Author

Rachel Mipro
Rachel Mipro is a contributing reporter to the Illuminator. She has previous experience at WBRZ and The Reveille and earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Louisiana State University. At LSU, she worked as an opinion editor for The Reveille and as a nonfiction editor for the university’s creative writing journal. In her free time, she enjoys baking, Netflix and hiking.
With drones becoming more of a force in Louisiana, committee established to regulate them
By: Rachel Mipro - August 25, 2021
The first meeting of the Louisiana Drone Advisory Committee showed the increasing impact of drone usage across the state. Over the last few years, drones have been incorporated into different areas, with Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries agents using drones to cut down on illegal oyster harvesting and police using them for aerial mapping […]
Pfizer vaccine approved, but no plan for mandate in most Louisiana K-12 school systems right now
By: Rachel Mipro - August 23, 2021
K-12 school leaders across Louisiana are still reluctant to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine for older students, even after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave the Pfizer vaccine full approval for use in adults and older children Monday. Kevin Litten, spokesman for the Louisiana Department of Health, said that individual schools could require the vaccine, […]
Concerning amount of COVID-19 cases in Louisiana schools, children
By: Rachel Mipro - August 20, 2021
With children back in school, COVID-19 cases among K-12 students and staff members are worryingly high, Gov. John Bel Edwards said during a Friday press conference. From Aug. 9 to Aug. 15, the first week of the school year, 2,444 COVID-19 cases were reported among students and staff. More cases were reported during this week […]
LSU Greek Life Director Angela Guillory leaves job
By: Rachel Mipro - August 20, 2021
LSU’s Greek Life Director Angela Guillory, who kept her job through several Greek-related controversies, quietly retired this summer after 18 years at the university. Guillory officially left LSU July 31, according to LSU spokesperson Ernie Ballard. He said the departure was her own decision. “Angela Guillory retired from her role at LSU over the summer, […]
Emergency rules for Louisiana sports betting go into effect Monday
By: Rachel Mipro - August 19, 2021
Emergency rules for Louisiana sports betting will go into effect Aug. 23, after being adopted Thursday during a Gaming Control Board meeting. As these rules are temporary, they will be in effect for 180 days. The guidelines were formed quickly to expedite sports betting, with input from 90 entities interested in the process, according to […]
Louisiana nursing home workers have a low vaccination rate. Biden mandate should change that.
By: Rachel Mipro, Julie O'Donoghue and Laura Olson - August 19, 2021
Nursing homes will be required to ensure their staffers are vaccinated against COVID-19, or risk losing billions of federal healthcare dollars in the Medicaid and Medicare programs, the Biden administration announced Wednesday. The president’s new mandate is likely to have a big impact on Louisiana, which has persistently had one of the lowest COVID-19 vaccination […]
In Louisiana, four Black men were shot to death in 1960. The white shooter claimed self-defense.
By: Rachel Mipro - August 18, 2021
This story was produced by the Manship News Service at the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication. It is the first story in a four-part series from the LSU Cold Case Project. During the 1950s in northeast Louisiana, future Klansman Robert Fuller was a familiar face to law enforcement. He lived on the outskirts of […]
Louisiana lawmakers COVID-19 hearing punctuated with outbursts, doubt
By: Rachel Mipro - August 16, 2021
The Louisiana lawmakers vaccine information meeting Monday got off to a rocky start when members of the audience refused to abide by the state’s indoor mask mandate. The meeting, which was scheduled for 10 a.m. at the state Capitol, began 20 minutes late while attendants tried to settle the audience and distribute masks to members […]
New Louisiana college vaccination incentive campaign announced
By: Rachel Mipro - August 13, 2021
Gov. John Bel Edwards announced a new vaccination campaign for college students Friday. The first 75,000 college students who get vaccinated at participating higher education institutions will receive a $100 Visa card. The “Shot for $100” campaign comes in the wake of increasingly dire COVID-19 statistics across the state. Edwards stressed that Louisiana is in […]
Last round of vaccine lottery winners announced
By: Rachel Mipro - August 13, 2021
Gov. John Bel Edwards announced the final round of vaccine lottery winners Friday afternoon, marking the end of the Shot At A Million campaign. Janet Mann, a 63-year-old Bossier City resident, won the $1 million grand prize. Five teenagers also won $100,000 scholarships. The scholarship winners were Emily Guillet of Baton Rouge, Gavin Harrington of […]
As COVID-19 surges, Louisiana has only vaccinated a quarter of its incarcerated youth
By: Rachel Mipro - August 13, 2021
With COVID-19 raging across the state and affecting an increasingly younger demographic, rates of incarcerated youth vaccination for the novel coronavirus remain worryingly low. Beth Touchet-Morgan, executive management adviser with the Office of Juvenile Justice, said out of the 205 young people in facilities, 24 percent — 49 people — are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 […]
Louisiana Board of Regents passes new sexual harassment policy
By: Rachel Mipro - August 10, 2021
The Louisiana Board of Regents voted Tuesday to establish new, expanded procedures for dealing with sexual misconduct and interpersonal violence on college campuses statewide. Louisiana universities and colleges will now use broader definitions of sexual misconduct and interpersonal violence. The Board of Regents — which oversees state higher education policy — had to enact new […]