Louisiana

Flounder make surprise summer show

Published

2 years ago

August 10, 2024

Don’t know why this happens, but every summer coastal anglers are blessed with what only can be called “a bonus fish.”

One year it was dolphin, the fish not the mammal, and one year it was black drum. Sheepshead, bull croaker and giant white trout had their turns.

This year it’s flounder.

An abundance of the flat fish was first noticed at the Catholic High Alumni Rodeo in early June. There were years when a single angler with a single fish showed up on that leaderboard. This year the count stopped at 20 weighed flounder.

And, they kept coming.

Grand Isle Rodeo weighmaster Marty Bourgeois said there were more showing up in the granddaddy of all saltwater events this year, but nothing of great size.

Yet, in the Blue Boot Rodeo in Grand Isle last month, a four-pounder took the top prize — that’s a big flounder.

So, why?

Creel limits are relatively new, a 10-fish-per-day limit, along with an Oct. 15-Nov. 30 closed season, and it’s too early to tell if those new regulations have had enough time to affect this year’s catch.

So, when reading up on flounder, it appears a flounder “run” is cyclical, that water temperatures influences the sex of a flounder — the warmer the water the more male flounder in our waters — and since we came through a relatively cold winter maybe we have more female flounder, and more females mean more eggs, which means more little flounder.

No matter the reason, flounder are “in” this summer, and now you just have to be able to afford crabmeat for that stuffed flounder recipe to make tablefare fit for a king — and a queen.

Freezer Day

Hunters for the Hungry director Julie Grunewald is urging hunters to beat last year’s record-setting 21,881-pound collection in the statewide Clean Out Your Freezer campaign. This year’s collection begins next weekend.

While this organization began in the 1990s to urge hunters to clear their freezers to get ready for the upcoming hunting seasons, you don’t have to be a hunter to contribute.

The program’s target is for “…anyone and everyone to drop off properly packaged and labeled frozen goods,” which means packaged meats should be labeled and dated.

That’s because food banks won’t accept the donations that can’t be identified. Vacuum-sealed and those items from professional processor work out best, but they must be frozen.

Volunteers will staff collection sites around the state and will have ice chests to accept donations.

The list of dates, times and locations are listed elsewhere on this page. If you have questions, you can email Grunewald: julie@h4hla.org.

Big reward

State Wildlife and Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have posted a $12,500 reward for information leading to the person or persons responsible for killing an endangered whooping crane found in January this year in Evangeline Parish.

According to these agencies, the juvenile crane was found dead in a pond in Mamou on the south side of Besi Lane. A necropsy found a shot fractured the bird’s spine and led to internal hemorrhaging.

The reward’s total comes from funding by the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation, the International Crane Foundation and the Dallas Zoo.

If you have information, call the Fish and Wildlife Service (985) 882-3756 or Wildlife and Fisheries’ Lake Charles Office (337) 491-2588. Callers can remain anonymous.

No dogs?

Last week the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation filed suit in a Michigan federal court against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with hopes of rescinding a new regulation restricting the importation of dogs into our country.

The two federal agencies cite a need to prevent the spread of rabies to our country as the reason for imposing the new rule.

The foundation says the new rule even applies to countries such as Canada, Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy among others are countries “… which the Center for Disease Control classifies as ‘low risk’ or ‘free’ of dog rabies.”

Guess we can be thankful a long-ago waterfowl hunter decided to bring Labrador retrievers into Louisiana.

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Louisiana

Jury selection begins Monday in one of Louisiana’s largest auto insurance fraud cases

Published

6 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Jury selection begins Monday in one of Louisiana’s largest auto insurance fraud cases

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Jury selection begins Monday in what prosecutors describe as one of the largest auto insurance fraud cases in Louisiana history, with two local attorneys set to stand trial on charges that include fraud and obstruction of justice.

Attorneys Vanessa Motta and Jason Giles are accused in an alleged scheme in which drivers — referred to as “slammers” — were paid to intentionally crash into 18-wheelers, file injury lawsuits and allow attorneys to collect the settlements. Both have pleaded not guilty.

63 people have been charged in the case. Many have already pleaded guilty. Motta and Giles are being tried together.

Criminal defense attorney Craig Mordock, who is not directly involved in the case but has been following it closely, said the scope of the litigation is significant.

“You have 10 years of personal injury cases and almost… almost a billion dollars in recovery. That’s all at issue,” Mordock said. “So yeah, this could go two to three weeks.”

Motta’s defense team has advanced a narrative that she was manipulated by a co-defendant.

“There is a compelling narrative that’s been advanced by Vanessa Motta’s lawyer in terms of her being manipulated by one of the co-defendants… about being manipulated by him and him having a prior federal conviction for fraud,” Mordock said.

Motta’s team originally claimed she did not know the crashes were staged. In 2024, her team told FOX 8 she is the victim.

Mordock said Giles faces a more difficult defense.

“I don’t see a favorable juror for one of the other lawyer defendants, Jason Giles. There’s not a clear theory of innocence. This is basically a standard white-collar prosecution where knowledge and intent are going to be the issue,” Mordock said.

The case carries what Mordock described as a shadow. In September 2020, key witness Cornelious Garrison was killed in New Orleans four days after his name appeared in an indictment. Garrison’s admitted killer, Ryan Harris, is expected to testify.

The judge in the case is also allowing the slain witness’s recorded descriptions of the alleged scheme to be admitted at trial.

Mordock said Louisiana drivers have a direct stake in the outcome.

“As your average Louisianan, the idea would be you would save… because the people committing this fraud have been wrapped up. The insurance companies are going to know how to look for this,” Mordock said.

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Louisiana

Pervy mayor’s kids told cops that they caught her romping with teen boy at boozy pool party

Published

18 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Pervy mayor’s kids told cops that they caught her romping with teen boy at boozy pool party

The children of a disgraced Louisiana mayor told cops that they both caught their mom fooling around with a 16-year-old boy at a boozy pool party, according to video played at her rape trial.

Misty Roberts, the 43-year-old former head of DeRidder, Louisiana — population 9,8000 — faces a charge of third-degree rape over the 2024 incident.

Roberts’ son told investigators in an interview played for jurors that he saw his mom having sex with his pal through a crack in a window.

Misty Roberts is accused of having sex with a 16-year-old boy in 2024.

But, when asked about his recollection, he demurred — telling the court he wasn’t exactly sure what he saw that night, according to KPLC.

The jury also reviewed pictures from the party, which showed kids holding drinks as well as a photograph of Roberts and the victim that prosecutors described as “lewd.”

That picture showed Roberts at the party in her bikini, with the teen victim looking up at her smiling.

Roberts’ son texted his mom that night, incredulous about what was happening, and told her that his sister was crying, according to messages presented by prosecutors.

“He is seventeen,” the son texted Roberts.

The boy was later confirmed to be 16 years old, according to KPLC.

Roberts’ daughter also took the stand while prosecutors played her interview with detectives, in which she said she saw her mom and the boy “on top of each other” that night.

The former mayor’s nephew also admitted he tried to sneak a peek — using his phone to try and get a peek at what was going on in the room. He testified that he wasn’t sure if he hit “record” — but if he did said he never sent it to anybody.

Roberts was in her second term as mayor when she resigned. 7 KPLC

None of the three witnesses who testified said they saw the “private parts” of Roberts and the victim. The teen boy, they noted though, was shirtless.

After the alleged tryst, the victim’s mother texted Roberts to ensure that she was not pregnant, to which she replied she was on birth control. Roberts shared a screenshot of that message to a group chat with her friends, who urged her to take Plan B.

A DoorDash driver testified that he delivered an emergency contraceptive to Roberts’ house, which he recognized from trick-or-treating with his children there.

In other texts shown in court, Roberts asked her son what kind of alcohol her son and other kids wanted for the party.

Days after police launched their investigation into the alleged crime, Roberts resigned as mayor of DeRidder, a city of just under 10,000 people about 20 miles east of the Texas border.

Roberts was charged with third-degree rape and contributing to the delinquency of juveniles.

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Louisiana

Louisiana Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 results for Feb. 28, 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

The Louisiana Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at Feb. 28, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Feb. 28 drawing

06-20-35-54-65, Powerball: 10, Power Play: 4

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Feb. 28 drawing

8-3-8

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from Feb. 28 drawing

5-4-7-5

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 5 numbers from Feb. 28 drawing

9-9-1-3-0

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Easy 5 numbers from Feb. 28 drawing

04-17-21-27-33

Check Easy 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto numbers from Feb. 28 drawing

08-10-15-21-22-33

Check Lotto payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

All Louisiana Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $600. For prizes over $600, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at Louisiana Lottery offices. Prizes of over $5,000 must be claimed at Lottery office.

By mail, follow these instructions:

Sign and complete the information on the back of your winning ticket, ensuring all barcodes are clearly visible (remove all scratch-off material from scratch-off tickets).
Photocopy the front and back of the ticket (except for Powerball and Mega Millions tickets, as photocopies are not accepted for these games).
Complete the Louisiana Lottery Prize Claim Form, including your telephone number and mailing address for prize check processing.
Photocopy your valid driver’s license or current picture identification.

Mail all of the above in a single envelope to:

Louisiana Lottery Headquarters

555 Laurel Street

Baton Rouge, LA 70801

To submit in person, visit Louisiana Lottery headquarters:

555 Laurel Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70801, (225) 297-2000.

Hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes of any amount.

Check previous winning numbers and payouts at Louisiana Lottery.

When are the Louisiana Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 3, Pick 4 and Pick 5: Daily at 9:59 p.m. CT.
Easy 5: 9:59 p.m. CT Wednesday and Saturday.
Lotto: 9:59 p.m. CT Wednesday and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Louisiana editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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