AT LEAST 140 U.S. TROOPS HAVE BEEN INJURED IN IRAN WAR, PENTAGON SAYS 4A
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BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
W e d n e s d ay, M a r c h 11, 2026
Gas prices spike
Average tops $3 two weeks after onset of war
$2.00X
La. insurers required to give fortified roof discount Document lays out level that must be provided
BY SAM KARLIN Staff writer
Louisiana will soon push home insurers to give specific discounts in exchange for homeowners getting fortified roofs, after a yearslong debate over how to deliver savings to residents who face soaring insurance premiums. Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple’s office quietly released a bulletin to insurers last Friday that lays out the level of discount they now must provide, which varies depending on the type of fortification and region of the state. If they don’t meet the threshold, they must provide actuarial math justifying the lower discount, similar to how Alabama operates. For south Louisiana homeowners with fortified roofs — the most common category — insurers will have to give a 29% discount on the hurricane portion of the premium. The hurricane portion is generally the largest contributor to the overall premium in parishes at risk from hurricanes. Homeowners with fortified “gold” homes, which must include reinforced windows, doors and other bracing against wind, will get a 49% discount unless insurers justify a lower amount. Temple said in an interview that his office ran data through two different catastrophe models
Tyson Camel prepares to pump gas on Tuesday at Big Boss Perkins gas station. BY IANNE SALVOSA
Average gasoline prices in Louisiana
Gasoline in Baton Rouge cost about $2.68 per gallon Per gallon of regular gas at the pump this time last year. Double-digit increases Matthew Hays bought $3.5 are well above the norm, gas at a Circle K on Govsaid Justin Alford, who ernment Street on Mon$3.11 $3.2 $3.04 co-owns Benny’s Car day afternoon. Wash and B-Quik locaHe didn’t fill up the whole tank. With gas $2.9 tions around Baton Rouge. $2.72 $2.70 prices in Baton Rouge B-Quik sold regular gas at up about 50 cents over $2.89 per gallon Monday $2.50 the past week, he put $2.6 for their rewards proin just $10 worth to fill gram members and $3.19 his car up as much as he $2.3 per gallon for nonmemStart of conflict could. bers, a $0.22 increase with Iran Regular unleaded gas from the day prior. cost $2.99 per gallon, $2.0 Typically, an increase Year Feb. Week Monday, Tuesday, and he was able to get of just $0.04 to $0.06 is ago 28 ago Mar. 9 Mar. 10 about 3.5 gallons. significant, Alford said. He said he immedi- Source: AAA He first noticed an uptick Staff graphic in wholesale gas prices ately suspected the March 2, just a few days price hike was due to after the war began. felt the pressure on their wallets as the United States’ war “It’s going up every day,” he said. the war in the Middle East pushes with Iran. Hays, 45, is a father, works as a crude oil prices up, leaving consum- “It’s going up really fast.” Baton Rouge is on par with the mental health professional and is ers paying more at the pump. pursuing a master’s degree to beAverage regular gas prices in East state average price for gas on Moncome a licensed professional coun- Baton Rouge Parish sat at $3.05 Mon- day of $3.04 per gallon, up from selor. The gas price increases have day, according to AAA, which tracks $2.58 per gallon a week ago. The nacomplicated day-to-day budgeting, fuel prices across the country. That’s tional gas price average on Monday he said. up about $0.49 from prices a week was $3.48 per gallon. “Making the dollar stretch is a real ago and about $0.57 up from Feb. 21, Louisiana has some of the lowest challenge,” he said. a week before the U.S.-Israel attack ä See GAS, page 9A Drivers around the country have on Iran on Feb. 28. Staff writer
ä See ROOF, page 8A
STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS
College sports face ‘quagmire,’ LSU officials and senators say Roundtable focuses on NIL, other thorny issues
BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer
A top LSU athletics official told members of Congress on Tuesday that one of the main problems facing college sports now that student athletes can be paid is the lack of a central authority over sports programs. “The issue is, we don’t have a governing organization that is able to enforce those rules on a consistent basis, because of the evolution of regulations and the judicial decisions and actions over the last several years,” said LSU Executive Deputy Athletic Director Julie Cromer. And she said the convergence of a number of
ä See SPORTS, page 8A
Bill would make disruptions at church services a crime Lawmakers cite Don Lemon case BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer
Some Louisiana lawmakers want to make it a state crime to disrupt religious services, weeks after an anti-ICE protesters interrupted a Minneapolis church service, drawing condemnation from conservatives across the country. On Tuesday, the Senate’s
WEATHER HIGH 85 LOW 55 PAGE 8B
Judiciary C committee greenlit two bills that create criminal penalties intended to address such incidents. They were Senate Bill 35 by Bill Wheat, a Republican state senator from Ponchatoula, and Senate Bill 306 by Rick Edmonds, a Republican state senator from Baton Rouge. “You start seeing particular behavior, and you’re concerned that that behavior may move across to other states,” Edmonds said in an interview. “I think we have to be aggressively involved to pro-
2026 LEGISLATURE tect our churches and our church families.” During the committee meeting, proponents of the measures slammed the Minnesota protesters, who they said scared children and worshippers. They argued passing a new law would help protect the right to worship, which is enshrined in the First Amendment
of the U.S. Constitution. But civil rights advocates raised concerns that the bills were too vague and could violate the First Amendment by curtailing free speech. Following the protest in Minneapolis, multiple participants, who entered the church because a pastor there was an ICE official, were arrested. The demonstrators were accused of violating laws, as were two journalists, including former
ä See CHURCH, page 9A
Business ......................3B Commentary ................7B Nation-World................2A Classified .....................7D Deaths .........................4B Opinion ........................6B Comics-Puzzles .....4D-6D Living............................1D Sports ..........................1C
“I think we have to be aggressively involved to protect our churches and our church families.” STATE SEN. RICK EDMONDS, R-Baton Rouge
101ST yEAR, NO. 254