Inola Smelter

Oklahoma Primary Aluminum, or OPA, recently published an economic impact report on an aluminum smelter proposed for Inola, a town just 30 miles from Tulsa. However, one Tulsa economics professor finds the report to be lacking.

The town of Inola may have extended a moratorium and set a vote on a permanent ban but the fight over construction of a $4 billion aluminum smelter is far from over.

Inola residents will decide the fate of a massive aluminum smelter in a town-wide vote next spring. Until then, city officials have paused heavy industrial development.

A meeting in Inola Monday will determine whether the town will extend a 60-day moratorium on a proposed aluminum smelter - which is set to expire on Sept. 28. The postponement was approved in June amidst public pushback to the $4 billion project.

The Trump administration has weighed in on Oklahoma's lawsuit against the companies behind an aluminum smelter in Inola. In new court filings, the U.S. Department of Justice argues the project should be allowed to move forward.

Tuesday, former Oklahoma senator Mike Mazzei beat out his republican counterpart Gentner Drummond as the G-O-P nominee for Oklahoma’s governor, by just 2,000 votes.