Governor Jeff Landry provided his plan for making sure teachers continue to receive a two-thousand dollar stipend that they have been getting since 2023. The stipend is on the verge of going away because two different constitutional amendments failed to pass over the last two years and the stipend was not funded in the budget just approved by lawmakers.

But the governor believes the money to pay for the stipend can be found in the non-instructional section of the state’s public school funding formula.

Cut 11 (07) “…teachers.”

Landry will need the support of the Legislature, before 168-million dollars can be removed from the Minimum Foundation Program. It will take a two-thirds vote by both the House and Senate.

Before Landry discussed teacher pay, he signed into law the bill that ends the vehicle sticker inspection program.

The NFIB is pleased the Louisiana Legislature approved a workers comp reform bill that they say will reduce costs for small businesses. The NFIB also says lawmakers passed a landmark small business workforce bill that will give employers a new tool to train workers quickly and effectively. NFIB director Leah Long says that was two great victories, but she wishes a centralized sales tax collection bill was approved…

Cut 5 (13) “…we’ll get there”

Former Louisiana Congressman Charles Boustany has returned from Ukraine where he says he was near an attack that left four people dead and dozens injured. Boustany said on WRKF’s Talk Louisiana says it’s not a good situation over there and Trump Administration has not paid much attention…

Cut 14 (14) “…these people”

The organization that advocates for small businesses in Louisiana is generally pleased with how the legislative session went. Andrew Greenstein reports.

Cut 1 (35) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

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Governor Jeff Landry unveils his plan to make sure that teachers continue to get a two-thousand dollar stipend that they’ve received since 2023. Jeff Palermo has the story.

Cut 2 (35) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

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The organization that advocates for small businesses in Louisiana is generally pleased with how the legislative session went. Leah Long, the state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, says there were two bills in particular which passed that the organization is very pleased about. She says one of them creates the Bayou Growth Opportunity Workforce Program, or BayouWorks.

Cut 3 (11) “…earn industry certificates.”

Long says another bill that passed that the organization is pleased about is one that modernizes the state’s workers comp system and helps reduce costs for small businesses.

Cut 4 (12) “…employee making money.”

Long says there were also bills the organization was advocating for which went nowhere, including a centralized sales tax collection bill.

Cut 5 (13) “…we’ll get there.”

Long says the organization was also playing defense with some bills that it did not agree with, including those which would have imposed new labor mandates and regulatory mandates on small businesses.

__________________________________________

It’s been seven months since LSU announced the hiring of new President Wade Rousse. In that time, he’s committed to making improvements across the Baton Rouge campus. He says things students ask him about the most include parking and housing, along with a project currently underway near the softball field.

Cut 6 (14) “…and we will.”

Rousse says the administration has been searching for the optimal enrollment number as they face record application numbers. He says both the main and satellite campuses are expanding, but growth for the sake of growth can be dangerous.

Cut 7 (10) “…wise manner.”

Rousse says his top priority is raising funds to build a new library. He says that LSU needs to reach a threshold of private funding for the project before the state can provide capital outlay, and they’re very close to their goal.

Cut 8 (12) “…to me.”

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Governor Jeff Landry announced his solution today to prevent a potential pay cut for teachers. The governor has signed an executive order that directs BESE to find 168-million dollars that’s NOT used on instruction from the state’s public school budget and use that money to pay a two-thousand-dollar stipend for teachers and a one-thousand-dollar stipend for support workers.

Cut 9 (10)  “…sitting on”

This plan will likely not sit well with school superintendents who say they need more money because of rising fuel costs, insurance and other expenses.

But Landry says since 1988, Louisiana’s K-through-12 enrollment has dropped by more than 111-thousand students, yet the cost to education each child has increased 67-percent.

Cut 10 (07) “…priorities problem.”

Landry says when you take into account inflation, Louisiana public school teachers are actually making less than what educators made in the 1980s.

Teachers have received a two-thousand-dollar stipend since 2023, but it’s on the verge of going away because two different constitutional amendments failed to pass over the last two years and the stipend was not funded in the budget just approved by lawmakers.

But the governor believes the money to pay for the stipend can be found in the non-instructional section of the state’s public school funding formula.

Cut 11 (07) “…teachers.”

Landry will need the support of the Legislature, before 168-million dollars can be removed from the Minimum Foundation Program. It will take a two-thirds vote by both the House and Senate.

______________________________________________________

A former Louisiana congressman is recounting his recent visit to war-torn Ukraine. Charles Boustany told Jim Engster on Talk Louisiana that on his final day in the country, May 23rd, the area in Kyiv where he was staying came under attack, and to say that it was a harrowing experience is putting it very mildly.

Cut 12 (06) “…close and rattling.”

The attack left four people dead and dozens of others injured.

Boustany was in Ukraine to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky and to observe some of the country’s humanitarian efforts. He says the images from Ukraine that Americans see do the situation in that country no justice.

Cut 13 (11) “…we are now.”

Boustany was joined in Ukraine by another former Republican congressman, Geoff Davis of Kentucky. Boustany says it seems as if the U.S. has forgotten about Ukraine since the new administration took office.

Cut 14 (14) “…to these people.”

Governor Jeff Landry signed an executive order directing BESE to reallocate 168-million dollars of non-instructional funding in the public school budget to prevent a potential teacher pay cut. School superintendents, however, say they need more money because of rising fuel costs, insurance and other expenses.

Landry says since 1988, Louisiana’s K-through-12 enrollment has dropped by more than 111-thousand students, yet the cost to educate each child has increased 67-percent……

Cut 10 (07) “…priorities problem.”

Former Louisiana Congressman Charles Boustany told Jim Engster on Talk Louisiana about his visit to Ukraine to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky and observe some of the country’s humanitarian efforts. He says the images we see at home do not tell the whole story.

Cut 13 (11) “…we are now.”

Leah Long, the state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, says the organization is pleased with how the legislative session went. One bill spurring the sentiment is one that modernizes the state’s workers’ comp system and helps reduce costs for small businesses.

Cut 4 (12) “…employee making money.”

Long says the organization was also playing defense with some bills that it did not agree with, including those which would have imposed new labor mandates and regulatory mandates on small businesses.

The LHSAA announced it would be relocating three State Championships this upcoming school year. The Boys’ Basketball State Championships will return to the CAJUNDOME in Lafayette for the first time since 2011. The Powerlifting State Championships will move to the West Monroe Sports and Events Complex, and the State Wrestling Championships will return to the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

Governor Jeff Landry unveils his plan to make sure that teachers continue to receive a two-thousand dollar stipend that they’ve received since 2023. Jeff Palermo has the story.

Cut 2 (35) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

A new poll shows Julia Letlow with a big lead over John Fleming in the Republican Senate runoff. The poll by Kaplan Strategies shows Letlow leading by 15 points, 52 to 37 percent. That closely mirrors the margin in the primary.

Wade Rousse has been president of LSU for seven months; and in that time, he’s been busy making improvements to the system. Rousse says the administration has been searching for the optimal enrollment number as they face record application numbers. He says both the main and satellite campuses are expanding, but growth for the sake of growth can be dangerous.

Cut 7 (10) “…wise manner.”

A former Louisiana congressman is recounting his recent visit to war-torn Ukraine. Charles Boustany told Jim Engster on Talk Louisiana that on his final day in the country, May 23rd, the area in Kyiv where he was staying came under attack, and to say that it was a harrowing experience is putting it very mildly.

Cut 12 (06) “…close and rattling.” 

The attack left four people dead and dozens of others injured.

Governor Jeff Landry announced his solution today to prevent a potential pay cut for teachers. The governor has signed an executive order that directs BESE to find 168-million dollars that’s NOT used on instruction from the state’s public school funding formula and use that money to pay a two-thousand-dollar stipend for teachers and a one-thousand dollar stipend for support workers…..

Cut 9 (10)  “…sitting on”

It’s been seven months since LSU announced the hiring of new President Wade Rousse. In that time, he’s committed to making improvements across the Baton Rouge campus. He says the two things students ask him about the most are parking and housing, and a project is currently underway near the softball field.

Cut 6 (14) “…and we will.”

The organization that advocates for small businesses in Louisiana is generally pleased with how the legislative session went. Andrew Greenstein reports.

Cut 1 (35) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

Governor Landry signed a law to replace the current vehicle inspection sticker with a QR code sticker. Owners will pay six dollars for the sticker and receive it in the mail when securing or renewing their registration, compared to the ten-dollar-a-year inspection stickers.

Reaction is starting to come in on the just-concluded legislative session. The organization that advocates for small businesses in Louisiana is generally pleased with how the legislative session went. Leah Long, the state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, says one of the bills the organization is happy that got passed creates the Bayou Growth Opportunity Workforce Program, or BayouWorks.

Cut 3 (11) “…earn industry certificates.”

Another bill modernizes the state’s workers comp system and helps reduce costs for small businesses. 

We’ll see more proposed constitutional amendments as a result of this session, including one that prohibits governors from serving more than two terms during their lifetimes. Political reporter for the Advocate Tyler Bridges says it only impacts three people right now.

Cut 15 (07) “…two terms lifetime.”

Students who assault teachers will soon face stiffer punishments, both at the school and in the legal system. A pair of bills toughening those penalties are awaiting Governor Landry’s signature. Nikita Drummond-Clark taught for more than 30 years and told the House Education Committee she was forced to retire due to an injury she had suffered at the hands of a student.

Cut 8 (14) “…happened to me.”

Entergy is two years into executing a 1.9-billion-dollar resilience plan to fortify structures and upgrade distribution and transmission lines. Nyka Scott, the vice president of customer service, says the upgrades were put in place after Grand Isle was hit hard by Hurricane Ida.

Cut 5 (08) “…didn’t lose power.”

Scott says similar infrastructure is being built across the state.

The Louisiana legislative session is over, but not before lawmakers approved a 47-billion-dollar budget for the fiscal year that begins on July 1st. Legislative leaders say they have allocated money to attract private industry, improve state roads and infrastructure and they continue to invest in K-through-12 education. But Erin Bendily of the Pelican Institute questions the millions of dollars that are known as legislative pet projects.

Cut 10 (09) “…things like that.”

The Advocate’s political reporter, Tyler Bridges, says Democratic Congressman Cleo Fields is one of the big losers of this session, because he will likely lose his seat in the U.S. House because of the newly drawn Congressional map that eliminates one of the majority Black Districts.

Cut 14 (06) “…Baton Rouge area.”

A lawsuit is expected to be filed contesting the map that gives Republicans five safe seats to one Democratic district.

The Louisiana Legislature has approved a bill that would require students who assault a school employee to be automatically expelled for at least two semesters and undergo management classes. The bill is by New Orleans Representative Candace Newell, who during testimony in the House Education Committee said several teachers did not want to testify for the bill over concerns they could face retaliation…

Cut 9 (11) “…the Teacher’s Shield’

A companion bill, which calls for a minimum six-month sentence in prison or juvenile detention for any student convicted of assaulting a teacher, is also awaiting Governor Landry’s signature.

Hurricane Season is underway and Nyka Scott with Entergy urges residents to be prepared…:
Cut 6 (11) “the Entergy App”
She says Entergy is two years into a $1.9 billion plan to strengthen and upgrade Louisiana’s power grid.

The 2026 legislative session ended last night with no major bills making it through on the final day of the session. The bill that created a high amount of tension was the new Congressional map that eliminates a Black majority district. House Governmental Affairs Chairman and New Iberia Republican Beau Beaullieu says race was not a factor in the drawing of the map.

Cut 13 (05)  “…maximizes partisan advantage.”

The map approved by the Republican-led legislature is expected to be challenged in court.

And we’ll see more proposed constitutional amendments as a result of this session, including one that prohibits governors from serving more than two terms during their lifetimes. Political reporter for the Advocate Tyler Bridges says it only impacts three people right now.

Cut 15 (07) “…two terms lifetime.”

Students who attack teachers and other school employees face tougher penalties under a pair of bills awaiting Governor Landry’s signature. House Bill 283 is what New Orleans Representative Candace Newell calls the “Teacher’s Shield Act,” and it creates new mandatory penalties for students who attack teachers and puts additional protections in place for employees. Earlier in the session, Kimberly McDaniel told the House Education Committee about how her father was assaulted by a student.

Cut 7 (12) “…in the face.”

Entergy is two years into executing a 1.9-billion-dollar resilience plan to fortify structures and upgrade distribution and transmission lines. Entergy Vice President of Customer Nyka Scott says the upgrades were put in place after Grand Isle was hit hard by Hurricane Ida.

Cut 5 (08) “…didn’t lose power.”

Scott says similar infrastructure is being built across the state.

One of the biggest stories from Louisiana’s 2026 legislative session, which wrapped up yesterday, was lawmakers approving a new congressional map that removes one of the state’s majority-Black districts. Legislative Black Caucus Chairman Edmond Jordan, had this message for his Republican colleagues:
Cut 12 (12) “a racist act”
Republicans say the map follows traditional redistricting standards and was not drawn to unfairly favor or disadvantage voters based on race.

Other critics of the this session are also pointing to the failure of teacher pay raises and additional funding for private school vouchers. Erin Bendily with the Pelican Institute also questioned what she describes as millions spent on legislative pet projects.
Cut 10 (09) “things like that”
Governor Landry is addressing the teacher pay raise matter today.

Hurricane Season began Monday and Nyka Scott with Entergy urges residents to be prepared…:
Cut 6 (11) “the Entergy App”
She says Entergy is two years into a $1.9 billion plan to strengthen and upgrade Louisiana’s power grid.

The College baseball transfer window opened yesterday and five members of the 2026 LSU roster have already entered their names. Kace Kieschnick has the story:
Cut 3 (33) “I’m Kace Kieschnick”