Enid-Garfield County Metropolitan Area Planning Commission recommended the termination of three Tax Increment Finance districts and the creation of one new district during a meeting Monday evening. The three TIF districts recommend for termination were No. 2, 3 and 6, which are the Oklahoma Ethanol Economic Development Pro­ject Plan, the Orion Ethanol Eco­nomic Development Project Plan and the Northstar Canola Project, respectively. In all three instances, the economic development projects have not come to fruition. [...]

Academy Sports and Outdoors will open its store on West Garriott Oct. 28. A grand opening celebration will be held Nov. 4-6, Allan Rojas, Academy Sports and Outdoors communications manager, said. More information on the grand opening will be released in the next week or two, he said. The store is part of a new $17 million retail center on West Garriott. The center is located on the former Wal-Mart store grounds — most recently serving as [...]

The president of a local business was recently honored in Minnesota. Atwoods President Brian Atwood was honored by Mid-States Distributing Company and presented the Kiesau Award. Mid-States, a buying cooperative Atwoods is a member of, was presented the award named after founders of Mid-States. Atwoods father is a past recipient of the award, according to a release. Atwoods thanked Mid-States for the award and opportunity, stating he wished his family could have attended the ceremony, according [...]

The Enid Regional Development Alliance voted today to support State Question 777, also known as "Right to Farm." The ERDA voted to show support for the agricultural industry in Enid and Northwest Oklahoma, according to a press release from the ERDA. Tom Evans, ERDA chairman of the board, said agriculture is the backbone of the area's economy. "The Enid Regional Development Alliance voted to support SQ 777 to show our great ag-related employers in Northwest [...]

Northwest Oklahoma has been one of America's economic hotspots over the past 5 years.  We saw record job growth, record retail sales, and record capital investments.  But the last 12 months have been tough as the price of oil dropped and our steep economic growth slowed.  Our level of wealth is still substantially higher than it was 5 years ago...but it cannot be denied that our growth rate has slowed. Some would say that this [...]

A sales tax will fund operations and maintenance of Garfield County Detention Facility after voters approved a continuance Tuesday night. The proposition passed by a margin of 4,728-3,086, or 60.51 percent in favor. "I'm very thankful to the citizens of Garfield County for putting their faith in the county government, and into operation of the jail. It was something that was needed," Sheriff Jerry Niles said. "When I first took office four years ago, it [...]