Leo Heit

Albany leaders are considering a pause on new data center applications as the city reviews questions involving water, noise, land use, utilities, and nearby neighborhoods before filings advance. Dougherty County’s 45-day moratorium gave officials time to review zoning language before future applications move through approval steps under possible revised planning standards that guide comparable local proposals.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture signaled support for restoring a crop-insurance option that lets farmers buy added protection when weather or field conditions prevent planting under federal rules. North Dakota producers followed the change closely because the 5% buy-up option covered 10 million acres there in 2025, showing heavy use during federal policy discussions that year.

You hear Louisiana and think bayous, moss, gators. Fair enough. But deep in the central and northern part of the state, 604,000 acres of rolling piney hills and sandstone bluffs spread across seven parishes, and none of it looks like the Louisiana you had in mind. Kisatchie National Forest is the only national forest in the state, carved into five ranger districts. Locals call it the prettiest corner of Louisiana, and the reason starts with what you see from the ridgeline.