Today marks the official beginning of the 2026 hurricane season. LSU Health Climatologist Barry Keim says NOAA is predicting a below average season, with eight to 14 named storms. Keim says says El Niño conditions will result in fewer storms this year.

Cut 29 (05) “…from really blossoming.”

Just because NOAA and Colorado State researchers are forecasting a quieter season that doesn’t mean we should let our guard down, so says Mike Steele with the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness…

Cut 5 (13) “….and your property”

Steele says a great resource is the Get A Game Plan website and app.

Today is the final day of the legislative session and the major piece of legislation that made it to the governor’s desk was a bill that reduced the number of majority-Black Congressional districts from two to one. Melinda Deslatte with the Public Affairs Research Council…

Cut 13 (11) “…map in 2024”

The so-called Five-one-map, meaning five Republicans likely representing the state’s six congressional districts will likely face a legal challenge.

Today, homeowners seeking a grant of up to ten thousand dollars to pay for a fortified roof can get register to be selected to receive the grant dollars. Three-thousand homeowners will be selected, and Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple says the eligible area has been expanded to include Acadia, Jefferson Davis and Lafayette parishes, as well as portions of eight other parishes previously excluded from the program.

Cut 12 (08) “…hurricane-force winds.”

For more information go to the Department of Insurance’s website.

The 2026 regular session ends today, and lawmakers must complete their work by six PM. They have already done their heavy lifting for the session, passing a new Congressional map that features five Republican districts and one Democratic district. The Republican led-Legislature’s decision to eliminate one of the Black majority districts upset Democrats and a lawsuit contesting the map will likely be filed.

Melinda Deslatte with the Public Affairs Research Council says  a fair congressional map is something that precisely no one at the Capitol can agree on, and the battle has actually been going on for many years, even before the 2022 drawing of the map that started the chain of events that has led us to this point.

Cut 15 (10) “…up in court.”

It remains to be seen what the map will look like for the November House elections.

Today is day one of Hurricane Season, and GOHSEP is ready. Spokesman Mike Steele says the agency has spent the last several months preparing for the 2026 hurricane season.

Cut 3 (11) “…the same page.”

Steele notes that due to changes with FEMA, there may be more that would need to be asked of first responders at the state and local levels. But he notes that those are things that they had already started doing.

Registration for a new round of fortified roof grants opens today. Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple says it opened at eight this morning.

Cut 10 (09) “…a potential grantee.”

This round of funding will be for three-thousand roofs, and Temple says history has shown that the number of people registering for the lottery will exceed that number several times over. For more information go the Department of Insurance’s website.

Today is the final day of the legislative session and this session will be remembered for the Congressional map that will give Republicans another seat in the U-S House as Louisiana will likely have five Republicans in their House delegation to one Democrat, instead of the current four-two split. Melinda Deslatte with the Public Affairs Research Council says now that the map has been signed into law, the next stop will very likely once again be the courts.

Cut 14 (08) “…this map stands.

Today is the first day of the hurricane season as forecasters are predicting a below average hurricane season. But as we all know, all it takes is one major storm to make it a bad season. LSU Health Climatologist Barry Keim says take the time now, to Test flashlights, batteries and generators, and make sure your family is on the same page in case of evacuation.

Cut 6 (07) “…just be prepared.”

Registration for a new round of fortified roof grants opens today. Joe Gallinaro reports.

Cut 3 (34) “…I’m Joe Gallinaro.”

A great season for the Ragin Cajuns ended last night with a 19 to five loss to Mississippi State, the number 14 overall seed in the NCAA Baseball Tournament. U-L Lafayette reached the Regional Finals by beating Cincinnati eight to six. The Cajuns finished with a 41-25 record.

LSU says its research activity has exceeded more than 600-million dollars, an 11-percent growth over last year. Chancellor Jim Dalton says Pennington Biomedical researchers in Baton Rouge helped develop the GLP-1 weight loss drug currently on the market to fight obesity and diabetes…

Cut 8 (11) “…studying that”

Dalton says LSU’s research activity generates an es

Cleco will provide the power for the new three-point-six billion dollar data center that’s being built near Alexandria. Spokesperson Jennifer Cahill says this is good news for all Cleco customers, because it will not result in rate increases and the investments Cleco will make in grid reliability will benefit all customers…

Cut 12 (10) “…broader customer base”

The Ragin Cajuns baseball team practices this afternoon on Mississippi State’s homefield. Tomorrow night U-L Lafayette faces Cincinnati in the Starkville Regional. The Cajuns just got done playing seven games in six days at the Sun Belt Tournament. Coach Matt Deggs is optimistic his team will rebound from the heavy workload.

Cut 18 (17) “…hope we do.”

First pitch tomorrow night is at 6 p-m.

In the U-S Senate, bipartisan legislation has been filed that seeks to put in place several much needed reforms designed to fix college athletics. There’s a provision in the bill that prevents what happened last football season when Lane Kiffin left Ole Miss’ before its season ended to coach at LSU…

Cut 4 (09) “…the national championship”

That’s Tiger Rag Executive Editor Todd Horne.

A bipartisan U.S. Senate bill that seeks to fix college sports has been filed by Texas Republican Ted Cruz and Washington Democrat Maria Cantwell. The “Protect College Sports Act” would enact several key reforms including regulations on payments made to players…

Cut 3 (10) “…with federal protection.”

Other key provisions of the bill include a free one time transfer and the Lane Kiffin Rule that would prevent coaches from leaving their team during the season.

LSU has surpassed 600-million dollars in research activity. Chancellor Jim Dalton says part of that research work includes the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge which has helped develop the GLP-1 weight loss drug…

Cut 8 (11) “…studying that”

Pineville-based utility provider Cleco will provide the power for the 3.6-billion-dollar data center that will be built in the Rapides Parish town of Boyce. Data Centers use an enormous amount of energy, but Cleco spokeswoman Jennifer Cahill says this won’t result in higher bills for other customers:

Cut 11 (08) “the data center”
Applied Digital is expected to provide 200 permanent jobs once it begins initial operations in mid-2027.

Governor Jeff Landry says the state will spend over one-billion dollars in federal money over the next five years to improve health care in rural Louisiana. Landry says one of the major focuses is expanding workforce capacity.

Cut 14 (14) “…to stay there.”

LSU’s Flagship has surpassed 600 million in annual research activity, an 11-percent growth over the previous year. Chancellor Jim Dalton says this latest increase is partly due to the reorganization of the flagship…

Cut 6 (11) “…the reorganization”

Dalton says there’s exciting research underway on fighting back against invasive species, clinical trials involving cancer research and the Pennington Biomedical Research Center is on the forefront of the development of the GLP-1 Weight loss drug.

Governor Jeff Landry says the state will spend over one-billion dollars in federal money over the next five years to improve health care in rural Louisiana. Landry says one of the major focuses is expanding workforce capacity.

Cut 14 (14) “…to stay there.”

Research conducted by Michael Johnson of LSU’s E-J Ourso College of Business finds that adults who are experiencing infertility is impacting their production in the workplace. Johnson sats there are things that companies can do to help employees whose infertility may be affecting them in the workplace.

Cut 9 (10)  “…out with it.”

Johnson notes that this is not an issue exclusive to women; men can struggle with infertility issues as well.

As part of the America’s 250^th birthday, the largest flotilla to ever sail the Mississippi River will be at the Port of New Orleans. Mark Romig with the Sail250 host committee says the boats represents not only the U-S, but also several other countries from around the world…

Cut 5 (14) “…US Coast Guard”