Joe Wertz
Joe was a founding reporter for StateImpact Oklahoma (2011-2019) covering the intersection of economic policy, energy and environment, and the residents of the state. He previously served as Managing Editor of Urban Tulsa Weekly, as the Arts & Entertainment Editor at Oklahoma Gazette and worked as a Staff Writer for The Oklahoman. Joe was a weekly arts and entertainment correspondent for KGOU from 2007-2010. He grew up in Bartlesville, Okla. and studied journalism at the University of Central Oklahoma.
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For decades, Tulsa planned carefully and imposed regulations to prevent the kind of devastating floods that used to make national headlines. Now other cities are noticing.
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Superfund was initially paid for by taxes on crude oil, chemicals and the companies that created the toxic waste sites. But those taxes expired in 1995, leaving states strapped to find the money.
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EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt wants to clean up toxic Superfund sites faster. Cleanup in some places has dragged on for decades.
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As wind farms expand across the country some are facing new opposition. Military bases complain the tall turbines interfere with their training flights and safety of their pilots.
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Oklahoma's oil industry is spending millions on science lessons for public schools. But environmentalists say omitting climate change leaves students unprepared.
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Republican lawmakers in Oklahoma and other states plagued by budget shortfalls are doing something they swore they would never do: voting to raise taxes.
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An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 hit Oklahoma on Saturday morning. StateImpact Oklahoma reporter Joe Wertz talks about earthquakes and their connections to oil and gas production.
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Aubrey McClendon, one of the pioneers of the shale oil revolution in the U.S. died in a car crash Wednesday at age 56 years. McClendon was indicted Tuesday on charges he conspired to rig the bidding process on oil and gas leases in Oklahoma.
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Low energy prices are good for consumers but bad for some businesses — and the states that rely on them. Oklahoma lawmakers say there may be a "revenue failure" soon. The state has a $900 million budget hole.
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Public meetings are underway in Oklahoma and Arkansas to get input on a high-voltage transmission line. The U.S. hasn't added a line like this since the 1970s, but not everyone is happy about it.