Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser is back from a trip to Japan, where he fed Japanese people gumbo and Tabasco ice cream. Jeff Palermo has the story.
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Just over 20 years after Steve Gleason’s iconic blocked punt, the Saints and Falcons will return to the Superdome on Monday Night Football. Kace Kieschnick has more.
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Election Day is one month from today, and the candidates for U.S. Senate are pulling out all the stops. Andrew Greenstein reports.
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Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser is back in Louisiana after a nine-day trip to Japan that he hopes will result in more Japanese people visiting Louisiana. Nungesser says on Monday, a luncheon was held that showcased Louisiana’s music, culture, and food to 100 Japanese journalists, bloggers and social media influencers.
The trip was conducted in partnership with Mississippi River Country, and Louisiana was one of seven states participating. The Louisiana delegation participated in the Tourism EXPO Japan, one of the country’s largest tourism trade and media events. Nungesser says visitors to Louisiana’s booth received a sample of Tabasco ice cream.
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Japan is the second largest overseas visitor market to the United States. Japan is the tenth largest overseas market for travel to Louisiana, with about 10-thousand visitors from that country coming to the state in 2025, generating nearly 18-million dollars in economic impact. Nungesser says the visit to Japan is about getting Louisiana on the minds of people who are already interested in coming to America.
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Nearly half of Louisiana’s Japanese visitors travel alone, and more than 65-percent visit for business-related reasons. The state would like to see more Japanese families visit Louisiana.
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It’s a hefty donation for the ULM School of Construction Management. In a ceremony last Friday, the school received 229-thousand dollars from the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors and the Contractors’ Education Trust Fund. School Director Dr. Clint Martin says the money will be put to good use.
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Dr. Martin says the school gets similar donations from those two entities every year, and the money will also come in handy for the external events the school participates in every year, including a Mardi Gras parade, for which they have a float.
The money used for the donation came from licensing fees paid by contractors to the licensing board, which is distributed to schools of construction, including the one at ULM. Martin says in all, the money will greatly enhance the learning experience for the students at the School of Construction Management.
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To date, the two entities have donated almost 4.5-million dollars to the ULM School of Construction Management, allowing it to improve facilities, technology and student experiences.
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The Saints host the Falcons on Monday Night Football, and the team has big plans to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the team’s return to the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina. Shirin Braden, the vice president of brand strategy for the Saints, says Saints legends and New Orleans music icons will help remember a historic night in Louisiana sports.
Although kickoff is not until 7:15, the celebration kicks off at 4:00 in Champions Square, where Steve Gleason’s new music album, “Rebirth,” will debut. Braden says Irma Thomas will sing the national anthem as she did in 2006, and Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue will headline a halftime show featuring Eric Church, Kirk Franklin, Juvenile and Cyril and Ivan Neville.
Several players from the 2006 team, including Gleason, Drew Brees and Curtis Deloatch — who recovered Gleason’s blocked punt in the end zone for a touchdown — will be honored at the game. Braden says Team Gleason has been very involved in ensuring Monday night is unforgettable.
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Election Day is one month from tomorrow, and Julia Letlow and Jamie Davis are in the mad dash to the finish line in the U.S. Senate race, trying to secure as many votes as possible. Letlow tells Brian Haldane on Talk 107-3 in Baton Rouge that she’s been busy traveling the entire state listening to constituents.
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Letlow says speaking directly with voters is more effective than the traditional rally and stump speech.
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Once the general election matchup was decided, political analysts had predicted a decisive Letlow victory. But in this campaign, only two opinion polls have been publicly released, both of which were commissioned by the Davis campaign, and they show Letlow leading Davis by only four points. Davis points out that the four-point margin in the latter poll was the response before respondents were told of the candidates’ backgrounds, and many did not know who he was.
Davis says sensing that the race is actually winnable, he’s been busy criss-crossing the state, trying to meet as many voters as he can.
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When Haldane asked Letlow about the latest poll, her entire word-for-word response was, “It’s a bogus poll.”
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LSU is back in action tomorrow night against McNeese. Coach Lane Kiffin said we could see a lot of backups in as the Tigers look to avoid any more injuries. Safety Jhase Thomas earned his first start last week because of those injuries and says senior safety Ty Benefield was a big help in his first start.
Thomas says he was able to get advice from a lot of veterans on the LSU defense as he prepared to face the Aggies.
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The Tigers and Cowboys are scheduled to kick off at 6:45 in Tiger Stadium.
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Louisiana Tech returns to action against Army tomorrow. The Black Knights have the nation’s most productive rushing attack thanks to their trademark triple-option offense. Bulldogs coach Sonny Cumbie says Army hogging the time of possession is a legit concern.
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Cumbie did not confirm whether starting quarterback Blake Baker would be back from a fractured throwing hand he suffered against LSU. Trey Kukuk started against Baylor, and Cumbie says the offense is the same no matter who is under center.
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Kickoff in Joe Aillet Stadium is at 6:30.