TRANSCRIPT
You’re listening to Red River Radio News.
Good morning, I’m Jeff Ferrell.
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INTRO:
Local and federal officials broke ground this week in Louisiana on what’s expected to be one of the world’s largest fertilizer plants.
Now more than ever - fertilizer has become a national security issue - for the nation’s food security.
That’s because of America’s foreign dependence on fertilizer imports, not to mention global trade disruptions, like the Strait of Hormuz, for example.
Louisiana Public Radio’s Brooke Thorington reports from Ascension Parish:
SOT:
“President and CEO of CF Industries Chris Bohn says the $3.75 billion initiative will produce 1.4 million tons of low-carbon ammonia annually. It’s expected to create 3,000 construction jobs. Once we’re done, we have not only that 100 plus high-paying jobs, but we also have contractors, maintenance technicians that work on all our sites that we spend hundreds of millions of dollars over time. USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, who also attended, stressed the important role the plant will play in the security of the country’s food supply. Roughly half of the fertilizer the country uses is imported. The Louisiana Bucket Brigade says they are concerned about pollution from the facility’s expansion and other industrial plants in the area.”
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INTRO:
U.S. House Speaker and Northwest Louisiana Congressman Mike Johnson is campaigning in South-Central Texas in a district that was supposed to help Republicans save its razor-thin majority.
Now the race is looking tight, and could be – in Johnson’s own words, “The whole enchilada.
The San Antonio Report’s Andrea Drusch has more:
SOT:
“Republicans took a gamble in Texas this year, redrawing the state’s congressional districts to capitalize on changing voting patterns among Hispanic voters. As Johnson put it “2024 was a bellwether election. We had a true demographic shift” Republicans drew the 35th congressional district to give their party what they thought would be an easy pickup opportunity. “They believe in God. Religion is important in this community. They believe in a secure border.” But Democrats believe the tide could be turning the other way, and have already reserved ads to compete there this fall. So top GOP leaders are now swooping in to stump in a congressional race that could test the party’s staying power with Hispanic voters. A race could be — in Johnson’s words — “the whole enchilada.”
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INTRO:
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has announced nearly $150 million awarded in federal grant money for 50 rural health care providers across the state.
It’s all part of the “Rural Health Transformation Plan,” better known as the RHTP. Arkansas’ RHTP steering committee has helped bring in nearly a billion dollars for the health care systems that power Arkansas’ small communities.
That includes more than $200 million this year alone. Those are funds which will reach all 75 Arkansas counties.
The Governor Then introduced Jim Hudson, Arkansas’ Secretary of Finance and Administration to explain the importance of this program:
SOT:
“The initiatives that are getting announced today, they're getting funded today. They sustain; they stabilize hospitals and clinics in rural Arkansas. They're funding innovative uses of technology to be able to address the problem of chronic disease management in our state which is significant. Uh it's the opportunity to bring different clinics and hospitals together and really work together in a collaborative relationship.”
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The National Weather Service (NWS) in Shreveport is calling for:
Patchy fog before 10:00 a.m. Otherwise, sunny, hot & dry with a high near 95.
And right now, that forecast of “sunny, hot & dry with a high in the mid-90s” is expected every day until the middle of next week - when temperatures begin to climb back into the upper 90s.
* The NWS forecast calls for the Four State Region to experience another round of extreme heat as we move into early September.
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