🌱 iLEAP Gives Children A Voice + Predator Pass + Man Dragged

Hello, people of Oklahoma City! It's me again, Helen Eckhard, your host of the Oklahoma City Daily.

First, today's weather:

Sunny, pleasant and warmer. High: 71 Low: 46.

Here are the top stories in Oklahoma City today:

1. An OKC metro program helps give voices to children with communication disabilities. iLEAP, an inter-professional language enrichment and pre-kindergarten program, "serves two and a half to four-year-olds that have communication developmental issues, as well as some behavior issues," according to Jane Wilson, University of Oklahoma College of Allied Health dean. The program is located within the John W. Keys Speech and Hearing Center at 1200 N. Stonewall on the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center campus. (news9.com KWTV)
2. The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden has announced the opening of Predator Pass, a 61,000 square-feet predators’ paradise for cheetahs and African painted dogs. To celebrate the opening, a ribbon cutting ceremony was hosted on Friday morning with Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt, Ward 7 council member Nikki Nice, City Manager Craig Freeman and OKC Zoo’s Executive Director and CEO Dwight Lawson. The $1.9 million Predator Pass habitat, designed by WDM Architects of Wichita, Kansas, and Guernsey Architects of Oklahoma City, consists of four distinct habitat spaces, two indoor climate-controlled habitats and panoramic viewing opportunities for guests, including three shaded porticos with engaging educational graphics displays. (Norman Transcript)
3. An Oklahoma man was severely beaten and stabbed by another man wielding a golf club near the bridge at North Penn and I-44. (KFOR Oklahoma City)
4. OKC police are looking for a man who has been accused of stealing a vehicle and dragging a man near Northeast 36th and Santa Fe. (news9.com KWTV)
5. The University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University officials have announced they will be requiring employees to get a COVID-19 vaccine, after President Joe Biden issued an executive order requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for all federal employees, contractors and others. (KOCO Oklahoma City)

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You're all caught up for today! See you Monday for your next update. If you're into these newsletters, consider bringing some of your friends and neighbors into the fold. You can send them this link to subscribe.

— Helen Eckhard

About me: Helen Eckhard is a marketing assistant at Lightning Media Partners. She is a self-professed logophile who is currently pursuing her master’s degree in library science. Outside of work, you can find Helen constructing crossword puzzles, knitting, or devising increasingly crafty ways to kill off characters in her mystery novels.