Monroe tourism officials say Phil Robertson brought a lot of attention to the region. Andrew Greenstein reports.
Cut 1 (31) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”
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Nearly 100-thousand customers in New Orleans and Southeast Louisiana lost power for hours due to a “load-shed” event ordered by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator on Sunday. Sean Richardson has more.
Cut 2 (34) “…I’m Sean Richardson.”
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Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich gave high praise to current Speaker Mike Johnson during an appearance on a Baton Rouge radio morning show. The 81-year-old Gingrich says Johnson is the most remarkable Speaker of the House in his lifetime for how he has led a 435-member body with a slim Republican majority…
Cut 3 (12) “…people complain.”
Gingrich was a guest on Mornings with Brian Haldane. He said Johnson has been a steady hand in a deeply divided Congress. Gingrich says Johnson did a magnificent job in getting President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” approved in the House…
Cut 4 (09) “…and doing this.”
The “Big Beautiful Bill,” extends and expands existing tax cuts, particularly those enacted in 2017, and includes provisions related to border security, military spending, and social programs.
Johnson was elected in 2016 and became Speaker of the House in 2023. Gingrich is impressed with Johnson’s ability to unify factions within the GOP, something past leaders struggled with.
Cut 5 (11) “…remarkably smart.”
Gingrich does not think Johnson will be a presidential candidate in 2028, because he’s too humble.
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Monroe tourism officials say Phil Robertson and his family provided a huge boost in visitorship to the area. Sheila Snow with Discover Monroe-West Monroe says that was spurred in large part to “Duck Dynasty.”
Cut 6 (11) “…family called home.”
“Duck Dynasty” aired on A-and-E for 11 years, but Snow says the show’s impact on the community has lasted a lot longer.
Cut 7 (09) “…their offerings there.”
Snow says the region took full advantage of its new-found fame that came with the launch of the “Duck Dynasty” TV show.
Cut 8 (13) “…in West Monroe.”
Phil Robertson passed away Sunday at the age of 79 following a battle with Alzheimer’s Disease.
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On Sunday, nearly 100-thousand customers in New Orleans and Southeast Louisiana lost power for hours due to a “load-shed” event ordered by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator. The outages, affecting 75-thousand Entergy and 25-thousand Cleco customers, were triggered when an Entergy nuclear plant unexpectedly went offline. Public Service Commissioner Eric Skrmetta says MISO would not give specifics more than that.
Cut 9 (10) “…that you can’t tell me.”
CLECO says they will investigate the outage and Entergy says they want to understand the directive from MISO. Skrmetta demands transparency from MISO on why the outages occurred without warning.
Cut 10 (12) “…within 30-minutes.”
Skrmetta calls for better communication, energy efficiency programs, and regional transmission planning to prevent future outages, and says MISO’s lack of transparency is unacceptable…
Cut 11 (07) “…explain everything.”
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Police in Monroe arrest six people, including an Arkansas man, in connection with a brawl over the Memorial Day weekend. Police Chief Vic Zordan (rhymes with Jordan) says Trace Castleberry is facing a second degree battery charge, and Monroe Police are working to bring him back to the city to face charges.
Cut 12 (07) “…lot in Monroe”
Zordan says investigators used surveillance video footage to arrest the six, and more arrests are expected.
Cut 13 (09) “…on video there.”
This incident comes months after a shooting outside a sporting goods store in which rival gangs went after one another.