Episodios

  • Sports Guru Tim Fletcher On LSU's Lane Kiffin Hire: "The Talent is Immense in Louisiana"
    Dec 2 2025
    You're listening to American Ground Radio with Stephen Parr and Louis R. Avallone. This is the full show for December 1, 2025.

    We dive into the news shaking LSU Nation: the hiring of Lane Kiffin — and the eye-popping $90 million price tag attached to him. Has America officially lost its mind? How is it that a college football coach can command a salary that would make CEOs blush, while teachers scrape by, potholes multiply, and school budgets magically tighten every time someone asks for another algebra instructor? Winning sells out Tiger Stadium. Winning moves hotel rooms, bar tabs, merch, TV contracts, recruiting classes, and national prestige. So is $90 million insane… or is it an investment with a massive ROI?

    Plus, we cover the Top 3 Things You Need to Know.
    • LSU and Southern University announced new head coaches for their football teams.
    • The Mayor of Bogalusa, Louisiana pled not guilty in state court today over several criminal charges.
    • The State of Louisiana published videos on how to manage the up coming elections.
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    We're getting straight to the heart of the Lane Kiffin frenzy and the monster that we know we fans created. Bigger stadiums, bigger staffs, more playoff berths, more national titles — fans demanded dominance, and dominance comes with a price tag that now reads $90 million.

    We're not pretending to be ESPN analysts, so we bring in someone who actually lives and breathes this stuff: veteran sportscaster Tim Fletcher. Tim helps us unpack why the announcement came now, not after bowl season… how LSU’s recruiting base is simply too irresistible… and why this move wasn’t just about a coach’s salary, but the $25–30 million roster budget that comes with NIL power, transfer-portal leverage, and donor muscle.

    We point out just how strange this situation really is: in no other major sport would a playoff-bound coach be hired away before the postseason, leaving players to finish their run without the man who led them there. They question why college football tolerates this chaos when the sport is now effectively a billion-dollar industry. If it’s going to operate like the NFL, they argue, then maybe it needs NFL-style guardrails — negotiation windows, hiring rules, actual structure.

    We react to New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick’s surprising stance on the recent ICE “Swamp Sweep” operation. Instead of backing federal agents who are enforcing lawful deportation orders, Kirkpatrick expresses concern for illegal immigrants who “feel scared,” calling their violations merely “civil issues.” We have to point out that illegal entry is a federal crime and that the superintendent took an oath to uphold all laws — not just the ones she likes.

    Mayor-elect Helena Moreno’s taxpayer-funded “Know Your Rights” guide, which they argue helps illegal immigrants avoid lawful deportation. NOPD enforces plenty of so-called “civil” violations against everyday citizens, yet refuses to cooperate with ICE. New Orleans leadership seems more sympathetic to lawbreakers than to law enforcers, all while ICE agents face rising violence nationwide. Why is the city fueling fear of the one agency actually enforcing the law?

    Get Prodovite Plus from Victory Nutrition International for 20% off. Go to vni.life/agr and use the promo code AGR20.

    In Baton Rouge, the political drama isn’t limited to LSU’s campus — it’s now spilling into the state Capitol. We break down reports that Governor Jeff Landry is pressuring House Republicans to choose Monroe Rep. Michael Echols as the next GOP caucus chair, instead of Metairie Rep. John Ilg. With a 73-member Republican supermajority — something conservatives have celebrated for months — the question becomes: is the governor now driving a wedge straight through it?


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    42 m
  • Shreveport and New Orleans Face Budget Dilemmas: Raise Prices and Face Voter Blowback or Kick the Can Down the Road?
    Dec 1 2025
    You're listening to American Ground Radio with Stephen Parr and Louis R. Avallone. This is the full show for November 26, 2025. New Orleans is trying something… unconventional. With the police department hemorrhaging officers and non-emergency response times stretching into hours, the city has outsourced traffic-accident calls to a private company called On Scene Services. No badge, no gun, no arrest powers — just an SUV that shows up in under 15 minutes to document your fender-bender while NOPD focuses on violent crime. Is this smart, efficient innovation, or proof the city has given up on doing the basic functions only government can do?Sure, outsourcing saves money — sometimes hundreds of dollars per call — yet it also leaves one big question unanswered: if no officer ever arrives, who actually determines fault? And what does that mean for insurance claims, citations, and accountability? We break down the numbers, the consequences, and the uncomfortable truth behind New Orleans’ experiment in privatizing police work — a solution that solves one problem while exposing another the city still hasn’t fixed.Plus, we cover the Top 3 Things You Need to Know. The President of Southern University is leaving his post by the end of the year.The Louisiana State Supreme Court has refused to dismiss a lawsuit against the social media platform TikTok.Parking rates in New Orleans could soon be going up.Get Prodovite Plus from Victory Nutrition International for 20% off. Go to vni.life/agr and use the promo code AGR20.Shreveport just got a financial wake-up call — and not the kind you can hit “snooze” on. Moody’s has officially downgraded the city’s bond rating. It’s still technically investment-grade, but it’s the lowest rung on that ladder, and the message behind it is unmistakable: Shreveport has become a riskier borrower.Why? Moody’s spells it out — decades of deferred maintenance, a billion-dollar federal consent decree, low reserves, and water rates that haven’t kept pace with reality. For years, mayors and councils kicked the can down the road, refused to raise rates, and now the bill has come due. And here’s the twist: the very thing voters hate — higher water fees — is exactly what Moody’s says the city needed to do to avoid this downgrade. We break down what the downgrade means for taxpayers, why borrowing money just got more expensive, and why Mayor Arsenault was right about reserves and rate increases even when it wasn’t politically popular. Plus: the enormous pressure of a consent decree that may now be impossible to meet — and the case for bringing Washington back to the table.We get into the legendary turducken — the chicken stuffed inside the duck stuffed inside the turkey — the culinary hat-trick John Madden made famous. But here’s what most folks don’t know: the turducken isn’t a TV gimmick, it’s a Louisiana original, born in Gretna at the Gourmet Butcher Block. A true Cajun creation that went national. So before the NFL broadcasters start carving into one tomorrow, remember: that triple-bird masterpiece started right here at home.New Orleans just got a $125 million lifeline from the Louisiana Bond Commission — but the rescue came with far less oversight than state law allows. We unpack who sat on that commission (spoiler: an all-Republican slate of state leaders), why the state chose a bookkeeper instead of a full fiscal administrator, and what that decision means for accountability — and politics.We trace the roots of the crisis: decades of deferred maintenance, a billion-dollar consent decree over the water system, shrinking reserves, and politically toxic calls to raise water rates. Moody’s downgrade of Shreveport (and its warning signs) hangs over the conversation, as does the hard choice every city faces: borrow more at higher cost, or raise fees now and face voter blowback.Get TrimROX from Victory Nutrition International for 20% off. Go to vni.life/agr and use the promo code AGR20.Louisiana just landed a surprising national spotlight: former state Surgeon General and congressman Dr. Ralph Abraham has been appointed second-in-command at the CDC. We dig into how a rural doctor, farmer, veterinarian, pilot, and one-time gubernatorial hopeful ended up in one of the most scrutinized health leadership roles in the country — and why some in the media immediately framed the story around the label “vaccine skeptic.” We break down what Abraham has actually said about vaccines, how his views differ from public-health orthodoxy, and why critics and supporters are reading the same statements in entirely different ways.Plus, we have a little fun guessing the top 10 high schools in Louisiana. We dig into why some well-regarded schools don’t make the rankings, how U.S. News measures academic performance, and why so many of the state’s highest-rated schools cluster in South Louisiana.
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    42 m
  • To Absolutely No One's Suprise, The Louisiana Clean Hydogen Task Force Wants More Taxpayer Dollars
    Nov 26 2025
    You're listening to American Ground Radio with Louis R. Avallone and Stephen Parr. This is the full show for November 25, 2025. Louisiana lawmakers have quietly signed off on one of the biggest financial decisions in state history — a one-year extension of six massive Medicaid managed-care contracts totaling an eye-popping $17 billion. And yes, this happened while the legislature wasn’t even in session. We break down how these unprecedented deals were approved, why they matter, and what they reveal about the deeper problems in America’s health-care system.Plus, we cover the Top 3 Things You Need to Know.State Surgeon General, Ralph Abraham has been named Principal Deputy Director for the Center for Disease Control in Washington D.C.Several Public Defenders offices across the state of Louisiana have been deficit spending.Shreveport's bond rating was downgraded this week by Moodys, one of the three biggest bond rating companies.Get Prodovite Plus from Victory Nutrition International for 20% off. Go to vni.life/agr and use the promo code AGR20.We're getting straight to one of the most uncomfortable truths in American public policy: the War on Poverty — 60 years and $25 trillion later — has failed. We dive into why the poverty rate today is almost exactly what it was in 1965, why “poverty” in America no longer resembles global poverty, and how federal programs have unintentionally created generational dependency rather than upward mobility. But this conversation goes deeper than dollars. We dig into the social side of poverty — the collapse of the family structure — and the hard data showing that single-parent households are the strongest predictor of long-term poverty, poor educational outcomes, criminal justice involvement, and cycles that repeat across generations. With Louisiana now spending $17 billion a year on Medicaid alone, we examine how well-intended Great Society programs ended up incentivizing brokenness, trapping families in dependency, and discouraging the very upward mobility they were supposed to promote. And we ask the big question almost no one in politics will touch: If the system itself is producing generational poverty, do we need to rebuild it from the ground up? Latino voters are often treated as a political monolith, but new polling reveals a far more complicated landscape—one shaped by family ties, immigration enforcement, and shifting expectations about what border policy should look like. We break down fresh Pew Research data showing a sharp rise in Latino disapproval of President Trump’s record, including his handling of immigration and the economy. But the headline numbers don’t tell the whole story. We examine why different polls paint conflicting pictures—some showing disapproval, others showing strong backing for strict border enforcement—and how media framing amplifies certain narratives while obscuring others.Louisiana has a hydrogen task force—yes, apparently that’s a thing—and after a year of “study,” it has returned with a shocker: the hydrogen task force believes the hydrogen task force should become permanent, be given staff, authority, and taxpayer dollars, and be placed inside yet another state bureaucracy. Funny how that works. We unpack how a Republican-created “clean hydrogen” panel ended up recommending more government, more spending, and more power for itself—while wrapping it all in the language of innovation and emerging markets. We dig into the industry jargon of “clean,” “blue,” “green,” and “pink” hydrogen (spoiler: hydrogen has no color), and expose how these labels serve as marketing terms to justify massive carbon-capture subsidies. We break down what hydrogen is actually used for, why real markets don’t need taxpayer “leverage,” and how carbon capture—yet again—sits at the center of this push. Is this about energy innovation, or just another government-led boondoggle dressed up as economic development?Get TrimROX from Victory Nutrition International for 20% off. Go to vni.life/agr and use the promo code AGR20.When the New Orleans Saints released kicker Blake Grupe this week, the story could’ve ended like so many others in professional sports—with bitterness, finger-pointing, or a cryptic social-media post. Instead, Grupe walked out with something far rarer: gratitude.We look at the short but telling message he left for the city of New Orleans—thanking the organization for taking a chance on him, owning his performance without excuses, and closing with scripture: “Give thanks in all circumstances.” It was humble, grounded, and disarming in a league where ego often shouts louder than effort.It’s Thanksgiving week and putting America’s holiday habits to the test. A new YouGov poll reveals the most common dishes on Thanksgiving tables, and we try to guess the top ten… with plenty of good-natured trash-talk in between. Turkey? Obviously. Mashed potatoes? Of course. But ...
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    42 m
  • Data from Amazon Facility May Bring Growth to North Shreveport
    Nov 26 2025
    You're listening to American Ground Radio with Stephen Parr and Louis R. Avallone. This is the full show for November 24, 2025. A new lawsuit in Louisiana is taking dead aim at something the state should’ve never approved in the first place: letting private carbon-capture companies use eminent domain to seize private land for their own profit. And look, eminent domain is supposed to be for public necessities — highways, water lines, schools — things society literally can’t function without. Carbon capture? Nobody needs it, nobody wants it, and it changes absolutely nothing about global temperatures even if we did it perfectly for a hundred years. This lawsuit finally forces the truth into the light:Carbon capture isn’t a public service — it’s a private subsidy scheme dressed up as climate policy. It’s unconstitutional, abusive, and the Republican legislature should’ve known better.Plus, we cover the Top 3 Things You Need to Know. With a projected budget deficit of $160 million next year, the city of New Orleans is facing the potential of hundreds of job cuts.The Shreveport City Council is pushing for even more pay raises for its city employees.Mayor Tom Arceneaux included a 5% increase in pay for firefighters and police officers.The Louisiana National Guard is being activated in New Orleans this weekend for security during the Bayou Classic between Southern University and Grambling State University. Get Performlyte from Victory Nutrition International for 20% off. Go to vni.life/agr and use the promo code AGR20. Senator Bill Cassidy just walked himself into a political mess — and Jake Tapper caught it on live TV. The CDC quietly dropped its old claim that vaccines don’t cause autism, Tapper pointed it out, and Cassidy froze. Now he’s blaming RFK Jr., blaming the CDC, blaming everyone but himself… all while autism rates keep climbing and the science gets muddier. It’s a whole political pretzel — and Cassidy is the one getting twisted.Solar power may be growing, but can it realistically power America? We take a hard look at the limits of solar energy—from reliability issues to vulnerability during severe weather—and why some argue that nuclear and natural gas offer far greater long-term potential. Meanwhile, in Iberia Parish, a $1.1 billion, 2.4-million-square-foot solar panel manufacturing facility—eleven times the size of the Caesar’s Superdome—has opened with little public fanfare. We explore what this massive project means for Louisiana’s economy, and whether investing heavily in solar aligns with the state’s energy needs.North Shreveport has trailed the south side for decades when it comes to new development — but a fresh push from city leaders, and some surprising data, may be setting the stage for a shift. We Dig Deep into a Shreveport-Bossier Advocate report on how officials are using real-time cell-phone movement data around Amazon’s massive new processing center to make the case for more investment in a long-overlooked part of the city. We explore how city officials hope to use this data to recruit retailers, fast-food chains, and even small local shops by showing just how much daily activity is concentrated around the Amazon facility — and how even a few new businesses could trigger a ripple effect of growth. And in a twist of irony, a company often blamed for wiping out small businesses could become the very catalyst that brings them back, transforming North Shreveport’s economy from the ground up.Get Prodovite Plus from Victory Nutrition International for 20% off. Go to vni.life/agr and use the promo code AGR20.Louisiana cuisine shines again! Three New Orleans restaurants—Commander's Palace, Emeril’s, and Peche—made the Rob Report’s list of the 100 greatest restaurants in America this century. We explore why these spots stand out, what makes Louisiana cuisine so enduring, and why you might need both a reservation and a small loan before checking them out yourself.Airports aren’t exactly known for being budget-friendly, but a new report from Casino.ca takes that idea to another level — ranking the most and least expensive airports in America based on what it costs to simply use them. One night in an airport hotel, a day of parking, and, yes, a single pint of beer. (Because according to the Canadians behind the study, a beer is apparently now an essential travel metric.) In this episode, we break down the surprising top five: from LaGuardia, crowned the priciest airport in the country, to Boston’s Logan and Denver International, all the way to DFW and JFK rounding out the list. Then we flip the script and look at the most affordable airports — including a standout showing from Louis Armstrong International in New Orleans, now officially one of the cheapest places in America to grab a hotel, park your car, and sip that obligatory airport beer.Christmas at the White House is one of those uniquely American traditions that ...
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    42 m
  • House Bill 681 - Offering Elected Officials More Protections than the Average Citizen?
    Nov 26 2025
    You're listening to American Ground Radio with Stephen Parr and Louis R. Avallone. This is the full show for November 21, 2025. As we head into the new year, Louisiana’s got a batch of new laws taking effect January 1st… but one of them is raising eyebrows in a big way. House Bill 681 — signed earlier this year — was supposed to protect elected officials from doxing and harassment. Sounds reasonable, right? But now that people are actually reading the fine print, it turns out this law may criminalize everything from mortgage documents to land records — even routine public filings — simply because an elected official’s name and address appear on them. And the kicker? Politicians get protections the average citizen doesn’t. Is this really about safety… or about creating a special class of people above the rest of us? We’re breaking down what the law actually does, why some say it goes way too far, and whether it even holds up under the First Amendment.Plus, we cover the Top 3 Things You Need to Know. State Rep. Chad Brown has been named by Governor Jeff Landry to be the next head of the Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control.New Orleans Mayor Elect, Helena Moreno appears to be trying to help illegal aliens in the city avoid being deported from the country.Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux is proposing a 5% pay raise for Shreveport Firefighters and police officers.Get Prodovite Plus from Victory Nutrition International for 20% off. Go to vni.life/agr and use the promo code AGR20.Thanksgiving is almost here, but these days it feels like the holiday barely gets a moment between Halloween candy and Christmas lights. But maybe that’s exactly why we need it now more than ever. We dive into why America’s founders saw gratitude as essential to the republic, why the Pilgrims gave thanks even after unthinkable loss, and why modern America—more blessed than any people in history—struggles so hard to stay grateful. It’s a reminder of what we still have, what we forget too easily, and why giving thanks before the blessing may be the key to recovering the gratitude we’ve lost.Big shake-up in Baton Rouge — LSU has pulled the trigger on Brian Kelly. The Board held a closed-door emergency meeting, voted, and authorized the letter that effectively ends his time with the Tigers. But here’s the real story: did they fire him with cause or without? Because one path costs LSU nothing… and the other hands Kelly a $52 million golden parachute. We break down the behind-the-scenes chaos, what this means for LSU’s future, and why Michigan State fans are suddenly watching the Bayou with interest.Healthcare costs are out of control, and families are desperate for something—anything—that actually works. So we picked up the phone and called our friends at Altrua Health, a new sponsor of American Ground Radio, to dig into a different approach. No massive premiums, no shareholders, just a faith-based community sharing each other’s medical needs. We talk with Altrua’s Randy Sluder and Kelly McCoy about how their model cuts costs, why it’s resonating nationwide, and how faith fits into the future of healthcare. If you’ve been wondering whether there’s a better way… this conversation might just surprise you.Get TrimROX from Victory Nutrition International for 20% off. Go to vni.life/agr and use the promo code AGR20.So guess who showed up at the White House today? New York City’s mayor-elect, Zoran Mamdani — and the media immediately tried to crown him the new leader of the Democrat Party. But what unfolded says a whole lot more about the state of the Left than it does about Mamdani himself. From the power vacuum inside the Democratic ranks, to the far-left factions pulling the party’s strings, to President Trump’s very strategic decision to hand Mamdani the microphone… this exchange tells you everything you need to know about where Democrats are right now — and where they’re headed.So Shreveport just scored a brand-new grant from the Levitt AMP Music Series — which means free concerts, a dozen of them, coming to Caddo Common Park next year. And that got us wondering… where does Shreveport stack up against the real concert capitals of America? Because SeatGeek just dropped the numbers on which cities host the most concerts per capita — and let’s just say the results are not what you’d expect. Spoiler: Dallas doesn’t even make the list. New York? Not there either. But Nashville is booming, Vegas is off the charts, and somehow… Norfolk, Virginia is a concert powerhouse? We’ll break down the list — and what Shreveport’s new music lineup could mean for the city.Remember when Black Friday actually meant something? When folks camped out all night in the cold, doors flew open at dawn, and total strangers threw elbows over a 36-inch TV or a Cabbage Patch Kid? Well, those days are gone… replaced by “early Black Friday sales” you click through in your pajamas...
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    42 m
  • Prosperity Isn't Mysterious - Small Government, Free Market, and Keeping More of What You Earn
    Nov 21 2025
    You're listening to American Ground Radio with Louis R. Avallone and Stephen Parr. This is the full show for November 20, 2025.

    We dig into a Louisiana law most people have never even heard of—Act 479, the state’s new rules on seclusion and restraint for special-needs students. It’s one of those issues politicians tiptoe around, activists oversimplify, and school boards quietly dread. But parents and teachers? They live it. We break down what the law actually requires—real crisis-intervention training, clear rules for when physical restraint is allowed, and strict standards for seclusion rooms that aren’t just broom closets with a new name. We're talking about the realities inside special-education classrooms, the safety challenges nobody wants to admit, and whether legislation like this fixes anything… or simply piles more responsibility on already overwhelmed schools.

    Plus, we cover the Top 3 Things You Need to Know.
    • A nonprofit organization has filed suit against the State of Louisiana over it's carbon capture laws.
    • East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore says he's planning on suing the city over next year's budget.
    • Waymo—Google's Self Driving car service—is coming to New Orleans.
    Get Performlyte from Victory Nutrition International for 20% off. Go to vni.life/agr and use the promo code AGR20.

    We dive into the latest political curveball coming out of New Orleans: a self-appointed “People’s Transition Team” gearing up to shadow mayor-elect Helena Moreno. The nonprofit Together New Orleans says it’s building its own 100-day blueprint, surveying residents, and even mailing out report cards to tens of thousands of voters to publicly grade the new mayor on issues like cost of living, public works, jobs, and energy. Is this genuine accountability in action—or an unelected activist group overstepping its bounds and acting like a parallel government?


    Get Prodovite Plus from Victory Nutrition International for 20% off. Go to vni.life/agr and use the promo code AGR20.

    We break down Vice President J.D. Vance’s statement that wages continue to outpace inflation—something the latest economic data backs up. The data shows a stark difference between the Biden economy, where real wages consistently fell behind rising prices, and the renewed Trump economy, where paychecks are now stretching further and purchasing power is climbing again.
    We explain how real wages work, why inflation under Biden effectively wiped out about $3,000 in take-home pay for the average household, and how lower inflation plus rising wages now mean Americans no longer have to work extra hours just to afford the same basket of groceries. Families are finally gaining ground again.

    And we talk about the growing sense that America feels upside-down—especially in big blue cities like Chicago, New York, Seattle, and Minneapolis, where far-left politics are taking deeper root. But the Deep South is becoming the last stronghold of American normalcy: faith, family, work, patriotism, law and order, and just plain common sense. Even with a few progressive pockets like Austin, New Orleans, Atlanta, and Charlotte—the South overall has held onto the values the country was built on. And interestingly, the region isn’t just culturally different… it’s now economically leading the nation. The South has grown into the biggest economic engine in America, rewarding work, welcoming industry, and continuing to attract families and businesses fleeing high taxes and failing policies in places like California, Illinois, and New York. And that's a real Bright Spot.

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    42 m
  • Constitutional Attorney Royal Alexander on 10 Commandments in the Classroom
    Nov 21 2025
    You're listening to American Ground Radio with Louis R. Avallone and Stephen Parr. This is the full show for November 19, 2025.

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    42 m
  • Clay Higgins Votes Not to Release Epstein Files
    Nov 20 2025
    You're listening to American Ground Radio with Louis R. Avallone and Stephen Parr. This is the full show for November 18, 2025.

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    42 m