State

Senior Kye Smith - 120 pound champion

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Golden Quartet powers Basile to another crown

News Staff

Thursday, February 26, 2026

By: DARREL LEJEUNE LSN Editor There was no suspense nor second-guessing as the Basile Bearcat wrestlers dominated Louisiana’s Division III a few weeks ago in Bossier City — leaving no doubt who rules the mat.

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Balfa Week is announced

News Staff

Thursday, February 26, 2026

Lakeview Park & Beach serves as the backdrop for Dewey Balfa Cajun & Creole Heritage Week from April 13 through April 17. Full time Balfa Week tuition includes all classes, meals, dances, and workshop. The tuition does not include lodging.

Sometime the action of the coaches on the edges of the wrestling mat are just as intense as the maneuvers of the wrestlers, themselves, as is obvious in the photos above of Coach Ben Bertrand as he cheered on his Bearcats during the recent La. High School Wrestling Tourney.

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Community + Character = State Crowns

News Staff

Thursday, February 26, 2026

By: DARREL LEJEUNE LSN Editor When the Bearcats captured their seventh state championship on Feb. 7, Head Coach Ben Bertrand’s first thoughts were not about trophies or banners, but about the people back home.

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State budget could face hundreds of millions in shortfalls

News Staff

Thursday, February 26, 2026

By: GRACIE THOMAS, DAKOTA LASZLO, and KYLAH BABIN LSU Manship School News Service BATON ROUGE – Federal and state budgeting policies could force Louisiana into structural budget shortfalls approaching $300 million in fiscal 2027 and more than $1 billion by 2029, the director of a nonpartisan think...

Mirlitons hold a special place in Louisiana’s culinary and horticultural heritage. (Photo by Randy LaBauve/LSU AgCenter)

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Mirlitons are part of Louisiana’s heritage — and they’re easy to grow at home

News Staff

Thursday, February 26, 2026

By: OLIVIA MCCLURE LSU AgCenter Like a lot of people who grew up in Louisiana, LSU AgCenter horticulturist Jason Stagg has fond memories of eating casseroles and other dishes his mother prepared using mirlitons — a unique squash that has been grown in the state for generations.

Nixon Doucet (left) and Brecken Figueiredo (right) show off their fish they caught while competing in the LHSAA Bass Fishing Region I tournament at Toledo Bend. The two Sacred Heart anglers qualified for the state tournament. Also qualifying for state were Austin West and Jake Ardoin. (Photo courtesy of Kris Aguillard)

Back in session

News Staff

Monday, February 23, 2026

By: TONY MARKS Editor After floundering the past several years in a state of dormancy, the Sacred Heart fishing team reincarnated and is back competing in tournaments. Now that it is back in session, the team wasted no time in finding renewed success on the open water.

Butler

Butler looks to better help farmers as chair of ag committee

News Staff

Monday, February 23, 2026

By: TONY MARKS Editor State Representative Rhonda Butler has been named as the first female to chair the state’s Agriculture, Aquaculture, Forestry, And Rural Development Committee. She is also the first state legislator from Evangeline Parish to hold the position.

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State begins restricting food stamp purchases

News Staff

Monday, February 23, 2026

By: NOLAN MCKENDRY The Center Square (The Center Square) − Louisiana residents enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program can no longer use their benefits to buy soft drinks, energy drinks or candy starting Wednesday, as the state launches a two-year pilot it says is aimed at nudging...

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Suspect is charged in house fire

News Staff

Monday, February 23, 2026

EVANGELINE PARISH – Authorities have arrested a Turkey Creek man following an investigation into a deliberately set house fire that destroyed a Mamou home earlier this year. Fire crews with the Mamou Fire Department were dispatched around 3:12 p.m.

Le Courir de Mardi Gras goes through Mamou

News Staff

Thursday, February 19, 2026

Under overcast skies, rowdy riders on horseback carried on the traditional custom of chasing after chickens as Le Courir de Mardi Gras took place in Mamou on Tuesday, February 17. The ride began and ended at the American Legion Hall on Main Street.

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