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W e d n e s d ay, J a n u a ry 7, 2026
T H E
Y E A R
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A FISHY MYSTERY IN MARKSVILLE
What caused fish to rain down in 1947?
1GN
P I C T U R E S
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Gov. Jeff Landry is pictured as New Orleans Mayor-elect Helena Moreno speaks during the Fiscal Review Committee meeting at the State Capitol on Nov. 12.
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New LSU football coach Lane Kiffin pumps his fist to the crowd while leaving the MMR hanger on Nov. 30 in Baton Rouge.
Beads nail the camera lens as paraders on the veterans’ float release throws into the crowd as La Krewe Mystique de la Capitale parade rolls through downtown on Feb. 22.
BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer
The morning was foggy yet calm with no chance of rain in the forecast. Fog or not, the late Eleanor Gremillion needed to hang her wash to dry. So, she picked up her laundry basket, headed out and was hit on the shoulder by something familiar yet unfamiliar. At least, unfamiliar on dry land, because when looking at the ground, she saw it was a fish — a fish among many in her Marksville yard. In fact, they were everywhere, raining down from the sky, ranging from bass to rainbow as small as 2 inches and as long as 9 inches. And they were pouring onto the city of Marksville, the Avoyelles Parish seat. The peculiarity happened on Oct. 23, 1947, the same year when UFO sightings were rampant in central Louisiana, though no connections have been made between the two. Still, the story piqued Cynthia Jardon’s curiosity. “I once heard a story about fish raining down on Marksville,” the Alexandria reader said. “What was determined to be the source?” Gremillion, president of the Marksville Chamber of Commerce, was the foremost expert on this subject, having been interviewed numerous times about it through the years. She not only kept up with opinions about what caused it but also experienced it. However, Gremillion passed away in 2019. “She’s not with us anymore, but we still have some of her accounts of the story,” said Wilbert
ä See CURIOUS, page 2G
Blankets of snow cover several lanes of the I-10/I-110 split on Jan. 22 in Baton Rouge.
Staff report STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL JOHNSON
Fire crews move a line around the now fully engulfed Nottoway Plantation on May 15 in White Castle.
Tigers’ College World Series triumph, from the parades, 2025 was full of spectacle. The year was also shaped by quieter, more poignant moments: first days of school, the grief of a loss, Nottoway Plantation engulfed in flames and small acts of everyday resilience. These are some of our favorite photos,
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A honeybee takes its time investigating the petals of a clover bloom in a grassy field Feb. 25 in downtown Baton Rouge.
BY Staff Report
ä See BOOK, page 2G
From record-breaking snowfalls to the LSU Super Bowl roar in New Orleans to Mardi Gras
Louisiana Book Festival sets a date for 2026 The planning for the 22nd Louisiana Book Festival — a full day of author events, performances and family-friendly activities — has begun. The Louisiana Center for the Book has announced the date for the 2026 Louisiana Book Festival. Louisiana’s annual celebration of readers, writers and the state’s literary heritage will return to downtown Baton Rouge from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 31, 2026. The Louisiana Book Festival is held each year in downtown Baton Rouge at the State Library of Louisiana, the Capitol Park Museum and
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Ieesha James, top, hugs her mother, Carvettea Selders, as she mourns for her son, D’Anthony Brown, at Selders’ family home on Sept. 5.
capturing both public victories and private heartaches, the extraordinary and the ordinary. The images act as reminders that every moment — big or small — leaves its mark on the story of a year. ä More photos, PAGE 4D
Southern center fielder Jacoby Radcliffe collides with Grambling third baseman Shannon Martin during an April 4 game at Southern University in Baton Rouge.
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