Sabine Theatre – Many Community Center 675 San Antonio Ave, Many, LA 71449
Pressure – An Afternoon of History, Honor & Film
Join Sabine Parish America 250 for a special screening of Pressure, a historical film that explores the remarkable untold story behind D-Day and the decisions that helped shape one of the most important moments of World War II.
In recognition of Veterans Day, all veterans in attendance will be recognized and honored as we pay tribute to their service and sacrifice.
Come spend an afternoon with us as we bring history to the big screen and honor those who have served our country.
Date: Sunday, November 8, 2026 Time: 2:00 PM Location: Many Community Center Admission: Free
NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State University’s College of Business and Technology will host six finalists for the 2026 Inferno Pitch competition, the ultimate platform for student entrepreneurs to showcase their innovative ideas and compete for valuable prizes and industry recognition.
These students will advance to the final pitch event, which will be from 9:30 a.m.-noon Wednesday, Nov. 11 in the David Morgan Auditorium (Room 107) of Russell Hall. The event is open to the public and will be livestreamed via Webex at https://nsu.la/InfernoPitchWebex. The meeting number is 2490 973 4787. Password: Hottestidea26!
The five finalists are as follows.
CrawCycle Solutions – Samuel Brunson of Natchitoches and Shepherd Brooks Benson of Shreveport
Campus Marketplace – Silet Gray of Stony Hill, Jamaica
Balanced Budget Baskets – Kelly Guillory of Bossier City
GeoFin –Santiago Sanchez of Villamaria, Colombia
AURA – Valeria Botero Ocampo of Pereira, Colombia
During the final pitch event, each finalist will pitch their business models to a panel of judges. Each finalist will be allowed 10 minutes to present, followed by a 5-minute Q&A session. The winner(s) will be announced and awarded.
1st Place(Winner) - $3,000 cash, 6 months of professional services from the Entrepreneurial Accelerator Program
2nd Place (Runner up) - $1,000 cash, 6 months of professional services from the Entrepreneurial Accelerator Program
3rd Place (Runner up) - $500 cash, 6 months of professional services from the Entrepreneurial Accelerator Program
Guest judges will be Gwen Taylor Fontenot, director of Institutional Engagement and Economic Development at NSU; Matthew Gamble, entrepreneur, co-founder of Collins & Gamble and winner of 2023 Pelican Cup; Leslie Oglesby,manager of Economic Development & Research at the Natchitoches Area Chamber of Commerce; Brandon G. Pang, member, Bradley Murchinson; Joanna Washington, vice president, senior deposit operation specialist and branch manager of City Bank & Trust Company, and Ronnie Williams, Jr., mayor of Natchitoches.
The final pitch event will be open to the public and live streamed via Webex at:
Inferno Pitch is a North Louisiana entrepreneurial and business development event that is currently open to all NSU business students,encouraging students to learn about and embrace entrepreneurship. Students can submit models for new businesses in any industry and receive coaching from industry experts and sharpen their entrepreneurial skills with the following.
Real-world experience in the startup and capital raising process.
Networking with industry experts and seasoned entrepreneurs
Collaboration with other like-minded participants
A chance to take a business idea from concept to commercialization.
This initiative is sponsored by the Entrepreneurial Accelerator Program (EAP), which is a division of BRF. EAP’s mission is to build an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem in North Louisiana.
For more information about the event, contact Dr. Weiwen Liao, associate professor in the College of Business and Technology and Coordinator of Inferno Pitch, at (318)-357-5692 or [email protected]
The forum was sponsored by NSU’s Office of Economic Development and University Advancement to provide an opportunity for community leaders, students, faculty and staff to learn about how the Delta Forge 1 project will impact job creation, workforce needs and infrastructure in the region.
Applied Digital is a technology landlord that builds large data center campuses and leases the space inside them to major tech companies. The customers use the space to run artificial intelligence, cloud and other digital infrastructure. Applied Digital provides services to keep the site running that include power and backup power generation, cooling systems, security, site maintenance and operations.
“People are very surprised to learn that data centers are not new,” Adams said. “They’ve been around for decades, but what is new is the speed and the size in which we are building them and that is why it’s getting so much attention.”
The largest concentration of data centers is in Virginia because of proximity to the federal government, which has been using data centers for years, Adams said. More recently, streaming television entertainment, cell phones, text messaging and Chat GPT all use data centers, which are built for three different purposes.
Traditional data centers are general purpose facilities that serve cloud, enterprise and internet workloads such as those used for banking, commerce and the medical field. Specialized blockchain facilities house computing hardware for cryptocurrency. AI factories, such as the Delta Forge 1 facility in Boyce, are designed to turn large scale power into operational AI capacity. It provides the power, cooling, security and operations needed to keep modern AI systems running. Applied Digital projects that local taxing bodies will get $575.5 million in cumulative payments over the next 27 years.
Power for the Boyce facility will be coordinated by a partnership with CLECO that is building a substation for the site. Water will be circulated through a closed-loop system that circulates through the system and is reused. The company uses setbacks and sound studies to understand sound impact and make adjustments.
Construction of the facility began this past January and is expected to be complete in November 2027 with operations possibly beginning in the spring of 2028. The construction phase is projected to employ a peak of 1,000 workers and when complete support about 200 permanent jobs for engineers, electricians, plumbers and security personnel.
Gail Adams, community engagement coordinator for Applied Digital, talked to NSU students, faculty and staff about the AI factory currently in development in Boyce.
Applied Digital presentation:
NSU’s Office of Economic Development and University Advancement hosted Gail Adams, community engagement coordinator for Applied Digital, at a public forum to discuss the $3.6 billion Delta Forge 1 data center underway in Boyce. From left are NSU Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff Drake Owen, Executive Director for Economic Development and University Advancement Laurie Morrow, Adams, NSU President James Genovese and Gwen Fontenot, director of Institutional Engagement and Economic Development at NSU.
Over the past 24 hours, the Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office reports 1 arrest. All persons accused of a crime are to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. Any questions about today’s arrest report should be directed to the Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office at (318)-256-9241.
Arrested was:
Julius Theodore Winfield IV, black male, 23. Arrested on a charge of probation/parole violation. Arrested by the Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office.
ALEXANDRIA, La. (Nov. 3, 2026) — A 15-year-old has been arrested in connection with a weekend shooting that left another teenager injured.
According to the Alexandria Police Department, officers responded to North Bolton Avenue at approximately 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, after receiving reports of shots fired.
Investigators said a 14-year-old victim suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound and was transported to a hospital for treatment.
Authorities arrested a 15-year-old suspect, who was charged with:
NATCHITOCHES – The Dear School of Creative and Performing Arts at Northwestern State University will present the 38th Annual Christmas Gala on December 2-3 at 7 p.m. and December 4 at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. in the A.A. Fredericks Auditorium. Tickets are $15 plus an online purchasing fee. NSU, BPCC@NSU and LSMSA students are admitted free with a current student I.D. Tickets can be purchased online at https://nsu.la/GalaTickets.
Director of Choral Activities Dr. Shane Thomas is the Gala director. More than 300 Northwestern State students, faculty and staff in the School of Creative and Performing Arts combine their talents to present the Gala as a kickoff to the Natchitoches Christmas Festival. Large crowds attend the Gala each year, and special matinee performances for school groups provide a formative arts experience for children from Natchitoches Parish and the surrounding region.
This year’s production celebrates the 100th Natchitoches Christmas Festival by showcasing what NSU and CAPA do best. Each ensemble featured will highlight the different strengths of CAPA, including the orchestra, choirs, hip-hop, ballet and iconic favorites like the Toy Soldiers, Rockettes and Percussion Ensemble among others. These performances will showcase NSU’s Christmas spirit in homage to our contributions to Natchitoches and to the Christmas Festival.
“I’m so excited to collaborate alongside the 100th Christmas Festival to showcase what CAPA does best” says Thomas. “Each artistic entity that makes up CAPA will shine and showcase our strength and innovation in performance experiences across our region and the state of Louisiana.”
Other performing ensembles include the NSU Jazz Orchestra, Musical Theatre Ensemble, NSU Dance Company, Demon Heat and the Demon Dazzlers.
