Briefs

An image of a wildfire in Beauregard Parish from drone video shows burning trees and first responder vehicles on a nearby highway.

Louisiana modifies statewide burn ban as fires near total containment

BY: - September 28, 2023

Louisiana will modify its statewide burn ban, in effect since late August, to allow each parish to set its own guidelines. Recent rain and the work of firefighters has lowered the risk of additional blazes in the state’s most prone areas. Starting at 5 p.m. Friday, each parish can choose to opt out of the […]

Vessels in the Mississippi River work on raising a sill in the Mississippi River near Alliance to reduce the flow of saltwater upriver.

President Biden approves emergency declaration for southeast Louisiana saltwater intrusion

BY: - September 27, 2023

President Joe Biden has approved Gov. John Bel Edwards’ request for an emergency declaration in response to saltwater intrusion on the lower Mississippi River, the governor’s office announced Wednesday. A far reaching drought throughout the upper Mississippi River Valley has slowed its flow to the point where saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico, which is […]

An image of a wildfire in Beauregard Parish from drone video shows burning trees and first responder vehicles on a nearby highway.

Two Southwest Louisiana fires declared 100% contained

BY: - September 26, 2023

Two of the four fires that have collectively damaged more than 40,000 of woodlands in Louisiana have been brought under control, according to officials who’ve spent weeks on the ground containing the blazes. An update from the Southern Area Complex Incident Management Gold Team posted Tuesday on Facebook that listed the Lions Camp Road fire […]

Sharon Hewitt standing at podium speaking to reporters

Hewitt, only woman running for governor, criticizes Landry for consultant accused of misconduct

BY: - September 25, 2023

State Sen. Sharon Hewitt, the only woman running for Louisiana governor, criticized Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry for hiring a political consultant who struck a plea deal last year to avoid criminal charges for alleged sexual harassment. “It is disappointing that Landry is hiring staff accused of assaulting women,” Hewitt, also a Republican, said in […]

Chenita LeBlanc, a program manager with DePaul Community Health Center, holds a flyer for Louisiana Medicaid members

Please share your Louisiana Medicaid story

BY: - September 22, 2023

The Louisiana Illuminator is seeking people affected by the state’s massive Medicaid disenrollment process who are willing to share their experiences. Louisiana removed more than 100,000 people from its Medicaid program during June and July and will continue disenrollment for the next several months. Thousands of children are among those affected. We are looking to […]

Jeff Landry standing at podium speaking to reporters. His wife Sharon is at his side.

Jeff Landry declines Gray Television debate invitation

BY: - September 22, 2023

Frontrunning candidate Jeff Landry has officially opted out of the next event slated for statewide TV, making it more than likely he will have made just one appearance alongside his competitors in the governor’s race in a debate or public forum before the Oct. 14 primary.   The Republican attorney general’s absence leaves just two candidates […]

Signage at an early voting center on September 23, 2016 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Pointe Coupee residents want to hear from Louisiana House candidates

BY: - September 22, 2023

Pointe Coupee Parish residents have invited the three candidates vying to represent them in the upcoming Louisiana House District 18 race to a town hall convention on Monday to discuss issues of affordable housing, broadband expansion and public schools. The Westside Sponsoring Committee, a nonpartisan political group, is hosting the meeting in an effort to […]

Louisiana’s unemployment trust fund expected to fully recover from COVID-19

BY: - September 22, 2023

After practically running dry in 2020, Louisiana’s unemployment trust fund is expected to climb back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic level by August next year, state officials said Thursday. “We’ve actually made it all the way back,” Robert Wooley, head of the Louisiana Workforce Commission, said during a meeting of the state’s revenue estimating panel Thursday.  […]

Richard Nelson

Richard Nelson exits governor’s race, endorses Jeff Landry

BY: - September 20, 2023

State Rep. Richard Nelson has bowed out of the race to be Louisiana’s next governor and has endorsed frontrunner Attorney General Jeff Landry. Nelson, a Mandeville Republican who made eliminating the state income tax his signature issue, never broke 2% in polls, failing to gather momentum with voters and donors. “I ran for governor to […]

LSU research team identifying orphaned oil wells leaking methane

BY: - September 19, 2023

A team of researchers at LSU is taking on the thousands of orphaned oil wells in Louisiana to determine which are leaking methane into the atmosphere so they can be prioritized for plugging. There are more than 4,500 orphaned oil wells in Louisiana, according to a press release from the university, meaning they have been […]

A female doctor holds a stethoscope to the back of a young boy inside a medical examination room

40,000 children dropped from Louisiana Medicaid as part of massive review

BY: - September 16, 2023

Louisiana removed 40,000 children from its Medicaid program in June and July as part of a massive nationwide disenrollment process expected to continue through next May, according to state health department figures.  The state has also seen 49,000 people added to Medicaid during the COVID-19 pandemic dropped from the government-backed health insurance program.  The total […]

A screen capture of the Louisiana Checkbook website

Louisiana government salary database is finally live

BY: - September 14, 2023

The state of Louisiana has made a searchable database of state employee salary information publicly available. The database is available on the state’s financial transparency website, checkbook.la.gov. It includes all executive branch salary information but does not yet include salaried higher education employees. The website was the result of a bill brought by Sen. Rick […]