Louisiana
Veteran, youngster take Fish of Year honors
This year’s Fish of the Year honorees is the “alpha” to the “omega” and the “yin” to the “yang” when it comes to catching fish in Louisiana.
Winners in the rod & reel and fly rod divisions range from the peach-fuzzed face of a broadly smiling youngster to the gray beard of a saltwater veteran.
The veteran is David O’Brien, a guy who thrives on tackling big fish off Louisiana’s coast.
The Baton Rouge angler took the challenge of battling red snapper over the Bongo Reef in the Gulf of Mexico and was up to the task when he boated a 14.21-pound red beauty.
After submitting his catch to the Louisiana Outdoor Writers Association, that group’s fish record committee honored O’Brien with the Fish of the Year plaque in the fly rod division. His fish stands second on the state top-10 fish records List.
The youngster is Lane Smalley, a soon-to-be-teenager from Bastrop.
Smalley was on a trip to Lake Providence where he caught a 22.3-pound black buffalo, a state record in that species, and a catch named Fish of the Year in the rod & reel division.
The judging year for these honors runs June to June, and the committee had nearly 40 submissions during that period.
LOWA has maintained the state’s fish records for more than 70 years.
For more information, go to LOWA’s website: louisianaoutdoorwriters.com or email fish records chairman Lyle Johnson: fishrecords@yahoo.com.
Continuing discussion
The long-running, head-butting confrontation between federal fisheries managers and organizations representing the recreational fishing sector continued last week with what the American Sportfishing Association called a “road map” for the next administration and both houses of Congress to follow to support recreational fishermen.
It’s more than red snapper for the five Gulf of Mexico and several South Atlantic states. It’s been about striped bass off the East Coast and salmon on the West Coast.
So, ASA and its 16 partners, issued “The Future of Sportfishing.” This consortium stopped short of calling it a “manifesto,” and labeled it a “collaborative effort aimed at guiding science-based conservation, growth in trade in commerce, increasing access and education, and advocating for the rights of the American angler.”
The treatise contained recommendations covering federal funding requests, marine policy proposals and freshwater policy proposals.
“Each year, one out of six Americans (57.7 million) go fishing — contributing $148 billion to the U.S. economy,” ASA vice president Mike Leonard said. “The next administration and Congress should clearly understand what issues our constituency cares about, and this report gives them a road map on how they can best support our community’s needs.”
Leonard pointed to fishing license sales, the federal excise tax on the sale of fishing equipment and other direct donations that contribute $1.8 billion toward aquatic resource conservation each year. It’s an economic structure this consortium said has to have a seat at the table when discussing data collection and distribution of available fishery resources.
The complete report can be found on the ASA website: asafishing.org.
Deer hunters
Pennsylvania wildlife biologist Kip Adams, working for the National Deer Association, has some interesting notes about comparing archery hunters and hunting with primitive and modern firearms hunting and hunters.
Archery hunters using both bows and crossbows account for 25% of the deer taken during an average season.
Modern firearms, shotguns and rifles, take a much larger percentage — 66% — while primitive firearms hunters take 9% of the deer taken during the 2022 season.
Adams said the percentages have changed noticeably since 2002 when the archery take was at 15%, then at 21% by 2012.
You only have to look at the states where the archery take represents a high number among the total number of deer taken in each state: New Jersey, 65%; Connecticut, 47%; Ohio, 47%; Massachusetts, 46%; Illinois, 43%; Rhode Island, 42%; and, Kansas, 40%. Ohio, Illinois and Kansas are the only Midwest states.
What to know the lowest states, percentage-wise, among archery hunters?
Yes, Louisiana and Texas are right up there at 9% with South Carolina, 8%; and, 6% each in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
Adams went further: New Jersey’s 65% archery take represents about 25,000 deer, while Pennsylvania tops the archery list with an estimated 148,000 deer by archery hunters.
Just so you know, after years of restricting the use of crossbow to certain hunters, Louisiana now allows all hunters to use crossbows. Adams data showed that all southeastern states allow the use of crossbows, but in every instance “vertical” bows “still dominate” the take.
He also noted “more hunters take advantage of bows, crossbows and muzzleloaders today,” and that “more options to go afield help even occasional hunters stay engaged, and it greatly enhances the opportunities to mentor youth and new hunters.”
Louisiana
5 things to know about ‘Diet Pepsi’ singer Addison Rae, a Louisiana native and TikTok star
In 2019, Lafayette native Addison Rae began uploading trendy dance videos to TikTok. She had just started college at LSU and was gaining thousands of followers.
Now, the celebrity has over 88 million followers and releases her own music.
Her latest single, “Diet Pepsi,” received rave reviews across the internet, drawing similarities between the southern star and Lana Del Rey.
Here are some things to know about the singer:
Rae went to school in Shreveport
Attending the Calvary Baptist Academy, Rae was a cheerleader and also danced at the Shreveport Dance Academy.
She didn’t make the college dance team
Rae missed her senior prom to audition for LSU’s dance team, the Tiger Girls. Having danced competitively since around the age of 6, Rae had always dreamed of dancing as a Tiger Girl and was devastated when she didn’t make the second round of auditions.
Still, Rae was getting noticed on campus for her TikTok dances.
After a year at LSU, the star dropped out
The star majored in broadcast journalism, but quickly realized her popularity and convinced her family to move to Los Angeles. Rae became a full-time social media influencer and began receiving brand deals.
Rae has starred in several movies
She made first on-screen appearance in “He’s All That,” a Netflix remake of the 1999 classic, “She’s All That.” Rae most recently starred in the horror film “Thanksgiving” where she acted alongside Patrick Dempsey.
The TikTok influencer appeared in a Super Bowl commercial
Rae partnered with NERDS candy in a commercial aired during the 2024 Super Bowl. Might she make an entrance at this year’s Super Bowl in New Orleans?
She’s officially Brat
Rae is featured on Charli XCX’s “Brat” remix album. She, Charli XCX and Troye Sivan recently went viral for singing “Diet Pepsi” together at a recent concert.
Louisiana
Where to watch Louisiana vs. App State today: Channel, time, schedule, live stream for Saturday college football game | Sporting News
Another conference showdown awaits Louisiana as it welcomes Appalachian State to Cajun Field on Saturday.
Louisiana snapped an 11-game losing streak against Southern Miss last week, earning a 23-13 win to move to 4-1 overall. Appalachian State (2-3) fell to Marshall in a high-scoring affair after its game against Liberty on Sept. 28 was canceled because of the impact of Hurricane Helene.
This is the first meeting between the two teams since the 2021 Sun Belt Conference championship game. The Ragin’ Cajuns defeated the Mountaineers in that contest, 24-16.
Here is everything you need to know about Louisiana vs. App State, including TV and streaming options for the game.
Where to watch Louisiana vs. App State today: TV channel, live stream
- TV channel: N/A
- Live stream: ESPN+
Louisiana vs. App State will not air on a national TV channel. The game will be available to watch on ESPN+.
Louisiana vs. App State start time
- Date: Saturday, Oct. 12
- Time: 7:30 p.m. ET | 6:30 p.m. CT
Louisiana vs. App State will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 12. The game will be played at Cajun Field in Lafayette, La.
Louisiana football schedule 2024
Date | Game | Time (ET)/Result |
Aug. 31 | vs. Grambling | W, 40-10 |
Sept. 7 | at Kennesaw State | W, 34-10 |
Sept. 21 | vs. Tulane | L, 41-33 |
Sept. 28 | at Wake Forest | W, 41-38 |
Oct. 5 | at Southern Miss | W, 23-13 |
Oct. 12 | vs. App State | 7:30 p.m. |
Oct. 19 | at Coastal Carolina | Noon |
Oct. 29 | at Texas State | 7:30 p.m. |
Nov. 9 | vs. Arkansas State | TBD |
Nov. 16 | vs. South Alabama | TBD |
Nov. 23 | vs. Troy | TBD |
Nov. 30 | at UL Monroe | TBD |
App State football schedule 2024
Date | Game | Time (ET)/Result |
Aug. 31 | vs. East Tennessee State | W, 38-10 |
Sept. 7 | at Clemson | L, 66-20 |
Sept. 14 | at East Carolina | W, 21-19 |
Sept. 19 | vs. South Alabama | L, 48-14 |
Sept. 28 | vs. Liberty | CANCELED |
Oct. 5 | at Marshall | L, 52-37 |
Oct. 12 | at Louisiana | 7:30 p.m. |
Oct. 26 | vs. Georgia State | TBD |
Nov. 2 | vs. Old Dominion | TBD |
Nov. 7 | at Coastal Carolina | 8 p.m. |
Nov. 23 | vs. James Madison | TBD |
Nov. 30 | at Georgia Southern | TBD |
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Louisiana
America’s electric vehicle transition is well underway — but not in Louisiana • Louisiana Illuminator
The electric vehicle transition has firmly taken root in the United States, with Louisiana lagging well behind, according to a new report from an auto manufacturing trade association.
The latest market data from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation shows EV sales nationwide during the second quarter of 2024 have reached their highest volume ever recorded with 386,000 sales. That’s out of an estimated total of 4.1 million new vehicles sold during the three-month period, according to figures from manufacturers.
For the entire first half of 2024, automakers sold more than 730,000 EVs, which include fully electric, hybrid and fuel cell electric cars. The report based much of its analysis on vehicle registration data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and S&P Global Mobility.
The quarterly sales figure represents nearly 10% of new car sales during the period, which is up from 9.3% during the first quarter and 9% during the same period last year, according to the report.
Electric vehicles now claim 22% of the U.S. automotive market — compared to just 3% in 2016. At the same time, the market share for gas and diesel vehicles has been steadily declining since 2016.
However, like many other state-by-state rankings and metrics, Louisiana remains far behind its peers with an EV market share of only 1.83%, ranking 49th in the country. Only Mississippi (1.72%) and North Dakota (1.62%) saw a smaller share of EV sales in the second quarter.
While EVs have created an economic boon in other states, many of Louisiana’s political leaders have expressed fear of the energy transition and have taken policy positions that hamstring the industry. Since 2020, automotive and battery manufacturers have invested $125 billion into the EV sector and created 114,000 jobs across 18 states, according to the report.
More than one-quarter of new vehicle sales in California from March through June were electric vehicles. EV buyers accounted for nearly 20% of new auto sales in Washington, D.C, and Washington state during the same period.
Despite Louisiana’s low market share, EV sales in the state are still trending upward, representing 1.9% of new car sales during this year’s second quarter, which is a 1.8% jump from the first quarter and a 1.6% jump from the same period last year.
Louisiana lawmakers pass bill to protect ‘freedom’ to buy gas vehicles
The slow pace of adoption in Louisiana has had the unintentional effect of allowing public EV charging infrastructure to catch up in the state.
Almost 2,700 DC fast chargers, which can fully charge an EV battery in as little as 20 minutes, were installed across the U.S. during the second quarter of 2024. According to the report, there are now roughly 29 EVs for every public car charger.
In Louisiana, there are a total of 265 DC fast chargers, 29 of which were added during the second quarter. This equates to a ratio of 18 EVs for every public port in the state, which ranks Louisiana as the 16th best for charger-to-car ratio.
The inflationary pressures that drove up new EV sales prices during 2022 have largely subsided. The average EV transaction price of $56,000 is about 2% lower than it was at the beginning of the year and about 18% lower than it was two years ago. Electric vehicle prices, overall, are about 16% higher than that of the average car, according to the report.
While EVs were once dominated by funny-looking compact passenger cars, they now come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Manufacturers continue to introduce new models to satisfy a variety of consumer needs, including sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks, minivans and sports cars. During the second quarter of 2024, SUVs, pickups and minivans comprised 84% of the EV market — a 10 percentage point increase over the same period last year.
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