Warren graced the cover of our second-ever magazine, which netted a national award from CNHI and our first of many Oklahoma Magazine of the Year awards from OPA.

Now, it’ s Thomas’ s turn. It was fun as he let us walk down memory lane with him.

He’ s probably going to have an interesting year with a new era of OSU football. The buzz( and the hype) have been building since the announcement of new coach Eric Morris. And when Morris brought in one of the top transfer classes in the country, you know that meant things were about to get even buzzier.

Expectations are high, and they’ re high for the winter sports, as well. Only time will tell if things pan out, but we can be certain Thomas’ energy level won’ t falter.

Yes, sports are always in the forefront in a Power 4 college town, but many new students might be interested in some other entertainment options. For that, we trust the opinions of News Press readers. What did those highly intelligent tastemakers think when it came time to cast ballots for the annual Readers’ Choice awards?

The Best New Business was The Hub. The Tonkawa Tribe’ s entertainment venue features movies, a food court, bowling, pickle ball, an arcade and much more.

Unfortunately for a lot of college students, the top readers’ choices for events / festivals was Dancing Turtle( usually held during the summer) and Kaleidoscope( geared mostly toward children). But a couple of nominees were Stillwater Public Library’ s Lexicon— a fandom and cosplay event in the fall— and Stillwater Oktoberfest.

People new to Stillwater will most definitely want to check out Block 34, downtown’ s open air event space. Block 34 gets booked throughout the year with entertainment and festivals. There is no shortage of live music, food options and local vendors depending on the event. You could also check out things like Yoga and Tai Chi for a chill evening. Block 34 was first in voting for family entertainment and live music.

Another fan favorite for entertainment is Stonecloud Stillwater Patio & Taproom, which won for Best Bar and Best Patio. SwOk

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THE EVOLUTION OF PISTOL PETE

How lawman Frank Eaton became the face of OSU

WHAT’ S UP

A breakdown of upcoming Stillwater events

COBBS COMES HOME

A new OSU assistant has local roots

CLAUDIA’ S CAREER CLOSET

OSU alum saw a need and filled it

EXPLORING LINCOLN ACADEMY

A look at Stillwater’ s alternative school

PAGE 36 MERIDIAN TECH TURNS 50

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PAGE 49

A half century of building a labor force

MADE IN OKLAHOMA RECIPES

A guide to some grill favorites

PARENTS DRIVE ACADEMIC SUCCESS

Guardians play key role in child’ s education

STORY BY Beau Simmons Editor Stillwater Oklahoma Magazine