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1 week ago | 
redriverradio.org | Jeff Ferrell |Andrew Schneider
Texas Governor Greg Abbott says he has not decided whether he will sign or veto Senate Bill 3, that would ban consumable products containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). That’s the psycho-active compound found in cannabis. As Houston Public Media reports, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick wants Abbott to sign the measure, while the multi-billion-dollar hemp industry is pushing for a veto.
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1 week ago | 
redriverradio.org | Jeff Ferrell |Becky Fogel
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) released the standardized testing results from Spring 2025 for students in grades three through eight. The figures show that students are making more gains in reading on the Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) exams this year. The results also confirm that the number of elementary and middle school students who met grade level standards has now surpassed students’ pre-pandemic performance.
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1 week ago | 
redriverradio.org | Jeff Ferrell |Nathan Treece
In January, Arkansas applied for a from the federal government to require able-bodied adults on Medicaid to search for work. Medicaid work requirements are now under debate in Congress. As Little Rock Public Radio reports, the effort is all part of the reconciliation bill which U.S. House members narrowly approved in late May.
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1 week ago | 
redriverradio.org | Jeff Ferrell
The city of Shreveport launches a new plan this week in the fight against blight. At a Monday morning news conference downtown, Mayor Tom Arceneaux announced what’s called the “Block by Block Initiative.” This coming Saturday marks the first of 11 neighborhood sweeps over the next four months, starting with Ingleside.
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1 week ago | 
redriverradio.org | Jeff Ferrell
Hundreds of people converged around the Caddo Parish Courthouse in downtown Shreveport this weekend – for the “No Kings” protest. Young and old alike turned out to voice their strong feelings about the actions of the Trump Administration in these first five months of the President’s second term in the White House. Immigration raids and the protests that have followed across the country have become the central focus at the moment.
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2 weeks ago | 
redriverradio.org | Jeff Ferrell |Sean Richardson
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed legislation this week aimed at giving more protections to victims of domestic abuse, stalking, and sexual assault. The new law requires carmakers to disable remote access technology, such as tracking and control features, within two days of receiving a certified protective or restraining order. In doing so, Louisiana becomes the first state in the country to hold car manufacturers legally liable in court for failing to comply with protective orders.
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2 weeks ago | 
redriverradio.org | Jeff Ferrell |Brooke Thorington
As the 2025 Louisiana Regular Legislative Session comes to a close this week in Baton Rouge a bipartisan bill, House Bill 479, which aims to enhance the notification process to witnesses and crime victims, received unanimous support in a final House vote on Wednesday 97-0. The bill requires both to receive updates when their perpetrator leaves and/or escapes from a parish prison or jail. Democratic Representative Mandie Landry’s bill was presented in the Senate by Republican Senator Jay Morris.
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2 weeks ago | 
redriverradio.org | Jeff Ferrell |Nathan Treece
A new report reveals that children in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas are still doing worse overall compared to kids in other states. The 2025 Annie E. Casey Foundation Data Book ranks Arkansas 45th in the nation for child well-being, Louisiana 49th, Oklahoma #46th and Texas 44th by tracking 16 different factors. As Little Rock Public Radio Reports, among those factors, Arkansas ranks 45th for economic well-being with more than one in five children living in poverty.
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2 weeks ago | 
redriverradio.org | Jeff Ferrell |Nathan Treece
One of the new laws coming out of the 2025 Arkansas Legislative Session, Act 322, allows for enhanced prison sentences of up to 10 years for convictions of cargo theft. During an interview with KARK Channel 4’s Capital View Shannon Newton, President of the Arkansas Trucking Association, said lawmakers also addressed cargo theft by providing more resources for law enforcement to deal with the issue.
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2 weeks ago | 
redriverradio.org | Jeff Ferrell |Andrew Greenstein
A sweeping bill – that calls for a series of nutrition reforms in Louisiana - is on the governor’s desk. Major components include banning certain artificial colors and additives in meals served in schools and forcing food companies to put QR codes on packaging if their products contain certain artificial ingredients. The Bill’s author, Republican senator Patrick McMath, says it’s all part of the movement known as Make America Healthy Again, or MAHA.
