Louisiana

Internet company started with an antenna in a tree. Now it’s leading Louisiana’s broadband push.

Published

3 days ago

January 5, 2026

Internet company started with an antenna in a tree. Now it’s leading Louisiana’s broadband push.

ABBEVILLE — At an event celebrating the completion of another project by Cajun Broadband, the little internet company that could, there were speeches by local officials, a video message from Gov. Jeff Landry, a ribbon-cutting.

And there was seafood gumbo, cooked the night before by Chris Disher, the company’s co-founder.

His grandmother made her gumbo with tomatoes, but Disher skipped them, knowing the crowd, and used shrimp and oysters harvested from parish waters.

The gathering in Vermilion Parish, like much of what Cajun Broadband does, had a personal feel that belied a bigger truth: The company is among those leading Louisiana’s push to bring speedy internet to the state’s rural reaches.

This fall, it won $18.2 million in federal funding from the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program, or BEAD, to connect another 4,000 homes and businesses. This month, they’ll be among the companies breaking ground with that funding: “We’re small, so we can build fast,” Disher said.

Already, the Broussard-based company provides fiber internet across Acadiana, in a doughnut-like shape surrounding Lafayette. In 2023, Inc. Magazine named it among the fastest-growing companies in the U.S. — landing at 603 out of 5,000 and fourth among those based in Louisiana.

“We kept doubling the size every year,” Disher said, “because we didn’t understand just how big this need was in the rural communities.”

Humble beginnings

But it started in 2017 with an antenna in a pine tree.

Disher’s two then-teenage sons had been nagging him for years about the slow, spotty internet. One Sunday before church, they’d hooked up their Xbox for a software update, “and the game wasn’t even 5% done updating after being gone for like three and a half hours,” said his son Matthew.

Meanwhile, Chris Disher’s close friend and now partner Jimmy Lewis, an IT professional struggling with his own internet service, had been driving by an empty tower on his way to work each day.

He wondered: What if we put an antenna on that?

They got the OK, grabbed a chain saw and mounted a dish. “And Chris is hollering up at me, ‘We’ve got 60 megs!” Lewis said, short for 60 megabytes per second. “We’ve got 60 megs!”

They hooked up one neighbor, then another, then 10. They kept their day jobs, at first, working nights and weekends.

A Cajun Broadband turck is a welcome sight on a rural Louisiana road — Matthew Disher splices fiber in a Cajun Broadband truck for a Maurice home in December.

Jenna Ross

Within two years, they had more than 1,000 customers, said Daniel Romero Jr., operations manager. (Disher declined to give a current count, but the company’s website touts “nearly 10,000 customers across seven Louisiana parishes.”)

“We just kept going and kept building and kept working,” said Lewis, Cajun’s managing director.

When Louisiana’s Granting Underserved Municipalities Broadband Opportunities, or GUMBO, program was announced, Disher bought a nice tie and went door-to-door, parish to parish. In late 2022, with nearly $20 million in GUMBO funding, Cajun Broadband installed some 90,000 feet of fiber in St. Martin Parish.

It was the first completed project in the state under GUMBO, whose mission is in its name. Cajun Broadband competed with and beat bigger companies to nab GUMBO funds, said Veneeth Iyengar, executive director for the Louisiana Office of Broadband Development and Connectivity.

“They bootstrapped this business,” he said. “They saw a need in their community that was not fulfilled, and they decided to bootstrap it through entrepreneurial capitalism and build a business which is now impacting thousands of lives.”

Still, the business has stayed small and nimble. Ask an employee how many of them there are, and they’ll begin ticking off names, counting the number on two hands. It feels like family, said Steven Creduer, field supervisor. “I’m leaving my house to go to my other house.”

Disher’s son, Matthew, works in the field as a splicer now. Romero’s daughter works for the company, too.

Employees exchange “Merry Christmas” texts with customers. Many of them had long struggled to use Zoom, to upload and to stream, and were thrilled to spot Cajun Broadband’s trailer on their rural roads. Technicians see firsthand how people rely on the internet for necessities, from health care to homework.

“People are really happy you’re there,” Disher said.

NO.cajunbroadband.adv.13.jpg — Advertisement

Company founders and state and local officials hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the expansion of Cajun Broadband into Vermilion Parish Tuesday, December 9, 2025, at the LSU AgCenter Cooperative Extension Building in Abbeville, La.

STAFF PHOTO BY LESLIE WESTBROOK

‘Issues on top of issues’

A Louisiana-born-and-educated engineer, Disher hadn’t yearned to be an entrepreneur, the 55-year-old said. “I never wanted to do anything on my own.”

For years, he worked for General Electric in the oil fields of Singapore and Brazil, eventually supporting six regions from Broussard — but traveling often. Then GE downsized, and Disher lost his job.

With his wife’s encouragement, he became Cajun Broadband’s first full-time employee, he said. “She just kept saying, ‘You can do it, you can do it.’”

At first, he felt responsible to his family, his mortgage in mind. Then, he felt responsible for the company’s employees, their families in mind. Now, he feels responsible for the region and its residents.

Several broadband customers were in at the LSU Ag Center office in Abbeville for last month’s ribbon-cutting, which marked the completion of three broadband projects in Vermillion Parish comprising some 500,000 feet of fiber to 1,750 homes and businesses.

Among the beneficiaries: Michelle Romero, a 38-year-old mother, nurse and health coach who can now upload her workout videos in a few minutes, rather than several hours. (Disher used healthier oils in his gumbo, knowing she’d be in the crowd.)

And there’s the North Vermilion Youth Athletic Association, which for years had struggled to make credit card sales in its concession stand using Cox internet.

“We had issues on top of issues,” said Josh Broussard, the nonprofit’s president.

Cajun Broadband offered the athletic association free hookups, Wi-Fi service and boosters in exchange for some publicity. Now, the park has strong enough service to fuel live scoreboards and stream games, Broussard said, which means that they can host regional tournaments.

Broussard, who played sports at the park as a child, said the change is much needed.

“I saw what it was, and I just want to improve it,” Broussard said, “and make it better than what it was when we were there.”

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Louisiana

Women and men in Louisiana experience different kinds of violence, study finds

Published

10 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Women and men in Louisiana experience different kinds of violence, study finds

BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana Illuminator) – More than half of adults in Louisiana have experienced physical violence during their lifetime but what those acts look like largely depends on the victim’s gender, according to an annual survey conducted last year.

In Louisiana, gun violence is much more likely to be carried out against men, while severe intimate partner violence — sometimes referred to as domestic abuse — is much more likely to happen to women, showed the result of a study by Tulane University, the University of California San Diego and the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.

“Violence is a gendered issue. It is different if you are a man or a woman or a boy or a girl,” Anita Raj, executive director of the Newcomb Institute at Tulane University and the study’s lead author, said in an interview.

Raj’s survey, the Louisiana Study on Violence Experiences Across the Lifespan, is the only comprehensive research of its kind conducted in the state. It was administered online in English and Spanish between May 13 and June 18, 2025, to more than 1,000 Louisiana residents 18 and older.

The survey shows Louisiana residents experience violence at an alarmingly high rate. Eight percent of people surveyed said they were subjected to physical violence in the past year, including 3% who said they were threatened with either a knife or a gun.

Who commits the violence and what form it takes largely depends on the victim’s gender.

Over half of women (58%) who had experienced physical violence within a year of the survey reported their spouse or partner were responsible for the incidents, compared with just 14% of men. Most men (53%) who had experienced physical violence in that time period said they were targeted by a stranger, compared with just 5% of women, according to the report.

Men were much more likely to be subjected to gun violence than women, however; 4% of men reported they had been threatened or attacked with a gun in the year before the survey was taken, compared with just 1% of women, according to the report.

Yet women (13%) were more likely to experience sexual harassment and sexual violence than men (6%). Almost one in four women (23%) surveyed also said they had been subjected to forced sex during their lifetimes, compared with 7% of men.

Severe intimate partner violence, sometimes called domestic violence, was also much more prevalent for women.

Almost 25% of women reported they had been subjected to potentially lethal forms of intimate partner violence — such as choking, suffocation, burns, beatings and use of a weapon — during their lifetimes. Only 6% of men reported being the victims of life-threatening violence from a spouse or dating partner.

Mariah Wineski, executive director of the Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said the study’s findings align with what domestic violence shelters and other victim advocacy groups see on a daily basis.

“Many times, the most dangerous place for a woman is in her home or in her relationship,” Wineski said.

Intimate partner violence is more widespread among younger people. Twelve percent of respondents who are 18-24 years old and 15% of those ages 25-34 experienced violence and controlling behavior from a partner in the year before the survey was taken. Only 1-2% over people 55 and older reported the same problem.

Raj and Wineski said prevention programs aimed at reducing intimate partner violence need to start with adolescents in order to have the greatest impact.

“It is much more effective to change the attitudes and beliefs of a child or adolescent,” Wineski said. “They are at a better place in their lives for learning all sorts of new things, including how to interact with other people.”

Programs that promote economic stability and lift people out of poverty also help curb violence, according to Raj’s report.

Survey participants who reported not having enough money for food or other basic necessities were five times more likely to have experienced physical violence in the past year and six times more likely to experience intimate partner violence. People who are homeless were nine times more likely to experience intimate partner violence, according to the report.

“Policies that expand women’s economic and political participation, promote safety in workplaces and public spaces, and protect LGBTQ+ people advance not only equity but also safety for all,” the report concluded.

Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.

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Louisiana

USDA picks Louisiana lawmaker to lead state’s rural development efforts. See who it is.

Published

22 hours ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

USDA picks Louisiana lawmaker to lead state’s rural development efforts. See who it is.

“All of the communities that surround it are going to need to be built up,” Romero said. “They’re going to need, you know, extra hospital space and rural clinics and restaurants.”

USDA’s rural development section supports economic development, job creation and services like housing, health care, first-responder services and utility infrastructure, according to its website.

Romero resigned from his seat in the Louisiana Legislature on Dec. 14 and began his new job with the federal government the next day, he said.

He’s replacing acting Director MaryAnn Pistilli and will be based in Alexandria, though he’ll regularly travel the state and meet with local leaders and officials, he said.

The former state lawmaker said Gov. Jeff Landry helped put his name forward for the appointment.

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Louisiana

As New Orleans cuts costs, Louisiana auditor reviews take-home vehicles: ‘Is it necessary?’

Published

1 day ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

As New Orleans cuts costs, Louisiana auditor reviews take-home vehicles: ‘Is it necessary?’

As New Orleans looks to shave costs, the Louisiana Legislative Auditor is probing whether to curb the city’s roughly 2,800-vehicle fleet, including take-home vehicles.

Auditor Mike Waguespack – who is already monitoring the city’s finances, including overtime costs – said Tuesday that he’ll examine whether employees who have take-home cars actually need them and whether the city is selling vehicles it no longer uses.

The city’s fleet was 40% larger at the end of July than it was in 2023, according to data provided to the Times-Picayune last month. At least 935 municipal employees, or roughly 20% of the city’s workforce, drove cars home as of December, costing the city at least $41 million. Most are police officers.

“Is it necessary? Is it a fringe benefit or is it really justified?” Waguespack said on Tuesday.

Waguespack’s moves come after Mayor-elect Helena Moreno in December questioned Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s use of take-home cars and the size of the city’s overall fleet, and as Moreno’s administration is implementing a host of furloughs and layoffs to avoid a $222 million deficit that would have otherwise plagued the new year.

A spokesperson for Moreno said Monday that “it is clear there are efficiencies to be gained and some unnecessary allocation of resources” in the city’s vehicle fleet.

“Reducing unnecessary expenditures is at the top of the Moreno administration’s priorities,” Todd Ragusa said.

A Cantrell spokesperson did not return a request for an interview.

The auditor’s report will be released as one part of a comprehensive review of the city’s fiscal practices requested by State Bond Commission after it agreed to allow the city to sell $125 million in short-term revenue bonds in November. Waguespack will review New Orleans’ finances for fiscal years 2022 through 2025 and make recommendations.

His office will begin issuing reports on various budgetary issues in the next few months, and will issue the full slew of reports by mid-year, he said.

A deep review

New Orleans has had to contend with state intervention ever since the city discovered a $160 million deficit last year, caused by a failure to account for police overtime, ignored warnings about overspending, and too-rosy revenue projections.

Waguespack weekly approves the city’s drawdowns from the $125 million pool the State Bond Commission authorized last year, so that the city could make payroll for 5,000 employees.

He is also looking into the city’s policies and practices governing overtime spending, another area Moreno has said her administration will take measures to control after she takes office on Jan. 12.

Now, his audit of city vehicles — his first deep-dive into that issue — will examine the condition of municipal vehicles, their maintenance and insurance records. It will also examine the city’s vehicle policies, including who gets to take home a car, Waguespack said.

Waguespack on Tuesday questioned the size of the city’s overall fleet, which includes “pool” vehicles that are not assigned to a particular driver. The city’s total fleet consisted of 2,800 vehicles as of July 30, according to city records provided to the Times-Picayune.

“At first glance it appears that there is an excessive amount of pool cars— some of which are dated in age,” said Waguespack. “It could be an issue of not selling the surplus property.”

Of the fleet, 350 vehicles are pre-2010 models, according to the records. Waguespack said he worries that unnecessary vehicle expenditures — including costs to maintain and insure vehicles past their prime — could be straining the city’s finances.

Increase in fleet

The city did not provide take-home vehicle data for 2020-2024 or total fleet data for 2020-2022 in response to a public records request.

But data it did provide show the overall fleet has increased dramatically in recent years. By the end of 2023, there were 1,970 overall cars, compared to roughly 2,800 in July.

Also in 2023, the New Orleans Police Department rolled out more than 700 new police vehicles as part of a push by then-Interim New Orleans Police Superintendent Michelle Woodfork to give every officer a take-home car to boost recruitment numbers. Of the 935 employees who had take-home cars in December, 832 were NOPD employees.

The city dedicated $26 million of its $388 million in federal pandemic aid to public safety vehicles, according to the city’s American Rescue Plan spending dashboard.

The $41 million the city paid for the take home vehicles in use as of December, per the records, includes only the purchase price of the cars, and not the insurance, maintenance or gas it must also pay.

The size and oversight of the city’s fleet has long been a point of contention.

In 2008, then- Inspector General Robert Cerasoli found that the city was paying $1 million a year for 273 vehicles for public workers, not including purchase costs, and that there had been frequent abuse.

In response, Mayor Mitch Landrieu slashed the number of administrative take-home vehicles to 59, and separately cut the number of cars assigned to public safety employees from 758 in June 2010 to 414.

In 2016, a report by then-Inspector General Ed Quatrevaux found that between 2009 and 2024, the city had no formal fleet management system in place to track how many vehicles the city owned, or how often they were used or repaired.

Mayor’s personal fleet

Moreno highlighted concerns about the city’s take-home car policies in an interview with the Times-Picayune last year.

“We have way too many people with take-home cars that are non-public safety employees,” Moreno said.

Of the 935 employees who have take-home cars in December, 95% had public safety responsibilities.

She also took shots at the mayor’s personal fleet of take-home cars, and said she’d get rid of them. “I don’t know why she needs four.”

Cantrell confirmed at the time that she has three city vehicles – “two large vehicles and one sedan” — which she said were necessary for “safety and protection.” She also fired back that Moreno “doesn’t know what she doesn’t know.”

A list of take-home vehicles provided to the Times-Picayune only lists one vehicle assigned to Cantrell, a 2021 Chevrolet Suburban. It’s unclear why the other two vehicles are not listed.

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