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Thank you, Clare and Tom Lamparter, for donating your vehicle to WRKF! Your generous contribution provides quality programming for our community. We deeply appreciate your support! 🚗📻 https://wrkf.careasy.org/home

Tonight (June 20th) MLB will host a game at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, AL. In its 114-year history, the field has seen everything from segregated baseball, a women's suffrage event, a Klan rally, and the first integrated sports team in Alabama.

Check out Road to Rickwood, a podcast from WRKF and WWNO where host Roy Wood Jr. speaks with historians, former Negro Leaguers, and more to explore how Birmingham's civil rights story played out at America's oldest ballpark.

www.wwno.org WWNO Public Radio for New Orleans providing NPR news, culture and the stories of the people, places, and events that make New Orleans unique.

We are excited to announce that Jim Engster, host of our live daily call-in show for 17 years and former general manager, is this year's Founders Award Honoree.
Our Community Catalyst Award will go to Jenni Peters, owner of Varsity Sports, for her pioneering efforts in fostering a running culture in Baton Rouge and her unwavering commitment to encouraging citizens to participate in community planning.
We dropped by our honorees’ offices to tell them. Pictured are Jim with Development Director Barbara Clark, Board of Directors Event Chair Barbara Carey, and General Manager Paul Maassen. Jenni is shown with Barbara Carey and Barbara Clark.
WRKF's Eighth Annual Founders Luncheon with multiple Pulitzer Prize winner Marty Baron will be at Crowne Plaza Baton Rouge on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. https://bontempstix.com/events/wrkfs-8th-annual-founders-luncheon-with-marty-baron-9-27-2024

We are proud of Taylor's recognition by the Folk Alliance. Read more in John WIrt's feature in The Advocate And listen to WRKF's own local folk music icon on Hootenanny Power Saturdays at 9 p.m.

'The music is engrained in me': WRKF’s folk hour host Taylor Caffery honored for 43 years at mic It’s Saturday night on the radio and, once again, Taylor Caffery is cruising on “Hootenanny Power.”

Looking for something fun😁to do? Want to connect with like-minded people who love Public Radio? Come join us today, Tuesday, for our Listener Meet-Up at MJ’s Cafe 🌱! Details below. We can’t wait to see you there!

The New Orleans Police Department is the latest law enforcement agency in the region that’s turning to drones for help with investigations, but many residents are uneasy about the planned program.

The Gulf States Newsroom’s Kat Stromquist obtained more than 350 pages of public comments concerning the program for her latest report. Here’s what they said.

New Orleans residents are uneasy about the NOPD’s planned drone program, documents show The Gulf States Newsroom obtained more than 350 pages of public comments concerning the NOPD’s planned drone program. Here’s what they said.

Temperatures dropping across the Gulf South mean one thing — it’s gumbo weather!

But putting together this classic Louisiana dish can cost a lot more than expected at the grocery store these days.

The Gulf States Newsroom’s Drew Hawkins and Stephan Bisaha went on a shopping trip with a New Orleans chef to see how the official inflation numbers match up against the gumbo inflation index.

Inflation is slowing, unless you’re ‘makin’ groceries’ for New Orleans gumbo. Here's why With a variety of ingredients from across the region, making a pot of gumbo can illustrate a lot of the ways inflation impacts the average grocery shopper.

It's PRIME TIME to give a year-end gift to WRKF. Thursday morning your gift is matched by the member challenge fund.
AND the person who gives the most Thursday 12/28 by 10 a.m. will receive eight six-ounce Prime boneless tenderloin steaks and eight six-ounce Prime ground beef patties from Allen Brothers, Chicago. wrkf.org/donate 855-893-9753

Support WRKF

Give before the year end and your gift will be matched by donors to WRKF's member challenge fund.

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Join the Gulf States Newsroom on Thursday, Dec. 14, for a virtual listening session and conversation on the “Place, Erased” series.

Details here ⬇️

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The WRKF elves decorated the station for the holidays today. Thanks to Blythe for untangling the lights, which had been taken down by staff who were not members of our operations department 😊

It’s Giving Tuesday! Be a part of this global movement of generosity and support WRKF. Visit the Baton Rouge Area Foundation Giving Store at braf.org/givingstore or go to our website at wrkf.org. Thank you!

When you think of jiu-jitsu, Decatur, Alabama, might not be the first place to come to mind. But for the last five years, it’s been home to the only professional jiu-jitsu league in the U.S.

The Gulf States Newsroom’s Joseph King latest details the growth of the Professional Grappling Federation, and how it’s brought competitive grapplers from all over the world to the small, North Alabama city.

A pro jiu-jitsu league is bringing grapplers from across the globe to a small city in Alabama For acclaimed grappler Brandon Mccaghren, Decatur, Alabama, was the perfect place to grow the Professional Grappling Federation from idea to reality.

Over the last year, state legislatures in the Gulf South saw a deluge of bills aimed at LGBTQ people, especially transgender youth.

The unintended consequence of these policies? They’re causing some doctors to leave a region already experiencing a serious shortage of health care providers.

LGBTQ doctors are leaving the Gulf South due to discrimination: ‘We weren’t welcome anymore’ The loss of specialized doctors due to the influx of anti-LGBTQ laws is the latest blow to a region already dealing with a shortage of health care providers.

WRKF will hold its Seventh Annual Founder’s Luncheon featuring NPR correspondent, Debbie Elliot. This year’s topic will be “Stories, Secrets and Scoundrels of the South.” Purchase a table or a ticket here: https://bontempstix.com/events/wrkfs-seventh-annual-founders-luncheon-with-debbie-elliott-11-30-2023. Hope to see you there!

Have a happy and spooky Halloween, everyone!

It’s a beautiful day at the Louisiana Book Festival. ☀️📚📻 We hope you’ll pop by our table to say hi!

The 82nd Magic City Classic is going down this weekend in Birmingham.

The annual clash between Alabama’s two largest HBCUs is about much more than football, though. As the Gulf States Newsroom’s Joseph King found out, it’s also about fashion.

At the Magic City Classic in Alabama, what you wear is just as important as who you cheer for For many, the annual game between HBCU rivals Alabama A&M and Alabama State is about more than football. It’s a chance to connect and celebrate Black culture.

With the global shift to electric vehicles accelerating, Southern states are betting on it ushering in a manufacturing renaissance in the region.

But as the Gulf States Newsroom’s Stephan Bisaha reports, some workers and experts caution that it must be done carefully.

The Gulf South looks to ‘charge up’ its economy with electric vehicles While some believe electric vehicles could lead to a southern manufacturing renaissance, workers and experts caution that it must be done carefully.

This wrestling season will be one for the history books at Huntingdon College. That’s because the Hawks are fielding the only collegiate women’s wrestling team in the Gulf South.

The Gulf States Newsroom’s Joseph King traveled to Montgomery, Alabama for the Hawks’ season opener to learn more about the team.

At Huntingdon College, the Gulf South's 1st NCAA women’s wrestling team is ready to roll Players, coaches and school officials hope Huntingdon's women's wrestling program can serve as a blueprint to continue the sport's growth in the South.

A record-hot summer in the Gulf South meant cranking up the AC. But for some, the power bills that came with it are still a burden.

In the latest Utility Bill of the Month installment, Stephan Bisaha talks to one Mississippi man about the high cost of staying cool.

The Gulf South’s record heat brought another pain for residents — higher power bills This summer’s high temperatures also brought higher utility bills. The spike caused some, like Christopher Bogan, to make tough choices with their budget.

It's Fri-YAY! 🙌 And YAY for Mary Durusau, Museum Director for Louisiana's Old State Capitol. She's not only an integral part of our community but also a dear friend and a dedicated supporter of WRKF's mission. Thank you for taking the time to be on air with us during Morning Edition!

And what a fun bonus that her husband, Barry Irwin, President of CABL, followed her as the first guest on Talk Louisiana.

Talk about starting the weekend on a high note! 🚀 The only thing that could make this day better is hearing from YOU... support your public radio listening with a donation: wrkf.org/donate and THANKS!

Meet Bea Cole, WRKF’s new Membership Manager. Let’s make her first day of WRKF's Fall Member Fest (as Membership Manager) a success. Donate at wrkf.org. Thanks!

Thank you to Tyler Lane of Gerry Lane Chevrolet for helping us kick off the first day of WRKF's Fall Member Fest - the time of year we ask you to put a dollar amount on your listening.

When you make your donation this morning, your gift will be matched by the Gerry Lane Chevrolet Corporate Challenge Fund.

Call 855-893-9753 or click over to wrkf.org.

Thank you!

It’s been six months since a catastrophic tornado ripped across the lower Mississippi Delta and into Alabama, killing at least 23 people and injuring dozens more.

Communities caught in the path of the storm are still rebuilding, but as the Gulf States Newsroom’s Maya Miller reports, some residents fear they’re being left behind.

6 months later, Mississippi communities hit by March tornado fear they’ve been abandoned As national attention wanes and volunteers head to other disasters, residents of Rolling Fork and nearby Silver City have been left to recover on their own.