TRANSCRIPT
You’re listening to Red River Radio News.
Good morning, I’m Jeff Ferrell.
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INTRO:
Early voting ends today in Texas ahead of next Tuesday’s midterm elections.
As Houston Public Media’s Andrew Schneider reports, the two leading candidates for the U.S. Senate are set to make their final campaign swings through the state:
SOT:
“Texas Attorney General and Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton will make his final campaign appearance in Houston midday Friday at Federal American Grill on Shepherd Drive. He’ll follow up later in the day with a stop in Brazoria County. On Saturday, Texas state Representative and Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico will make his final Houston stop of the 2026 campaign at Bayou Music Center downtown. The Houston area represents a tremendous bloc of votes for statewide candidates. As of the close of polls on Wednesday evening, more than 860,000 Harris County voters had cast ballots, most of them in person. That amounted to roughly 16% of all the votes cast early across Texas, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s website.”
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INTRO:
A three-judge panel is set to decide whether the case that led to the elimination of one of Louisiana’s majority-Black congressional districts, should remain open and apply to the state’s last remaining majority-minority district.
Plaintiffs in Louisiana v. Callais say the 2nd Congressional District illegally uses race as a basis for the district lines.
That’s the same argument that led to the legislature redrawing the 6th District earlier this year.
As Mel Bridges explains, voting rights groups say the case has dragged on long enough:
SOT:
“In a statement, the ACLU of Louisiana said Callais is, “over.” The group said the plaintiffs achieved the legal relief they sought in the case when the 6th district was redrawn.”
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INTRO:
The 2026 hurricane season is likely done for Louisiana.
That’s the word from LSU Health Climatologist Barry Keim.
He says The 2026 season has produced 10 named storms, including one hurricane.
An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms and seven hurricanes.
Keim says as expected, El Nino has limited storm formation this year.
He says this will be two years in a row that Louisiana did not have a hurricane make landfall along the state’s coast:
SOT:
“I think we’re in pretty darn good shape moving forward in terms of tropical activity. Although, having said all that, given the drought situation, you know, a weak tropical system probably would be a blessing for us at this juncture.”
TAG:
Keim says in the 175 years of hurricane record keeping, a named storm has never made landfall in Louisiana in November.
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INTRO:
In Arkansas, the rice industry faces its lowest acreage in decades, as the harvest comes to a close.
The University of Arkansas Extension Service says farmers face surging prices for fuel and fertilizer.
As Little Rock Public Radio reports, farmer Robert Stobaugh says he used to farm 15-hundred acres:
SOT:
“It declined by a third this year. We only have 1,100 [acres]. And it’s simple economics. We could not afford to lose any more money than that. So we knew we were planting, at best, at best, a breakeven crop in March and April.”
TAG:
Reports show that Arkansas leads the nation with 12 farm bankruptcy filings in the third quarter alone, and 32 for the year.
<**** FORECAST ****>
The National Weather Service in Shreveport is calling for:
- Mostly cloudy conditions today, with a high near 78.
- For the weekend, it begins with a chance of showers and thunderstorms and a high near 77.
- The sun returns Sunday as the high rises to 81.
- Then 82 Monday when clouds return and a chance for rain by the evening.
- Rain chances are increasing for the weekend which includes Halloween Day. It appears that the greatest rain chances appear to be during the daytime hours on Saturday with lower rain chances during the evening across most areas.
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