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 Zigler Foundation and the Zigler 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.

Many Louisiana business owners are struggling to stay in business with unaffordable commercial auto insurance premiums.

Part two of driving into debt looks at their plight.

And LSU star Jay Johnson is helping wipe out millions of dollars in debt for Louisiana families.

Plus, longtime basketball coach Danny Broussard is stepping up to the national stage.

Victor Houle has more, and I'm taking you back in history to explore New Orleans.

His role as the original Sin City.

Let's get started.

All right.

Hello, everyone.

I'm Karen Leblanc and I'm Dorothea Wilson.

Much more on those top stories in a moment on this week's edition of Louisiana, the state we're In.

But first, Louisiana's auto insurance rates don't just affect the average driver.

They also cause challenges for commercial entities like trucking companies that often struggle to afford coverage.

I'm breaking it all down in part two of my series, Driving into Debt.

Cory Henry is a farmer and owns a trucking company in Morris, Louisiana that transports crops, fertilizer, and equipment for farmers.

He says he feels like a moving target for lawsuits.

Every lawyer's got one on commercial and sue the big truck.

They're always at fault, people are going out looking for trucks just to pull out in front of.

And we can't stop these things on a dime.

Corey says his commercial vehicle insurance has doubled since he started his trucking company in 2015.

We can't afford to insure them for what they're worth.

If we get in a wreck of some happen storm, we just got to take our loss and start over.

Corey Henry Trucking is one of many Louisiana businesses struggling to stay in business.

Given the high insurance rates in the state and Louisiana's litigious tendencies Currently, how many companies are riding commercial vehicle insurance policies in the state of Louisiana here regularly?

Less than five, though it's been very tough for business owners to keep up with the rates.

Honestly, the challenges are predominately the the claims.

The claims come in, whether they're warranted or not.

adding to his anxiety, Corey says one of his trucks appears in a personal injury attorney TV commercial.

Without his knowledge and without his permission.

Friend of mine called and said, your truck's on TV.

So that's on a lawyer commercial, and they didn't have my permission to put it on there.

Louisiana is ranked number ten on the Judicial Hellhole list in 2025.

The list is published by the American Tort Reform Association, which claims litigious ness in Louisiana has been a concern for some time, as suggested by attorney advertising figures.

Lawsuit.

Climate surveys and claims data.

Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple is in charge of insurance rate regulation, and says auto and commercial insurance claims should not be a windfall, but rather a way to make an injured person whole again.

You should be able to seek justice and receive justice.

This is not about an enrichment.

And right now, in the state of Louisiana, again, the laws allow, frivolous, litigations, some excessive litigation.

I'm not for that.

And that probably makes a lot of attorneys not happy with me.

But this is about bringing balance, you have been wronged you, you are entitled to restitution.

The Insurance commissioners staff does an actuarial evaluation of each insurance rate request to verify its justification.

Commissioner temple can't author insurance reform legislation, but he can support it in the state of Louisiana.

We filed over twice the national average of bodily injury claims.

We also have over twice the national average to litigate.

One of the things that people don't understand is that we have really large limits on our insurance policies, and that is the reason why you can drive down the interstate and you're almost every mile.

To the extent in the state of Louisiana, and you'll see a lawyer standing on top of a truck.

It's a system in the state of Louisiana where we feel like the cake is baked before we ever walk into the courtroom.

Todd Hine owns Hine Environmental Services in Sulfur, Louisiana.

He founded the company in 2004 with one pickup truck.

Today, his company owns 11 trucks and employs 18 people hauling solid and liquid waste.

Last year, whenever we went through our renewal, by the previous year, I was paying about 340,000 for, premium.

And that's for all lines for general liability, auto excess pollution.

My initial quote was $1.4 million, 8 or 9 years ago, I was playing, about the 11, $13,000 per truck.

Today I pay about 49,000 per truck.

I've had to cut, benefits, like group health insurance.

Retirement, had to cut pay.

to get through.

I've looked at locations in Texas.

Where?

20 miles from the state line.

you know, it's Louisiana's not a business friendly state, especially for small businesses.

Leaders for a better Louisiana released a report ranking Louisiana's having the highest auto insurance rates in the South.

The nonprofit focused on economic and workforce development, believes high commercial vehicle insurance rates are bad for business.

The challenge is that when you when you ask business owners where the headwinds are facing these, they're among the highest concerns that they will relate.

What we're hoping for is by bringing forward data and and simply opening up this conversation, we're encouraging folks to find kind of common sense approaches where everybody can agree and get some changes implemented this year to try to offer some relief to to the citizens and businesses of our state.

A different side of the insurance reform debate focuses on the authority of Louisiana's insurance commissioner to deem rates excessive and insurance agency's loss ratio, a metric that measures profitability.

This shows that, an auto in general, the companies are doing very well.

The Louisiana Association for justice brought forth data for lawmakers from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, which is considered the gold standard resource for informing policy and legislation Consultant Jay Angle recommends that the legislature give the insurance commissioner more power to regulate rates.

I have the ability to prohibit inhibit, insurance companies from charging rates that aren't actuarially justified.

I think we start getting into a difference of philosophical thoughts on what is high, what's excessive, what's justified?

In my next report, I'll look at possible solutions to Louisiana's auto insurance crisis.

Louisiana business owners say the need for insuring reform is urgent, as many commercial transportation services, from delivery trucks to limo drivers and 18 wheelers, drive into debt with rising insurance premiums.

It scares me every day to get out on the road, but we got to do it.

And they all say, you know, like me, send me to Baton Rouge.

I'll make Louisiana a better state.

They want to make Louisiana better state.

They have to quick follow on political policies of the past, because that's what got us to the point we are today.

We have a follow up.

Now.

The state Supreme Court has tossed out a lawsuit over amendment two on this month's ballot.

The amendment would change several funding sources, as well as lower a cap on state income taxes, among other changes.

A group of voters sued, saying the language on the ballot was misleading and didn't reflect the full impact of the amendment.

The Supreme Court's majority ruled the language as fair and unbiased.

LPB is once again honoring a special group of young people who have gone above and beyond to help others.

That's right.

And our 2025 Louisiana Young Heroes are six exceptional students who are role models in their communities.

So let's meet them right now, beginning with Jessica Anderson of Youngsville, a junior at South Side High School.

Gabrielle Gabby Essex of Natchitoches, a senior at Natchitoches Central High School, and Mateo Guerrero of Bossier City, a senior at Bossier High School.

Jared Lane of Saint Francisville, a junior at West Feliciana High School.

William Matthews of Baton Rouge, a senior at Bellaire Magnet School.

And Ja█Nika Stanley of Baton Rouge, a senior at Liberty Magnet High School, are also among the young heroes.

That's right.

And LPB.

Louisiana Young Heroes program is presented with generous support from presenting sponsors.

the East Baton Rouge Parish Library, the Gayle and Tom Benson Charitable Foundation, and Fishman, Haygood, with title sponsors Community Coffee and Origin Hotel, Baton Rouge, with additional support from the U.S. Army Baton Rouge Recruiting Battalion.

Demco and McDonalds.

over the next few weeks, we will highlight these young heroes right here on Louisiana, the state we're in, so you can learn more at LPB Young Heroes.

And you'll be doing these reports, which I really look forward to me too, Karen.

Me too.

Now on to some other good news.

5000 Louisiana families will see big relief thanks to Experian Credit Bureau.

The company plans to eliminate $5 million in debt.

And they're partnering with Guess Who?

LSU basketball star Flau█jae Johnson to make it all happen.

I spoke with Flau█jae to see why financial literacy is so important.

With March Madness on the horizon, LSU's Flora Johnson expresses her excitement about returning to the court and her recent partnership with Experian to encourage financial literacy.

is always a pleasure and a privilege to be able to represent a brand as so big and then be able to do things in the community that aligns with my values and what I believe in.

So it's been amazing.

Johnson shares that as a top collegiate athlete, managing her finances through name, image and likeness agreements has taught her many valuable lessons, and she's excited to provide those same life changing lessons and significant opportunity to over 5000 residents of Louisiana.

I'm hoping that they change lives and relieve some stress from people.

It's hard to get over when you already under, like, you know what I'm saying?

So that's why I like with this definitely program.

Just so excited to expand it.

Forgive coach are going to, like, identify the people you know and help wipe out the dirt like, whatever, but for me, that's going to change lives, you know what I'm saying?

And just being able to partner with people to really help people, I don't know, just doing a brand new of I'm not just doing this for to be on TV like now, like we really trying to change some lives.

So this is very important for me.

Recognizing that Louisiana faces one of the highest poverty rates nationwide, Experian has teamed up with Forgive Co to identify eligible beneficiaries.

The partnership aims to alleviate $5 million in consumer debt for over 5000 families in the state, highlighting the company's dedication to enhancing consumers financial well-being.

Well, you know, we're our mission, really.

And experience is to enable financial power for all.

And, you know, it's about helping people address their financial health, and to find ways to help people reduce debt, and therefore be able to expand their financial well-being.

If they can reduce the debt loads, we can help them through other resources and tools.

Helping with their credit history can help them access lower cost financial services and help them have a better financial life.

Rod Griffin, public education and advocacy director at Experian, emphasizes that as one of the big three credit bureaus, they have a responsibility to create pathways for debt relief and financial stability.

we understand debt and credit and the importance of financial health and the role we can help play.

So if we can help reduce debts for families, it can help them have a brighter financial future and perhaps get back on their feet if they're having some challenges.

And we know that, sadly, Louisiana has one of the highest rates of poverty in the country.

And we want to be able to try to make a difference there.

In addition to its promised $5 million in debt relief, Griffin announces that for every LSU win in the tournament, Experian will contribute an extra $100,000 to the fund with a maximum of $500,000.

Now, that was music to flags Johnson's ears, and the superstar guard says she's up for the challenge.

we are arguably 5 million, but it's like give you a sense of like, okay, now you get to have more and more people like, you know what I'm saying?

So but you know, as a competitive, I'm already locked in.

I'm trying to win.

But this is definitely good.

You actually kick like, well, you are really, really even more than 5 million a day.

Every game we win additional honey.

Okay.

So I'm definitely going to be thinking about the official In his four decades at Saint Thomas, More and Lafayette, coach Danny Broussard has made the Cougars one of the best high school basketball programs in the country.

Now he is being honored on the national stage and right here in Louisiana.

Sports correspondent Victor Howell sat down with Coach Broussard.

So let's all take a look.

Well, it's not often you get to sit with a legend, and he's not going to like being called that.

But he is a legend in the high school race.

Head coach Danny Broussard here at Saint Thomas More in Lafayette.

Thanks for joining, coach.

Good to see you.

Good to see you too.

Yeah.

No, I don't like I don't like that at all, Victor.

I was just we're just kind of joking about it.

I'm just a small town boy born and raised in South Leroy.

So, what did you get?

What you get what you get the job done, and we're going to talk about that in just a second.

So many things I want to ask you.

First and foremost, because your season just ended up.

Congratulations.

State runner up again.

Yeah.

Six state titles, five state runner ups.

I know that really shows how tough it is to get there, let alone how tough it is to win one.

And you have half a dozen under your belt, but just about your season and the fight that you guys had this year, I tell you, I'm not sure I've had a more rewarding season than this year.

You know, we lost all of our guys from last year.

We had one starter back.

We lost 90% of our scoring and we were like, where's the scoring going to come from, Victor?

It really never came.

But our defense was unbelievable.

I mean, we averaged 39.5 points a game given up this year, which is a new school record.

Our guys bought into defense.

I mean, I'll tell you, we guarded, and, Man, I'm so proud.

You know.

Yeah, you'd love to be a state champion.

But you know what, Victor?

I've known for a long time.

And like you said, a lot of things have to happen to just even get there.

And, man, I'm so proud of this team.

And, I'm really proud of the state runner up.

It says a lot about the character of our young man this year.

Well, you should be proud of.

And you said you've been doing a long time, 43 years.

And your first year you actually worked with your brother, who then left and you took over.

Did you ever think back then when you were taking over, that 43 years later, you'd still be hanging banners and coaching basketball?

When I took over the first year, I thought I was going to be a one year and done.

One and done.

Yeah, because I was 20.

I was 23 years old.

So now they can hire somebody that has a lot of experience.

I figured I'd have one year being the head coach at STM, and I go back to being an assistant and, you know, way back.

Jake Boller, I got a job with my athletic director and brother, George Moore.

They took a chance on me.

I was so young, but they said, you know, Jake, with the bag for me, I could do it.

My brother Ricky went to bad for me.

He said, look, I know he's young, but he can handle this job.

And they gave me a chance and I made the most of that one that one year, and they kept me on.

The McDonald's All-American game has always been one of the showcase games for the top talent in the country, and this year, one of the head coaches for the McDonald's All-American team is Danny Broussard.

What was that like?

Because talk about an honor.

You be from a small town, you're going to the biggest of towns to coach the McDonald's.

All the best in the country.

Yeah.

When I when I asked us, when is this game?

She said, April 1st.

Victor, I swear to God, the first thing in my mind is somebody playing a joke joke on me.

And I asked her that she goes, coach, you'll be coaching the McDonald's All-American game.

So where is it?

She goes to Berkeley and I'm like, oh man, I'm going to be in the Barclays Center on April.

April the 1st.

Yeah.

Victor, I mean, it is, you know, God, what can you say man, to be able to coach, you know, the best players in the United States of America.

me and my staff are meeting much.

Another thing.

Look, you know, she told me I could pick anybody.

And I'll be honest with you a lot of a lot of my guys who I've been coaching against for years entered my mind, you know, in the first start, because there's some great coaches out there.

And then I said to myself, I, I said, but I can bring my staff.

God.

She goes, oh, absolutely.

So I said, well, I want to bring my two guys.

I want to bring Wesley Curtis and Ryan Welty because, man, you know, those guys have been have been awesome for us know what else I'm excited about?

I'm excited about going to Yankee Stadium for the opening day.

I'm a baseball guy, too.

Now, look, I'm.

Yeah, so I've always wanted to go to Yankee Stadium.

I'm going to see Opening Day on the Thursday before.

We're going to go a couple of days early and with Thursday's Open at Yankee Stadium.

So I'm just excited about that as I am coaching today, I was going to ask, what do you want?

I thought you were supposed to go for basketball.

You seem more excited about going to New York for the first time in 40 years.

Tell me it's.

Yeah, it's it's, it's a whirlwind.

It's going to be a whirlwind week, but looking really forward to it.

And I'm going, I told myself, hey, I'm going to I'm not going to stress out.

I want to win.

Now look how much I like when I look at those guys the first time I say, guys, congrats on getting here.

I know it's great, but I said, we want to win this game.

one of the big accolades you're getting is going to be the summer when you're in the class of 2025 for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.

Congratulations on that one.

Look forward to seeing that on LPB over the summer.

But what was that honor like when you got the call or if you will, or you had or however you were notified that you're going into the hall?

You told me earlier, thinking about the people who are in the hall kind of made you step back a little bit.

Yeah, I'll tell you.

I'll tell you.

It was a Sunday.

I know I was in my swimming pool watching a baseball game in the summertime and I got, I'm in, I'm in the sport and I got a call.

Hey, coach, this is Kevin Foot.

Hey, Kevin.

Hey.

What are you doing?

I'm in the spring pool.

Well, I'm here to tell you that you just got nomination, and you're going to be in the Sports Hall of Fame.

And then I was taken aback by, you know, like, golly, what is.

It's a dream, you know?

And, you know, you you never go into this business thinking about any of that, right?

You just go in, you you coach, you do what you love doing.

And, I never would have dreamed I could, you know, be in this.

And like you said, after he called me, I said, man, I'm going to go in the sports hall of Fame here all the time.

But who's in it, man?

You start seeing Pistol Pete.

Shaq.

What am I about?

Terry Bradshaw was an all time favorite.

When I see Terry Bradshaw, all the Manning boys, you're like, God, man, you know what I mean?

And with those guys, it's pretty awesome.

I know you probably don't reflect a lot because you are still so busy with coaching and what you do, but the fact of the matter is, you are top ten in the country, nationwide for career wins and number three active.

If you ever sit back and just think about that journey from being an assistant under your brother to taking over to where you are now, it's it's mind boggling to take it to the no.

22.

I was 28 wins a year.

You have to have so much consistency, you know, and it has been so fortunate that you I think it's a I think the culture we set and the tradition, you know, no, no kid wants to come in here and say, oh, we're we're going to have a losing season.

I didn't have one of those.

Vic I was blessed to have one of those.

He kind of put things in perspective that, you know, hey, man, look, sometimes it don't go your way, it just it just it is what it is.

I don't think about it.

I just, I just coach our guys and to try to be the best we can be, we try to be the best team we can be.

And, you know, whatever happened on that outside of that happens.

And, and I really haven't put much thought process to that at all, to be honest.

New Orleans is known for excess and indulgence.

And that reputation goes back to the city's origins.

Early in its history, the city was home to the infamous Storyville, known for its risque culture.

I toured the Storyville Museum to learn more about the area's contributions to Louisiana culture.

it up.

No, New Orleans has long been dubbed America's Sin City, known for its gambling, thriving jazz scene and legal brothels.

Trade stemming from over 100 years ago when it had a district called Storyville.

Storyville was the infamous red light district located behind the French Quarter on Basin Street, nestled between Canal Street and Saint Louis Cemetery Number one.

It operated from 1897 until 1917, when the U.S. Navy forced its closure during World War One, more than a century later.

Call Sadlier curator of the Storyville Museum.

Decided it was time to unveil the compelling story of Storyville and its rich historical context, challenging widespread perceptions.

it was the capital of culture.

We were the capital of, banking and financing and shipping.

And of course, that led to a lot of what we have today.

You know, the music, the food, just the rich culture.

And so this museum is really a platform to tell that story.

Closs, a native New Orleanian, beamed with pride while sharing the history of the old red light district and its significant contribution to the development of jazz, highlighting some of the renowned artists from that time whom we continue to celebrate today.

Storyville was actually right at the time, jazz started and was such as, it just maybe started a few years before Storyville came in existence.

But wouldn't have happening is because there were 30 or more, clubs and saloons.

There was just this huge demand for, artists and musicians.

And these are the early jazz musicians.

So they had a place that they could play every night.

They needed 2 or 300 and 1 or 2 musicians, and a lot of people were coming to sort of will not necessarily to hear music for other things, obviously.

Yeah.

So what did end up happening is all these musicians had this chance to sort of experiment.

And really that's how jazz got started.

It was very it was very hot music.

And it's a very experimentation.

And it just allowed them to, to, to do this on a nightly basis.

people like, you know, Louis Armstrong, when he was, he was just a teenager at the time, but he used to deliver coal, actually, to some of the places in Storyville.

And he would listen to the music, and he got inspired to be a jazz musician.

Jelly Roll Morton was one of the, famous jazz musicians.

He got his start actually playing piano in a brothel when he was 16.

Secretly, he told his parents he was working the night shift at the barrel making factory.

Wow.

Yeah.

And he would sneak off and he'd play piano, and then he would take on basically the equivalent of, like, $500 a night as a 16 year old kid.

He then guided me through a tour of the museum, essentially a live history lesson about New Orleans and what better way to start than at the very beginning.

The origins of the Crescent City.

the museum actually starts, with the founding of New Orleans.

It actually starts a few years before that.

A lot of people might not realize New Orleans was actually a French colony before it was an American city.

And it's all started back in the, the late 1600s when France, claimed all the territory that was drained by the Mississippi River for, the French government.

And New Orleans was settled because they needed a city, to actually be part of the French settlement.

And they, decided on New Orleans, which was about 90 miles up the, up from the Gulf.

And, Bienville was our founding father of the city, and he actually was, French-Canadian and New Orleans was, founded in 1718.

So the museum really starts with this French influence that really permeates, you know, into our food these days, into a lot of our culture.

The next section of the museum really showcased the growth New Orleans experienced after it became a part of America.

And following the Louisiana Purchase.

So this is when Thomas Jefferson negotiated to buy pretty much a third of the United States from France for the equivalent of $0.04 an acre is the cheapest land deal of all time.

Wow.

But of course, that opened up the Mississippi to trade.

Yeah, and with that came just a really a growth city.

So New Orleans ended up becoming in a very quick, period of time, the third largest city in America.

The Battle of New Orleans followed, representing the final clash of the War of 1812.

General Jackson, with his troops, faced significantly greater odds against the British.

Nevertheless, he clearly developed a strategy by recruiting pirate John the Foot and a motley militia.

This alliance enabled them to defeat the British, who were unfamiliar with the local waterways.

The British incurred more than 2000 casualties, while America losses totaled only 71.

This battle effectively marked a turning point, launching the Great Scarlet Migration.

they would have women that would follow the soldiers and they would they would cook for them.

They would, you know, help them with their clothes.

They would be nurses, and they would also be offered companionship for a price, of course.

So.

So these ladies get to New Orleans, and we still had a wall around the city, so they weren't allowed to actually come into the the French water, which was the main part of the city at the time.

So with the help of Jackson and his troops, they actually created an encampment for them.

Just on the other side of, Basin Street or Rampart Street.

Yeah.

Which ended up becoming Storyville 100 years later.

Completely ironically.

Yeah.

And the rest is history.

that's our show for this week.

Remember you can watch anything LPB anytime wherever you are with our LPB app.

That's right.

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

And please like us on Facebook and Instagram for everyone at Louisiana Public Broadcasting, I'm Karen LeBlanc and I'm Dorothea Wilson.

Until next time.

That's the state we're in.

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 Zigler Foundation and the Zigler 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 Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center.

Visit Baton Rouge and the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting and viewers like you.

Thank you.