LSU’S MIKE NWOKO A BIG MAN WITH A BIG PERSONALITY 1C THE
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W e d n e s d ay, J a n u a ry 28, 2026
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La. food stamp restrictions set to begin State limits use of SNAP benefits for candy, soft drinks
BY EMILY WOODRUFF Staff writer
Louisiana SNAP recipients may find themselves involuntarily giving up soda and candy for Lent this year, as new restrictions on what the food assistance can be used to purchase take effect on Ash Wednesday. In announcing the changes, state health officials said the timing immediately after Mardi Gras was
intentional. The waiver allowing Louisiana to place the restrictions on the federal program commonly known as food stamps was approved last year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It was set to begin Jan. 1, but the state received approval for the delay. “You can still buy soda, you can still buy candy, but you cannot use your SNAP card to do it beginning Feb. 18,” said Camille Conaway, the executive director for eco-
nomic independence at the Louisiana Department of Health. “So we are going to enjoy our candy and our soda and our energy drinks all the way from Mardi Gras, and then we’re collectively going on a really great diet.” Roughly 25,000 products will no longer be eligible for purchase with SNAP funds, according to a product list commissioned by the state and compiled by NielsenIQ, a consumer research company.
Under Louisiana’s waiver, “soft drinks” are defined as any carbonated, nonalcoholic beverage containing high-fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners, such as regular or diet sodas. Flavored carbonated waters, such as LaCroix, remain eligible, as do beverages containing milk or milk substitutes like soy or almond milk, and drinks made up of at least 50% fruit or vegetable juice. Energy drinks containing added stimulants — including fortified caffeine, taurine, guarana or glucuronolactone — are also no longer
allowed. That category includes popular brands such as Red Bull and Monster. Coffee and tea remain eligible, as do caffeinated beverages that do not include added stimulants. Candy is defined as a sugar- or sweetener-based product combined with ingredients such as chocolate, fruit or nuts and sold in bars, drops or pieces. Chocolate bars, gummies and hard candies are excluded, while protein bars and baking ingredients such as
ä See RESTRICTIONS, page 6A
P I P E P RO J E C T
STAFF PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK
Long piping being used for a city sewer project is stored along St. Mary Boulevard on Tuesday. The construction is part of a major upgrade to the downtown area’s sewage capacity and will see parts of the road closed for several weeks, said Lafayette Consolidated Government’s Capital Improvements Director Martin Poirrier. Officials say that while construction won’t impact the Mardi Gras parade route, work zones will be fenced off and monitored for public safety. Story, Page 1B.
Population in state sees slight increase Louisiana continues to lag in growth among Southern peers
BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer
Louisiana’s population ticked slightly higher last year, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, suggesting that population losses from recent years have waned even as the state remains one of the slowest growing in the U.S. and among its Southern peers. The figures released Tuesday show that Louisiana had a population of approximately 4.6 million as of July 1, with 3,300 more people living here than a year earlier. The nudge higher was fueled by more births in the state than deaths and
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an increase in the number of international immigrants, who offset the number of people that left the state last year. It was the second-straight year that Louisiana posted a mod- ä Immigration est increase in crackdown population af- triggers drop ter two-straight in growth rate years of declines — and a nationally. decades-long PAGE 7A depopulation trend in the state. Still, the latest data places Louisiana at 43rd of the 50 states, both in terms of population growth and out-migration, continuing a persistent trend that Gov. Jeff Landry has focused on trying to reverse through economic development
ä See POPULATION, page 7A
Outages from winter storm continue North and central La. residents hit hard
BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN and JENNA ROSS
Staff writers
STAFF PHOTO By JILL PICKETT
Children sled on the wintry mix that fell in Shreveport on Sunday.
Tens of thousands remained without power Tuesday in north and central Louisiana as residents braced for more belowfreezing temperatures, even as south Louisiana was mostly spared from the worst of the week’s severe winter weather. Over the weekend, a winter storm that has ravaged much of the country blanketed the upper half of the state with snow and ice, snapping trees and bringing down power lines. By Tuesday morning, the death toll related to the storm had climbed to at least six, state officials reported. The Louisiana
Business ...................10C Commentary ................3B Nation-World ................2A Classified .....................4A Deaths .........................4B Opinion ........................2B Comics-Puzzles .....7C-9C Living............................5C Sports ..........................1C
ä See WINTER, page 6A
101ST yEAR, NO. 212