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Tunica-Biloxi Tribe works to spur economic growth; concerns over aging fishermen; La. aviation history

First aero squadron
M. E. Nevill
First aero squadron

The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Marksville is gearing up for their third annual Louisiana Rural and Economic Development Summit in Marksville, Louisiana. At this summer’s LaRuE summit, industry leaders, business professionals, and experts in agriculture and technology will gather to discuss the challenges facing rural communities – with the goal of building more partnerships between agencies and Native American tribes.

Chairman of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe Marshall Pierite joins us for more on this summit and what he hopes it can accomplish.

Louisiana is the country's second largest seafood producer, but its commercial fishermen are, on average, among the oldest in the country, as tough conditions are turning away younger generations.

Reporter for Axios New Orleans Chelsea Brasted tells us how this trend is raising concerns for the industry and consumers.

Louisiana has a connection to aviation history that many don’t know. The first helicopter was invented in 1922 by a man from Alexandria named Leo Ortego.

More than 100 years later, his niece Mariane Elizabeth Nevill, published the book, “Leo’s War,” that serves as a fictionalized account of her uncle’s life based on the stories she heard about him while growing up. She joins us to discuss this book and how she hopes it can celebrate the state’s aviation history.

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Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Karen Henderson. Our managing producer is Alana Schrieber. Matt Bloom and Aubry Procell are assistant producers. Our engineer is Garrett Pittman.

You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at 12 and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, Google Play and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Karen Henderson is an award-winning journalist whose stories have aired nationally on NPR.
Alana Schreiber is the managing producer for the live daily news program, Louisiana Considered. She comes to WRKF from KUNC in Northern Colorado, where she worked as a radio producer for the daily news magazine, Colorado Edition. She has previously interned for Minnesota Public Radio in St. Paul and The Documentary Group in New York City.