Farmers in Louisiana are in for a financial shot in the arm very soon. Don Molino reports.
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After a series of meetings, the legislature’s task force on NIL deals for student-athletes is ready to draft some bills for the upcoming session. Andrew Greenstein reports.
Cut 2 (33) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”
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Farmers are in position to get federal assistance because of President Trump’s 12-billion-dollar financial aid package for producers. LSU Ag Center economist Michael Deliberto says it’s needed as farmers suffered through a tough 2025.
Deliberto says many of the losses farmers in Louisiana and across the country suffered were spurred by a slowdown amid tariffs imposed by the administration – and some of those losses are staggering.
Deliberto says cotton, rice and soybean farmers have struggled the most this year. President Trump says the funding will come from tariff revenues. Deliberto says the money is intended to help farmers pay down some of their debt.
Cut 5 (11) “…in Louisiana would.”
Eleven-billion dollars is for row crop farmers, and the other one billion dollars will be available for specialty crops like sugarcane. The target date for the payments to go out would be sometime in February.
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After a series of meetings that concluded Monday, a task force on NIL deals for student athletes is ready to prepare a series of bills for the upcoming legislative session. Homer Democratic Representative Rashid Young is on the task force and says one central theme that came out of the meetings was the fact that there seemed to be no structure for interactions with amateur athletes.
Young says not only is that true for collegiate athletes, but that’s also true for high school athletes; and because most of them are minors, there needs to be stricter regulations in place for them.
Cut 7 (12) “…the college level.”
Young says the task force even found examples of athletes even younger than high school age being pursued for NIL deals, and he says the task force wants to put a stop to that altogether.
Cut 8 (14) “…nothing below that.”
Young says the task force also heard from college athletic directors throughout the state who have expressed concerns that the new NIL era is running them in the red financially.
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Powerball fever is once again gripping Louisiana and the nation. The jackpot for tonight’s drawing is a whopping 930-million dollars. Chrislyn Maher (“mayor”) with the Louisiana Lottery says the jackpot has swelled to close to a billion dollars because the last jackpot was won back on September 6th.
Cut 9 (09) “…in playing Powerball.”
Of course, you have a much better chance of landing a leading role in a major motion picture than you have of winning the jackpot, the odds of which are less than one in 292-million. Maher says even if you don’t win the big prize, there are several other prizes up for grabs, and some Louisianans have been big winners recently.
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Sterlington is looking to win its fourth total and second straight high school football championship Friday, as the Panthers take on the Jena Giants. Head coach Lee Doty says this year’s team may be even better than last year’s dominant team.
Cut 11 (13) “…same thing now.”
The Panthers are 11-and-2, with their only losses coming to 5A Powerhouses Neville and Ouachita Parish, by a combined 16 points. Doty says he knew his team had a chance to be special when they hung in with the top-notch programs.
Sterlington boasts one of the top offenses in the entire state, averaging just over 46 points a game. A big reason to the team’s offensive success stems from the offensive line, and Doty says the coaching staff has done a great with the unit.
Kickoff in New Orleans against Jena Friday is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.