United Way of Northeast Louisiana has teamed up with Royal Family Kids NELA and the Louisiana Foster Care Support Organization to support foster children and families in the Monroe DCFS region this holiday season.

The 40th Annual Don Weems Memorial Chili Cook-Off will be held on November 15 at The Grove. Teams of up to six will prepare chili from scratch on-site, with awards for Open and Student divisions as well as a People’s Choice Award. Tastings begin at 11:30 a.m.; a wristband allows sampling and voting. Team registration closes November 13.

Doug Duffey and BADD took top honors at the 2025 Ouachita River Blues Challenge. The Monroe-based group competed in the solo/duo category and will advance to the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. Their win adds another milestone to Duffey's celebrated Louisiana blues career.

Local Monroe areas will be closed in honor of Veterans Day from November 11 to November 12.

The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) will distribute federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funds to all eligible Louisiana SNAP recipients starting November 7. The Department has also ended staff furloughs and reopened SNAP offices, effective today.

As Armistice Day, or Veterans' Day, marks the end of WWI and honors soldiers sacrifices, it seems fitting that a number of this week's new titles tackle endings and new beginnings.

The Supreme Court will hear a case that could decide whether states can count postmarked mail ballots that arrive after Election Day — something that about 20 states and territories currently allow.

In his new book, 'Fair Doses,' epidemiologist Seth Berkley discusses what went right -- and wrong -- with COVID vaccine distribution and whether the world is ready if a new pandemic were to strike.