While one insurance company will be decreasing its homeowners insurance rates, another is getting ready to hike them. Andre Champagne reports.
Cut 1 (35) “…I’m Andre Champagne.”
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The legislature has more money at its disposal than it originally had anticipated. Jeanne Burns reports.
Cut 2 (33) “…I’m Jeanne Burns.”
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Of the eight Prep Classic championship games, the Division Two select title game will live on in Louisiana high school football folklore forever. Andrew Greenstein reports.
Cut 3 (46) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”
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While one insurance company is lowering its homeowners insurance premiums, another is raising them. Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple has approved a rate decrease of seven and a half percent on average for both SureChoice Underwriters and Elevate. Temple says this is testament that the insurance reforms passed by the legislature are working.
Cut 4 (11) “…results of that.”
Temple says smaller companies like SureChoice and Elevate base their rates in large part on reinsurance costs.
Cut 5 (09) “…onto the consumer.”
Bigger companies like State Farm, however, rely much less on reinsurance to set their rates. State Farm uses a different model that involves things like in-house hurricane forecasting; and with that company projecting higher future losses due to hurricanes, it requested an increase of nearly ten-percent, which Temple approved.
Cut 6 (10) “…much broader exposure.”
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The state legislature will have more money at its disposal than originally anticipated. The Revenue Estimating Conference increased its tax and fee collection projections for the rest of this fiscal year and next fiscal year. Melinda Deslatte (duh-LOT), the research director of the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, says that effectively closes the budget gap.
Deslatte says while they’re fairly minor adjustments, the dollar amounts are big numbers for the state.
Cut 8 (09) “…about 217-million.”
Deslatte says the increase in the tax collection projection is spearheaded by income taxes, despite the fact that the legislature lowered the income tax rates for all earners.
Cut 9 (08) “…what they forecasted.”
Deslatte says while the income tax rate may have gone down, overall collections may have increased based on things like total earnings and how many people are employed. The amount of money that the governor and the legislature have to spend is limited by the amount set forth by the Revenue Estimating Conference.
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The Louisiana Wildlife Federation has released the second edition of its “First Time Fishing in the Atchafalaya Basin” activity booklet. Rebecca Triche (“trish”), the executive director of the Louisiana Wildlife Federation, says the booklet is geared toward young children who are interested in fishing.
Cut 10 (07) “…watching the line.”
The first edition of the “First Time Fishing” booklet was published in 2014 by Anna Wilson. Triche says the new edition includes several updates.
Triche says the new edition release brings plenty of opportunities for both the youth and the Louisiana Wildlife Federation.
Cut 12 (15) “…the Atchafalaya.”
The activity booklet is free, and it can be downloaded on the Louisiana Wildlife Federation website.
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Six new champions were crowned, and two teams successfully defended their titles at the LHSAA Prep Classic at the Superdome this past week. In the nightcap of Saturday’s action, Edna Karr won its second straight championship by beating St. Augustine, 49-14. The win also runs the Cougars’ winning streak to 27 games. After the game, Karr head coach Brice Brown said what his team has accomplished the past two years is nothing short of incredible.
Cut 13 (16) “…to their character.”
In the first game Saturday, Ouachita Parish won its first state title since 1989 by beating Ruston, 21-20. Ruston lost in the Prep Classic for the second year in a row . After the game, Ouachita Parish head coach Benjy Lewis said that, after suffering through four straight losses in the regular season, including a 21-14 loss to Ruston, he never lost faith in his team, and the players never lost faith in each other, while everyone else wrote them off.
Cut 14 (15) “…I’ve been around.”
However, the game that went viral was Friday’s nightcap. Archbishop Shaw appeared to have the game won when St. Charles Catholic’s potential game-tying extra point with 35 seconds left sailed wide left. But on the ensuing possession, a Shaw player threw his helmet in celebration after a first down kneel-down, thinking the game was over. The resulting penalty allowed St. Charles to save a timeout, get the ball back – and kick a 44-yard field goal to win the game and the championship. After the game, kicker Tyler Milioto described his emotions before and after being given a second chance.
Cut 15 (13) “…what happened after.”
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Make it two in a row for the Saints! The Saints came back from down 10 late in the 3rd quarter and beat the Carolina Panthers in the Superdome, 20-17. It’s the Saints’ fourth win in a rebuilding 2025 campaign. Down by a touchdown with 4:37 left in regulation and the Saints backed up at their own 22 yard line, Tyler Shough led the team down the field and capped the seven-play drive with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Chris Olave. Head Coach Kellen Moore said after the game that Shough showed a lot of poise in that game-tying drive.
The stop Moore alluded to was the ensuing drive, in which the Saints only allowed the Panthers to take 1:32 off the clock. The Saints got the ball back on their own nine yard line with one timeout left and drove down the field to get into position for newly acquired Irish kicker Charlie Smyth to kick a game winning field goal.
The key play came with 12 seconds left and the Saints out of timeouts, when Shough ran it down the middle for four yards and slid. Panthers safety Lathan Ransom hit Shough as he was sliding, drawing a 15-yard penalty – putting Smyth in perfect position to kick a 47-yard field goal to win the game. Smyth said after the game he could not have imagined being in that position just a few short weeks ago.
Cut 17 (17) “…a dream scenario.”
The Saints will try to make it three in a row next Sunday against the Jets in the Superdome. Kickoff is at noon.
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Sterlington won its second consecutive state championship on Friday as the Panthers rallied back from a 12-7 deficit to beat Jena. Sterlington Coach Lee Doty says coming from behind was nothing new for his team…
Iowa won its first state championship as the Yellow Jackets won a thrilling game over North DeSoto 50-43 to complete an undefeated season. Iowa coach and lifelong southwest Louisiana resident, Tommy Johns, can’t say enough about the community support his team received throughout the year…