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Volunteer opportunities for Acadiana, Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Shreveport/Bossier

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Volunteer opportunities for Acadiana, Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Shreveport/Bossier


Louisiana Inspired highlights volunteer opportunities across south Louisiana and the Shreveport/Bossier City area. If your organization has specific volunteer opportunities, email us at lainspired@theadvocate.com with details on the volunteer opportunity,



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Why Louisiana is one of the most mosquito infested states in the US

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Why Louisiana is one of the most mosquito infested states in the US


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Bug spray is an everyday necessity in Louisiana, as mosquitoes in the state are active year-round.

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Mosquitoes thrive in Louisiana’s climate, as ample rainfall and bodies of water provide optimal breeding grounds and the insects favor humidity and mild winters.

All of these factors contribute to the state’s high mosquito population, abundant number of mosquito species and high volume of West Nile cases reported annually.

Louisiana and mosquitoes

While the exact count of mosquitoes in Louisiana is impossible to calculate, the state is estimated to have the fourth highest mosquito population in the U.S.

The 10 states with the most mosquitoes, according to World Population Review:

  1. Alabama
  2. Florida
  3. Georgia
  4. Louisiana
  5. Montana
  6. North Carolina
  7. Oklahoma
  8. South Dakota
  9. Texas
  10. Virginia

The 10 states with the least mosquitoes, according to World Population Review:

  1. Arizona
  2. California
  3. Delaware
  4. Hawaii
  5. Nevada
  6. West Virginia
  7. Alaska
  8. Arkansas
  9. Colorado
  10. Connecticut

Louisiana has the fourth highest number of mosquito species. How many does the state have?

Louisiana is home to a total of 68 species of mosquito, making it the state with the fourth most species. The three most common species of mosquito in Louisiana include southern house mosquitoes, Asian tiger mosquitoes and floodwater mosquitoes, says J&J Exterminating.

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Here’s how Louisiana compares to other states in terms of mosquito species, according to World Population Review:

  1. Texas: 85
  2. Florida: 80
  3. New York: 70
  4. Louisiana: 68
  5. Georgia: 63
  6. South Carolina: 61
  7. Alabama: 60
  8. Kentucky: 60
  9. New Jersey: 60
  10. North Carolina: 60
  11. Oklahoma: 60
  12. Pennsylvania: 60
  13. Ohio: 59
  14. Delaware: 57
  15. Iowa: 57
  16. New Mexico: 57
  17. Wisconsin: 56
  18. Arkansas: 55
  19. Indiana: 55
  20. Michigan: 55
  21. Connecticut: 54
  22. Illinois: 52
  23. Massachusetts: 51
  24. California: 50
  25. Idaho: 50
  26. Maryland: 50
  27. Minnesota: 50
  28. Mississippi: 50
  29. Missouri: 50
  30. Montana: 50
  31. Nebraska: 50
  32. Oregon: 50
  33. Utah: 50
  34. Virginia: 50
  35. Rhode Island: 46
  36. Colorado: 45
  37. Maine: 45
  38. Vermont: 45
  39. Wyoming: 45
  40. New Hampshire: 43
  41. South Dakota: 43
  42. Arizona: 40
  43. Nevada: 40
  44. Washington: 40
  45. North Dakota: 38
  46. Alaska: 30
  47. West Virginia: 26
  48. Tennessee: 9
  49. Hawaii: 8
  50. Kansas: 2

Louisiana among states that report the most cases of West Nile virus. How many cases were reported in 2025?

A total of 1,941 cases of West Nile virus were reported in the U.S. in 2025 and 64 were reported in Louisiana the same year, making the state rank ninth for total cases of West Nile reported in 2025.

West Nile virus has been actively spreading throughout Louisiana since its first detection in the state in 2002, says the Louisiana Department of Health.

How Louisiana compares to other states in terms of West Nile virus cases reported in 2025, according to World Population Review:

  1. Colorado: 283
  2. Illinois: 136
  3. Minnesota: 112
  4. Texas: 104
  5. California: 98
  6. North Dakota: 86
  7. South Dakota: 86
  8. Pennsylvania: 80
  9. Louisiana: 64
  10. Arizona: 63
  11. New York: 56
  12. Oklahoma: 53
  13. Nebraska: 52
  14. New Mexico: 51
  15. Iowa: 49
  16. Utah: 48
  17. Michigan: 46
  18. Ohio: 44
  19. Indiana: 38
  20. Kentucky: 35
  21. Missouri: 34
  22. Mississippi: 32
  23. Kansas: 29
  24. Maryland: 27
  25. Wisconsin: 26
  26. Virginia: 25
  27. Alabama: 24
  28. Arkansas: 24
  29. New Jersey: 21
  30. Tennessee: 16
  31. Georgia: 15
  32. Wyoming: 14
  33. Montana: 11
  34. Idaho: 9
  35. Massachusetts: 9
  36. North Carolina: 9
  37. Connecticut: 6
  38. Florida: 6
  39. Washington, D.C.: 4
  40. South Carolina: 4
  41. Delaware: 3
  42. Oregon: 2
  43. Rhode Island: 2
  44. Washington: 2
  45. West Virginia: 2
  46. Maine: 1

Presley Bo Tyler is the Louisiana Deep South Connect Team reporter for USA Today Network. Find her on X @PresleyTyler02 and email at PTyler@Gannett.com



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Louisiana pastor ordered to stay away from home of man he attacked

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Louisiana pastor ordered to stay away from home of man he attacked


A Louisiana pastor who assaulted his church’s neighbor last month has been ordered to stay at least 50 yards away from the young man’s home.

Mark Anthony “Tony” Spell, 48, pastor of Life Tabernacle Church near Baton Rouge, was arrested for second-degree battery in June, Roys Report (RR) previously reported. A video of the attack shows Spell punching his 20-year-old neighbor more than 30 times. Spell also threw the man to the ground, sat on top of him, jerked the man’s neck and twisted it, then stood up and kicked him.

A protection order against Spell was issued Friday in Commissioner Kory Tauzin’s Courtroom, reported the Baton Rouge-based Advocate. Tauzin works in the 19th Judicial District Court as a quasi-judge, a person who exercises court-like powers but is not a judge.

The order states that Spell must stay more than 50 yards away from the home of the family that lives across the road from the church, unless he is checking the mail. Spell must also not contact the family in person or electronically, including through social media, the Advocate reported.

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RR requested a copy of the protection order from the district clerk but didn’t immediately receive the document.

Your tax-deductible gift supports our mission of reporting the truth and restoring the church. Donate $50 or more to The Roys Report, and you can elect to receive our featured offer, “Kiss and Tell: The Innocent Moment That Shattered Mark Driscoll’s Cult” by Vince Manuele – click here.

Pastor Tony Spell addresses his Life Tabernacle congregation following his arrest, telling members he had a “red-hot sermon ready” and casting himself as a victim of “domestic terrorism.” (Screen grab)

RR also emailed Spell at his church for comment, but he didn’t immediately respond.

Spell previously said the 20-year-old neighbor threatened to rape his wife and grandchildren, which the neighbor denied. The two families have been feuding since 2020, when Spell’s church defied COVID-19 lockdown orders.

Scott Sherwin, father of the man Spell punched, had allowed federal authorities to install cameras on his property to surveil the church, RR previously reported. Life Tabernacle is a Oneness Pentecostal church located 14 miles northeast of Baton Rouge.

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The elder Sherwin called police on June 25 — two days after Spell’s arrest, according to a police bodycam video obtained by WBRZ-TV Ch. 2, an ABC affiliate in Baton Rouge.

Spell bodycam footage
A police bodycam video shows officers confronting Tony Spell, who was mowing the church lawn near his neighbor’s home. (Screen grab)

In the police video, Sherwin told police Spell was mowing the church’s lawn at 4 a.m. within 50 yards of his residence. Sherwin told police about a protection order that was in process. Sherwin also said he believed Spell was disturbing the peace and trying to “intimidate” his family by mowing his lawn so early.

“He’s got a protective order and he’s doing this on purpose to keep me and my family awake and drive us insane,” Sherwin told police in the video.

The video next shows police confronting Spell, who was sitting on his mower in the church’s yard. Spell then called Sherwin’s 20-year-old son an anti-gay slur, according to the TV station, which redacted it from the video.

“He’s just sore because I beat the crap out of his f—-t boy,” WBRZ reported Spell saying in the video. “And he’s next if he comes over here and harasses these boys.”

Some teenagers were in the video with Spell holding weed trimmers.

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The June incident was at least the second time Spell was arrested for assault, RR previously reported. Spell allegedly backed a bus toward a man who was protesting the church’s decision to stay open during the pandemic. This was also caught on video. Those charges were later dismissed, RR previously reported.

Rebecca Hopkins is a journalist based in Colorado.





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New Louisiana waterway cleanup initiative aims to start in September

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New Louisiana waterway cleanup initiative aims to start in September


Love Our Waterways, a new statewide waterway and shoreline cleanup initiative, will take place throughout Louisiana in September.

Under the auspices of Keep Louisiana Beautiful and Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser, the program will involve volunteers, businesses, schools, civic organizations, and community groups in removing litter and debris from Louisiana’s rivers, lakes, bayous, beaches, and shorelines.

World Cleanup Day will take place on Sept. 20, with September globally recognized as Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup Month. Love Our Waterways will serve as a registered effort supporting both initiatives.

Registration is now open at LoveLaWaterways.org. Volunteers can register for a cleanup event or find opportunities to participate. Participants can clean shorelines, clean out drains and ditches, clean by paddle or motorized boat, promote on social media, and/or donate to amplify the impact. Keep Louisiana Beautiful will provide supply boxes for the first 200 groups to register.

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Volunteers will also help collect important litter data by documenting the types of debris removed and identifying larger abandoned items, including derelict crab traps, abandoned vessels, and other marine debris. This information will be shared with partner agencies to support future removal efforts.



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