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Dedicated to the people of Oklahoma whose ideas made this book possible. Published compliments of our friends at Thomson—West 2008 “A person’s mind stretched to a new idea never goes back to its original dimensions.” ~Oliver Wendell Holmes CONTENTS __________________ FOREWORD ...............................................................................9 by President David Boren INTRODUCTION.....................................................................13 by Speaker Lance Cargill PART I: The Innovative History of a Young State CHAPTER 1 Oklahoma’s First Century of Ideas .....................19 by Bob Burke CHAPTER 2 Oklahoma: A Land of New Ideas .......................33 by Bob L. Blackburn, Ph.D. PART II: The 100 Ideas Initiative CHAPTER 3 One Good Idea Leads to Thousands More— The 100 Ideas Initiative in 2007 ..........................61 CHAPTER 4 Challenges and Solutions for Oklahoma’s Future ............................................71 PART III: 100 Ideas for the Second Century CHAPTER 5 Challenge 1: Attracting Talent and Innovation to Our State......................................77 CHAPTER 6 Challenge 2: Boosting New Economic Growth and Job Opportunities ..........................91 CHAPTER 7 Challenge 3: Preparing for Oklahoma’s Energy, Transportation and Communications Future......97 CHAPTER 8 Challenge 4: Creating a Modern and Efficient 21st-Century State Government ..........111 CHAPTER 9 Challenge 5: A Healthy Oklahoma ...................123 CHAPTER 10 Challenge 6: Increasing and Enhancing Oklahoma’s Quality of Life..............................131 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................139 Oklahomans attended town hall meetings called IdeaRaisers and filled notebooks with innovative ideas for the state’s second century. FOREWORD __________________ by President David Boren “The air is full of ideas. They are knocking you in the head all the time.” ~Henry Ford aving represented this great state in our nation’s capital and as a former governor, I know that Oklahoma’s H potential is limitless. And with our state embarking on its second century, I believe our promise and potential is about to be realized to its fullest extent. In many ways, Oklahoma is the quintessential American state—so many of the icons of America’s 20th century came from innovations that started right here on the fertile ground of our red dirt. Oklahoma has offered the world inventions that helped shaped the life of our nation—such as the shopping cart or the parking meter. We’ve offered optimism, friendliness and faith. And when terrible tragedy has struck our state, we’ve provided an example for the nation of grace. Think of April 19, 1995. Suddenly, with a bomb’s explosion in the heart of downtown Oklahoma City, the world’s attention focused on our state. And national news anchors wondered aloud if Oklahoma was up to the task of confronting this horrific tragedy. 10 100 IDEAS: INNOVATION for the SECOND CENTURY Oklahomans could have allowed what at the time was the worst terrorist attack on American soil to become a devastating blow to the state’s future. Instead, the shining example of faith, recovery, resilience and the spirit of volunteerism became the “Oklahoma Standard” that showed the rest of the world how to cope and even thrive after traumatic terror. Oklahoma offered the nation an example of courage in the face of adversity, of grace in the face of tragedy—from the first responders at the scene just after the explosion, to the volunteers who spent hour upon hour at the site of the Murrah building, to the citizens of the state who drew together in the years that followed to help heal the emotional and physical wounds caused by a terrorist’s bomb. As state leaders like Governor Keating observed at the time, though buildings surrounding the epicenter of the bomb’s blast were damaged, there was no looting. The bomb came in the form of a rental truck—but Oklahomans responded by the truckload with supplies for rescue workers and firefighters. Oklahomans did not allow the tragedy to overcome us. And since then, economic growth and opportunity have begun to blossom in the state as never before. City leaders and citizens rebuilt downtown to the point that other cities in other states now look to Oklahoma City as an example of urban renewal. Our reputation for optimism, neighborliness and hard work is a reflection of our state’s pioneer heritage and our attitude about the future. As a young state, we always have one eye to the future. Oklahoma is poised for a dynamic new century and the second chapter of the state’s history. When I was governor, many important reforms were implemented, including conflict-of-interest rules, campaign- financing disclosure, stronger open meeting laws for public bodies, more competitive bidding on state government contracts, and FOREWORD 11 reform of the state’s prison system, including expanded education programs for first-time offenders and the largest expansion of the work-release program in state history. Now we’re in a new era when Oklahoma is on the move, and when change and reform are watchwords across the state. At the University of Oklahoma, for example, a community of ideas thrives as the university has become a pacesetter for higher education nationwide and a vital center for research in fields ranging from weather to nanotechnology. OU is just one part of the story, of course. From biotech research in Oklahoma City to Oklahoma State University’s groundbreaking sensor research, the pioneer spirit has spilled over into a technological and scientific push for progress. I’m reminded of words I spoke in 1978, when I delivered the State of the State address as governor. I told assembled lawmakers and dignitaries at the time, “In Oklahoma, we know the future is not to be feared. It is to be embraced as a new challenge, as a hope for a better life, as an opportunity to be seized and mixed with hard work.” Oklahoma’s sense of history is more immediate than that of other states. After all, many of us can remember listening to stories of the state’s founding from grandparents and great-grandparents. And many of us know personally the history of hardships from the Great Depression. Oklahoma’s pioneers are people we know or have known personally and not just from history books. They taught us the importance of building for the future. They dealt not only with their immediate problems but they anticipated our needs. The 100 Ideas Initiative is all about building for the future and anticipating the needs that will allow Oklahoma to continue to prosper in our second century. 12 100 IDEAS: INNOVATION for the SECOND CENTURY As a citizen, you have an opportunity to continue to take part in Oklahoma’s story. In nearly every corner of our state, progress and opportunity are beginning to flourish. Now it’s our challenge to make sure that new progress and opportunity continues and grows. With the publication of this book and the 100 Ideas for our state’s future to be found on these pages, it’s time to get to work. Are you ready? The thousands of ideas, often written on notebook paper, were discussed at the IdeaRaisers then forwarded to the 100 Ideas advisory board. INTRODUCTION __________________ by Speaker Lance Cargill “A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on. Ideas have endurance without death.” ~President John F. Kennedy ow many times have you heard about a new announcement by your local or state government and H wondered if you could come up with something better, something more original, something that would propel Oklahoma into the future? As someone who chose to enter public service, I know that most people in politics are motivated by a desire to help people and advance the common good. And we often achieve that goal. During the past few years, many pro-growth policies and reforms have been passed at the state Capitol that will better prepare our state for the next 100 years. But even with this progress, I’ve noticed that too often we hear some of the same rhetoric and slogans, even when it is well- intentioned. And too many Oklahomans see a process that doesn’t involve or engage them. As speaker of the Oklahoma House, I’ve overseen efforts to try to reach out to our state’s citizens through the Internet and in innovative events like a Saturday House session for families. 14 100 IDEAS: INNOVATION for the SECOND CENTURY I felt compelled to do more. That’s why I joined with other outstanding Oklahomans in working to make the 100 Ideas Initiative successful. Every year, the New York Times publishes a “year of ideas” installment of its weekly magazine. I remember seeing an edition of this annual issue and thinking that Oklahoma’s Centennial year should be a “Year of Ideas” for our state. With this book and the 100 Ideas Initiative, I think we’ve achieved that goal. The 100 Ideas Initiative looked for the best ideas for Oklahoma, from Oklahomans. After all, the sole repository of good public policy is not at the state Capitol. It’s in the small towns, the neighborhoods, the barbershops, the beauty shops and the coffee shops across our state. Instead of dictating policies, the “big idea” behind the 100 Ideas Initiative was to let citizens tell us how to prepare for the future. I grew up in Harrah and still live there today with my wife and two sons, just down the road from my boyhood home. I’ve lived in Nashville, Tenn., and Dallas, Texas. But I’ve never seen anything that matches the spirit of the people of this state. Growing up, my Dad worked as a forklift driver at a grocery store warehouse. Coming from a blue-collar household, I learned the value of hard work.

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