Shreveport is getting a new pickleball park; but as Andrew Greenstein reports, this won’t be just any pickleball park.

Cut 1 (35) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

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Australian based Woodside Energy will be a major employer for southwest Louisiana for decades to come. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 2 (34) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

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Wednesday marks another 20th anniversary of a hurricane that devastated Louisiana. Andrew Greenstein reports.

Cut 3 (35) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

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A new pickleball park is coming in southeastern Caddo Parish. Stacey Brown, the executive director of Visit Shreveport-Bossier, says pickleball is very popular in the area, and the new park is designed to attract pickleball tournaments.

Cut 4 (10) “…had the courts.”

Brown says even before construction starts, organizations are already making travel plans to Shreveport to hold pickleball tournaments. 

Cut 5 (10) “…ready to come.”

Brown says the pickleball park will be designed to be able to host large-scale tournaments.

Cut 6 (10) “…do those right.”

The project is not without controversy – several residents spoke out against it, and three of the nine commissioners voted against it. But Brown says with the tourism dollars that will come with this pickleball park, it will pay for itself.

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Australian-based Woodside Energy says it wants to be an outstanding community partner as it builds a 17-point-five billion dollar liquefied natural gas facility in Calcasieu Parish near Sulphur. Chief Operating Officer Daniel Kalms says Louisiana L-N-G will be a huge contributor to U-S L-N-G exports, which will strengthen global energy security and generate billions of dollars in local and national revenues…

Cut 7 (09) “…community.”

Construction is already underway. The project calls for the construction of three LNG trains with the first one scheduled to be completed in 2029. Kalms says they already have nine-hundred people working at the site and the construction workforce will grow to 44-hundred. He says they are also working with local contractors…

Cut 8 (07) “…130 businesses.”

Woodside Energy made its final investment decision last April. It’s their first L-N-G plant in America and it will Louisiana’s fifth operating L-N-G facility. Demand for U-S natural from Europe and Asia has grown since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Kalms says they expect global demand for LNG to grow and southwest Louisiana is the place to produce it…

Cut 9 (11)  “…liquefied natural gas.”

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Wednesday marks the 20th anniversary of another devastating hurricane – Hurricane Rita. The storm reached the maximum intensity of Category Five before weakening to Category Three when it made landfall in Johnson’s Bayou, near the Texas border, on September 24th, 2005. J.C. Falcon was an air personality on KTDY-FM in Lafayette at the time – he says two of his brothers had major water damage in their homes.

Cut 10 (11) “…in his home.”

Falcon says the one thing that made him realize how bad of a storm Rita was, was what he saw eight miles in from Vermilion Bay.

Cut 11 (11) “…storm surge was.”

Falcon says while many people, including his brothers, were determined to stay in the area because that’s their home, others ended up moving out permanently. As such, some areas have never recovered.

Cut 12 (12) “…used to be.”

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The outcome of the game was never in doubt – as expected, LSU crushed Southeastern Louisiana, 56-10, at Tiger Stadium Saturday night. LSU made it look easy – they scored touchdowns on eight straight possessions. Along the way, LSU went for it on fourth down three times and converted on all of them. After the game, Head Coach Brian Kelly said that’s something they wanted to work on, with the meat of the SEC schedule looming.

Cut 13 (14)  “…need moving forward.”

Of course, the biggest storyline going into the game was the health of quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who had been battling a torso injury suffered during preseason camp. Nussmeier, who went 25 for 31 for 273 yards and three touchdowns, was very evasive when asked about his injury after the game.

Cut 14 (10) “…for all year.”

But Kelly said for all intents and purposes, Nussmeier is 100-percent healthy.

Cut 15 (16) “…of the year.”

LSU turned in another stellar defensive performance, giving up only 204 yards in total offense and one touchdown on a 14-yard pass in the third quarter. LSU has given up four touchdowns all season long – one in each game. Linebacker Whit Weeks says watch out – the defense still hasn’t played to its full potential yet.

Cut 16 (06) “…can be yet.”

LSU’s next game is next Saturday afternoon on the road at Ole Miss. Kickoff is at 2:30; and unless you’re planning on schlepping to Oxford, you can watch the game on ABC.

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The Saints first road trip was a disaster as New Orleans fell behind 21-0 in the first quarter and went on to lose 44-13 to Seattle. The Seahawks scored on all of their drives through the first three quarters and Seattle also scored a touchdown on a punt return and a blocked punt set up another score. Coach Kellen Moore says they never game themselves a chance…

Cut 17 (16)  “…we respond.”

New Orleans is 0-3 for the first time since 2016 and they are at Buffalo on Sunday.

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Louisiana Tech is 3-and-1 for the first time since 2019 after beating rival Southern Miss 30-20. Bulldogs tight end Eli Finley had a career high 155 yards receiving, and Kolbe Fields returned an interception for a touchdown. Coach Sonny Cumbie discussed both players, beginning with Finley…

Cut 18 (20) “…part of it.”

Tech will visit UTEP on Saturday night.

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ULM improved to 2-and-1 on the season with a road win at UTEP 31-25. The Warhawks led 31-7 in the third quarter and needed two interceptions in the fourth quarter to secure the victory. Coach Bryant Vincent frustrated his guys let the Miners back in the game…

Cut 19 (15) “…continue to grow.”

The Warhawks rushed for 250 yards and held UTEP 33 yards on the ground. Braylon McReynolds rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown. Vincent says it’s a good sign for the direction of the program to get a road win like this one…

Cut 20 (09) “…this program.”

ULM hosts Arkansas State this Saturday for homecoming in the Sun Belt opener.

Drought conditions are starting to develop across Louisiana as the state is in store for another dry weekend. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 1 (34) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

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The longtime voice of New Orleans Mardi Gras is calling it a career. Andrew Greenstein reports.

Cut 2 (31) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

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We are looking at a dry weekend across the state and abnormally dry conditions have developed across south Louisiana and along the Arkansas border. State Climatologist Jay Grymes says nearly half of the state is on the verge of drought conditions according to the Drought Monitor…

Cut 3 (12) “…of Louisiana.”

Grymes says other than a pop up thunderstorm here or there, there’s not a significant chance for rain for several days…

Cut 4 (07) “…for rain.”

Grymes says the dry conditions will likely worsen as we move into fall as La Nina conditions are expected to develop…

Cut 5 (10) “…and spring”

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The longtime face of New Orleans Mardi Gras is calling it a career. Arthur Hardy, the longtime publisher of the Mardi Gras Guide magazine, says after a half century, the 2026 edition will be his last.

Cut 6 (09) “…time as any.”

Hardy says he’s at peace with his decision, and he has lots of post-retirement plans.

Cut 7 (08) “…in Oslo, Norway.”

Hardy launched the Mardi Gras Guide with his wife in 1977 as a way to make it easy for people to keep up with parade schedules. He says while he always knew it was a great idea, it took a few years for it to really catch on.

Cut 8 (10) “…financial disaster initially.”

The Mardi Gras Guide is now published by Georges Media and will continue to bear Hardy’s name.

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A Calcasieu Parish jury has found a southwest Louisiana man guilty of murder in the brutal death of a 72-year-old woman in 2023. District Attorney Stephen Dwight says after 43-year-old Christopher Cater killed Sheila Ortega, he drove around with the woman’s body for a month…

Cut 9 (07)  “…during the summer.”

It took just over an hour for a jury to convict Cater of first-degree murder and unlawful disposal of remains….

Cut 10 (12) “…guilty verdict.”

Prosecutors say Cater killed Ortega while he was intoxicated and her death was caused by blunt force trauma. An LSU forensic expert testified Ortega’s injuries included bone fractures to her spine, neck and face. Dwight says Cater was renting a room from Ortega…

Cut 11 (12) “…estate dry.”

Cater was also found guilty of identity theft and he’ll be officially sentenced on October 7^th. When deputies arrested him, Cater admitted to opening up loans in her name.

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LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier is good to go on Saturday as the Tigers host Southeastern Louisiana. Nussmeier has been dealing with a torso injury, but head coach Brian Kelly says that he showed no signs of being hurt in practice this week.

Cut 12 (10) “…he’s comfortable”

Since LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier has been dealing with the torso injury, he has had to adjust to playing in a different way than he normally does. Now that Nussmeier is feeling more like himself, Kelly says that the offense will benefit greatly.

Cut 13 (13)  “…and comfortably..”

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The Saints hit the road for the first time this season as New Orleans takes on the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. Lumen Field is one of the hardest places to play in the NFL, but defensive end Cam Jordan says that outside distractions are the least of the team’s worries this weekend.

Cut 14 (12) “…a win.”

Defensive tackle Cameron Jordan will play in his 229^th career game as a Saint on Sunday against Seattle. He will surpass quarterback Drew Brees for most games played in franchise history. Jordan says that he is thankful that he has been able to play so many games.

Cut 15 (15) “…and thirty-one.”

New Orleans’ quest to host the Super Bowl in 2031 is in jeopardy, but all hope is not lost. Andrew Greenstein reports.

Cut 1 (35) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

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We could be just a few short weeks away from being out of hurricane danger for 2025 and we can thank a Bermuda High. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 2 (33) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

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New Orleans’ chances of hosting the Super Bowl in 2031 are in serious jeopardy. The Saints and the state have missed a key deadline to bid on hosting the game that year, which is the earliest that the Super Bowl can return to the city – sites for the next three Super Bowls have already been established, and the Super Bowl in 2030 conflicts with Mardi Gras. Greg Bensel with the Saints says the big holdup has been the ongoing negotiations on a lease extension for the state-owned Superdome.

Cut 3 (10) “…is very close.”

The reason the team needs to resolve the lease before bidding on the Super Bowl is that the current lease expires at the end of 2030, Bensel says it would be in everyone’s best interest to get a deal done, since the partnership has been, in every way, a public-private one.

Cut 4 (09) “…for the state.”

Bensel says the team, the city and the state want to bring the Super Bowl back to New Orleans — and the feeling is shared by the NFL.

Cut 5 (07) “…in the NFL.”

Bensel says if New Orleans fails to land the 2031 Super Bowl, the next opportunity to land the game would not come until 2038.

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Tropical Storm Gabrielle formed yesterday in the Eastern Atlantic, and it’s forecast to become just the second hurricane of 2025. Like the first one, Erin, it’s expected to stay well clear of the U.S. LSU Health Climatologist Barry Keim says that’s because of what’s known as the “Bermuda High.” 

Cut 6 (12) “…the East Coast.”

Keim says this year’s hurricane season is very reminiscent of the hurricane seasons of 1951 and 1952.

Cut 7 (11) “…the northern Gulf.”

Keim says the Bermuda High this year is weak, which is good for the Gulf Coast…

Cut 8 (12) “..Atlantic Ocean.”

2015 was the last time the U-S did not have hurricane make landfall along its coast.

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A major milestone for the I-20 project in Bossier City, as the project marks two years since reconstruction got underway. DOTD spokeswoman Erin Buchahan says the roadway had not been rebuilt since it was first constructed in the 1960s and had outlived its usefulness.

Cut 9 (08)  “…all with new.”

Buchanan says she understands drivers’ frustrations with the long-term construction zone; but the good news is, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Cut 10 (12) “…early next year.”

Buchanan says in the months left in the project, there are still a few major things left to do.

Cut 11 (10) “…currently being paved.”

The last thing in the project is to put in the striping.