Fleming's Ceiling, Barrow's Gun Grab, and Louisiana's Space Race

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You're listening to American Ground Radio with Louis R. Avallone and Stephen Parr. This is the full show for April 8, 2026.

We open with a big economic development story for Louisiana — state lawmakers are moving fast on a pair of bills designed to lure major aerospace companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin to Louisiana with serious tax incentives. We break down exactly what House Bills 1088 and 1179 offer, why Governor Landry is all in, and whether this is smart economic policy or just states getting into a bidding war with taxpayer money. We also dig into Louisiana's existing role in the Artemis space program and what it would actually mean for jobs, supply chains, and the state's economy if a billion-dollar aerospace giant chose to plant its flag here.

Then we get into a gun rights story that should have every Second Amendment supporter in Louisiana paying attention. State Senator Regina Barrow introduced a bill that would have made it a felony — punishable by up to six months in prison — for gun owners to not keep their firearms locked in a safe at all times, even in their own homes, even for self-defense. We walk through exactly why this bill was not just unconstitutional overreach but practically dangerous, and why the Republicans who killed it in committee on a 5-1 vote made exactly the right call.

Next, political analyst and host of the Joe Cunningham Show on KPEL in Lafayette joins us live to break down the Louisiana U.S. Senate race with the primary just weeks away. Joe makes the case that John Fleming has the highest ceiling of any candidate in the race but that his own campaign may be its own worst enemy. We also dig into why Julia Letlow's failure to introduce herself to Louisiana voters let Bill Cassidy write her story for her, and why the DEI video from her ULM interview is still doing damage. Joe looks into his crystal ball on who makes the runoff — and the answer may surprise you.

We also tackle Louisiana's inactive voter list and the nearly 500,000 names on it, what Secretary of State Nancy Landry is actually saying about whether those voters can still cast a ballot, and why one of our listeners thinks the Secretary of State may be saying something that contradicts state law. We get into provisional ballots, voter roll maintenance, and why keeping Louisiana's elections clean is not voter suppression — it's basic common sense.

And we close out with a fun game — which states have the highest and lowest gas prices in America right now, with the national average sitting at $4.16 a gallon? The results are about as predictable as you'd expect, and we walk through the full top and bottom ten so you know exactly which states to thank and which ones to avoid at the pump.

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, visit AmericanGroundRadio.com, and join the conversation at 866-AGR-1776!