Louisiana
Louisiana entertainment headlines: Wine pairings, upcoming concerts, and doppelgangers
Anywhere in the South, a sure sign that spring is upon us is warmer weather and blooming flowers. In Louisiana, spring also means festival season is upon us.
The Rock the Country music festival releases its schedule for the Gonzales stop. Grammy winner Lauren Daigle adds Lafayette to her tour dates, and celebrating St. Patrick’s Day just got easier with this guide to all things green in Louisiana.
Did you know it is also Girl Scout Cookies season? If you got your hands on some Girl Scout Cookies, we have an expert who explains what wines best pair with each cookie.
Do you believe in doppelgangers? Well, this Jason Statham impersonator has ties to Louisiana.
Wine and Dessert Anyone?
If you purchased any Thin Mints, Adventurefuls, Samoas, Lemon-Ups, or Tagalongs Girl Scout cookies, wine down and enjoy these wonderful pairings. The Shreveport Times sat down with wine specialist Kristin Lambert to discuss the perfect wine pairing with each cookie. Previously Lambert worked at Wine Country, which was a Shreveport restaurant that specialized in wine and food.
Working with the art of pairing wines for years, Lambert is the wine specialist at Cuban Liquor and is a Wine and Spirit Education Trust level two wine enthusiast.
Wine specialist thoughts What wine pair best with Girl Scout Cookies
Music festivals, concerts
Get ready to rock out at the Rock the Country music festival in Gonzales. The official daily schedule has been released, which will feature Jason Aldean and Kid Rock as headlining acts. The festival is April 5 and 6 in Gonzales. The two-day VIP package is available for $400 and features an up-close experience, cozy seating and tables inside a tent where you can escape the festival frenzy, with a private bar and exclusive restrooms for a smoother festival experience. General admission two-day tickets start at $200, and parking and camping passes are also available for purchase.
Find out more about artist lineup Rock the Country music festival in Gonzales
“My people, my people! Time for the get down!!! I’m coming home,” said Grammy winner, Lauren Daigle in reference to her Kaleidoscope Tour. Performing June 12 in the Cajundome, the Louisiana native has added Lafayette as a destination spot during her ongoing tour. Daigle was born in Lake Charles and grew up in Lafayette, where she absorbed the local zydeco, blues, and Cajun music.
Tickets for her Kaleidoscope Tour are on sale at the Cajundome Box Office and Ticketmaster.
More about tickets, and Daigle’s story Lauren Daigle adds Lafayette to her tour dates
Pub crawls and Irish drinks
In celebration of all things Irish, several St. Patrick’s Day events are happening across Louisiana this weekend. From parades in New Orleans, to Acadiana’s biggest Irish party happening in downtown Lafayette, and green beer, and a pub crawl at Shreveport’s Patty in the Plaza. The holiday is officially Sunday, so look for any and all green items in your closet and get ready to enjoy cook-offs, live music, food and more.
Gear up in Green A guide to celebrating St. Patrick’s Day throughout Louisiana
Celebrity impersonator is Louisiana native
A Jason Statham celebrity impersonator who appeared on the doppelganger episode of Fox’s “I Can See Your Voice” has ties to Alexandria. Because of several TikTok videos Jason Stanly did impersonating British action star Jason Statham, a casting producer for the Fox show reached out to him after scouting people for the premiere of celebrity look alikes and impersonators for their doppelganger episode.
Jason Stanly of Baton Rouge, known as the_statham_guy on TikTok, is the son of Davelyn Gaspard, whose maiden name is Watson, and David Stanly. Both grew up in Alexandria. Stanly is on episode 7 of Season 3.
Read more about Jason Stanly The Jason Statham celebrity impersonator makes the most out of resemblance to action star
Louisiana
Winnsboro woman dies in single-vehicle crash on LA Highway 867
WINNSBORO, La. (KNOE) – Louisiana State Police say a 79-year-old Winnsboro woman died Tuesday, June 9 after her vehicle crossed the centerline and hit a tree.
LSP says Huff was driving a 2025 Toyota Crown east on Louisiana Highway 867 near Louisiana Highway 868 shortly before 7 p.m. when the crash occurred.
According to authorities, Huff was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, but suffered fatal injuries. She died at the scene. A juvenile front seat passenger, who was also wearing a seatbelt, received minor injuries and was treated at an area hospital.
Impairment is not suspected. Routine toxicology samples were collected and will be submitted for analysis. The crash remains under investigation.
Copyright 2026 KNOE. All rights reserved.
Louisiana
Louisiana shop owner says inspection sticker law puts 20-year business in danger
CENTRAL, La. (WAFB)— A vehicle inspection shop owner said his business of more than 20 years is in danger of closing after a new state law eliminated inspection stickers.
David Norris, who operates a small vehicle inspection shop off Hooper Road in Central, said his business has slowed dramatically since Gov. Jeff Landry signed Representative Terry Bagley’s HB1085 into law a week ago.
“Some days we’ve done 30-35 inspections. Now we’re down to four, five maybe,” Norris said.
Law prohibits citations through end of year
Personal, non-commercial vehicles registered in Louisiana will no longer be required to have a vehicle inspection sticker beginning Jan. 1, 2027, according to Louisiana State Police.
The law prohibits law enforcement officers from issuing citations for failing to display or produce an inspection sticker between June 30, 2026, and Jan. 1, 2027. Louisiana State Police have immediately stopped issuing citations for inspection sticker violations.
“As with any change in Louisiana law, our focus during this transition period will be on educating motorists about the new requirements, answering questions, and helping the public understand how these changes will affect them moving forward,” state police said in a statement on Tuesday. “Motorists should remember that all other traffic and vehicle equipment laws remain in effect.”
Emissions testing still required in five parishes
Five parishes will still require drivers to take their vehicles in for emissions testing: East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, Ascension, Livingston and Iberville.
Emissions tests are a federal requirement in the five-parish area. The requirement is still in effect and enforceable by local law enforcement, according to the governor’s office.
Emissions tests in those five parishes are still able to be conducted at the same private locations as before. This will remain the same until the EPA approves an alternative plan for emissions inspection.
When asked how local law enforcement will enforce emissions standards, the governor’s office said to ask local law enforcement.
Baton Rouge Police Chief TJ Morse said, “that has not been worked out yet and we are still awaiting guidance.”
Norris questioned how he will run his business with just the $6 take-home he says he gets for each emissions test.
“I don’t know. I don’t know how much longer we can actually make it,” Norris said.
QR code system to begin in 2027
The vehicle identification program will begin Jan. 1, 2027. The Office of Motor Vehicles will send QR codes to drivers with their registrations.
WAFB asked Rep. Bagley on Tuesday if small businesses like Norris’ are unable to survive due to the changes, does the state bear responsibility.
“I have been working on the effort to eliminate inspection stickers in Louisiana for ten years,” Bagley replied in a written statement. “I’m grateful that the issue was overwhelmingly passed by both houses of the legislature. It was signed into law by Governor Landry. Clearly, the people of Louisiana agree that this is an unnecessary government burden that needed to go.”
State Representative Lauren Ventrella, who represents the district Norris lives in, voted yes for Bagley’s bill.
“Louisiana is moving in the step with the rest of the country and trying to fix the antiquated and outdated process of the inspection stickers,” Ventrella said.
Norris said he likes what he is doing and likes his customers. He fears the change will wipe away his father-son business.
“What is anybody going to do when your job quits?” Norris said. “How are you gonna pay your bills? Not their problem.”
Click here to report a typo. Please include the headline.
Click here to subscribe to our WAFB 9 News daily digest and breaking news alerts delivered straight to your email inbox.
Watch the latest WAFB news and weather now.
Louisiana
Network outage causing OMV closures across Louisiana
BATON ROUGE (WVUE) — Offices of the Motor Vehicles around the state are experiencing network outages due to connectivity issues related to the installation of new core network equipment.
The Office of Technology Services replaced a legacy piece of hardware on Sunday. While migrating to the new hardware, the old system began to cause issues for the state’s network team. In the fall of 2025, OTS decided to purchase brand-new core network routers and planned on installing them after the 2026 legislative session ended.
“We experienced a similar issue on the last day of the fiscal session last year, so we decided to wait until this year’s session was over before we installed the new hardware,” said Thomas Mule, communications director for OTS. “This weekend we began switching our core network from a 1992 Honda Civic to a 2026 McLaren 750.”
Legacy system failures during migration
On Sunday, the installation of and migration to the new core network began. During the migration, the legacy systems began to fail. When this occurred, the network team paused the migration and addressed the issues. These issues started to manifest in OMV offices across the state.
“As of now, our new core system is up and running. We are experiencing problems with connectivity to the new system. Our team has been working nonstop since Sunday, and will continue to work until our network is back to 100%,” Mule said.
OTS is prioritizing LSP and OMV connectivity and has made tremendous progress since Sunday. Current office status information can be found at www.expresslane.la.gov.
-
Iowa6 minutes agoHere’s what to know as another year brings another watering ban
-
Kansas9 minutes agoKansas boy discovers 15-foot marine reptile fossil from 85 million years ago during geology field trip
-
Kentucky14 minutes agoWhat states spend the most on fast food? Kentucky ranks among the top
-
Louisiana21 minutes agoWinnsboro woman dies in single-vehicle crash on LA Highway 867
-
Maine24 minutes agoLive updates: Midterms take shape in California, Maine, S.C. and Nevada; Trump to sign ICE bill
-
Maryland29 minutes agoAlert Days Wednesday through Friday for severe weather risk, intense heat in Maryland
-
Michigan36 minutes ago
Trieu: For Michigan State targets, visits, in-state decisions loom
-
Massachusetts39 minutes agoMake Father’s Day memorable with these 10 activities in Massachusetts