 

Memorial Day weekend is the traditional kickoff to summertime, and we hope you had a safe weekend out there!  

And remember our veterans, past and present, whose memory and devotion we honor on this day...

-DKMartin, Producer/Director-