r/Louisiana • • Sep 16 '26

Louisiana News AMA: Sheriffs are getting 20% of Louisiana’s $621M in opioid settlement funds but aren’t required to report their spending. Ask reporters Katie Jane Fernelius, Drew Hawkins and Alena Maschke anything about what they found when they followed the money.

122 Upvotes

Hey, Reddit! We’re reporters with The Current, Gulf States Newsroom and Verite News. Last month, we published a database reporting how sheriffs’ offices across Louisiana are spending millions of dollars in opioid settlement funds. 

Louisiana is unique among states in that it directed virtually all of its opioid settlement dollars to local governments, with 20% carved out for sheriffs’ offices. But sheriffs, unlike parish governments, are not required to report how they are spending that money, making it difficult for the public to assess how they are choosing to spend money intended to abate the opioid epidemic. 

We wanted to change that. So, our newsrooms teamed up with KFF Health News to contact every single sheriffs’ office in the state and ask them how they were spending opioid settlement dollars. Not every sheriff’s office got back to us, but most did. From there, we built our database — and categorized expenditures.

There are a lot of interesting findings. You can read the full story, which has a database of spending and a map showing how this money was spent by sheriff departments across the state, at our websites: 

Let us know what you’re most curious about and we’ll do our best to explain it! 

Ask us anything about what we found in the data, how we chose to evaluate and “rate” those expenditures, and what stood out to us in our reporting. We’ll be back here at noon on Friday, Sept. 18 to answer your questions.

EDIT: That's all the time we had today. Thanks for all the great questions!


r/Louisiana • • 8h ago

LA - Government 💙

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487 Upvotes

Stop complaining if you keep them in office


r/Louisiana • • 14h ago

LA - Government Vote!!!

101 Upvotes

Tired of being at the bottom in every way? 💙

Tired of data centers being a thought? 💙

Tired of Republicans screwing you over? 💙


r/Louisiana • • 14h ago

Louisiana News Immigrants in ICE detention have no due process rights under US Constitution, federal appeals court says

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63 Upvotes

Immigrants who enter the United States without appointments with immigration officials can be detained indefinitely and are not entitled to bond hearings, regardless of how long they have lived in the country, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday.

The 10-7 decision was issued in the case of three immigrant fathers in Texas who were detained without bond. It applies to immigrants who have already entered the U.S., as well as those who will enter in the future, and it has far-reaching implications for the more than 20,000 people held indefinitely in detention centers in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi – the states in the appeals court district. 

Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi hold more than 40% of all ICE detainees by average daily population, making the 5th Circuit the largest jurisdiction for people challenging their confinement as unconstitutional. So far, it continues to be one of only two circuits to have upheld the Trump administration’s mandatory detention policy.

The 5th Circuit reversed an earlier decision by a panel of three of its own judges, which had granted bond to immigrants in detention after 90 days. The new ruling says people in ICE detention have no constitutional right to due process.

In the majority opinion issued Friday, Judge Cory Todd Wilson wrote that immigrants who have been in the U.S. a long time are still “applicants for admission” and therefore are subject to mandatory detention without bond.

Rebecca Cassler, an attorney at the American Immigration Council, who represented the three men, said the ruling is “an affront to the U.S. Constitution."

James Percival, general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security, praised the majority’s ruling.

“Big win in the Fifth Circuit on mandatory detention for illegal aliens, a principle codified in 1996 legislation but ignored by the deep state for decades,” Percival said Friday.


r/Louisiana • • 15h ago

Gripes & Complaints Louisiana Dept of Revenue stole from me

41 Upvotes

LADR stole $7,000 from me by offsetting my federal tax refund check with no warning. I have never received any mail or notification about debts owed to Louisiana.

So I called their offices this morning and it turns out that it’s from 2021 unpaid taxes. But in 2021 I worked in a filed taxes in California. And Louisiana knows this because the lady on the phone, before I even said anything to her about California, she asked me to submit proof that I was working in California that year.

Furthermore, they have had 4 years to try and collect alleged debt and again they have never notified me, and they didn’t offset my federal returns from the last 4 years.

The fact that offsetting occurs is bad enough. But when done inaccurately, I feel like that crosses a line and is unacceptable.

I’ll be looking for an attorney to sue the state of Louisiana. I’m truly sick of the dysfunction here. And I am being traumatized and incurring damages by them holding onto MY money. They said it would take over 30 days to process my refund. Unacceptable.

I cannot wait to file my petition. I should have never moved back to this state.

I now have lawsuits against the state, against the largest medical facility in the state for civil rights violations and medical malpractice. My house in New Orleans has been robbed 6 times this year. My car stolen twice over the last decade. $15,000 bills from Sewerage and Waterboard. $750 bills from Entergy. I mean, the fact that I’m still standing is truly by the grace of God. This state is literally killing me.

#GetOut


r/Louisiana • • 14h ago

Gripes & Complaints Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley Tells Police Chiefs At Private IACP Conference That Public ALPR Backlash Is Paid Bot Activity

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26 Upvotes

r/Louisiana • • 14h ago

Villiany and Scum Franklinton man sentenced to 50 years in prison for production of child pornography

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27 Upvotes

r/Louisiana • • 3h ago

Questions Has anyone noticed a rash of ADA lawsuits filed by one guy?

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3 Upvotes

r/Louisiana • • 14h ago

Villiany and Scum Tangipahoa Parish deputies arrest Hammond man on 39 counts of child pornography

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22 Upvotes

r/Louisiana • • 19h ago

Villiany and Scum White churches didn’t just look away from slavery

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38 Upvotes

r/Louisiana • • 16h ago

Louisiana News Mississippi man arrested after allegedly breaking into St. Francisville church, nearby home while naked

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13 Upvotes

r/Louisiana • • 3h ago

Questions Dumb questions from a traveler

1 Upvotes

Hello! I am planning a roadtrip through Louisiana next year and I had questions about the ferries. I wanted to camp at Palmetto Island state park then drive along the gulf beach highway until I hit Texas. However I noticed there is a ferry in Cameron. How much do these cost? Is it something I could do in my civic with no issues? Do they only make the trip a couple times a day? I’m from Kansas so the idea of a ferry taking your car around is pretty crazy to me so I apologize if these are dumb questions.


r/Louisiana • • 1d ago

LA - Politics Letlow Ad Confuses Me

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52 Upvotes

No need to ask which ad because she only seems to have the one. But I'm confused by her assertion that increased flood insurance rates are the causal factor forcing "seniors to sell the homes that they've paid off."

Isn't it more likely that the increased costs of, idk, everything else is contributing to a greater degree to people having to sell the assets they've paid off?


r/Louisiana • • 1d ago

Gripes & Complaints Louisiana, take a look at that corporate income tax at a time when petroleum companies are making record profits.

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85 Upvotes

r/Louisiana • • 1d ago

Louisiana News Residents, citizens’ group file suit alleging illegal meetings on SpaceX

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155 Upvotes

Louisiana’s Constitution guarantees citizens the right to observe government proceedings and restricts certain special privileges for corporations.

Now Vermilion Parish residents are suing over alleged secretive government meetings involving the SpaceX project.

I’m all for economic development and bringing good jobs to Louisiana. But when public resources, tax exemptions, and corporate confidentiality agreements are involved, shouldn’t taxpayers have a right to know what their elected officials are agreeing to?

At what point does protecting corporate negotiations become protecting corporations from public accountability?

I’m genuinely interested in hearing what others think, especially anyone familiar with Louisiana’s Constitution and Open Meetings Law.


r/Louisiana • • 1d ago

Villiany and Scum Gunman on loose after shooting at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

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39 Upvotes

r/Louisiana • • 1d ago

Food and Drink What did the crawfish say when he was stabbed by a fairy?

238 Upvotes

Etoufee?


r/Louisiana • • 1d ago

Culture Religions of Louisiana

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40 Upvotes

r/Louisiana • • 14h ago

Culture Hey yall new here how's everyone doing

0 Upvotes

41 m Louisiana here


r/Louisiana • • 16h ago

LA - Politics How does it feel politically on the ground?

0 Upvotes

I am not a Louisianan, but I have had a cursory interest in the US Senate race (and I visited New Orleans in the late 2010s-lovely city!). I’ve been insistent in my belief the seat, while likely voting for Letlow, isn’t as safe as many assume it to be. Right now, there has been some evidence pointing to this-mostly a Republican pollster saying Letlow isn’t going to totally crush Davis, and turnout apparently being Democratic-favorable compared to last cycles. At the same time, though, Davis isn’t raising that much money, nor spending much.

However, while it’s not as reliable, I do kind of want to see if there’s anecdotal evidence that Davis is doing well. Does it feel like he’s taking the challenge seriously and using what resources he has to reach as much of the state as effectively as possible? Does it feel like he’s kind of invisible, like many challengers in safe seats? Is Letlow taking this seriously? Is she coasting? Do none of these describe what they’re doing? I’d really love to hear it.


r/Louisiana • • 13h ago

Questions Hey

0 Upvotes

How's everyone doing today just trying to get to know new people


r/Louisiana • • 1d ago

Irony & Satire Ran into my State Senator at McDonalds yesterday!

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26 Upvotes

Robble robble


r/Louisiana • • 2d ago

History Largest religion in Louisiana 2026 vs 1830

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99 Upvotes

r/Louisiana • • 1d ago

LA - Government Louisiana’s 10 Constitutional Amendments—A voting Tool I am Using

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0 Upvotes

r/Louisiana • • 2d ago

Culture Largest Hispanic ancestry in Louisiana

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68 Upvotes