Four people interested in becoming the next Monroe police chief gained the local civil service board’s approval earlier this week to take a civil service examination for the job, including interim Monroe Police Chief Reginald “Reggie” Brown.

Nearly 6,900 people have participated in early voting for the July 11 municipal primary and presidential preference primary elections as of Tuesday, the parish registrar said.

Donnie VandeVen says he never expected his livelihood would be threatened when he exercised his First Amendment rights by designing a 1,500-foot long crop formation in the shape of the campaign slogan, “Trump 2020.”

The bridge and frontage road south of Interstate 20 between Millhaven Road and Garrett Road reopened to the public earlier this week after several years of weather and litigation delays.

University of Louisiana Monroe President Nick J. Bruno, Ph.D., and First Lady Linda, left those titles behind earlier this week as they ended an almost 10-year chapter of their lives and began a new one in retirement.

OUACHITA PARISH Sheriff Jay Russell was sworn in by Fourth Judicial District Court Judge Sharon Marchman on Wednesday, June 14, to begin his third term in office. “As we begin our new term, I would like to thank the Deputies of the Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office for their hard work and ded…

The Ouachita Citizen learned earlier this week it won three first place awards for best sports story, best investigative reporting and best ad campaign in the Louisiana Press Association's annual Better Newspaper Contest.

Sam Hanna Jr., president and publisher of The Ouachita Citizen in West Monroe was named president of the Louisiana Press Association (LPA) at its annual stockholders meeting June 22.

Origin Bank and the University of Louisiana-Monroe Athletic Foundation recently filed separate lawsuits to collect a total of some $3.3 million from certain members of the Monroe family running JPS Aviation and JPS Aero.

A Monroe man accused of second-degree murder, attempted murder and faces two drug dealing charges was arrested earlier this month for two more drug offenses while out on bond for the murder charges.

The Monroe City School Board agreed earlier this week to begin the process of issuing $38 million in refunded bonds to achieve some $1.3 million in savings.

The Sterlington Town Council is inviting public input on whether to sell alcohol at the town’s sports complex.

Some 3,000 people in Ouachita Parish have already participated in early voting for the July 11 municipal primary and presidential preference primary elections, state election results show.

Courtney Hammons, of Choudrant, was crowned Miss Louisiana 2020 on Tuesday after the Miss Louisiana organization agreed to postpone its 2020 competition in light of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Thom Hamilton had traveled to New York City before but when he arrived in early April to help treat COVID-19 patients, the city looked like a ghost town.

Early voting for the July 11 municipal primary election begins Saturday, featuring races in Monroe mayor and Monroe City Council as well as the election of five members to the Richwood Board of Aldermen.

A group of protesters carrying Black Lives Matter signs at the Ouachita Parish Courthouse Monday aimed their outrage at the Ouachita Parish Police Jury’s top officials for refusing to renounce their so-called racist behavior.

BATON ROUGE — A proposal to establish a group to study law enforcement in Louisiana in response to national incidents of police brutality sparked a racially charged debate last week among House committee members.

The Ouachita Parish Police Jury signed off on an ordinance earlier this week to allow the operation of video bingo machines.

Prohibiting lead shot in shotguns on Louisiana Wildlife Management Area (WMA) firing ranges is unacceptable, according to a joint Natural Resources and Environment committee recommendation unanimously passed June 10.

Sterlington Town Council members questioned Mayor Caesar Velasquez about his decision to authorize two businessmen to begin setting up a recreational vehicle, or RV, park on town-owned land the businessmen have not purchased.

Sales tax collections in April in the city of West Monroe declined 7.5 percent compared to the same month a year ago.

The city of Monroe recently escaped a federal consent decree issued to the city in 2004 because of sewer overflows and other issues, city officials announced this week.

Ouachita Parish Schools has lost some 150 students during the 2019-2020 school year, leading to a loss of some $667,000 in state funding, school officials say.

Two faculty members at the University of Louisiana-Monroe have come under fire since last week for racist remarks published to Facebook that drew the ire of students.

The West Monroe Board of Aldermen signed off an application earlier this week requesting federal relief to cover expenditures stemming from the COVID-19 outbreak.

BATON ROUGE — The state Senate approved several bills to improve Louisiana’s criminal justice system earlier this week, including a bill by a Monroe legislator to make probation less costly for both the state and offenders.

Ouachita Parish Police Jury Vice President Jack Clampit asked people to forgive him earlier this week for carelessly publishing remarks on social media over the weekend about “thugs” and shooting looters.

Louisiana will advance to Phase Two of President Donald Trump’s Opening Up America Again plan, greatly relaxing the social distancing restrictions established more than two months ago to stem the spread of COVID-19.

Though there was no state budget to approve, Louisiana legislators still managed to create some drama during the closing moments of the regular session Monday.