A 528-bed holding facility for migrant families and unaccompanied children is going up at England Airpark in Alexandria. Jeff Palermo has the details.
Cut 1 (34) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”
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The percentage of working-age people in Louisiana employed or actively seeking work grew more than in any other state. Kace Kieschnick has more.
Cut 2 (35) “…I’m Kace Kieschnick.”
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Last week, we heard from Julia Letlow after she clinched the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. Now, we’re hearing from her Democratic opponent. Andrew Greenstein reports.
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A 528-bed holding facility for migrant families and unaccompanied children is under construction at England Airpark, a former military base in Alexandria. Ralph Hennessy, the executive director of the England Airpark Authority, says the people that will stay at this ICE facility are individuals volunteering to go back home and those who are going back as a family unit.
Cut 4 (06) “…in other ways.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is calling the Alexandria facility a staging area, not a detention center. Hennessy says migrants awaiting deportation on a chartered flight will only be there a few days.
Cut 5 (09) “…to four days.”
Several immigration advocates have raised the possibility that children could be at the Alexandria facility for weeks or months. The nonprofit group Children’s Rights says it’s an expansion of the deportation system in ways we have not seen before.
Hennessy says the LaSalle Family Foundation will run the facility. He says for the England Airpark Authority, one of its missions is to use the England Air Force Base in producing economic development.
Cut 6 (07) “…thousand a year.”
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Louisiana’s workforce participation growth tied for the most in the nation with 58.8-percent of the working-age population in the labor force. That’s nearly a one-percent increase from last year, accounting for almost 33-thousand new workers. Louisiana Works Secretary Susie Schowen (SHAU-in) says workforce participation is a key economic indicator.
Cut 7 (10) “…things like that.”
The national labor force participation rate declined by six tenths of a percent. Louisiana was one of five states to see an increase.
Schowen says her agency suspects many of the new workers are people who previously were not pursuing employment that now are. She says it’s hard to pin down, but it could also be credited to more Louisiana graduates staying in-state.
Cut 8 (10) “…rolls are shrinking.”
Louisiana was number-one in the country for construction employment growth, thanks largely to the recent investments in data center and manufacturing projects across the state. Over nine-thousand new construction jobs came to the state in the last year. Schowen says Louisiana can’t entice new workers without having good jobs available.
Cut 9 (12) “…things happened together.”
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When it comes to the burden of car ownership, nowhere do drivers have it worse than here in Louisiana. Rob Bhatt (“bot”), an insurance analyst with LendingTree, says Louisiana drivers spend on average 6.1-percent of their gross income on auto insurance – the highest rate in the nation.
Cut 10 (09) “…in other states.”
The LendingTree study found that the average Louisiana driver spends 327 dollars a month on auto insurance, compared to a median gross monthly income of 5,350 dollars.
Bhatt says nationally, drivers spend less than three-percent of their gross income on auto insurance.
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Bhatt says there are things you can do to make auto insurance more affordable.
Cut 12 (13) “…in an accident.”
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Last week, we heard from Julia Letlow after she officially became the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate. Today, we’re hearing from her Democratic opponent. Jamie Davis notes that in both the primary and the runoff, nearly as many Democrats voted for him as the number of Republicans who voted for Letlow – despite Letlow spending more money by far.
Cut 13 (14) “…tremendous amount different.”
As such, Davis rejects the notion from political analysts that Letlow will run away with the general election.
Cut 14 (12) “…wins this election.”
Davis is a farmer and former Tensas Parish police juror, and he says he’s putting together a campaign that will resonate with Louisianans of all backgrounds.
Cut 15 (13) “…Louisiana that’s white.”
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LSU received its 16th football recruiting commitment for 2027 in Ruston four-star safety Jayden Anding. Anding announced his decision between LSU and Ole Miss yesterday after postponing his pledge date last week. Matt Belinson with the Ruston Daily Leader says he was always going to be a Tiger.
Cut 16 (13) “…choice for him.”
Jayden’s brother, Aiden Anding, is a sophomore cornerback at LSU.
Anding said he chose LSU because he wants to develop under secondary coach Corey Raymond. Belinson says he was also the latest in a growing line of LSU commits who credited their recruitment to Coach O.
Cut 17 (14) “…have been happening.”
Anding is a 5-10, 165-pound safety rated as a top ten prospect in the state and the number-21 safety nationwide by 247Sports. Belinson says he does it all for the Bearcats.
Cut 18 (15) “…front line.”
Anding is the second Ruston High product to commit to LSU this cycle, joining five-star tight end Ahmad Hudson.