Author: Laura McKnight

A Louisiana Life: Struck with Compassion

As Hurricane Laura bore down on the southwestern Louisiana coast, Kendrick Johnson of Lafayette fielded a call that would change the pattern of his daily life for weeks — and ultimately help Calcasieu Parish take important first steps to recover…

Lovin’ Life

Juicy brisket-bacon-sausage burgers, hot Vietnamese-style crawfish, craft cocktails with ornate garnishes, flyboarding adventures, craft brewery karaoke nights, film festivals and theatrical events — food and travel blogger Jada Durden shows her followers a sparkling side of Shreveport-Bossier City. Eclectic and…

A Louisiana Life: Let it Bee

When Sarah Shult needs to relax after a hectic week in retail, she often finds calm in the steady buzz of her beehives. “It’s where I find my peace,” Shult said. The 33-year-old Thibodaux resident and her wife, Rachel LeCompte,…

A Louisiana Life: Jukebox Hero

Jeff Richard opened The Fret Shack in Baton Rouge as a side venture, considering the instrument repair shop a productive way to occupy his free time. Thousands of renewed and enhanced instruments later, the 52-year-old Baton Rouge native marvels at…

A Louisiana Life: Fighting for Others

Anthony Deshautelle is proud of his championship boxing belts, but he doesn’t keep them all. Instead, two of the prized belts shine from inside of a trophy case at the Alexandria Police Department headquarters, engraved with the names of fallen…

A Louisiana Life: Sports of All Sorts

When Allstate Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley tells people what he does for a living, he often fields the following query: That’s a full-time job? It certainly is — and then some, Hundley says. As the newly tapped head of…

A Louisiana Life: Fresh Pick

Ashley Locklear works for some of New Orleans’ most celebrated restaurants, but her work often carries her away from kitchens and dining rooms. She travels a circuit of farms in southern Louisiana and Mississippi, bumping through fields behind tractors, jotting…