With Louisiana’s gubernatorial election now less than 11 months away, candidates will soon start throwing their names into the ring. Andrew Greenstein reports.
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Louisiana has moved up nine spots in the Tax Foundation’s 2027 State Tax Competitiveness Index to number-23. Jeff Palermo has the story.
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The federal government is giving Louisiana a helping hand in fighting feral hogs. Kace Kieschnick reports.
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Louisiana’s next gubernatorial election is now less than 11 months away; so in the coming weeks, we’ll be hearing from people who will be challenging Jeff Landry for the state’s top job. Democrat Gary Crockett says he’s in. The man who beat him out for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination, Jamie Davis, is seriously considering a run after coming close to beating Julia Letlow last week. Another Democrat considering a run is Alexandria State Senator Jay Luneau.
The Democratic Party is energized by the way the party obliterated the Republicans nationwide, poised to enter the 120th Congress with potentially 260 House members and 56 Senators. Luneau says how they perform at the outset of the new term will dictate in part whether he throws his name into the hat.
Luneau says he will be discussing his options with his family.
Cut 6 (11) “…the same direction.”
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Louisiana has posted the largest gain of any state in the Tax Foundation’s 2027 State Tax Competitiveness Index. Louisiana Revenue Secretary Jarrod Coniglio says the state has moved up nine spots to 23rd overall.
No other state gained as many places. Louisiana now stands 17 places higher than it did in 2024.
Coniglio says the improvement is the result of the tax reform package approved in 2024. One of the major changes that went into effect in 2025 was a flat three-percent income tax rate. The secretary says the Tax Foundation ranks Louisiana’s individual income tax rate as the ninth most competitive in the nation.
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State lawmakers can approve more tax reform measures in the 2027 legislative session. Coniglio says the governor would like to eliminate state income taxes.
The Tax Foundation says Louisiana has also seen a 17-place improvement in its property tax rank due to the elimination of the state’s capital stock tax. They call it a damaging tax that taxes businesses regardless of profit.
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The U.S. Drought monitor map now shows 95-percent of the state is in some category of drought, and exceptional drought conditions cover nearly one-fifth of the state. State Climatologist Jay Grymes says exceptional drought conditions stretch from a portion of southwest Louisiana to the west of Alexandria and into north Louisiana.
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Grymes says the drought is not as bad in southeast Louisiana, but conditions are worse than they were last week. He says there is a chance we’ll see rain on Sunday and Monday.
Grymes says before the rain arrives, we’ll see chilly temperatures.
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Louisiana is awarded another three-million dollars from the federal government to fight feral hogs. Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain says with this grant, the department will focus its efforts in 27 parishes in the Red River Basin and the Mississippi River Basin.
Eurasian hogs are an invasive species – not native to Louisiana. As such, they have no natural predator and can multiply rapidly. Strain says it’s estimated that there are now between 700-thousand and 900-thousand of them in Louisiana.
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This is not the first time Louisiana has received a federal grant to fight feral hogs, and Strain says prior grant money ended up being put to good use.
Cut 15 (08) “…20-thousand feral swine.”
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Louisiana Tech could win a Sun Belt West title tomorrow in its first season back in the conference. The 7-and-2 Bulldogs host 3-and-6 Southern Miss at 4 p.m. The Golden Eagles are coming off a 54-23 loss to James Madison last Thursday, so Bulldogs coach Sonny Cumbie says they will have extra time to prepare for a big rivalry game.
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Tech quarterback Blake Baker is probable to play after playing through a foot injury that left him wearing a boot at the start of this week. Redshirt sophomore John White took over as the Southern Miss signal caller last week. Saturday will be just his second career start, but Cumbie says he is an accomplished passer.
Cut 17 (16) “…a huge challenge.”
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LSU faces a playoff elimination game tomorrow night against sixth-ranked Texas. The Longhorns are led by New Orleans native Arch Manning under center. He said he grew up going to games in Tiger Stadium and knows the electric atmosphere that awaits his team, but that doesn’t mean his matchup with the Tigers is anything personal.
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A Longhorn who does have an LSU connection is defensive coordinator Will Muschamp. He won the 2003 national championship as LSU’s defensive coordinator and took over the Texas defense this offseason. He has made stops throughout the SEC, and LSU coach Lane Kiffin says he’s evolved as a playcaller.
Cut 19 (16) “…great defense there.”
Kiffin and Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian go way back as well. They first coached together at USC 25 years ago, again shared a staff at Alabama in 2016 and have crossed paths throughout their mirrored careers. Sarkisian says they were both heavily influenced by Nick Saban and Pete Carroll, and he recalls something Carroll told them.
Kickoff in Tiger Stadium is at 6:30.