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.”

Registration for the new round of the Louisiana Fortify Homes grant opens at eight this morning. Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple says this time the program is limited to those who live in the coastal zone, as well as Lake Charles, Sulphur and Westlake.

Cut 8 (07) “…in South Louisiana.”

Registration closes Friday, September 12th, then recipients will be chosen by random drawing.

The opening of the new Buc-ee’s in Ruston is being pushed back to early 2027. Mayor Ronny Walker says he’s not concerned, and he expects dirt to start turning this month.

Cut 5 (06) “…we’re fine with.”

Construction of the Lafayette Buc-ee’s is also experiencing delays due to weather.

The recovery continues in southwest Louisiana five years following one of the strongest hurricanes to ever hit the Gulf Coast. Jeff Palermo has more on the impact Laura is still having on Calcasieu Parish…

Cut 3 (32) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

LSU’s new look offensive line held up against a good Clemson defense on Saturday in the Fighting Tigers 17 to 10 win. Coach Brian Kelly says the addition of starting center Braelin Moore has helped that group get on the same page…

Cut 16 (10) “…as a veteran.”

LSU put extra emphasis on beating Clemson as the Tigers desperately wanted to snap their streak of five consecutive season opening losses.

Registration for another round of grants for the Louisiana Fortify Homes program begins this morning. Andrew Greenstein reports.

Cut 2 (33) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

Five years after one of the strongest hurricanes to ever hit the Gulf Coast made landfall, Southwest Louisiana is still being rebuilt. Calcasieu Parish President Judd Bares (BEAR-es) says there are some residents still battling with their insurance company over hurricane repairs…

Cut 12 (09) “…do it still.”

The largest field hospital history was set up at LSU twenty years ago to provide care after Hurricane Katrina. Doctor Matthew Giglia (JIL-lyah) volunteered there while an undergraduate. He says Katrina showed him that while dealing with a disease, you’re also dealing with a human…

Cut 15 (11) “…in terrified.”

Doctor Giglia is now chief of surgery at Ochsner MD Anderson Cancer Center in Baton Rouge.

First, it was announced that construction of the Lafayette Buc-ee’s is experiencing delays. Now, word comes that 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.

Cut 4 (08) “…especially want that.”

Mayor Walker says he expects dirt to start turning this month.

Southwest Louisiana continues rebuilding five years after Hurricane Laura made landfall. Calcasieu Parish President Judd Bares (BEAR-es) says months after the vicious storm, the parish developed a long-term hurricane recovery plan which helped produce a more resilient and upgraded infrastructure system….

Cut 10 (11) “…the recovery.”

Twenty years ago, the largest field hospital history was set up at LSU to provide care for storm weary patients who were ill or injured because of Hurricane Katrina. Doctor Matthew Giglia (JIL-lyah) was a sophomore at LSU planning to pursue a medical career and his time as a volunteer at the field hospital in the PMAC convinced him to become a doctor…

cut 13 (12)  “…into medicine.”

The anticipated opening of the Buc-ee’s in Ruston is now being pushed back to early 2027. Andrew Greenstein reports.

Cut 1 (34) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

A new round of the Louisiana Fortify Homes grant program is coming up, and registration for the next lottery opens at eight this morning. There are 500 grants of up to ten thousand dollars each, and they will be selected at random among those who have registered. Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple says what’s new this time around is that if you had registered for a previous lottery, there’s no need to do so again.

Cut 7 (10) “…in the drawing.”

Hurricane Katrina made landfall as a Category 3 storm in Plaquemines Parish at 6:10 am on this date 20 years ago. She brought widespread flooding and devastation. Saint Bernard Parish had Parish President Louis Pomes (Louie POE-mez) was an employee of the parish at the time. He was amazed at how fast the water rose as a result of breaches in the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet.

Cut 8 (12) “…as it was pushing.”

One of the lasting images of the Katrina aftermath was when Lieutenant General Russel Honoré as commander of Joint Task Force Katrina shouted, “weapons down, weapons down, dammit!” to police officers who he says were acting on orders from Governor Blanco to shoot anyone they found looting. Honoré said he told Blanco to rescind that order.

Cut 15 (09) “…can’t do that.”

Governor Kathleen Blanco took a lot of criticism for the state’s response to Katrina. It was a major factor in her decision not to run for re-election. He communications director, Bob Mann says there were failures at all levels of government, but FEMA’s role was to provide federal resources to states dealing with a disaster, and that didn’t happen.

Cut 6 (13) “…sent in.”

This is the lowest gas prices have been for a Labor Day weekend in five years. Triple-A’s Don Redman says the statewide average for a gallon of regular gasoline is $2.79, which is 20 cents lower than a year ago. Redman says motorists are enjoying the lowest price at the pump in five years, despite a slight increase over the last week.

Cut 10 (08) “…Labor Day weekend.”

Redman says once we move into September, he expects prices to decline again.

It’s a somber day as we remember the 20^th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the costliest natural disaster in the country’s history, claiming 18-hundred lives. Jeff Palermo has more

Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

People were left stranded for days. Lieutenant General Russel Honoré took charge of the rescue effort as commander of Joint Task Force Katrina.

Cut 13 (12)  “…a real disaster.”

We haven’t seen gas prices this low for Labor Day weekend in five years. Triple-A’s Don Redman says the statewide average for a gallon of regular gasoline is 20 cents lower than a year ago. And he says as long as there is not a disruption in the supply of gasoline, he believes prices will be around $2.50 by the end of September. He says it’s because of the price of crude oil.

Cut 12 (08) “…64 dollars.”

The LSU Tigers leave later today for South Carolina where they’ll play Clemson tomorrow without starting safety AJ Haulcy for the first half of the game. He was suspended for fighting in the fourth quarter of the last game of last year when he was at Houston and since his ejection was the result of fighting, he must miss an entire half of football. LSU was made aware on Wednesday that Haulcy was facing a suspension, and the NCAA upheld its ruling last night.

Hurricane Katrina came ashore 20 years ago today. The rescue efforts in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina were infamously challenging and chaotic. Here’s  Andrew Greenstein

Cut 3 (45) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

Katrina produced catastrophic flooding, not only in New Orleans, but also in Jefferson, Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes. Once the storm passed, the mission was to get thousands of stranded people, some of them living on rooftops, out of the flooded waters and onto dry land. Governor Kathleen Blanco’s communications director at that time, Bob Mann says the federal government was not much help.

Cut 5 (09) “…too late.”

Governor Blanco took a lot of criticism for the state’s response to Katrina and that was a major factor in her decision not to run for re-election.

There is some good news today. This is the lowest gas prices have been for a Labor Day weekend in five years. Triple-A’s Don Redman says the statewide average for a gallon of regular gasoline is $2.79, which is 20 cents lower than a year ago. And he says once we move into September, he expects prices to decline again.

Cut 11 (10) “…rule that out.”

We know what today is. 20 years ago, Katrina made this one of the darkest days in Louisiana history. Bob Mann was the communications director for Governor Kathleen Blanco; and at first, they thought Katrina only produced wind damage. And then the reports starting coming in.

Cut 4 (12) “…somewhere.”

Katrina produced catastrophic flooding, not only in New Orleans.

Katrina made landfall as a Category 3 storm in Plaquemines Parish. Saint Bernard Parish had widespread flooding and devastation, and current Parish President Louis Pomes (Louie POE-mez) was an employee of the parish at the time.

Cut 7 (09) “…of tears.”

Gas prices for this Labor Day weekend are the lowest they’ve been since 2020. Andre Champagne has the story.

Cut 2 (34) “…I’m Andre Champagne.”

The Louisiana Department of Insurance is accepting the next round of grants for fortified roofs beginning Tuesday. This round of grants to assist homeowners with the cost of the roofs that are designed to resist hurricanes is for homeowners in the Coastal Zone which includes Lake Charles, Westlake, and Sulphur. 500 grants will be awarded. Recipents will be chosen by lottery from the registrants.

Twenty years ago today, thousands of people entered the Superdome to take shelter from Hurricane Katrina. The next morning on August 29^th, Katrina’s fierce winds peeled off sections of the Superdome roof. Doug Thornton was the general manager of the Dome at the time.

Cut 10 (12) “…helpless.”

On Friday before hurricane Katrina made her destructive landfall on that Monday, forecasters were preparing Florida for the storm, not Louisiana. LSU Public Health Climatologist, Barry Keim says since then predictions more accurate with things like ensemble forecasting using slight variations in initial conditions.

Cut 9 (15)  “…might potentially happen.”

Former Kentwood High star Trey Palmer is now with the New Orleans Saints. Palmer was released by the Buccaneers, but the 24-year-old receiver was picked up by the Black and Gold. Palmer is also a former LSU Tiger and finished his college career at Nebraska. In two seasons in Tampa, Palmer had 51 catches for 557 yards and four touchdowns.

It’s the 90th annual Shrimp and Petroleum Festival in Morgan City this weekend. Festival President Charlie Solar Jr. says there will be several events through Labor Day, including live music, activities for kids and a shrimp cook-off Saturday morning.

Cut 5 (06) “…do the contest.”

And he says you can enter free to enjoy the fireworks, music, and parade.

State Troopers are looking for the driver and vehicle Involved in a fatal hit-and-run crash yesterday around 1:00 p.m. on I-10 north frontage road just east of Highway 165 in Jefferson Davis Parish. The crash claimed the life of pedestrian 53-year-old Bonnie Fontenot of Jennings, who had previously been reported missing. Fontenot died at the scene. Authorities are working to determine the make, model, and driver of the suspect vehicle, and they’re asking anyone with information to contact LSP Troop D at (337) 491-2511. Information can be reported anonymously through the Louisiana State Police online reporting system by visiting File a Report or calling the LSP Fusion Center Hotline at 1-800-434-8007.

We now know how 12-year-old Bryan Vasquez died. New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick announced yesterday that he died from blunt force due to an alligator and subsequently drowned. Bryan was a nonverbal autistic boy who disappeared from his home on August 14th, 12 days before his body was found. Kirkpatrick says they are looking into the circumstances surrounding Bryan’s disappearance.

Cut 15 (14) “…made aware of.”

Twenty years ago, people in New Orleans were caught off-guard by Hurricane Katrina, with forecasters originally predicting it was going to make landfall several hundred miles east. Andrew Greenstein reports technology has evolved since then.

Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

The 90th annual Shrimp and Petroleum Festival is this weekend in Morgan City. Festival President Charlie Solar Jr. says there will be live music, activities for kids and a shrimp cook off. And admission is free.

Cut 6 (06) “…a gate charge.”