Inola Smelter

A crowd at Inola High School cheers after their local town council votes unanimously to pass a heavy industry moratorium until next April. At that time there will be a vote of the people to ultimately decide the fate of a massive smelter project in their community.

Inola smelting ban will appear on spring referendum ballot, moratorium will remain in effect

Graycen Wheeler, OPMX

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.

Local residents gather for a community meeting in Inola on Mar. 7, 2026 to discuss the aluminum smelter planned for their community. Thomas Harrington explains to the crowd gathered the air pollution levels, chemical make up and distance that can be expected from the plant.

Local & Regional

Inola Board of Trustees will decide to extend pause on aluminum smelter construction, ordinance to ban smelting in town

Angel Ford

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.

Local & Regional

Trump administration throws more support behind Inola smelter in new court filings

Graycen Wheeler, OPMX

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.

Former state senator Mike Mazzei delivers a short speech at his campaign party.

Local & Regional

Mazzei comments on Inola smelter the morning after Republican nominee win

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.