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NOLA Life Stories: Kathleen Blanco Recalls The Response To Hurricane Katrina

Former governor Kathleen Blanco is interviewed by historian Mark Cave.
Michael Wynne
Former governor Kathleen Blanco is interviewed by historian Mark Cave.

Kathleen Blanco is the only woman to be elected governor of Louisiana, and was at the helm when Hurricane Katrina laid waste to the Gulf Coast. She admits that the challenges of the storm were too much for state and local governments to handle.

Although the challenges were overwhelming, Blanco witnessed a lot of heroism and felt that most people were sympathetic to the tragedy Louisianans endured. One of the high points of her Katrina experience was being able to reunite a mother with her son.    

Blanco_OnlineContent.mp3
Click to hear how a 14 year old boy and his mother were separated by the storm, then brought back together.

Blanco did not seek reelection in 2007 and was succeeded by Bobby Jindal. This interview was conducted by Mark Cave for the Historic New Orleans Collection.

Thomas Walsh is an independent radio producer and audio engineer who lives in New Orleans. You'll see him around town recording music, podcasts, short films, live events and radio features. He's practically glued to his headphones. A movie geek to his core, he's seen every film listed on the American Film Institute's 100 Years...100 Movies and would love to talk to you about them.