Joe Wertz
Joe was a founding reporter for StateImpact Oklahoma (2011-2019) covering the intersection of economic policy, energy and environment, and the residents of the state. He previously served as Managing Editor of Urban Tulsa Weekly, as the Arts & Entertainment Editor at Oklahoma Gazette and worked as a Staff Writer for The Oklahoman. Joe was a weekly arts and entertainment correspondent for KGOU from 2007-2010. He grew up in Bartlesville, Okla. and studied journalism at the University of Central Oklahoma.
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The 100th meridian has long divided the U.S. into an arid West and more humid East. Research suggests a warming climate is pushing that boundary east, shaking up agricultural economies along the way.
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When Scott Pruitt served as Oklahoma's attorney general, he took over a major pollution lawsuit brought by his predecessor. Critics accuse Pruitt of inaction on the case, which remains unresolved. -
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt wants to clean up toxic Superfund sites faster. Cleanup in some places has dragged on for decades.
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An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 hit Oklahoma on Saturday morning. StateImpact Oklahoma reporter Joe Wertz talks about earthquakes and their connections to oil and gas production.
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Aubrey McClendon, one of the pioneers of the shale oil revolution in the U.S. died in a car crash Wednesday at age 56 years. McClendon was indicted Tuesday on charges he conspired to rig the bidding process on oil and gas leases in Oklahoma.
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Low energy prices are good for consumers but bad for some businesses — and the states that rely on them. Oklahoma lawmakers say there may be a "revenue failure" soon. The state has a $900 million budget hole.
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New research raises alarms about quakes near Cushing, Okla., home to the country's largest oil hub. No damage has been reported, but operators at the hub are on alert.
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U.S. oil production is at near record levels. But the success has led to a question of where to store all that oil. One of the country's biggest oil hubs is now almost full.
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Public meetings are underway in Oklahoma and Arkansas to get input on a high-voltage transmission line. The U.S. hasn't added a line like this since the 1970s, but not everyone is happy about it.
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StateImpact Oklahoma's Joe Wertz reports on a new study that links a "swarm" of earthquakes to four specific, high-volume oil and gas industry disposal wells. It's one of several reports that show oil and gas activity could be causing a rise in earthquake activity.
