Louisiana Illuminator

14/10/2025

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear new arguments Wednesday over Louisiana’s congressional maps. State Republican leaders now want to get rid of a majority-Black district they created, and the Supreme Court’s ruling could have national implications.

08/10/2025

Louisiana has increased the amount of money the state will pay to physicians and other health care providers treating Medicaid patients in an effort to expand health care access for low-income people.

Medicaid enrollees often struggle to find doctors willing to treat them because the government health care program pays low reimbursement rates for services.

01/10/2025

A new lawsuit claims the Trump administration is breaking the law with its intra-agency efforts to cull protected personal information from millions of Americans to support its immigration and political motives. Plaintiffs in the case include a Louisiana voter and the state chapter of the League of Women Voters.

The Trump administration is breaking the law with its efforts to cull protected personal information from millions of Americans, according to a new lawsuit.

30/09/2025

As a volunteer-driven effort attempts to rebuild lost marshlands, a bigger conversation is unfolding about the future of the lower Mississippi River Delta. It's likely to force choices over what can be saved and what might be permanently lost to rising seas.

With limited sediment and funding, planners might have to make tough calls about which part of the lower Mississippi River Delta can realistically be restored — and which parts could be yielded to the sea.

30/09/2025

Southeastern Louisiana University is now explaining why it removed a professor from the Air Products Lake Maurepas Monitoring Project this summer.

The decision sparked backlash against the university because the school didn’t immediately explain her removal, creating speculation the decision was related to her findings or outside influences.

The university has said it stands behind the professor's work.

The decision to pull the researcher from the Air Products Lake Maurepas Monitoring Project this summer sparked backlash against the university because Southeastern didn’t immediately explain her removal.

29/09/2025

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26/09/2025

More than a month after a major industrial fire in Tangipahoa Parish, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released an inventory list identifying the millions of gallons of motor oils, automotive fluids and other petrochemical products at the site.

The information was made public Thursday, hours after the Illuminator reported the agency was waiting on permission from the executives of the Smitty’s Supply Inc.

Four weeks after a major industrial fire in Louisiana, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released an inventory list of the petrochemical products at the site.

26/09/2025

Those who make their living harvesting fresh oysters, fish and crabs from Calcasieu Lake and the surrounding marsh waterways say Venture Global’s liquified natural gas terminal continues to disrupt and damage the estuary. They want state and federal regulators to hold the company accountable for improperly dispersing dredged sediment from a new ship channel it’s creating.

Tension is growing between two legacy Louisiana industries – seafood and fossil fuels – in Southwest Louisiana over dredging mishaps.

19/09/2025

Dixon McMakin, the new public address announcer at LSU’s Tiger Stadium, has a complex relationship with the state’s flagship university.

Son of 1970s LSU baseball star Wally McMakin, he is undoubtedly an LSU sports fanatic. But as an attorney, he has sued the school. And as a legislator, he has leaned hard on the university, even publicly joking about cutting its budget.

Dixon McMakin, the new public address announcer at LSU’s Tiger Stadium, has a complex relationship with the state’s flagship university. Son of 1970s LSU baseball star Wally McMakin, he is undoubtedly an LSU sports fanatic. But as an attorney, he has sued the school. And as a legislator, he has ...

19/09/2025

Expenses have surged for Louisiana’s public worker health insurance plans as more people are prescribed GLP-1 drugs, known by brand names such as Ozempic and Mounjaro. The diabetes drugs are now commonly thought of as weight-loss medications, though that use isn’t covered by Louisiana state health benefits.

“We’re going to go Ozempic-broke,” Sen. Heather Cloud, R-Turkey Creek, said.

17/09/2025

Louisiana university leaders say they are struggling to punish college students for hazing following the enactment of state law in 2024 that requires them to follow a standard of evidence more commonly used in criminal proceedings.

University leaders say they are struggling to punish college students for hazing following the enactment of state law in 2024 that requires them to follow a standard of evidence more commonly used in criminal proceedings. Under the new law, schools must abide by a higher standard of evidence in any....

16/09/2025

In a defiant tone, Gov. Jeff Landry said nothing has changed about Hyundai Motor Group’s plans to open a massive steel plant in Donaldsonville, even after an immigration raid on the South Korean company’s facility in Georgia sparked outrage back home.

In a defiant tone, Gov. Jeff Landry said nothing has changed about Hyundai’s plans to open a massive steel plant in Donaldsonville, even after an immigration raid on the South Korean company’s facility in Georgia sparked outrage back home.