WestRock has broken ground on a 97-million-dollar expansion in Jackson Parish. The governor’s office says the company is expected to utilize the state’s Industrial Tax Exemption Program. State Representative Jack McFarland thanks WestRock for securing jobs and supporting contractors who rely on the paper mill.
Morgan City’s Shrimp and Petroleum Festival is back and Carrie Stansbury, Executive Director of the Cajun Coast Visitor’s Bureau says the oldest charted harvest festival in the state began as an event to pay homage to shrimpers with the blessing of their boats and has grown to also honor the oil & gas industry.
There’s also plenty of music, food, arts and crafts, and fireworks.
The first week of college football kicks off tonight and that also means a boon to sports betting in Louisiana. Gaming Control Board Chairman Ronnie Johns says in the first half of this year one-point-four billion dollars in legal sports bets were made, which has generated 16.5 million dollars in tax revenue for the state.
Johns says most sports bets are made on a person’s phone or computer, with mobile sports betting accounting for 80 percent of the sports betting business.
And Tropical Storm Danielle has formed in the Atlantic and it’s expected to strengthen into the first hurricane of the 2022 Atlantic season. It’s not expected to impact Louisiana whatsoever and poses no immediate threat to land. Last month was the first August without a named storm in the Atlantic since 1997.