News from the South - Louisiana News Feed
Loud, boisterous rival protests of religious freedom among Catholics and satanists turn violent
by Tim Carpenter, Louisiana Illuminator
March 29, 2025
TOPEKA, Kan. — The bullhorn-powered war of words between satanists and Catholics boiled over into brawling and a handful of arrests Friday during an extraordinary event at the Kansas Capitol that pushed boundaries of free speech and the separation of church and state.
After about two hours of speeches, prayers and sign waving among hundreds of people mostly segregated by barricades staffed by law enforcement officers, Satanic Grotto president Michael Stewart, with supporters and reporters in tow, entering the Statehouse to conduct what he had described as a black mass. He was warned at the door to the visitors’ center that any formal protest inside the building that violated a permit limiting his religious expression to the lawn or steps of the Capitol would result in his arrest for trespassing.
In the rotunda, Stewart began delivering the rebellious alternative mass and was interrupted by three people intent on stopping what could be interpreted as a mockery of their faith. An unidentified man and woman, with young kids at their side, physically intervened to interrupt Stewart. He spun away from them. Counter-protester Marcus Schroeder joined the fray and twice reached to rip papers from Stewart’s hand. Stewart responded by punching Schroeder in the face twice. More than half a dozen Capitol Police wrestled Stewart to the floor to make the arrest.
“I’m not resisting. I’m not resisting. I’m not resisting,” Stewart repeatedly yelled.
Schroeder, who wore a shirt declaring “death is not welcome here,” wasn’t arrested by Capitol Police. In an interview, he defended his intervention to thwart Stewart.
“He was trying to give a satanic chant. I tried to take his paper out of his hand and he punched me twice in the face,” Schroeder said.
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After the area cleared, two other satanists tried to pick up where Stewart left off and were taken into custody. One other person was cuffed and led away by law enforcement outside the Capitol. An individual had grabbed Stewart by the legs in a bid to stop Stewart from stomping on crackers intended to represent those used in a Catholic mass. In that brief exchange, Stewart also punched the guy before law enforcement ended the fracas.
“He was was trying to tackle me to get to the cracker underneath,” Stewart said. “I was able to kind of fend him off. I do think he may have picked up the crumbled cracker and ate it. Did I get physical with him? Yes.”
The opposition
The colorful display of affection and affliction for organized religion culminated attempts by Gov. Laura Kelly, Attorney General Kris Kobach, leaders of the Kansas Legislature and Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, to restrain or derail the demonstration planned by Satanic Grotto.
Kelly had the group’s permit amended so no protest could transpire inside the Capitol. Legislative leaders modified policy regarding use of the Capitol to target Satanic Grotto. Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Wichita, said the First Amendment didn’t protect offensive speech or violations of law.
Francis Slobodnik, a Topeka representative of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property, told hundreds of Catholics gathered on the south side of the Capitol that public officials shouldn’t have allowed satanists to assemble on public property. He said the process showed a misguided understanding of freedom of speech and religion and a lack of appreciation for how a black mass represented worship of Satan.
“Today’s horrific event, the first of its kind in the history of Kansas, is a sacrilege,” said Slobodnik, who urged people to engage in a peaceful rally. “Of course, there have been terrible crimes and injustices that have happened in our state over the years. However, nothing in our past compares with what is happening today where God is being directly challenged on the state Capitol grounds. The state Capitol represents all of us.”
He praised people at the rally who were standing in opposition to Satanic Grotto, and referred to them as the Navy Seals of the Catholic faith. He said these activists were willing to confront God’s enemies head-on as if on a field of battle. He said the great sin perpetrated by Stewart and other worshipers of Satan meant that others had to step into the void.
“Satanists do not realize that Satan hates all of God’s creation, including them,” Slobodnik said. “Their reward for worshiping and serving him will be eternal fire.”
And, an exorcist
Former U.S. Rep. Tim Huelskamp, who served in the Kansas Senate before elected to Congress, said he consulted with a priest with experience in exorcism when considering whether to participate in a television interview with Stewart.
“Father had a simple question: ‘Why would you do this? What do you hope to gain?’ I stumbled around in my answer,” Huelskamp said. “I wanted to share the truth about Christ. The truth about the Eucharist. His summary response was quite stunning to me. He said, ‘There is no good that could come from being in the same room with a satanist.’”
Huelskamp said it was suggested his participation in the interview with Stewart might advance the interests of Satan. The former Republican congressman woke ill the next day, and cancelled the interview. In the end, Huelskamp said he decided it was important to run to the fire created by Satan rather than shrink from it. He said it was the same as making his views known about the evil of abortion or defending the sanctity of marriage between a man and woman.
“I am quite stubborn and hardheaded,” he said. “We cannot be silent. We are required, if we call ourselves Christians, if we call ourselves Catholic, we are publicly required to defend the faith and to stand up for the truth.”
In an interview amid calm before the storm of his arrest, Stewart said he was convinced Catholics assembled around him didn’t understand why Satanic Grotto was at the Capitol to talk about religious oppression.
“What we only want is the rights that every American has,” Stewart said. “I’ve heard people say we’re setting a precedent. Well, if the precedent is freedom of religion for everyone in public spaces, yes, that’s what we’re trying to establish. We are dragging this issue out in the light and we’ll let the people look at it. The issue is that we’re not all being treated the same here.”
Other voices in crowd
Eudora resident John More, a Christian who carried a call-to-heaven New England pine tree flag, said he was motivated to attend because he viewed the satanists’ criticism of Catholics as an assault on religion in general. He joined with Julie Britschge of Burlingame for a “Jericho Walk,” or prayer walk, by circling the statehouse grounds seven times. Britschge said the walk was patterned after the biblical story of the Israelites’ march aimed at bringing about spiritual change.
“We’re hoping that whatever evil there is today, that He will take care of it,” More said. “I was just planning to add a measure of divine protection.”
Daniel Casteel and Shawn Velasquez, both with the Cure Church, made their views heard with the aid of megaphones. They prowled the security-line perimeter sharing perspectives on religion before taking part in back-and-forth exchanges across the barrier with supporters of Satanic Grotto.
“Jesus loves you,” Casteel bellowed. “Any time you’re ready, you can step this way. We will make sure you get saved. Come give your life to Jesus, please. Break the stronghold.”
In an interview, Velasquez and Casteel said their intent was to convince one or two satanic worshipers to find solace in God.
“They’re just misguided and uninformed,” Velasquez said. “They’re worshiping a false god.”
On the other side of that line, Mike Trapp of Leavenworth quietly held a sign that emphasized his belief the United States was best served by adhering to the constitutional principle of a formal separation between church and state.
“We wouldn’t be standing here today if there weren’t Christians flaunting their religion in the Capitol,” said Trapp, who considered the rise of Christian nationalism to be “the biggest threat to democracy.”
Wichita residents Kyle Francis and Sam McCrory, who were armed with a gun, flag and a collection of religious symbols, said they were present to stand up for Christ.
“Any time that people who oppose Christ show their head, you know, they should be opposed publicly,” McCrory said.
He said separation of church and state was originally the product of a homogenous Christian population. Satanists and others who diluted that national unity often used constitutional freedoms as a weapon against well-meaning people, he said.
“These sorts of things need to be brutally tamped down,” McCrory said. “Let’s set an example. I think that the United States should be an explicitly Christian nation. If you want to be something other than Christian, I think that’s fine, to an extent. I think they (non-Christians) should have to pay an extra tax.”
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This report was first published by the Kansas Reflector, part of the States Newsroom nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com.
Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.
This report was first published by the Kansas Reflector, part of the States Newsroom nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com.
The post Loud, boisterous rival protests of religious freedom among Catholics and satanists turn violent appeared first on lailluminator.com
News from the South - Louisiana News Feed
Portion of Gentilly Ridge Apartments residents return home, others remain displaced
SUMMARY: Two days after a five-alarm fire damaged the Gentilly Ridge Apartment complex in New Orleans East, some residents have been allowed to return home as power is restored and damage inspections continue. One building suffered extensive fire damage, while others mainly sustained water and smoke damage requiring mitigation before reentry. Residents express mixed emotions—thankfulness for spared homes and concerns over those displaced. About 23 people remain at the Joe Brown Recreation Center shelter, likely to move to hotels soon. Relief efforts include the Red Cross, local organizations providing aid, and a United Way fund supporting affected families with housing and essentials.
The post Portion of Gentilly Ridge Apartments residents return home, others remain displaced appeared first on wgno.com
News from the South - Louisiana News Feed
Trump’s new law will limit payments to hospitals that treat low-income patients
by Shalina Chatlani, Louisiana Illuminator
September 5, 2025
President Donald Trump’s new tax and spending law will likely force more than half the states to reduce payments to doctors and hospitals that treat Medicaid patients, a change critics warn will be particularly harmful to rural hospitals struggling to stay afloat.
Medicaid, the joint state-federal health insurance program for low-income people, reimburses doctors, hospitals and nursing facilities for treating enrollees. But in many cases, the program doesn’t fully cover the cost of care, straining providers that serve a large share of Medicaid patients.
To help providers cover losses and continue to serve poorer populations, the federal government allows the 41 states, plus the District of Columbia, that have contracted with Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) to run their Medicaid programs to direct them to pay providers more — in some cases, as much as commercial plans
Ultimately, taxpayers cover the costs of these so-called state directed payments — and those costs are growing. As of August 2024, the higher payments were projected to add $110.2 billion per year to Medicaid spending, nearly 60% more than the previous year’s projection.
That higher spending attracted the attention of conservatives on Capitol Hill.
Beginning in 2028, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will cap the payments, forcing state Medicaid programs to reduce reimbursement rates by 10 percentage points each year until they reach either 100% or 110% of what Medicare pays. States that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act would be capped at the lower rate.
The new law will reduce Medicaid spending by $149 billion over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office, and reduce Medicaid provider payments in as many as 31 states, according to KFF, a health policy research group. A separate analysis by The Commonwealth Fund, another research group, found that Medicaid payments to hospitals would drop by at least 20% in 19 of the 25 states that had publicly available data.
Critics say the change could be disastrous for hospitals, many of them in rural areas, that see a large share of Medicaid patients.
“This is all on top of an already pretty strained financial situation for rural hospitals,” Alexa McKinley Abel, director of government affairs and policy at the National Rural Health Association, a group representing rural health care providers, said in an interview. “We are worried about seeing service line closures at hospitals in an environment where OB-GYN and chemotherapy service lines are already being cut.”
Covering the cost of care
Supporters of the change say the extra payments inflate federal spending on the Medicaid program, giving hospitals “windfall profits.”
“Not only do these programs sidestep the truly needy on Medicaid and favor special interests instead, but all this is financed by growing the federal debt, leading to inflation and higher interest rates for all Americans,” the Paragon Health Institute, a conservative think tank that helped draft the bill, stated in a policy brief.
Hospital leaders dispute that. Earlier this year, the American Hospital Association asserted that without the extra payments, Medicaid managed care organizations in 2023 only covered about two-thirds of the actual cost of care.
Cindy Samuelson, senior vice president of the Kansas Hospital Association, said the additional payments are especially critical in a rural state such as Kansas, where some researchers have found that 87% of rural hospitals are in the red. Kansas is one of 10 states that did not expand Medicaid, and like other nonexpansion states, it will have to begin reducing direct payments to 110% of what Medicare pays starting in 2028.
“Over time, commercial payers are paying less and less,” Samuelson said. “Many hospitals in our state are at risk of closure.”
Samuelson said that in rural areas, health care providers see fewer patients, which makes it hard to spread out the cost of care and make up for losses that come from serving underinsured, Medicaid and Medicare patients. One result is that rural hospitals are trimming services. A report published this year by Chartis, a health care consulting firm, found that between 2011 and 2023, nearly 300 rural hospitals across the country stopped offering obstetrics care, and 424 rural hospitals ceased chemotherapy services.
In Hutchinson, Kansas, Benjamin Anderson, CEO of the rural and community-owned Hutchinson Regional Health System, said his hospital barely broke even this year, and lower Medicaid payments will take a toll. The 190-bed hospital serves more than 65,000 people in the central Kansas region, and sees a lot of patients who are struggling with mental health issues and substance use disorders.
When we think about the cuts to Medicaid, it isn’t simply about cutting services to the poor. It’s threatening services to everyone.
– Benjamin Anderson, CEO of Hutchinson Regional Health System
“We are closely managing our workforce expenses. We’re going to be relying more heavily on philanthropy,” Anderson said, adding that the hospital wouldn’t lay off staff but would reduce the number of workers by not filling open positions.
He said his hospital has some cash reserves that should enable it to keep going, but that many other rural hospitals lack such a cushion.
“When we think about the cuts to Medicaid, it isn’t simply about cutting services to the poor. It’s threatening services to everyone, because in a rural community, we all get care in the same place,” he said. “If we cut out the safety net that’s sustaining these hospitals, everyone’s health care is threatened.”
Searching for answers
Three hours northeast of Hutchinson is the rural town of Holton, where about 3,400 people live. Holton Community Hospital is a 14-bed critical access hospital, meaning that it provides emergency care around the clock for a rural community. For the past two years, it has been struggling, according to Carrie Lutz, the hospital’s CEO.
Lutz said the hospital is not part of a broader health care group, and it relies on philanthropy and local taxes. Due to financial strains, it’s in the process of selling off its home and hospice services to another health care facility. The cap on extra payments will be an additional barrier, she said.
Samuelson said Kansas is applying for money under the five-year, $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program, which Congress added to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act amid concerns about its impact on rural hospitals. She expects Kansas to get at least $500 million between 2026 and 2030.
Rural hospitals in Mississippi also hope to tap into those funds. The Mississippi Hospital Association, which is advising state leaders on their application, said it expects Mississippi to get at least $500 million over the next five years.
Like Kansas, Mississippi did not expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care, a decision that deprived it of additional Medicaid patients and thus extra revenue.
“A few years ago, we had several rural hospitals that were facing some imminent closure challenges, and so our enhanced supplemental payment based on the average commercial rate has been a lifeline,” said Richard Roberson, president and CEO of the Mississippi Hospital Association.
“What we’re concerned about is that when those payments start to decrease, then we’re going to be right back to where we were in 2022, with concerns about rural hospitals again.”
Roberson said Medicaid, with the additional payments, had become “one of the best payers, if not the best payer, for our hospitals over the last two years,” and helped a lot of hospitals stay out of the red.
He said the new rural health care fund is promising, but noted that Mississippi will decide where to spend any money it gets, and some rural hospitals might miss out.
“We want to make sure we’re working with the state to provide sustainable solutions, not one-time fixes,” Roberson said. “The big wild card is the Rural Health Transformation fund and what the state chooses to do with that money.”
Stateline reporter Shalina Chatlani can be reached at schatlani@stateline.org.
This story was originally produced by Stateline, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Louisiana Illuminator, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.
The post Trump’s new law will limit payments to hospitals that treat low-income patients appeared first on lailluminator.com
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Left
The content presents a critical view of a policy associated with a Republican administration, emphasizing the potential negative impacts of Medicaid payment cuts on rural hospitals and vulnerable populations. It highlights concerns from healthcare providers and advocates while also including conservative perspectives on fiscal responsibility. The overall tone leans toward concern for social welfare and healthcare access, common in center-left reporting, but maintains a balanced presentation by acknowledging opposing viewpoints.
News from the South - Louisiana News Feed
Lafayette’s battling blight — real change takes real commitment
SUMMARY: Lafayette is finally gaining momentum to tackle blight, with LEDA becoming a redevelopment authority for the Northside, new leadership at the Housing Authority, and property donations to nonprofits. However, sustained, large-scale commitment is needed to translate efforts into real social and economic improvements. Historically, Lafayette has lacked cooperation among developers, nonprofits, and government, hindering progress. Redevelopment costs are high, making market-driven solutions insufficient. Proposals include creating a land bank to clear titles on adjudicated properties, improving government processes to support developers, and establishing a substantial redevelopment fund. While challenging, Lafayette’s community has the potential to prioritize and drive meaningful change over time.
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The post Lafayette’s battling blight — real change takes real commitment appeared first on thecurrentla.com
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