Former President Clinton returns to Oklahoma City 30 years after bombing of federal building

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Thirty years after the deadliest homegrown attack in U.S. history, former President Bill Clinton returned to Oklahoma City on Saturday to remember the people who were killed and comfort those affected by the bombing.

Clinton was president on April 19, 1995, when a truck bomb exploded, destroying a nine-story federal building in downtown Oklahoma City. He delivered the keynote address at a remembrance ceremony near the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum.

Clinton, now 78, was widely praised for how he helped the city grapple with its grief in the wake of the bombing, which killed 168 people, including 19 children. He says it was a day in his presidency that he will never forget.

“I still remember as if it were 30 minutes ago, coming here with Hillary to that memorial service and saying: ‘You have lost too much, but you have not lost everything. You have certainly not lost America, and we will be with you for as many tomorrows as it takes,’” Clinton said, recalling his first visit to Oklahoma City just days after the bombing, when he spoke at a memorial service for the for the victims. “I do think we've kept that commitment.”

Clinton has visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum numerous times in the years since the bombing and delivered speeches on major anniversaries.

On Saturday, Clinton also cautioned about the polarizing nature of modern-day politics and how such divisiveness can lead to violence, as it did 30 years ago. He said there is much the nation can learn from the “Oklahoma Standard,” a term coined to reference the city's response to the bombing by uniting in service, honor and kindness.

“Today, Oklahoma City, America needs you,” he said. “I wish to goodness every American could just see life unfold here, hearing these stories.”

Other speakers included former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating and former Oklahoma City Mayor Ron Norick, who were in office when the bombing occurred. Family members of some of those killed in the bombing read the 168 names of those killed in the attack.

Saturday's ceremony was originally scheduled to take place on the grounds of the memorial but was moved inside an adjacent church because of heavy rains.

After the ceremony, a procession of bagpipe players from the Oklahoma City Fire Department led many of those in attendance across the street to the outdoor memorial built on the grounds where the federal building once stood. The memorial includes a museum, a reflecting pool and 168 empty chairs of glass, bronze and stone etched with the names of those killed. Nineteen of the chairs are smaller than the others to represent the children killed.

Among the memorial's top missions is to help people understand the senselessness of political violence and teach a new generation about the impact of the bombing, said Kari Watkins, the memorial's president and CEO.

“We knew when we built this place we would some day reach a generation of people who weren't born or who didn't remember the story,” Watkins said. “I think now, not just kids are coming through more and more, but teachers who are teaching those kids.”

Oklahoma Fire Pipes and Drums start the 30th anniversary memorial service for the victims of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, in Oklahoma City, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

A woman is escorted away after getting onto the stage to speak to U.S. Senator James Lankford during the 30th anniversary memorial service for the victims of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, in Oklahoma City, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

Former Oklahoma City Mayor Ron Norick, reads the Oklahoma City Memorial Mission Statement and leads guest in 168 Seconds of Silence during the 30th anniversary memorial service for the victims of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, in Oklahoma City, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

Former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating speaks to guest during the 30th anniversary memorial service for the victims of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, in Oklahoma City, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

A woman gets onto the stage to speak to U.S. Senator James Lankford before being escorted away during the 30th anniversary memorial service for the victims of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, in Oklahoma City, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

Senior Pastor of First Church Downtown OKC Josue Araujo welcomes guest to his church for the 30th anniversary memorial service for the victims of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, in Oklahoma City, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

Champlain (Ret) Teddy Wilson reads the Invocation during the 30th anniversary memorial service for the victims of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, in Oklahoma City, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

Guest observe 168 Seconds of Silence for victims of the Oklahoma City Bombing during the 30th anniversary memorial service for the victims of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, in Oklahoma City, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

Former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating speaks to guest during the 30th anniversary memorial service for the victims of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, in Oklahoma City, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

Dr. Susan Chambers welcomes guest, family and friends during the 30th anniversary memorial service for the victims of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, in Oklahoma City, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

The inscription above the entrance to the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum reads, "We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever. May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope and serenity," in Oklahoma City on March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

FILE - Aren Almon greets President Bill Clinton after a prayer service for the victims of the deadly truck bomb attack in Oklahoma City on April 23, 1995. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan, File)

RHO, Italy (AP) — No ice is colder and harder than speedskating ice. The precision it takes has meant that Olympic speedskaters have never competed for gold on a temporary indoor rink – until the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games.

In the pursuit of maximum glide and minimum friction, Olympic officials brought on ice master Mark Messer, a veteran of six previous Olympic speedskating tracks and the ice technician in charge of the Olympic Oval in Calgary, Canada — one of the fastest tracks in the world with over 300 records.

Messer has been putting that experience to work one thin layer of ice at a time since the end of October at the new Speed Skating Stadium, built inside adjacent trade fair halls in the city of Rho just north of Milan.

“It’s one of the biggest challenges I’ve had in icemaking,’’ Messer said during an interview less than two weeks into the process.

If Goldilocks were a speedskater, hockey ice would be medium hard, for fast puck movement and sharp turns. Figure skating ice would be softer, allowing push off for jumps and so the ice doesn’t shatter on landing. Curling ice is the softest and warmest of all, for controlled sliding.

For speedskating ice to be just right, it must be hard, cold and clean. And very, very smooth.

“The blades are so sharp, that if there is some dirt, the blade will lose the edge,’’ Messer said, and the skater will lose speed.

Speedskater Enrico Fabris, who won two Olympic golds in Turin in 2006, has traded in his skates to be deputy sports manager at the speedskating venue in Rho. For him, perfect ice means the conditions are the same for all skaters — and then if it's fast ice, so much the better.

"It's more of a pleasure to skate on this ice,'' he said.

Messer’s first Olympics were in Calgary in 1988 — the first time speedskating was held indoors. “That gave us some advantages because we didn’t have to worry about the weather, wind blowing or rain,’’ he said. Now he is upping the challenge by becoming the first ice master to build a temporary rink for the Olympics.

Before Messer arrived in Italy, workers spent weeks setting up insulation to level the floor and then a network of pipes and rubber tubes that carry glycol — an antifreeze — that is brought down to minus 7 or minus 8 degrees Celsius (17.6 to 19.4 degrees Fahrenheit) to make the ice.

Water is run through a purification system — but it can’t be too pure, or the ice that forms will be too brittle. Just the right amount of impurities “holds the ice together,’’ Messer said.

The first layers of water are applied slowly, with a spray nozzle; after the ice reaches a few centimeters it is painted white — a full day’s work — and the stripes are added to make lanes.

“The first one takes about 45 minutes. And then as soon as it freezes, we go back and do it again, and again and again. So we do it hundreds of times,’’ Messer said.

As the ice gets thicker, and is more stable, workers apply subsequent layers of water with hoses. Messer attaches his hose to hockey sticks for easier spreading.

What must absolutely be avoided is dirt, dust or frost — all of which can cause friction for the skaters, slowing them down. The goal is that when the skaters push “they can go as far as possible with the least amount of effort,’’ Messer said.

The Zamboni ice resurfacing machine plays a key role in keeping the track clean, cutting off a layer and spraying water to make a new surface.

One challenge is gauging how quickly the water from the resurfacing machine freezes in the temporary rink.

Another is getting the ice to the right thickness so that the Zamboni, weighing in at six tons, doesn’t shift the insulation, rubber tubing or ice itself.

“When you drive that out, if there’s anything moving it will move. We don’t want that,’’ Messer said.

The rink got its first big test on Nov. 29-30 during a Junior World Cup event. In a permanent rink, test events are usually held a year before the Olympics, leaving more time for adjustments. “We have a very small window to learn,’’ Messer acknowledged.

Dutch speedskater Kayo Vos, who won the men’s neo-senior 1,000 meters, said the ice was a little soft — but Messer didn’t seem too concerned.

“We went very modest to start, now we can start to change the temperatures and try to make it faster and still maintain it as a safe ice,’’ he said.

Fine-tuning the air temperature and humidity and ice temperature must be done methodically — taking into account that there will be 6,000 spectators in the venue for each event. The next real test will be on Jan. 31, when the Olympians take to the ice for their first training session.

“Eighty percent of the work is done but the hardest part is the last 20 percent, where we have to try to find the values and the way of running the equipment so all the skaters get the same conditions and all the skaters get the best conditions,’’ Messer said.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Serpentines are set on the ice of the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Workers clean the ice surface during a peed skating Junior World Cup and Olympic test event, in Rho, near Milan, Italy, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)