News

Gemini Industries is expanding. 

The El Reno business received the green light from the city council last week to build a new warehouse on its SW 27th Street campus. The structure will be erected along Holloway Avenue.

Jason Melton, chief operations officer for the employee-owned company, said Gemini considers El Reno home. 

“We have our corporate offices here and plan to stay,” Melton said at the September council meeting.

He said the expansion will lead to the creation of more jobs in the future. 

I recently attended a Community Health Needs Assessment Listening Session sponsored by Canadian County Coalition for Children & Families. It was hosted by the Canadian County Health Department and Integris Health. 

While the data shared is interesting, it shows some real concerns related to health in the the zip code for El Reno, 73036. While the majority of Canadian County is said to be among the healthiest in the nation, the El Reno zip code is among the least healthy areas of the nation. That’s not good. 

The El Reno Arts Council has made “the tough decision” to cancel its art and music festival, Art Mix on 66. 

Arts Council president Sue Bear said the decision came down to lack of funding. Bear said although the Arts Council has received some funding from the community and has been approved for a grant from the Mary K. Ashbrook Foundation, as well as an event grant from the city of El Reno, funding for the planned October Route 66 event was $10,000 short of the needed $20,000. 

Tom Lloyd snapped this photo of the giant American flag as it waved from the El Reno Fire Department’s ladder truck.

The flag was one of several seen around El Reno, most flying at half staff, on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the nation.

Fire Chief Jason Duff said the oversized flag came from the El Reno Airport. It was to be flown during the U.S. Cavalry Association’s competition taking place this weekend at Fort Reno.
 

Canadian County remains solidified as the fastest-growing county in Oklahoma.

And recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows it.

Canadian County’s population totals 182,404, according to the U.S. Census 2024 population estimates.

That is a 17.35 percent increase since Canadian County’s last official decennial census count of 154,405 in 2020. The 2023 population estimate was 175,829.

The Canadian County Continuous Improvement Committee recently held a school supply drive for the school districts in the county.

Mustang, Yukon, El Reno, Piedmont, Calumet and Union City each got several boxes of hygiene supplies for their schools.

Redlands Community College is continuing to experience an increase in student enrollment.

Total enrollment surged by 15.3 percent compared to fall 2023, information provided by the college said.

Freshman enrollment has seen an increase of 33.3 percent, while concurrent enrollment continues to grow, with a 26.6 percent rise.

“We are excited to see such significant growth in our student population,” said Redlands President Jena Marr.

DIVORCES GRANTED

Jada Parker vs. Jacob Parker.

Carson Cristelli vs. Robin Cristelli.

Maryam Zamani vs. Mohsen Hajibabaie.

Anisha Mae Vaughan vs. Darian Xavier Vaughan.

Robin Lei Martin vs. Benjamin Maxwell Martin.

Stephanie June Bailey vs. April Dawn Bailey.

Nicole Tammara Rand vs. Eric Bradley Rand.

Joshua Reason vs. Cindy Ruth Reason.

Erin Renee Yahola vs. Ben Thomas Selfridge.

Jesus Sanroman vs. Alexis Evonne Sanroman.

Andrea Lynn Klimo vs. Richard Michael Klimo.

El Reno High School English teacher and district historian Brian Rukes stands in front of the four new monuments that are being added to the Gold Star Plaza at Memorial Stadium.

The monuments will be unveiled Sept. 27 as part of the stadium’s 75th anniversary.

This week’s U.S. Cavalry Association’s annual Bivouac and National Cavalry Competition will mark the 10th anniversary of its arrival at Fort Reno. The colorful event unfolds free to the public from Thursday through Saturday. 

The U.S. Cavalry Association made Fort Reno its home after spending decades at Fort Riley, Kan.

Being an active military base made Fort Riley difficult for visitors to tour the Association’s museum and view the historical collection the organization offers.