Five years since Hurricane Laura made landfall and Southwest Louisiana is still rebuilding. Calcasieu Parish President Judd Bares says many people have left the area since Laura caused 17 billion dollars in damage and took 33 lives.

Cut 11 (09) “…Beauregard.”

The Louisiana Fortify Homes grant program is offering 500 more grants. Registration opened this morning and runs through September 12^th. Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple says fortified roofs protect homes and valuables from damaging storms and they can also make the home cheaper to insure.

Cut 9 (12)  “…spent their money.”

This round is limited to those living in the Coastal Zone including Lake Charles, Sulphur, and Westlake.

Twenty years ago, the largest field hospital in history was set up at LSU to provide care after Hurricane Katrina. Doctor Matthew Giglia, chief of surgery at Ochsner MD Anderson Cancer Center in Baton Rouge, volunteered there when he was an undergraduate at LSU. He says seeing the nurses and doctors at the field hospital interact with the patients, showed him that this is what he wanted to do in his life…

Cut 14 (11) “…physician”

First, it was announced that construction of the Lafayette Buc-ee’s was experiencing delays. Now, the scheduled opening of the new Buc-ee’s in Ruston is being pushed back to early 2027. Mayor Ronny Walker says he’s not concerned. The big question is, which city’s Buc-ee’s will open first, Lafayette or Ruston?

Cut 6 (16) “…away to work.”