Central Oklahoma

The Oklahoma City metropolitan area is an urban region in the Southern United States. It is the largest metropolitan area in the state of Oklahoma and contains the state capital and principal city, Oklahoma City. It is often known as the Oklahoma City Metro (sometimes shortened to simply "the Metro"), Oklahoma City Metroplex, or Greater Oklahoma City in addition to the nicknames Oklahoma City itself is known for, such as OKC or 'the 405'. The cities and towns within a radius of roughly 25 miles (40 km) from downtown Oklahoma City make up the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area. Counties in the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area include Canadian, Cleveland, Grady, Lincoln, Logan, McClain, and Oklahoma. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the metropolitan region had a population of 1,425,695. The micro urban area of Shawnee (in Pottawatomie County) is included in Oklahoma City's Combined Statistical Area (CSA) which brings the area population to 1,498,693. The Oklahoma City – Shawnee CSA is also included as part of the I-35 Megalopolis.

Area codes 405 and 572 serve the central part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. They cover Oklahoma City and most of its suburbs, including Edmond, El Reno, Norman, Stillwater, Shawnee, Chickasha, Tuttle, Moore, and Guthrie. The other three area codes serving Oklahoma are 918 and 539, which cover northeastern Oklahoma (including the city of Tulsa); and 580, which serves western and southern Oklahoma. Area code 405 was one of the original area codes put into service in 1947 by telecom giant AT&T. Until January 1, 1953, it covered the entire state of Oklahoma. On that date, northeastern Oklahoma was assigned area code 918. Even though central Oklahoma was home to the great majority of 405's landlines and cell phones, this configuration remained unchanged for 44 years. On November 1, 1997, 405 was reduced to cover only central Oklahoma, while the southern and western portions of the old 405 became area code 580. As a result, 405 is the only area code in Oklahoma that does not border another state.

The Oklahoma History Center (OHC) is the history museum of the state of Oklahoma. Located on an 18-acre (7.3 ha) plot across the street from the Governor's mansion at 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive in Oklahoma City, the current museum opened in 2005 and is operated by the Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS). It focuses on the history of Oklahoma from ancient Native American tribal nations to the present day. The Oklahoma Historical Society was founded in 1893 by members of the Territorial Press Association in Guthrie, Oklahoma, then the capital of Oklahoma Territory, but moved to Oklahoma City after statehood was declared in November 1907.{ https://www.oklahoman.com/article/862192/moving-the-capital}}

The Oklahoma Governor's Mansion is the official residence of the governor of Oklahoma and is located at 820 NE 23rd Street in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma State Capitol is the house of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the building that houses the Oklahoma Legislature and executive branch offices. It is located along Lincoln Boulevard in Oklahoma City and contains 452,508 square feet of floor area. The present structure includes a dome completed in 2002. Oklahoma's first capital was Guthrie, Oklahoma, but it moved to Oklahoma City in 1910. Construction began on the Oklahoma State Capitol in 1914 and was completed in 1917. Originally, it housed the judicial branch of Oklahoma, but the state's high courts moved most of their operations to the Oklahoma Judicial Center in 2011, leaving only the Supreme Court Hearing Chamber in the capitol building. The state capitol complex is the only state capitol grounds in the United States with active oil rigs.

The Supreme Court of Oklahoma is a court of appeal for non-criminal cases, one of the two highest judicial bodies in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and leads the judiciary of Oklahoma, the judicial branch of the government of Oklahoma.The Oklahoma Supreme Court meets in the Oklahoma Judicial Center, having previously met in the Oklahoma State Capitol until 2011. The court consists of nine justices nominated by a state commission and appointed by the governor. Members of the court are required to be nonpartisan and are prohibited from a number of political activities including making or soliciting campaign contributions.

The Oklahoma Senate is the upper house of the two houses of the Legislature of Oklahoma, the other being the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The total number of senators is set at 48 by the Oklahoma Constitution.Senators approve or reject gubernatorial appointments, and contribute to the creation of both state law and an annual state budget. Every ten years, they aid in drawing new boundaries for Oklahoma's electoral districts. The Oklahoma Senate also serves as a court of impeachment. The presiding officer of the Senate is the lieutenant governor of Oklahoma, who is the president of the Senate. Since the 1960s, the president pro tempore of the Senate has presided over daily work. Prior to that time, the president of the Senate took a leading role in the Senate, including appointing committees and members to those committees. The president of the Senate may cast a vote only in the instance of a tie vote and may not vote to create a tie.

The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its members introduce and vote on bills and resolutions, provide legislative oversight for state agencies, and help to craft the state's budget. The upper house of the Oklahoma Legislature is the Oklahoma Senate. The Oklahoma Constitution established the powers of the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 1907. Voters further amended those powers through constitutional referenda. One referendum required legislators to balance the annual state budget. Others specified the length and dates of the legislative session. Today, there are 101 House members, each representing a legislative district. District boundaries are redrawn every decade to ensure districts of equal population. Members must be 21 years of age at the time of election and a qualified elector and a resident of the legislative district to serve in the House. The state holds district elections every two years coincident with federal elections and special elections to fill vacant seats. The House meets from early February until the last Friday in May. Members elect a Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives as the presiding officer and a Speaker Pro Tempore, who serves as the presiding officer in his or her absence. Members organize in political party-based caucuses to develop partisan policy agendas. After the 2020 election, Republicans hold a supermajority of the House seats in the 58th Oklahoma Legislature.

The Legislature of the State of Oklahoma is the state legislative branch of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma House of Representatives and Oklahoma Senate are the two houses that make up the bicameral state legislature. There are 101 state representatives, each serving a two-year term, and 48 state senators, who serve four-year terms that are staggered so only half of the Oklahoma Senate districts are eligible in each election cycle. Legislators are elected directly by the people from single member districts of equal population. The Oklahoma Legislature meets annually in the Oklahoma State Capitol in Oklahoma City. The Oklahoma Constitution vests all legislative powers of the state government in the state legislature, which exercises legislative power by enacting Oklahoma law. The legislature may legislate on any subject and has certain "necessary and proper" powers as may be required for carrying into effect the provisions of the Oklahoma Constitution. The powers of the legislature are only limited by the powers reserved to the people, namely initiative and referendum. The Oklahoma Senate and the Oklahoma House of Representatives are co-equal houses, but each chamber has exclusive powers. The Oklahoma Senate's advice and consent is required for gubernatorial appointments to high-level executive positions. Bills for raising revenue may only originate in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Bills approved by the legislature must be sent to the Governor of Oklahoma for approval.

As Long as the Waters Flow is a 1989 bronze sculpture by Allan Houser, installed outside the Oklahoma State Capitol in Oklahoma City, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The statue, which depicts a Native American woman, was dedicated in 1989.

KGHM (1340 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Midwest City, Oklahoma, and serving the Oklahoma City Metroplex. It is among a cluster of stations in the market owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. KGHM carries the syndicated Fox Sports Radio Network and also airs local high school and college sports. KGHM's transmitter is located blocks from the Oklahoma State Capitol. It broadcasts at 1,000 watts around the clock using a non-directional antenna. The studios and offices are located at the 50 Penn Place building on the Northwest side.

The Ten Commandments Monument, authorized by the Oklahoma legislature and approved by the governor in 2009, was installed on the grounds of the Oklahoma State Capitol, in Oklahoma City, in 2012. The mere concept engendered years of political controversy, court suits based on religious freedom of religion issues, destruction in 2014 by a man who drove his car into it, replacement in the same location, and even attempts to remove Supreme Court justices who ruled in 2014 that the monument must be removed to another site. After Governor Mary Fallin, key legislators, and the justices agreed on a substitute site, the monument was removed from the capitol grounds in 2015.