The State Inspector General has issued a report on the death investigation of two-year-old Mitchell Robinson, who died of a fentanyl overdose in 2022 in Baton Rouge. Brooke Thorington has more.
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We are not done with winter yet, below freezing temperatures are possible tomorrow morning. LRN meteorologist Bill Jacquemin reports freeze warnings and watches have been posted…
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Coushatta Casino Resort will break ground on a new $150 million 204 room hotel expansion in Kinder this week. Director of Marketing Robert Thornton says the new hotel is needed to keep up with consumer demand…
Coushatta Casino Resort is the largest casino in Louisiana and operated by the Coushatta Tribe.
Thornton says the expansion will increase total capacity to over one-thousand rooms. And the new eight story hotel includes luxury rooms with a grand entrance.
Thornton says the hotel will create 150 to 200 additional permanent jobs in Allen Parish. He says it’s not all about monetary gain. It’s also about getting the tribe’s culture out to the public.
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The hotel has not yet been named. The project is expected to be complete by late 2025.
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The Louisiana Office of Inspector General has issued a report on their investigation of the death of two-year-old Mitchell Robinson, who died of a fentanyl overdose in 2022 in Baton Rouge. Inspector Stephen Street says even though DCFS was notified of previous overdoses the system failed to protect the toddler.
The report points out the assigned caseworker was overwhelmed with multiple high-profile cases and DCFS says they are trying to rectify that by hiring more staff.
Street says nine-days before the child’s death on June 26th, a third call was made to the DCFS hotline from a physician asking if any action had been taken in the case along with lab confirmation that fentanyl was found in the child’s system on June 4th.
Street says it’s an unfortunate truth that these types of tragedies with children are way more common than we want them to be.
The child’s mother Whitney Ard faces murder charges and the father Mitchell Robinson, Junior pleaded guilty to multiple drug charges.
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A new poll from JMC Analytics indicates there is still minimal support for changing Louisiana’s elections to a closed primary. In the first special session, lawmakers voted to move Congressional, PSC, BESE and Supreme Court elections to a closed primary starting in 2026. Pollster John Couvillon says he surveyed 660 likely voters and 48 percent of them did not even know it was changed.
This is the second time JMC Analytics has polled Louisiana voters to get their thoughts on closed primaries. He says the first survey took place in December and based on the results of this latest poll, closed primaries have become less popular in Louisiana…
According to the Secretary of State’s Office, the new election system will cost the state an additional 135-million dollars over ten years. Couvillon says when the respondents heard the cost of a party primary system, 72-percent said they oppose switching from open primaries.
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A bill has been filed in the regular session that seeks to include statewide offices, including elections for governor and legislative seats into the closed primary system.
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The McNeese Cowboys are preparing for their first NCAA Tournament Basketball game since 2002. The Pokes are a 12 seed and will face fifth seeded Gonzaga on Thursday night in Salt Lake City. Coach Will Wade says there are only 68 teams left playing and all of them are good…
McNeese is 30-3 and they are just one of four teams in the country with at least 30 wins. Junior forward Christian Shumate says they are ready to play on the big stage…
For the first time in school history, the Grambling State men’s basketball team is in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers will play Montana State on Wednesday night in Dayton, Ohio.