Support for Louisiana.

The state we're in is provided by Entergy.

Louisiana is strengthening our power grid throughout the state.

We're reinforcing infrastructure to prepare for stronger storms, reduce outages, and respond quicker when you do need us.

Because together we power life.

Additional support provided by the Fred B and Ruth B Ziegler Foundation and the Ziegler Art Museum, located in Jennings City Hall.

The museum focuses on emerging Louisiana artists and is a historical and cultural center for Southwest Louisiana.

And the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana public Broadcasting and viewers like you.

Thank you.

Louisiana's fishermen and seafood farmers have been feeling the pinch from imported seafood and crawfish, but a new bill could put more money in their pockets.

I'm cleaning Louisiana's waterways one load of trash at a time.

We'll show you how the Osprey Initiative is helping to keep Louisiana beautiful.

Plus, focusing on your finances in 2026, we'll have some tips on how you can improve your financial outlook in the new year.

And Mark Broussard is known for his unique Bayou soul sound.

We'll sit down with the singer songwriter to talk about his Louisiana roots.

Let's get started.

I'm ready.

To.

Hi, everyone.

I'm Christina Jensen, and I'm Johnnie Atkins and much more on those top stories in a moment on this week's edition of Louisiana, The State we're In.

But first, after 58 years, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has shut its doors.

The nonprofit help distribute federal funding to public media outlets like PBS and NPR.

The board of directors voted this week to dissolve the CPB after Republicans in Congress voted to strip its funding.

They claimed the organization had a left leaning bias.

The shutdown has already force several public broadcasting outlets in rural areas to shut down.

Governor Jeff Landry says he's on board with President Trump's plans to strengthen U.S.

involvement in Greenland.

And I think that when he looks at Greenland, he says, look, we've got a defense, a national security interest in Greenland.

We have a defense treaty that's been in place since 1941.

We've got soldiers in Greenland.

We can do more.

We can offer Greenland more than Europe is.

In December, President Trump named Landry the special envoy to Greenland.

Trump administration has repeatedly says it wants to control the country for national security and economic reasons.

Governor Landry says he plans to visit Greenland later this year to convince leaders to side with the United States.

And meanwhile, Senator Bill Cassidy is taking aim at imported crawfish.

He's pushing new legislation that he says would put money collected from overseas producers directly into the hands of Louisiana crawfish farmers.

Here's more on Louisiana seafood in 2026.

For a long time, Louisiana's waters have defined our culture and economy with good seasons and bad seasons.

Louisiana crawfish and seafood is a major industry in Louisiana.

But one major problem with the seafood imports coming into Louisiana.

In recent years, an influx of cheap overseas imports has pushed many local seafood farmers and families to the brink.

Whether it be Chinese enterprise out, the imports are killing us because we can't compete what it cost to do business in this country.

And what I cause new business over.

There are two different things, and we can't make it on a low price.

Bottom line, George Barris is the president of the United Commercial Fishermen's Association and has been picking up shrimp and oysters since he was ten years old.

Through experience, he knows the risks that seafood farmers in Louisiana face before the impact of too many imported product.

If you had a bad year, you got a good price, you've got a good year, you got a medium price.

You always made it.

Now you can't make it because you don't get a price.

Seafood farmers in Louisiana have been battling low prices for seafood imported from other countries for years now.

And Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy has been working on bills to protect seafood farmers.

Tell me about seafood dumping.

I'm surprised to hear that name.

China, in the case of crawfish and in the case of shrimp, other countries in the case of shrimp will produce goods oftentimes subsidized by their government, and then ship them to our country.

And threatening, if you will, the livelihood of our producers.

So we call that dumping, taking their crawfish, their shrimp, dumping it into our country at a below market price because it's subsidized by the government.

And then that subsidy, yeah, it gives their producers an advantage, but it really hurts our producers.

And that's what we're going after.

One of the first acts forced Louisiana restaurants serving imported seafood to clearly state the country of origin on their menus.

And if there's no menu, a large sign at least 18in square posted at the entrance to alert diners.

Country of origin is supposed to also be on shrimp and they can find out if it is mislabeled.

If the shrimp came from India, Ecuador or from the, Gulf.

And of course we will.

Gulf shrimp.

And so so I gather that it has to be enforced that some people are mislabeling, but it's certainly making people more aware of it.

There have been several laws passed aimed at helping Louisiana seafood farmers in the past that didn't have the impact that some farmers expected.

There was a program that's supposed to help us with the with the shrimp industry.

And after producing 250,000 pound of shrimp, I got $0.87 as a duty.

And that's that's the check.

This is to check this out.

Did you catch it?

No, sir, I did not catch.

Which is worth more like it is then $0.87.

It probably cost our government money.

Your tax dollars.

$500 to give me this check.

Because of all the programs that are involved around this catch, these new plan hopes to use money collected in fines and taxes to send benefits directly to Louisiana farmers.

In the past, the bills the lawsuits were filed by the processors and under the current law.

Whoever filed the lawsuit gets the benefit of the of the settlement.

In our case, we're saying, okay, we're going to benefit both not just the processor, but also the farmer.

And that's how our bill is different than what's going on going ahead, which has happened in the past.

The weather conditions in Louisiana also play a big part in productivity and availability of the state's renowned seafood.

While mild winter temperatures and heavy rainfall can boost early harvest, severe summer droughts can cut off supplies.

Also, a sudden freeze in Louisiana can often cause them to go dormant, leading to scarcity and higher prices.

Weather always impacts a fishery, positive or negative.

Every year is different.

If it diminishes my production, I need to get a better price, not a worse price.

The timing could not be more critical as crawfish season is just beginning.

While early supplies are limited and prices are high, local farmers remain optimistic for 2026.

All right, Johnny, let's talk about what's trending this week.

Of course, we're talking all things Mardi Gras feeds, King cakes and of course, those fabulous parades.

Yeah.

And this season, it kicked off this weekend in New Orleans.

New security measures will be in place for the parade.

Yeah.

That's right.

Crews are actually lining parts of the parade route on Saint Charles Avenue with concrete barricades to slow traffic.

And, of course, to protect those.

Crowd safety is very important.

And Louisiana National Guard will also be working with the police during the parade season to help make sure that everything goes smoothly.

And to kick off Carnival, several crews hit the streets on Tuesday, the largest being the crew of Joan of Arc.

That's right.

And this year's carnival season is a short one, with just 43 days between 12th Night and Fat Tuesday.

Last season was 58 days.

Of course, we're all excited for Mardi Gras.

So many parades.

What are some of your favorites?

Well, I was in the Alexandria.

They always had big, nice parades and Lafayette.

We used to go to Lafayette as a kid.

Of course, we can't forget about North Louisiana.

We got Monroe, Shreveport, of course, the capital city, Baton Rouge and Endymion, one of my favorite parades in New Orleans.

And when we think of Mardi Gras, of course, we think of King cakes.

On Tuesday, people waited in some very long lines at some bakeries in New Orleans.

Yeah, and everyone has their favorite brand.

Oh, King cakes are a little bit amazing, whether it's traditional, filled or even savory king cakes.

What are some of your favorite?

I like that cinnamon flavor, like a cinnamon roll me to the traditional style.

Do you have any places you like to go to get King Cakes?

My mom makes them.

I think you get the little baby in there.

And I think last year we got one.

You got to bring some over to leave.

All right?

It's the deal.

All right.

And switching gears, LPB is once again looking for outstanding young people for our Louisiana Young Heroes program.

Now we're asking for nominations of high schoolers who have excelled in academics, overcome adversity, dedicated themselves to public service, or if they've inspired others through acts of heroism.

Students who are selected will have their stories told right here on Louisiana, the state we're in.

Yeah.

And the deadline for nominations is Sunday, March 1st.

So don't delay.

You can find all the information at lpb.org/heroes.

From waterways to wetlands, a conservation group is taking action to protect Louisiana's natural beauty.

The Osprey Initiative uses both high and low tech tools to clean up tons of litter that gathers in the state's rivers and bayous.

Here's a look at how they're removing trash, restoring habitats, and making a lasting impact on the great outdoors.

Every piece of trash tells a story, a story about where it came from, how it got here, and where it's headed next.

And if no one steps in much of this waste doesn't stop here.

It moves downstream into rivers, wetlands, and eventually the Gulf.

That's where the Osprey Initiative comes in.

A company focused on stopping pollution before it becomes a much bigger problem.

Instead of chasing trash after it spreads, they intercepted right here at the source.

I didn't do it to start a business, but we designed this concept to impact that stormwater litter, which is really what conveys a lot of our litter to our bigger water or small stormwater drainages.

And that began and got some chicken wire and some pool noodles made the first litter.

Gator was able to get one out at that site before it rained again.

I had 3 or 4 hampers of litter.

You know, at that time was like, cool, we've got something.

And so that began the company that was in 2017.

Their solution is simple, low cost, low maintenance devices called litter gutters, installed in drainage canals and waterways.

They work with the natural flow of water, quietly collecting trash before it can travel any farther.

The coolest thing about our company is our team members.

I mean, these are we have.

Really.

Our work is dirty.

It's cold.

You know, it can.

It could be 20 degrees out here today and we'd still be out in the water.

We don't stop.

And so the really neatest thing about I love helping people find their passions is really what motivates me.

Well, it looks like a fun time.

I want to get in the water.

Great.

And I'm going to turn it over to the experts.

I'm going to let you out.

Go see the guys.

Let's go.

For the first time today, I'm getting in the water to see this work up close.

It requires a more hands on approach.

Navigating by canoe, pulling debris from places machines can't reach.

This is a lot of physical work.

Yeah, it could be, you know, lifting, when you have debris, like heavy debris, like tires and stuff, it can can be pretty, heavy work.

We use teamwork and use our crews.

And don't try to be the hero lift stuff on your own.

But, yeah, it could be.

You use your grabber.

Here.

Go.

Why do you enjoy doing this?

I enjoy this for many reasons.

One is obviously the main reason of keeping my home state clean.

No matter how it.

You know, how you do it.

Just keeping it clean.

Whether it's in the waterway or on the side of the road, you know, that's the first piece that's really important to me.

Another thing I enjoy about this is the opportunity to grow in different ways and better yourself in different ways.

As far as you know, you're with this company that cleans up litter.

Well, now we're figuring out ways where we're trying to do data.

We're trying to tell stories of what we're picking up, not just picking it up just to be clean, but to tell the story of where all this is coming from.

Everything collected is tracked and measured.

Creating data that helps communities understand where pollution starts and how to prevent it.

That approach is taken Osprey from local cleanups to some of the biggest stages in the country, including the Super Bowl in New Orleans.

High profile events, high impact solutions.

There's a passion there about Louisiana.

And, you know, we have industry with people.

You know, our green spaces are so special.

And we got a lot of people.

And so it's just for people understand first of all, litter on land becomes litter in the water.

That's where it's come.

Nobody's coming to this lake in general.

And dumping all this litter.

It's coming from little pieces of litter on land that stormwater accumulates.

And water is our great collector for the Osprey Initiative.

This isn't just about removing trash.

It's about protecting waterways, empowering communities, and changing the way pollution is handled before it spreads.

Keeping Louisiana's waters cleaner.

One piece of trash at a time.

A new year often means new financial goals, and experts say now is the time to reset and plan ahead.

I spoke with a financial planner for tips on how to improve your financial future.

As we head into 2026, many of us are thinking about our fitness goals, but we also have to think about our finances.

Joining me now is the CEO, founder and financial advisor of Game Changer Wealth, Caroline Ball.

Thank you so much for joining me.

Good to be with you.

So as we head into 2026, what are some things you're hearing from folks?

So in the 50 plus crowd, I would say, we've been here before.

We've seen big markets, you know, how do we keep from having to come back down and go back up again because I'm too close to retirement, right.

Another thing we're hearing is, hey, Jerry, I've got all this wealth built up, and for one case and for three B or traditional IRA, I'm have to pay the tax on this.

You know, what does that look like in three?

When you put those two concerns together.

Because tax is a fee basically, and an ever increasing fee, then do I have enough wealth to maintain my lifestyle in retirement adjusting every year upward to combat inflation?

Do I really have enough?

And if I don't, what do I do different?

Those are the top concerns that I'm hearing.

I wish they would have other things on their mind and we can talk about that.

And what are those things?

So some other things that we wish people would, would have on their mind is estate, their estate planning documents.

This is something if you are sick and can't communicate, you're not dead.

Okay.

So these are certain documents that you must have commonly or previously called power of attorney.

Now, Louisiana's a little different, right?

So in Louisiana, we have different words for different things.

The mandatory documents is more or less what they call them now.

Speaking of for one case, what what's some advice you can give people going into retirement?

You need to understand the difference between what in fact is, cash flow and what is equity.

So things that work to give you a consistent earnings or consistent cash flow that needs to be on your mind more so at that point than just how can I get a higher return?

Whatever you do, however you do it.

You need to make sure that your your attorney.

I'm talking about your estate planning attorney, your tax professional, your income professional and your investment advisory are all at the table conversing and confirming.

And we are bringing that mindset to everyday Americans.

And we do it one client at a time.

And what about the stock market?

There's some uncertainties there.

Always uncertainties.

Here's what people need to know.

Okay.

When you're going up the mountain of retirement and you've got more than ten, 12 years more than that to retirement, a big market correction is not really going to hurt you that much.

If you're assuming you're diversified properly.

However, all the diversification in the world does not curb this risk of big systemic correction where the market goes down together.

So how often is that happen?

Well, it happens on average every 7 to 10 years.

Or the market will lose 40% no matter how well you're diversified.

Okay.

Does that mean you come out of the market?

No, it just means we need to look and see.

Are there some asset classes that don't go down with that market?

But we need to talk about some things that could be good, something that are an upgrade to the bond side of it.

We like structured notes.

Those aren't securities, but they can come with certain guarantees, in certain situations.

I want to talk about interest rates.

What should people out there know right or wrong.

But what that's going to do, it's going to cause homeownership to become back and reach for a lot of Americans.

It's going to cause the movement of real estate where people who want to sell, to go to something bigger and nicer.

It's going to allow them to do that.

Or maybe they want to downsize, take that equity out, do something different with it.

That's going to put a lot of people back to work.

You know, you need to get this education about the cash flow concepts, the tax planning concepts, and to see what to do when these rates go down, because these rates going down will cause folks that are used to getting these returns, their can calls, when they rates go now are going to be forced in their mind, forced back to the market, taking unnecessary risk to cause unhappy outcomes that they can't deal with.

So that's the other side of the equation.

When the rates go down what happens?

So there are some things we can do when their rates go down.

There are some things they can invest in and actually lower their risk and possibly even raise their outcome horizon.

Some good advice.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

You know, I think that the most under-appreciated thing right now, the thing that I really wish people would focus on, is the estate planning side.

You know, the estate planning, the documents in case you're can't communicate or if you're dead, if you have, these things, prepared in another state and you moved into Louisiana.

Absolutely.

They're not going to work here most of the time.

I mean, 99% of the time there's a big talk about trust versus.

Well, I think that's misunderstood.

A lot of times.

There are some states that that you can, it might be more beneficial to have a trust, in this state of Louisiana.

I'm not going to put a fine point on that.

Have a trust, not have a will.

But but I think that people need to engage in this conversation.

Certainly if you are selling appreciated assets, this is something that I think that people need to know.

If you're selling an appreciated asset, we're talking real estate, a stock, and you have a deferred gain.

Right.

You're going to realize that gain under most CPAs or account is going to tell you you've got to pay the tax.

Okay?

I'm here to tell you you have to pay the tax.

But the government is very negotiable on when you pay the tax.

So these are just a few of the things that we talk about and how we can mitigate some of these challenges.

For with the.

Well thank you so much for joining me is really informative.

Thank you.

Pleasure.

And you may have seen a Louisiana favorite over the holidays.

And our broadcast, An Evening at the Governor's Mansion.

Mark Broussard's music is rooted in soul and storytelling.

I met with Mark to talk about his music, his Louisiana roots, and what's next for the artist known for his bayou soul.

Today we're at the Bogota Farm and Gardens, so we're going to talk to Mark Broussard.

He's a singer and songwriter known around the world, and we're here to talk about his unique style of music.

The only goal I've ever known.

You know what Broussard is an American singer and songwriter, and he has a special kind of music that he calls Bayou Soul.

What is Bayou Soul?

You know, some writer coined that phrase for my music years ago, and it just kind of stuck.

When people ask me, I tell them rhythm and blues, you know, or soul music.

But Bayou Soul, I think, is a pretty good descriptor.

You know, it evokes the bayou that my people have, you know, grew up and lived in.

My people were in the by use of south Louisiana for a very, very long time.

I. Well, where did you grow up?

I grew up in Carencro, Louisiana, which is just on the north side of Lafayette.

Your dad played the guitar for the Boogie King.

That's right.

And, he was inducted into the Louisiana Hall of Fame in 2010.

What was it like growing up with a musician that, you know, it was fantastic because I've been on stage since I was five years old.

The the weekend that my father learned that I could sing, he put me on stage that weekend, and, I got to grow up around some amazing singers in South Louisiana.

Guys like Gene Shin and Dwayne Yates and Jerry Lacroix.

These are legends from these parts.

And, you know, getting to witness that stuff as a, as a young boy was, was really inspiring.

You've been on tourism, big names like the Dave Matthews Band and Bonnie Raitt.

What's it like touring with those guys?

You know, is always a good time to get in front of a new audience that we feel really strongly that we can convert fans from any audience that we get in front of.

And growing up in Louisiana, it's kind of different.

So did you feel inspired by that some of the songs that you write?

Absolutely, yeah.

In fact, I wrote a song called along the River.

Yeah.

After I made a visit with, to a buddies camp down on the river.

And he's got this sign on the camp that basically says to any passers by, you know, the camp is open.

It's unlocked.

If you need to lay your head down, feel free to lay your head down here.

But please don't steal our stuff because we work really hard with our bare hands to build this place along the line of yeah, which just means kind of to the lakes of the river.

Okay, you once said that you were a snob when it came to voices, and then you discover some of the artists, like, LED Zeppelin, Sean Adams, things more.

How they influenced you, you know, again, I was, I was really as a young man, I was really focused on singers like Stevie Wonder and Brian McKnight and Boyz to Men, contemporary soul music.

And when I first started writing, that stuff was heavily infused in my music.

And it wasn't until about halfway through my 20s, closer to 30, that I started to kind of cast a wider net and let some of my snobbery go.

And, there's an artist called Blake Mills who had a self-titled album that absolutely changed my life.

It was some of the most beautiful music I'd ever heard lyrically, as deep as you can get.

And it and the recordings as well were things like I just never heard before.

And so I started kind of opening that, that lane up a little bit and, and luckily it's led to, quite a, quite a more robust, catalog since then.

So you've been writing music.

When did you start that?

How long is the writing?

I've been writing since about age 12 or so.

The first song I ever wrote was, a song called Danielle.

My best friend was Danielle, and she was my best friend since kindergarten.

She was dating a very good friend of mine, and they broke up, and I wrote that song in the hopes that they would get back together.

So did they know about the fact that the.

Where?

At the bow Bass farm and Gardens.

Tell me about this place.

So the front part of the house, was the original house, and it was actually in Gil Platt originally.

It was the house that, was used to sign the charter and found in the town of Bill Platt.

This whole area, I see the outside, there's gorgeous landscape and stuff like that.

Can you show us around?

Yeah, absolutely.

Let's take a walk and go feed some cows.

And tell me about this.

Well, where are we looking at?

So this is my home away from home.

Oh, Kenny's gracious enough to kind of give me the one of the place.

I like to come out here when I need to clear my head or bring my guitar out and write a song or two.

Really?

Gordon is out here, and I see the cows over there and, donkey skin.

It's just a really special place that I'm extremely grateful to have access to.

The doggies normal from far away.

But when we get close, they look a little different.

Yeah, man, I think he's.

His plan is always to keep nothing but miniature without you.

Haha.

Okay, so when people come and they rent the facilities, they can come out and look at Dalton's feed and helping out with their animals, hang out with the animals.

Okay?

Paul, I want to thank you, Mike Bouchard, for being here, and I want to thank you for all you've done for the bringing back and music in Louisiana around the world so people can hear it.

I appreciate you having me, Johnny.

Thanks so much.

Well, that is our show for this week.

Remember, you can watch anything LPB anytime, wherever you are with our LPB app.

And you can catch LPB news and public affairs shows, as well as other Louisiana programs that you've come to enjoy over the years.

Please like us on Facebook and Instagram for everyone at Louisiana Public Broadcasting, I'm Christina Jensen and I'm Johnny Atkinson.

Until next time.

That's the state we're in.

Support for Louisiana.

The state we're in is provided by Entergy.

Louisiana is strengthening our power grid throughout the state.

We're reinforcing infrastructure to prepare for stronger storms, reduce outages, and respond quicker when you do need us.

Because together we power lights.

Additional support provided by the Fred B and Ruth B Ziegler Foundation and the Ziegler Art Museum, located in Jennings City Hall.

The museum focuses on emerging Louisiana artists and is a historical and cultural center for Southwest Louisiana, and by Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center.

Visit Baton Rouge and the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting and viewers like you.

Thank you.

For.