Edmond Life & Leisure • June 25, 2020 • Page 17

Edmond state’s fastest growing city

Every 10 years the U.S. Census Bureau conducts a
thorough count of the nation’s population. That
2020 census is not yet complete, but the bureau has
completed its annual estimates of city populations.
Those estimates, which are as of July 1, 2019,
were the numbers released recently and they con-
tained some interesting revelations.
For example, they show Edmond has surpassed
Lawton to become Oklahoma’s fifth largest city.
Edmond now has an estimated 94,054 residents,
which is an increase of more than 15% over the
81,405 residents reported in the official April 2010
census.
That makes Edmond the fastest growing city in
Oklahoma with a population of at least 50,000
and the 108th fastest growing city in the nation in
that category.
“That’s great news,” said Sherry Jordan, presi-
dent and CEO of the Edmond Area Chamber of
Commerce. “While that’s great news,
it’s not necessarily surprising given our
reputation for great schools and a high
quality of life here in Edmond.
“We have shopping, dining — pretty
much everything you want to do, you
can do here without leaving our city
limits. We have a low cost of living and
a high quality of life here.”
Jordan said Edmond officials remain
hopeful the city will pass the 100,000
mark when the the 10-year census
count is completed.
Oklahoma City, Norman and
Jordan
Moore have all grown more than 12%
since 2010, the Census Bureau reported. It listed Las Vegas in the population rankings. Oklahoma
Norman’s updated population as 124,880 and
Moore’s population as 62,055.
Lawton’s population has dropped about 4%
since 2010 and is currently estimated to
be 93,025
The Census Bureau now lists Tulsa’s
population as 401,190, up more than 2%
from 2010, and Broken Arrow’s popula-
tion at 110,198, which was an increase
of more than 11% during that same time
period.
Meanwhile, the state’s population has
grown from 3,751,351 to 3,956,971, an
increase of nearly 5.5%.
Oklahoma City’s population has
grown by more than 12% since that
time, enabling it to pass Louisville, Mem-
phis, Baltimore, Milwaukee, Portland and
City now has an estimated 655,057 people.
---- From www.Oklahoman.com

Meat processors have cattle ranchers concerned

An Oklahoma beef task force designed to ana-
lyze problems in marketing and processing beef
has been organized by State Rep. Justin Humphrey,
R-Lane, and State Sen. David Bullard, R-Durant.
The two legislators have invited independent
ranchers, meat buyers, meat processors, livestock
auction owners and meat inspectors to convene
and identify financial obstacles and structured solu-
tions that will provide a process for long-term fi-
nancial gain for Oklahoma farmers and ranchers.
“Four major meat packers, Tyson Foods, Cargill,
JBS (Brazilian owned) and National Beef are con-
trolling about 87 percent of beef processing and
sales,” Humphrey said. “They have considerable
control over what ranchers are paid for cattle and
what consumers pay for meat. The beef price is
very low for ranchers and extremely high for con-
sumers while meat packers are making millions of
dollars. This is not acceptable.”
The Lawmakers said Oklahoma ranchers are feel-
ing the financial squeeze as production costs con-
tinue to climb along with farm debt. Chapter 12
bankruptcies are up 24% over last year. The beef
supply chain has been challenged nationwide be-
cause of the closure of 75% of American feedlots
and 48 packing plants. The pandemic has also had
a negative impact. Times are tough for American
agriculture in all sectors, they said.
Sen. Bullard stated, “We are extremely pleased
that practitioners in Oklahoma agriculture have
agreed to participate in the examination of prob-
lems in raising and selling cattle. We also are
happy to learn that Senator Murdock (R-Felt) and
Representative Ty Burns (R-Pawnee) have agreed
to join the task force.”
Ranchers agreeing to serve on the task force are
Evan Rowland, Durant; Pamela Livingston, Seiling;
Jim Robinson, Boswell; Brad Hutchinson, Canton;
and Tim Bryant, Ardmore. Meat processors are Bill
Johnston, Clarita and Steve Swigert, Durant. They
will represent the packing plant concerns. William
Payne, Saint Louis, will explain the packing plant
to consumer issues. Steve Combs, Chester, is a fed-
eral meat inspector and will outline slaughter regu-
lations. Meat buyer Paul Cochran, Crowley, Texas,
will provide information and data relating to the
packaging and marketing process. Stockyards
owners Jerry Nine, Woodward, and Jeff Hazaleus,
Durant, will outline the spot-buying process, cattle
futures and pricing cattle. Consultants to the task
force are rancher Andy Chain Hutchinson, Canton;
Lobbyist Rex Duncan, Pawnee; and rancher Gary
Greene, Tishomingo.
Brad Hutchinson, president of the Oklahoma In-
dependent Stock growers Association, stated, “The
future of our children, grandchildren and our west-
ern lifestyle are at risk. We appreciate Oklahoma
legislators stepping up to help solve major prob-
lems, which are impacting our economic wellbe-
ing.”

Martin joins Crowe & Dunlevy

Edmond attorney
Maggie K. Martin has
joined Crowe & Dun-
levy as a director in
the firm’s Oklahoma
City office.
A former in-house
legal counsel for Inte-
gris Health, Inc., Mar-
tin has extensive
experience with a wide
range of health law is-
Maggie
sues. She received her
Juris Doctor from the University of
Oklahoma College of Law and her
undergraduate degree from DePauw
University. Martin has also served as
an adjunct faculty member for the
University of Oklahoma College of
Public Health, teaching Healthcare
Law and Ethics.
Martin is a member
of the firm’s Health-
care Practice Group.
About
Crowe & Dunlevy
For more than 100
years, Crowe & Dun-
levy has been a re-
gional leader in
innovative and effec-
tive legal solutions for
businesses and individ-
Martin
uals. Offering compre-
hensive transactional and litigation
services from early mediation to alter-
native dispute resolution via our
nearly 30 practice groups, we work
with diverse clientele to meet even
the most challenging legal objectives.
For more information, visit crowedun-
levy.com.

Social Security unveils

tweaks to its website
The Social Security Administration
announced the first of several steps
the agency is taking to improve the
public’s experience on its website.
The newly redesigned retirement
benefits portal, at www.socialsecu-
rity.gov/benefits/retirement, will help
millions of people prepare for and
apply for retirement.
“We are working hard to continue
improving our website to provide
people with clear, helpful information
and easy access to our online serv-
ices,” said Andrew Saul, Commis-
sioner of Social Security. “Our new
retirement portal is more user-friendly
and easier to navigate, whether
someone is ready to learn about,
apply for, or manage their retirement
benefits.”
The redesigned portal will make it
easier for people to find and read
about Social Security retirement ben-
efits, with fewer pages and con-
densed, rewritten, and clearer
information. The portal also is opti-
mized for mobile devices so people
can learn and do what they want
from wherever they want, and the
portal now includes the ability to sub-
scribe to receive retirement informa-
tion and updates.
Click on
www.socialsecurity.gov/benefits/re-
tirement to find out how to Learn,
Apply, and Manage retirement bene-
fits, and learn how to create a per-
sonal my Social Security account
online.
More improvements to Social Secu-
rity’s website are planned for later in
2020 as the agency seeks to continu-
ously improve the public experience
at www.socialsecurity.gov.

Check out www.socialsecurity.gov