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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 and Ruth Ziegler Foundation and the Ziegler Art Museum located in Jennings City Hall.

The museum focuses on emerging Louisiana artists and is an historical and cultural center for Southwest Louisiana and the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana.

Public Broadcasting.

With support from viewers like you.

Want the latest news on the insurance crisis?

April is Donate Life Month.

We'll bring you the story of a Louisiana organization working to save lives.

And a report paints a grim picture of Louisiana's reproductive health landscape.

It's strawberry season and we'll explore the unique traditions tied to the berry.

Are you ready?

I'm ready.

Let's do this.

All right.

I, for one, am cursing fear, and I'm carrying along.

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

But first, many people in Louisiana are scrambling to make ends meet as their homeowner's insurance premiums skyrocket after a series of storms caused major damage across the state.

More than 20 insurance companies left Louisiana or refused to take on new customers.

Now lawmakers are at odds over ways to help homeowners cover their rising costs.

I started prepared in the inside, in my closet for my closet, and I started telling my son that we some of us go, we are going to get in the closet and some could get in the bathtub or in the hallway, you know, to protect ourselves.

Hurricane Ida barreled through south Louisiana as a Category four.

Devastating homes and businesses in New Orleans.

Janet Tobias didn't evacuate.

She stayed inside her house in uptown when the paints all around that was blown out by the wind.

Thank God we didn't have moved damage and some of the poor material that was blown are broken because of the wind.

The damage to Tobias, his house was minimal.

Window panes and portrayals were an easy fix.

The real problem was our homeowners insurance rate.

I did not expect any prices to go up for one year.

I was paying 2000 before IDA.

And then after I started, pay it both out and now I'm paid 11,000 closer, 12,000, 11,700 for the same home.

Tobias as Insurance Company Americas went under after the storm, leaving Tobias with few options to choose from.

Her new policy would steadily increase a little over 2000 each year, with a near $6,000 increase from 2023 to now.

How are you managing paying almost $12,000 for homeowner's insurance?

It is a big hardship because our quality life have changed.

We were able to travel a lot.

I can't do that anymore.

Tobias A story isn't uncommon.

After Hurricane Ida, more than 20 insurance companies went belly up or refused to write new policies, leaving people like Tobias with only a few companies to choose from and an ever increasing policy rate.

The legislation that we're bringing that you will see brought to the capital.

It's not experimental.

Louisiana's newest insurance commissioner, Tim Temple, proposed a slew of insurance company friendly bills aimed at reducing restrictions.

Temple says the bills will create competition and level out skyrocketing premiums in the process for bills from Temple's agenda gained favorable majority votes in the Senate Insurance Committee.

Senate Bill 3 to 3, Senate Bill 250, Senate Bill 295 and Senate Bill 370.

The first limits the penalty insurance companies pay if a judge finds they've purposely avoided paying a policyholder what they owe.

The second removes the insurance company's name from a lawsuit.

If the company isn't directly being sued.

The third allows insurance companies to raise rates without going through the insurance department first.

And the last would eliminate Louisiana's unique three year rule, which keeps insurance companies from dropping policyholders if they've been with the company for three years or more.

Each bill sailed through committee, but not without criticism.

It still is of a real concern to me that that everything is done to favor the insurance industry with no guarantees that is going to lead to a reduction in rates.

Democrats on the Senate committee questioned how Temple's package would actually help consumers in the state out of an insurance crisis.

How long do you think it would be before we are able to see the results of the impact of this legislation?

Do you think?

A year?

Two years.

How long do you think it would take before we can kind of see whether or not this is working?

Well, I know my my predecessor like to give guarantees and I'm not going to go down that path.

But look, there is no known definitive.

Senator Adam Bass, a sponsor of Senate Bill 370, says creating competition is the only way to level the playing field for consumers.

The bills that I voted on four four in committee are pieces of that puzzle that I think overall will make us more competitive and attract more insurers to do business in the state of Louisiana.

But back in New Orleans, Tobias is hoping lawmakers decisions are in her best interest.

So if they can help them, I'll talk to them about adjusting the prices to spread them out more within a year's time.

If you want to learn more about the insurance industry, make sure to watch this month's spotlight priced out inside the Louisiana as insurance crisis.

Well, the insurance crisis certainly is on the minds of many across Louisiana, especially since the legislature is in session, of course, and also on the minds of many.

From hashtag to headlines, here is what's trending this week.

So a cargo ship slammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge earlier this week.

In the early morning hours, the bridge collapsed and that's got people talking all across Louisiana just about.

We have a lot of bridges here.

So it begs the question, is our infrastructure up to bad?

And if something like this were to happen in Louisiana, how would we be able to cope with that?

Absolutely.

So moving on again, you know, talking about big news in Louisiana, The Bachelor and The Bachelorette is officially a Louisiana girl.

She's from New Orleans.

Her name is Kelsey Anderson.

And she got that final rose.

That's right.

Her fiancee, Joey Grubbs, at a proposed.

And I got to tell you, my 80 year old mom is a super fan of The Bachelor.

She made me sit down with her and watch the finale this week.

Okay.

So you think that they've got real chemistry?

I do, actually.

She just looked joyous.

They really did look and love.

But I always feel sorry for the losing bachelorette.

They do.

All the way to the very end.

Just for him to give you the rose.

I don't know what I would do.

I probably wouldn't even leave the set.

And then you have to give me this ring.

Fell in love in her hearts.

Get her heart gets broken.

But there again, life is success and the plotline of the show.

Congratulations, Kelsey.

Wedding bells are coming soon.

So that's some good news for The Bachelor and Bachelorette.

The happy couple Also moving on to good news across the state.

April is National Donate Life Month, calling attention to the life saving role of organ donation.

Across Louisiana, more than 2000 people are on the organ transplant list waiting for the call as time ticks.

The Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency, known as Lupa, is a nonprofit focused on community outreach and works with families to find organs and tissue for transplant.

I'm introducing you to one of Lopez tireless volunteers traveling the state to share her story.

Thank you.

Wendy, thank you so much for inviting me into your home to chat about your organ transplant journey.

Take me back to the beginning of your journey with organ transplant.

Okay.

Well, I was 18 years old and I was not feeling well.

And my mom took me to a doctor, and they did some blood work and found out that I had a rare autoimmune disorder, a liver disease called primary sclerosing cholangitis.

I had a liver biopsy, and that's kind of where my journey began.

And the doctor told me that one day I would need a life saving liver transplant.

At age 40, Wendy Haspel, Lipsey needed a new liver.

It was 2007.

And doctors put Wendy on the liver transplant waiting list.

I waited too long years.

And finally, in 2009, I received a call that they had a perfect match for me and I needed to hurry up and get down to Ochsner, my donor.

His name is Christian.

He was is my donor hero.

My donor angel.

He was 16 years old when he passed away and he made the decision to get a heart on his license to save lives.

And I am so grateful for his gift.

And, you know, I wrote a letter to his mom about a year after my transplant to thank her for this gift.

It my mission is to spread organ donation awareness, talk about my hero, Christian, and live his legacy.

Live my life to the fullest.

Thanks to the gift of organ donation through Christian Wendy volunteers with the Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency, serving as vice chair and a certified public speaker.

She travels the state to spread the word on the importance of organ donation in the state of Louisiana.

2000 are waiting on a lifesaving organ.

And of those 2700 need a kidney.

The nonprofit does community outreach, educating people on the importance of organ and tissue donation, and worked with the Louisiana legislature to pass Ashley's law.

We worked with the family of Allie Orange.

She was killed in a car crash on Christmas Day in 2021.

She gave five people Christmas miracles.

We worked with lawmakers.

We went before the Senate Education committees.

We work with Betsy.

It passed.

The governor signed it in 2023.

And so now in all the high schools before high schoolers graduate in a required class, they will learn about organ tissue and eye donation.

What was fun about this party is that we never thought I would reach the age of 50.

Being so sick most of my life.

In 2015, Wendy needed another organ transplant.

This time a liver and a kidney.

After her body rejected the first transplanted liver.

She was put on a waiting list and given her critical condition, received both within days.

Truly on the brink of death, literally 72 hours from death, maybe even less than that.

I was in a coma, very jaundice, lifeless.

And within that 72 hour period, the doctor came in the room and said, We have a match for you.

We have to go out of region, out of state.

But if surgery is a goal, liver and kidney look good.

We'll have starting tonight at 8:00.

Today, Wendy honors the legacy of her organ donors by living her life to its fullest and raising awareness of the life saving gift of organ donation.

I spent a lot of my life in this office doing volunteer work and planning the fade out donate for lupus.

This is my desk where I sit and just some fun little pictures of my son Luke, with my two dogs, Erwin and Teddy.

They're my little love hanging out with the women's basketball team, you know, Go Tigers and Kim Mulkey.

Wendy and her son Luke are supporters of the LSU Women's basketball team.

Her son is president of the team's Fast Break club.

Wendy, she doesn't miss a game.

And you can't miss Wendy dressed in Sparkle outfits, emulating coach Kim Mulkey signature style.

The LSU women's basketball coach is a supporter of Loba.

You can be achieved.

You can do it through organ tissue and OD donation.

And our goal is to get you educated before you leave high school that you know a little bit about organ tissue and eye donation.

We also try to get you in the driver's ed classroom and then at the OMV.

So our goal is to educate.

And if you can help us do that in any way, you can invite us in to be a speaker.

Hopefully you'll join with us and you'll take action to be a donor.

April is National Donate Life and approximately 100,000 people nationwide are waiting for a transplant.

Wendy is sharing her story.

Is living proof of the power to save lives through organ and tissue donation?

My house is representative of who I am.

The colors, the butterflies are a big sign of organ donation.

And that's just kind of how I live my life.

Just colorful.

And, you know, living out loud.

The Logo Foundation is hosting a fundraiser.

It's called Faith to Donate on April 27th.

For more information, you can go to Global Dawg Forward's Life, Play-Doh, Donate and a poster.

Our country women are faced with new challenges seeking reproductive health care.

Just this week, the Supreme Court heard a case involving the abortion access pill, mifepristone, which could further change the reproductive landscape.

A new report looks at the lengths doctors are having to go to to provide the best care possible while staying within the bounds of the law.

I spoke with Michelle ARENBERG, the executive director of Louisiana.

Take a look.

First off, I want to say thank you so much for joining us.

Thanks for having me.

So we're going to jump directly into this report.

So why did you decide to collaborate with other groups involved with this project to study the results of the Dot's decision?

Well, we thought that it was critically important because what we were hearing more and more from both patients and physicians was that the abortion bans were having an impact on the way that pregnancy care was being provided in the state of Louisiana.

There had been multiple news stories of patients not receiving timely access to care, even having to travel out of state to receive the care that they needed.

And so we we thought that it was really important.

And this moment really to to to undertake the research and actually document the impact.

What were the key findings and how did that affect women's health care currently?

Well, I think one of the things that is really important to note is that the abortion bans have really had an impact on the provision of pregnancy related care.

So this is not necessarily even focused on people who are seeking abortions, but actually people who are carrying wanted pregnancies that are dealing with pregnancy complications and that are finding that care being delayed or even denied in some circumstances.

And so I think that that's one of the really critical findings in this report.

And also just the the amount of confusion and fear that physicians feel as it relates to what care they can provide, at what point they can provide care.

And it seems to have had a very sweeping impact on what would normally be sort of best the best standards of practice in pregnancy care, because there's so much fear and and uncertainty about what physicians are allowed to do or not allowed to do under the current law.

I did notice that the report did focus highly on physicians and health care providers.

So can you give me an example of a situation where a health care provider may be afraid to give some sort of level of care that maybe they would have given before the Dobbs decision?

Yeah.

So we heard a lot from physicians almost all physicians talked about or, you know, expressed situations in which either they themselves or colleagues were were delaying access to care.

So, for example, there's a story that's recounted in the report about an ectopic pregnancy situation in which it was very clearly an ectopic pregnancy.

But the the care for that patient was delayed and they were asked to come back.

And because they just wanted to make absolutely sure that they could terminate the pregnancy without the repercussions or being perhaps misunderstood, to have provided an abortion in violation of the law.

So there's a lot of fear and anxiety around, okay, I could possibly be penalized for performing X, Y, Z.

Right, exactly.

And so, I mean, how did the findings in this report to compare compare to other states that have passed similar legislation?

Well, I think that what what this report shows is what's happening in Louisiana, for sure.

But we think that this is probably just a microcosm of what's happening around the country and other states which have banned abortions.

And our hope is that other states will undertake similar research so that we can get a better picture of the impact.

You know, across the nation.

Of these abortion bans.

But we did choose to focus here on Louisiana because we have some of the most restrictive abortion bans in the state with very, very, very limited exceptions.

And even in the circumstances in which there are exceptions, it's very unclear as to when when a provider can perform a pregnancy termination, otherwise known as an abortion and still be within the bounds of that law.

Well, there were a lot of recommendations that were presented in this report to help with these poor health outcomes.

I guess, in your opinion, which one is the most important that you think Louisiana should adopt?

Well, I think there are several that would address well, I think fundamentally just repealing the abortion bans would be the most important thing.

But we also recognize that there's not a lot of political will at the capital to do that right now.

But there are several proposals even in this legislative session, that would make modest changes to the existing abortion bans that would give medical providers a little bit more discretion and sort of untie their hands to make decisions in the best interests of the care of their patients when it comes to miscarriages or other serious health complications.

And there is another thing that I wanted to ask that was in that report.

One of the report's findings is that doctors are having to resort to much more invasive surgical options like a C-section, whenever other procedures could have had the same outcome with far less risks to the mother.

Is that something that is true in other states or is that something that's focused mainly in Louisiana?

We're not really sure, but this actually was one of the most surprising findings for us in doing this research.

And there's one particular story that's recounted in the report, but we actually heard three or four different stories from physicians in which the the provider opted to perform a C-section rather than perform a procedure that would be much less invasive, which usually called a dilation and evacuation procedure, which is the exact same procedure as an abortion.

And so there was one there's one story that that was relayed to us from a physician in which a patient's water broke at 20 weeks.

And so the pregnancy was no longer viable at that point.

And and if the patient had been asked or forced to carry that pregnancy further along, it really would have put their their health and life at risk.

And so normally you would a doctor would consult with the patient and give them several options.

One would be the dilation and evacuation procedure, or they could induce labor and have a vaginal delivery.

But and the last and most significant option would be a C-section, which is severe, you know, very serious abdominal surgery and has a lot of implications for future pregnancies.

But yeah, we heard three stories, three different stories of situations in which the patient wasn't even being given an option of what to do in that circumstance.

All right.

Well, thank you so much for sitting down with us.

I appreciate it.

Thank you.

Mardi Gras season ranks as Louisiana's largest party and the annual Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival comes in second as a popular crowd pleaser, attracting more than 300,000 people now in its 52nd year.

The festival coincides with the start of strawberry season.

I traveled to Ponchatoula to explore its claim to fame as the strawberry capital and Louisiana's unique traditions tied to the Berry heavy 1506 to 816.

I got 1516 here for Champion Berries, the grand Champion berries of the Strawberry Festival for this whole year.

The first strawberries of the season are up for bid.

Some of these prize winning flights command upwards of 1600 dollars.

The friendly strawberry Farmers Competition is a community fundraiser and a prequel to the popular Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival.

So how do you tell the real deal?

A strawberry from Ponchatoula as opposed to any other strawberry?

Easy.

Easy.

Okay.

The best way is to just take the berry, slice it in half if it's red all the way through.

It's a very from Tanko Parish.

And if it's really red is from high school or any other, Berry is going to be white on the inside.

The strawberry is synonymous with Ponchatoula, the self-proclaimed strawberry capital.

The town proudly displays its ties to the berry with sculptures, murals and business monikers.

In years past, we probably shipped more berries out of Pontchartrain in any other community.

But then, as the farmers began to repower and sell the land to developers, there's only a few real farmers level.

Although no longer the primary cash crop of Ponchatoula, the town continues to capitalize on the berry as part of an emerging agri tourism industry and tangible a parish.

Agritourism really is a big impact on us in our area, and it's so much more than just the strawberry farms.

We have our pumpkin patches, we have our farm out from Amy, Louisiana, and it's the only tea farm in Louisiana.

We're just finding more and more that people just really want to be engaged and go behind the scenes and see where their food comes from.

We claim to have the sweetest berries that there are all around, and then our festival, it is just something that's iconic.

People travel here from all around.

They want to be a part.

The strawberry is also a cultural treasure and tangible how a parish, complete with its own court of royalty, kings and queens who serve as Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival ambassadors wearing the strawberry crown and sash.

My mom was Strawberry Queen, so I knew I wanted to do it.

I competed twice in the pageant and I mean, there's so much you go.

I talked to Strawberry farmers, go to the farm, figure out the whole process.

You got to know a lot about strawberry farming.

Strawberry is in my blood.

Born and raised, grandparents, performers.

My dad was a farmer.

I'm not.

I grew berries.

I mean, it shaped me into, I guess, throwing my community support behind something that's raising a lot of money for the community.

Come out, support us, and help support the community and support strawberry Farmer, number one.

Number two is you nonprofit organizations that are out here on the grounds making money.

Spoken like a real king.

Strawberry Day leads up to the main event with a bake off, chicken wing off and a car show all aimed at raising funds.

The 4th of July Strawberry Festival is celebrating its 52nd year, a tradition born from the community's legacy of strawberry farming, dating back to the early 1900s.

In 1901, Mr. Klondike came along with the Klondike Berry he'd been playing with for several years.

And was very fragile.

BERRY And so it couldn't ship very well until about 1910 when the refrigerated horse came along.

But back in the early 1900s, we had somewhere 1060 former strawberry farmers, and now we're down to maybe six.

So it really changes a lot since then.

Those thousand of strawberry farmers credited with giving concern to the late claim to fame.

Their names are chronicled here in front of City Hall on the Ponchatoula Strawberry Farmers Wall of Honor.

And these names date back to the late 1800s.

Strawberry production peaked in the 1930s during the heyday of Ponchatoula Strawberry production.

The school year would revolve around strawberry picking season.

We started in July because we let out of school at March so that all the kids in the area could pick strawberries.

And so because of that, the department of Education would use the popular schools as test schools for the first lunch, the first breakfast for kids, the first distributed education program for businesses with strawberry season starting in March.

Around town, you can find strawberry farmers selling flats freshly picked from the fields.

Of course, I cannot come to Ponchatoula without purchasing my own plot of home grown strawberries.

So I'll take one.

Right.

Can figure out whichever one you like.

Going home to make some strawberry shortcake.

The Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival takes place April 12 through the 14th at Ponchatoula Memorial Park.

And interesting tradition I discovered was the strawberry auction.

These prize winning strawberries were like commanding 1600 dollars for a flat.

What's the criteria to win?

Good question.

So they have to be large berries, red all the way through.

And, of course, sweet.

Okay, well, I'd imagine they tasted really good.

I wouldn't know because Cameron didn't bring any back for us, so I won't know.

I know.

I hope everyone at the Strawberry Festival enjoyed their strawberries.

Well, I'll go back to the strawberry festival.

We have time and type of 12 to the 14th.

I'll.

I'll take orders from the station and bring them back.

How about that?

Are you happy now?

I am happy now.

Yeah.

All right, well, that is our show for this week.

Remember, you can watch anything, Be any time.

Wherever you are with our LP app, you can catch LAPD 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 X and Instagram for everyone at Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

I'm Karen LeBlanc.

And I'm passing, sir.

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 V and Ruthe Ziegler Foundation and the Ziegler Art Museum located in Jennings City Hall.

The museum focuses on emerging Louisiana artists and is an 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.