Support for Louisiana.

The state we're in is provided by Entergy.

Louisiana is strengthening our power grid throughout the state.

We're reinforcing infrastructure to prepare for stronger storms, reduce outages, and respond quicker when you do need us.

Because together we power life.

Additional support provided by the Fred B and Ruth B Ziegler Foundation and the Ziegler Art Museum, located in Jennings City Hall.

The museum focuses on emerging Louisiana artists and is a historical and cultural center for Southwest Louisiana.

And the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting and viewers like you.

Thank you.

As the 2026 legislative session gets underway, we're learning more about the governor's priorities and.

World leader visits.

Livingston Parish recognized the community's Hungarian roots.

New testing raises more concerns after an explosion in a whole parish.

And honoring Louisiana's role in the American Revolution.

We'll take you inside a new exhibit at the Cabildo Museum in New Orleans.

Let's get started.

Let's get to it.

Hi, everyone.

I'm Christina Jensen, and.

I'm Johnny Adkins, and much more on those top stories in a moment on this week's edition of Louisiana, The State.

We're In.

But first, Louisiana lawmakers are back at the state Capitol as the 2026 regular legislative session gets underway and is opening.

Address.

Governor Landry laid out an agenda focused on education, economic growth and workforce development.

But as lawmakers begin debating those priorities, questions remain about how the state will pay for them in the years ahead.

With lawmakers gathered at the state Capitol.

Louisiana's 2026 legislative session is now underway.

Governor Geoff Landry used his opening address to highlight what he called a period of major economic momentum for the state.

More than 124,000 new private sector jobs tied to billions of dollars in investment, diversifying our economy across energy, manufacturing, logistics, construction and technology.

The governor pointed to almost $100 billion and announced investments across Louisiana.

Education also took center stage, including calls to increase teacher pay and improve career pathways for students.

On the ballot.

Amendment three does two critical things.

First, it pays down on the massive long standing debt and our teachers retirement system.

Second, it converts that progress into something teachers feel immediately a permanent pay raise.

Governor Landry is also highlighting public health.

This session, unveiling a snap healthy food waiver and a plan to align food policy with chronic disease programs.

For the first time, food stamp benefits are being used for nutritious foods, not soft drinks and candy.

We've also expanded the carrot initiative, which rewards families for buying fresh fruits and vegetables.

Finally, this session, we will seek to create an Office of Health and Nutrition, bringing food policy and chronic disease management together so we can take a smarter, more coordinated approach to improving health across Louisiana.

He also pointed to what he called the largest insurance reform in state history, aimed at reducing litigation and giving regulators more authority to address excessive insurance rates.

If you find anyone.

In your district that has not gotten a reduction in their automobile rates, you tell them to shop the market.

Even I had to do that the other day and I got a big, big deduction.

And I believe in good conscience that the commissioner will work with us on behalf of the people of Louisiana to ensure that those rates are reasonable.

In addition, Louisiana drivers could soon see an end to the state's vehicle inspection sticker requirement.

The proposal would replace traditional stickers with the QR code on each car.

Public safety and infrastructure were also front and center in his address.

Among his proposals were placing more than 150 bridges across the state.

He highlighted crime concerns in New Orleans, pointing to the Orleans Parish court system.

The recent killing of Jacob Carter in the French Quarter underscored potential gaps in electronic monitoring for offenders.

Jacob Carter is dead and his family up there is shattered, and the juvenile, who could have been held accountable for earlier misconduct, will now.

Spend.

Almost the rest of his life behind bars.

Now tell me two lives destroyed because responsibility was ignored.

Again, that's not justice.

You know what that is?

That's negligence masquerading as mercy.

At the same time, some policy watchers warn the state could face financial challenges ahead.

John Mohler of Invest in Louisiana says projections indicate Louisiana could experience a significant budget shortfall by 2027.

The good news is that we have a standstill state budget, right now that the governor has proposed.

The bad news is it's not going to be standing still for very long.

And that's because starting next year, our expenses are going to get higher and our revenues are going to get lower.

And so we're going to be back to having budget shortfalls, budget deficits.

It's going to start out at a little over $300 million next year.

The year after that, it's going to grow to more than 600 million.

Three years from now, we're going to be at almost $1 billion gap between just keeping state government going at current levels and the revenues available to pay for those services.

Mohler says lawmakers will need to carefully balance new spending proposals with the state's long term budget outlook.

The governor, at his state of the state address this week talked about getting rid of the personal income tax.

I think that would be, immediately taking us in the wrong direction, because then you're going to just make the deficit worse.

Another thing is, is maybe don't spend new dollars on some of these programs that are in place, for example, the LA Gator scholarship program.

The LA Gator program provides funding for students attending private schools or being homeschooled.

And some lawmakers, like Senate President Cameron Henry, are questioning the need to expand funding for the program this year.

The governor's idea was to double the program.

He and I spoke, last week on it.

We don't really have a huge disagreement on it.

I think he understands my point.

I understand his point.

Let's wait a year to see if this program works, and then we can move forward with stats to show it's actually working.

With dozens of bills already filed.

Lawmakers will now spend the next several weeks debating policies ranging from education funding to economic incentives and the state budget.

Let's take a look at what's going on this week in the world of sports.

Sports correspondent Victor Hao joins us now with more.

What do you got this week, Victor?

It's March time.

That means it's basketball season.

Plenty of tournaments, lots of action and lots of drama.

We've got a lot of Louisiana teams that are still in the middle of it.

You know, for the last two years under a head coach, Will Wade, the McNeese men's basketball team won the Southland Conference tournament and went to the NCAA tournament last year, beating Clemson in round one for the school's first ever tournament.

Well, this year, Wade is at NC state.

Bill Armstrong is taking over.

This week they were in the finals again trying to make it three in a row.

The Cowboys, the number two seed facing top seeded.

And that falls to what a night it turned out for the wall and gold and for the third straight year, McNeese is headed to the dance, winning the South and title going away, 7659.

Now let's go.

Thursday was a matchup the same two schools on the women's side.

McNeese was the top seed, having won 21 straight games, facing number two Wsfa, who played just a week and a half ago.

McNeese won that one easily.

Well, this one was not easy, and a triumphant season came to a crash for McNeese.

They lose in the final.

Steven at Fosston defends the tournament title.

They will head to the NCAA tournament.

They beat McNeese 71 to 59.

Let's take you to Atlanta.

That's the whole city for the Swac men's and Women's Basketball tournament.

And both Southern Jaguar teams are alive and kicking.

The Lady Jags face Jackson State in the quarterfinals, and Olivia Dancy had herself a day.

18 points in just 16 minutes off the bench, and she had four three pointers to lead the Lady Jags.

The defense held Jay State to just 13 field goals.

And southern is headed to the semifinals with a 6451 win.

They'll face number one Alabama A&M in the semis.

And how about on the men's side facing Arkansas Pine Bluff in the quarters.

This one was tight back and forth the whole night.

We're going to take it late in the ballgame.

Watch Terrence Dixon on the inside.

Hits this off balance, circus style layup and the Jags have a one point lead.

Fast forward to three seconds to go.

Southern up for a pine bluff.

Has to get a free to tie the game.

And the Jags defense stands tall blocking the shot.

And southern wins it 8481.

They'll advance to the semifinals and face Florida A&M from Atlanta.

Let's go to the state of Alabama.

Conference USA action the Lady Texters from Louisiana Tech already in the semis.

The men trying to do the same taking on Middle Tennessee and the Duncan Boggs were ready.

Watch Cade Cooper.

He sets the screen up high down the lane, and Yancey puts a guy on a poster.

Huge play by Cade Cooper.

The Bulldogs look strong.

They had an outstanding ball game, and they do advance to the semifinals.

Louisiana Tech beat Little Tennessee by the score of 8269.

Finally, a story from New England that just makes you say, man sports.

You might have heard of the tragic story last month in Rhode Island, where Colin Dawkins brother, mother and grandfather were killed in a mass shooting at a hockey rink by another family member who then killed himself.

The community was rocked.

Sports at Blackstone Valley was put on hold, while on Wednesday of this week, Blackstone Valley Hockey was back at the arena on the ice, wearing memorial patches for Dawkins family facing Portsmouth in the Rhode Island Division two state semifinals.

Double overtime.

Portsmouth, with a chance to win it.

Can't get a shot off.

We're going the other way and look who gets the break away.

None other than Colin Dorgan, who scores five hole with 48 seconds to go and his team wins it in double overtime 3 to 2.

On to the state championships.

They go.

As you can imagine, he was mobbed by his teammates.

They said afterwards, quote, it was the greatest moment of my life.

Sports just sometimes does that.

And you see that.

You have to know people were looking over him and you just say, man, sports what it can do for you.

Sometimes it's quite a moment.

A touching moment.

Victor.

Thank you.

Well, from strong European roots to a culture built on tradition.

Parts of Livingston Parish share a history that stretches beyond Louisiana.

The President of Hungary visited the area and recognized the descendants working to preserve the Hungarian heritage.

Check it out.

It's a tiny slice of Europe tucked away in the deep Louisiana woods, the quiet community of a Hungarian settlement celebrating a historic milestone.

As Hungary's president visited the historical area.

We visited some places to learn about the original Hungarian emigrants and Louisiana.

All right, let's go check it out.

Hi.

Welcome to the Hungarian Settlement Museum.

Come on in.

This museum was a school building originally built in the early 1900s.

And today it preserves artifact and immigration records for generations of Hungarian families.

In the year 2000.

A group of local Hungarians passed by this old building and said.

Why don't we make this into a museum?

Alex Cropper and his wife, Marianne have been honoring their Hungarian heritage all of their lives, and now they operate the museum.

Capturing and maintaining this unique culture.

Well, this building first had to be refurbished.

It was terrible.

So it's pretty good shape today.

And so Alex and I have written grants to add a lot of these things that you see.

The original settlement was founded in 1896 by three Hungarian men taking on the job of cutting down pine trees.

And they recruited Hungarians from different parts of the world, all to move down to Louisiana.

The Hungarians came from the northern countries.

They didn't want to go up there, stay there.

They wanted to come out on their own property, raise their own foods, because they were agrarian people in Hawaii anyway.

So they came here and they wanted to do the same thing.

Today, the area is believed to be the largest Hungarian rural settlement in all of the United States.

Maintaining old churches and a museum.

Preserving their history for future generations.

We have a lot of local history.

We also house Hungarian history in here.

We would encourage people to come in and take advantage of what we have.

When the mills closed, the Hungarian people didn't know what to do.

They had to start their own new business.

They turned to full time farming.

They started farming the strawberries in the late 1870s.

Joe Earley is councilman of the district and grew up on one of the strawberry farms.

Like my grandpa over here, his grandpa right down here and over here, they decided to plant strawberries.

On a whim.

Well, lo and behold, it grew great.

They put a field out and it blossomed.

Frank Fogarty has been harvesting strawberries full time on his old farm since he was just a child growing up in Albany.

So 100 years ago, strawberries were big.

Oh, yeah.

Real big.

They came from Hungary.

Just, grow strawberries.

We had a coal mine.

Coal mines get black long.

So they newspaper came.

So I come down, work in the mill and grow you some strawberries.

So they did.

The Hungarian settlement pioneered the industry and advertised the fertile land in Hungarian language newspapers across the Midwest to attract more settlers.

This is like a strawberry growing fresh right now.

Fresh, ready to take call a mall.

But we're going to take it today.

But thank you.

They are hot.

They kind of, Farmer Berry too.

So when this rain comes and fall, they don't rot as bad.

A few residents today speak the Hungarian language.

The culture of the settlement remains strong through several landmarks and events, like the Hungarian Heritage Day in the spring and the Hungarian Harvest Dance in October.

It's a tradition that we carry on, in this community and, even though the language is slowly fading away that this, Hungarian harvest endures.

Other parts of the museum feature original tools that were used in the lumber yards, unique clothes, and even original Hungarian pets.

These dogs came to the United States from Hungary to help the Americans to their sheep herding, and their hunting.

And we don't want to forget where our dogs come from.

There are two graveyards representing the original split between the Catholic Church and the Presbyterian Church.

Graveyards serve as a living record of the community, as local residents can walk through the rows of graves and a brick garden to honor family and loved ones.

Well, this is where the locals and, the country can honor their families.

Honor their memories, honor their things that are important to them.

The Hungarian community was also successful opposing a proposal to rezone land along Strawberry Lane for industrial use.

We don't want this place messed up.

We don't want big industry.

We don't mind people building a grocery store, a beauty shop.

You know, a mechanic shop, whatever.

Flower shots.

But we don't want a smokestack.

Industry in this Hungarian set of.

Traditions remains strong in Louisiana's Hungarian settlement, maintaining the culture and history for the descendants of original Hungarian settlers.

From the annual harvest dance in October to the Hungary presidential visit.

The community of mergers in Louisiana may continue for another century.

To.

In this week's Le Speaks.

Exclusive video shows an expert collecting samples from a pond feeding the tangible Ohio River near Roseland plant explosion.

The results reveal high levels of forever chemicals now being sent to the EPA.

I spoke with testing expert Scott Smith about what this could mean for nearby residents.

Joining me now is independent testing expert Scott Smith.

Scott, nice to see you again.

Thanks for having me back, Christina.

The last time we saw one another, we were on the ground in Roseland.

You were collecting water samples from a pond.

You have those results.

What did you find?

Well, that pond is actually part of the tangible, whole river.

Everything that drains out of Smitty's through the whole drainage ditch network flows into the whole river.

At that point, high levels of dioxins.

We found PFOA, the firefighting foam, chemicals.

And the key thing, Christina, is the fingerprint we're finding matches.

The ground zero ditches right outside the fence.

Smitty's outside the fence has ditches where all their wastewater flows.

And every time there's a rainstorm, everything from that explosion and fire flows through the ditches.

And the drainage system that all connects to pond four that flows into the river.

You also have pictures of that dam.

We were there on site.

We saw some of the chemicals going into the river.

And at one point you did say that on camera.

This pond is clearly flowing right into the township, Ohio River.

It's not just oil, it's other chemicals and a variety of other things called products of incomplete combustion, like dioxin.

Yes, I did say I mean, I said I did not want to be right about this, but I was standing with you on that dam saying, look at the discharge right into the Tanja river that we need to find out and test and find out what's in this water and what is discharging the Tanja Paul River.

Unfortunately, we now have the answers and there's high levels of a whole host of chemicals.

And we now know what people are breathing, what people are stepping in the water and what they're encountering every day when they walk around the community.

The high levels of dioxins and forever chemicals for people out there who don't know what that is, what is it and how?

How is it harmful to a person's health?

Yeah.

Forever chemicals.

They don't go away.

They build up in your body.

They don't break down on the environment.

And you've got dioxins being one product of incomplete combustion.

They don't go away.

They build up in your body.

That's what makes them different.

That's why health experts are so concerned.

What are some of the symptoms?

Everything from cancer, from respiratory issues, endocrine disruption, mutations on and on and on.

I want to talk about Palestine, Ohio.

You've been on the national news lately, talking about your results there.

We found in August of 2025 that the dioxins essentially forever chemicals by a factor of four, 300% higher.

We went to somebody's house and we watched an independent tester who this community has been using.

This is water coming back up into your basement.

I'm very sorry.

I'm very sorry.

What are the levels there compared to the levels of what we're seeing in Rose Lake?

I can speak to the water.

The water in East Palestine and one of the creeks, it was about.

And teak dioxin index of.

You know, nine and in that pond that day on October 13th, when you were there with me, it was 48.

So it's substantially higher.

And to know it's so much higher than East Palestine, that is concerning.

It's very concerning.

And then beyond being higher on dioxins in the water, it's the extent of the mixtures of the chemicals.

What do you do with these new findings, or are you going to present them to the EPA?

My door remains open to the EPA.

Ever since East Palestine, I've been on record.

So far, they have refused to sit down and talk to me.

The leak testing from the ditches and the drains into the ponds, into the river matches my testing.

There's no dispute on the testing results.

But if you don't test it, you can't find it.

You can't find what you don't look for.

There's got to be harmful effects to also animals.

I interviewed that one couple who said their dog was getting sick.

I think he said since then, the dog has died.

About a year and a half.

One of the dogs just recently died.

And it's, you know, it appears to be from exposure and, you know, being in that river.

What comes next for you?

Continued to monitor the whole river.

We've just completed another round of testing.

Now it's key on the riverbanks.

What we've learned from Palestine, it's a creek there.

And the banks are where the contamination accumulates and doesn't go away.

The good news is we can understand exactly what the contamination is.

We can bring in and talk to people that can remediated and solve the problems and restore the environment.

Well, so nice to see you again.

Thank you so much for your time, and thank you for the work you're doing on the ground.

Thanks for having me, Christina.

The EPA says crews have recovered more than 11 million gallons of contaminated liquid from the site, including material from the Ohio River and nearby ponds.

Officials say monitoring has not found an immediate threat to public health, but testing and cleanup are still underway.

And the nation is gearing up to recognize the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

The Louisiana State Museum at the Cabildo in New Orleans served as the primary headquarters for Spanish Governor Bernardo de Galvez.

Now there's a new exhibit showcasing Louisiana's role in the U.S.

fight for freedom.

It's called Galvez and Louisiana in the American Revolution.

The humid air hung heavy over the swamps, says Louisiana Governor Bernardo de Galvez continued his advance with a militia of men from all around the world.

Wading through knee deep swamps of marsh and mud.

Can best decide he's going to strike first.

He's not going to wait for the British to come try to take over New Orleans.

He's going to bring it to them.

They had support from Acadian refugees here in Louisiana, from the free black militia, enslaved individuals, Native Americans, the Canary Islanders, who they brought up from, from the Gulf Islands to help them fight against the British.

It's been 250 years since the American Revolution.

And museums are remembering Louisiana's role.

This is Galveston, Louisiana, for the American Revolution.

Louisiana State Museum is honoring more than just the northern battles of New England, New York and New Jersey, but also the muddy trenches of the South, where the British grip finally slipped.

The Spanish actually on the Louisiana Territory during the American Revolution.

And they had a vested interest in keeping the British from taking control of the New World.

Rebecca mackey is the director of the Louisiana State Museum and is now working on America to 50, a landmark exhibition exploring the life of Spanish Governor Bernardo Galvez and the diverse group of people who fought for Mexican independence.

These are some of the most important artifacts buildings not only in New Orleans, but in all of the Southeastern United States.

Britain was fighting America and had the idea of using the Mississippi River to gather troops on the west side of the 13 Colonies.

But Galvez had a plan.

Galvez actually sort of fools the British.

He he tells some of his soldiers to sort of go to the other side and make a lot of noise and think, thinking that that's where the attacks are going to come from.

But instead, Gamez sets up his cannons and starts firing on Fort Richmond, and the British surrender.

Not long after.

You can imagine, they start marching to Baton Rouge in August and September.

Up along.

The Mississippi, it's.

Pretty hot.

They actually have to drag some of the boats and their cannons up along the riverbanks.

The British forces were caught off guard and soundly defeated in the Battle of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Settlers weren't just fighting for a distant land.

They were carving out a home known as the American South.

There are visual and immersive displays all around the museum, with 40 handmade mannequins that are life sized and dressed in detailed, historically accurate costumes, all representing the diverse coalition that fought under Galvis.

We wanted to have an exhibit that the people of Louisiana would identify with.

And so while most of the country is celebrating the success of the battles that happened in the original 13 Colonies, Louisiana at times was called the 14th colony.

We weren't part of colonial America at the time, but the Mississippi River was so instrumental in securing, the land here and success in the battles, that New Orleans became an epicenter, during the, during the American Revolution.

This lady right here is my fourth generation great grandmother.

And I've been doing research into my family's history for many, many years.

Michael Henderson is a retired military officer who was born and raised in New Orleans.

After researching family history over the years.

He came across information linking him to Spanish colonial slavery, where his grandmother, Agnes, helped America gain independence 250 years ago.

At the core of my story is a document which you will see right here.

It represents the intersection of slavery and freedom in Spanish colonial Louisiana during the American Revolution.

Agnes formed a relationship with a Frenchman who traveled to New Orleans and was under the command of General Galvez at the time of the American Revolution.

It's open to the page where his signature, but not all Galvez signature is located right here.

Agnes participated in, the ability to, get herself self purchase under the Spanish.

That was the difference in terms of how the Spanish viewed enslaved individuals.

There were many ways slaves were able to gain their freedom.

Sometimes it was to the militia or military service, the protection of, say, for instance, the master of the home or the mistress of the home.

The drama of the first battle of Spanish fire is now being remembered in the historical displays.

And so proud to be able to be here as a living memorial to stitch together these two different aspects of not only French and Spanish colonial slavery, but also Spain's participation in the American Revolution.

As the U.S.

is gearing up for its big 250th birthday, you can now see how Louisiana's own heroes played a big part in America's fight for independence.

Need to check out that exhibit, Johnny, I was really something.

Well, that's our show for this week.

Remember, you can watch anything LPB, any time, wherever you are with our LPB app.

And you can catch LPB news and public affairs shows, as well as other Louisiana programs that you've come to enjoy over the years.

And please like us on Facebook and Instagram.

For everyone at Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

I'm Christina Jensen.

And I'm Johnnie Adkins.

And until next time, that's the state we're in.

Support for Louisiana, the state we're in is provided by Entergy.

Louisiana is strengthening our power grid throughout the state.

We're reinforcing infrastructure to prepare for stronger storms, reduce outages, and respond quicker when you do need us.

Because together we power life.

Additional support provided by the Fred B and Ruth B Ziegler Foundation and the Ziegler Art Museum.

Located in Jennings City Hall, the museum focuses on emerging Louisiana artists and is a historical and cultural center for Southwest Louisiana and by Visit Baton Rouge.

And the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

And viewers like you.

Thank you.