TRANSCRIPT
You’re listening to Red River Radio News.
Good morning, I’m Jeff Ferrell.
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INTRO:
Governor Jeff Landry has declared a state of emergency to allow Louisiana farmers and timber harvesters the ability to use dyed diesel fuel through peak harvest season.
The executive order suspends the penalty for using tax-exempt diesel fuel on public roads through October.
Louisiana Farm Bureau President Richard Fontenot says record high diesel prices - due to global shortages - have driven up expenses for farmers:
SOT:
“We’ve probably doubled the expenses that we’ve had historically over the past 20 years with these fuel prices. And all those affect the bottom line of what we can and can’t do.”
TAG:
According to AAA, the average price for diesel is $6.02 a gallon in Louisiana. A year ago it stood at $3.30.
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INTRO:
In Texas, more than 80% of families report the price of food is increasing faster than their income. That’s according to a new poll from the group No Kid Hungry Texas.
Director Stacie Sanchez says food insecurity is becoming a big issue for more Texans, with higher inflation and sweeping cuts to federal social service agencies:
SOT:
“People are struggling to keep up with rising grocery prices. Parents have having to make difficult trade-offs.”
TAG:
Sanchez says many families are now taking on debt to cover food costs – and in some households people are skipping meals to make ends meet.
Texas already has the highest food insecure population in the nation at 19.4% - or nearly 1 in 5 residents, according to the organization Feeding Texas.
<**** NEW STORY ****>
INTRO:
In Arkansas, with 40 days out from the midterm elections, some analysts say many voters are just angry!
That includes an assessment from Democratic political consultant Michael Cook.
Speaking on the statewide news program “Talk Business & Politics,” Cook said that anger all boils down to the rising cost of living – from gas and groceries to overall inflation:
SOT:
“They voted in Arkansas for Republicans, thinking they would, especially Trump and others, that they would help reduce the costs and it’s not happening. What makes it even worse though is that not only are costs too high, but it seems like people are angry because Republicans just really don’t care That they’re out of touch and more worried about White House ballrooms and is Trump’s name really going to be on the Kennedy Center.”
TAG:
Former Republican State Representative, and current political consultant, Grant Hodges says he acknowledges voter frustration over rising costs.
But Hodges rejected Cook’s claims of such widespread public anger in Arkansas:
SOT:
“I would say that actually in Arkansas, I don’t think a lot of people are angry. And I think one thing I would point to is I think Governor Sanders is on track right now to win reelection by close to 20 points, if not more. And I think that’s because in general most Arkansans believe that the state’s headed in the right direction.”
TAG:
Hodges points to Arkansas’ population growth in recent years. The state has topped 3.1 million people for the first time. Hodges also cited the economy, with its strong fiscal growth and job gains, along with an unemployment rate under 4%.
He says the state even ended the fiscal year, June 30, 2026, with a budget surplus of $655 million. Yet critics, like For AR People and Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families argue it has come largely at the expense of the sick and the poor.
<**** FORECAST ****>
The National Weather Service (NWS) in Shreveport is calling for:
- Partly sunny conditions and a small break from extreme heat, with a high near 91 today.
- Tomorrow: mostly sunny with a high near 93.
- For the weekend, the high stays at 93 Saturday, then ticks up a degree to 94 Sunday.
- By Monday, 93 again, as a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms returns.
- The NWS says continued hot and dry conditions will lead to increased fire danger across portions of the ArkLaTex. That includes large parts of North Louisiana and East Texas.
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