NATCHITOCHES, La. — Voters across Natchitoches Parish headed to the polls Tuesday for the Nov. 3 election, with a number of local, state and federal races on the ballot along with 10 proposed constitutional amendments.
Among the races before voters are contests for U.S. Senate, Louisiana’s 4th Congressional District, Public Service Commission District 5, Natchitoches City Court judge and marshal, Natchitoches Parish School Board districts 1 and 8, Justice of the Peace Ward 3, Constable Ward 2, and several municipal races in Campti, Robeline, Ashland, Goldonna and Provencal.
Election officials encourage voters to review their ballots before arriving at the polls. Additional information is available through the Louisiana Secretary of State.
Kenneth Wade Shoemaker, age 68, of Natchitoches, passed away peacefully on November 1, 2026, with family at his side in Shreveport, LA.
Born on November 28, 1957 in Natchitoches, Kenny was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, and uncle who touched the lives of many.
To know Kenny was to love him. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, and playing practical jokes on his friends. He always made everyone laugh when they were around him. He loved singing, studying the Bible, and worshiping the Lord. He was a minister of the Gospel and had previously served as pastor at Hickory Grove CM Church and Spirit of Life Worship Center.
Kenny is survived by his wife of 43 years, Sarah; his daughter Erica Scott (Jason) of Benton, LA; granddaughter Kristina Rogers (Calvin) of Fort Bragg, NC, and great-grandson CJ Rogers. He’s also survived by his sister, Ruthie Lee Taylor of Robeline, LA, and many nieces and nephews.
Kenny was preceded in death by his parents Luther and Lizzie Carnline Shoemaker, four brothers (Clyde, Raymond, Bobby, and Clifford), one sister Carolyn Ensinger, and one nephew Shad Taylor.
A service celebrating Kenneth’s life will be held onWednesday, November 4, 2026 at 1 pm at New Life Evangelism Center in Natchitoches with Pastor Dennis Bjornberg and Brother Brian Jennings officiating. Burial will follow at Lambertown Cemetery in Robeline, LA. The family will receive friends on Tuesday, November 3, 2026 from 5 pm until 8 pm at New Life Evangelism Center located at 4810 University Parkway, Natchitoches, LA 71457.
Honored to serve as pallbearers are Clint Broadway, Randy Broadway, Ricky Broadway, Toby Carnline, Kevin Ensinger, Kevin Honeycutt, and Chuck Wyatt. Honorary Pallbearers are Jerry Carnline and Oscar Ensinger.
The family would like to thank Dr. David Green along with the nurses and staff of Willis Knighton Pierremont in Shreveport.
Nathaniel Dale Carter, of Montgomery, LA, passed away on September 17, 2026, at the age of 40. He was born on July 18, 1986.
Nathaniel will be remembered as a kind and helpful man who would help anyone in need. He enjoyed going to church and found comfort and meaning there. He also loved to fish and hunt, spending time doing the things he enjoyed most. Nathaniel had a unique ability to master any computer or video game within a short period of time, a talent that stood out to those who knew him and brought many moments of admiration and enjoyment. He was a proud member of Mason’s Lodge 168 in Montgomery, LA.
He is survived by his wife, Mary Carter; his mother, Kelley Patterson (Jerry); and his brother, Tracy Carter. He leaves behind the love of his family including numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.
Nathaniel was preceded in death by his sister, Chelsea Colby McCann, and by his grandparents, Wayne and Corine Carter. Their memories remained an important part of his life and family story.
A graveside service will be held at Crews New Salem Cemetery near Montgomery, LA at 1 pm on Sunday, November 8, 2026.
Nathaniel will be deeply missed by his family and friends, and remembered with love by all who had the blessing of knowing him.
NSU Leadership Q&A focuses on student success and preparing for the future
By Anastasia L. Douglas,
Communications & Business Administration Major
College of Business & Technology – Social Media & Marketing Coordinator
College of Business & Technology – Podcast Anchor (Russell Rm. 108)
Presidential Ambassador
NATCHITOCHES – Preparing students for the real world is a priority for Northwestern
State University. On Oct. 29, the College of Business & Technology held a leadership Q&A with
University President James T. Genovese and Dean Dr. Scott Wysong, during which they
answered student questions.
Moderated by Ragus Endowed Chair Dr. Heidy McWhorter Mongeon, the event focused on the
value of a four-year degree, artificial intelligence in the future of business, cybersecurity, public
speaking skills and preparing students for the professional world. Students also asked how NSU
could better prepare them for life after college, help them build confidence and provide insights
on gaining experience.
The discussion also explored how higher education can create opportunities for long-term career
growth. Genovese emphasized that while an associate degree can provide an entry point
into the workforce, a bachelor’s degree can open additional doors. Graduate education can help
students move into management and leadership positions.
Wysong discussed the development of the Master of Business Administration program at NSU, which is pending approval by the Louisiana Board of Regents, and the creation of opportunities for students to continue their education. NSU values its students and wants them to advance their learning, he said.
“Put us on the map,” Genovese stated, encouraging students to take advantage of the opportunities presented. NSU graduates can build successful careers by developing skills and distinguishing themselves.
Increasing enrollment, improving the university’s visibility and expanding academic
opportunities are NSU’s priorities in the upcoming years. Genovese stressed the university’s
17-1 student-to-faculty ratio, stating that students receive a private education at a public university.
The president’s goal is to increase enrollment and elevate NSU’s presence across Louisiana.
Genovese and Wysong encouraged to students to build a durable professional foundation by
learning practical skills and preparing for challenges, as life after graduation comes with new
Northwestern State University’s College of Business and Technology hosted a leadership forum to discuss the importance of people at the dawn of AI and academic programs that meet industry needs. From left are NSU President James Genovese, Dr. Heidy McWhorter Mongeon, moderator, and Dr. Scott Wysong, dean.
WACO, Texas – The Northwestern State men’s basketball team opens its 2026-27 season with the momentum built from an exhibition victory.
When the Demons take the Foster Pavilion floor at 8:30 p.m. Monday on ESPN+, they will do so against a Baylor team that is feeling the same way.
Northwestern carries with it a 62-60 win against North Texas in the Demons’ lone exhibition game of the preseason while the Bears knocked off preseason No. 1 Florida, 82-76, and No. 3 Illinois, 95-91, in their exhibitions.
“Baylor’s a phenomenal team,” fourth-year head coach Rick Cabrera said. “They’ve had two great exhibitions, beating Illinois and Florida. They’ve got really, really good guards. They’ve got good post players who know their role, but our guys, I only have one form of language when I’m talking to our players. We’re going into every game to win.”
The Demons enter the 2026-27 season with 11 newcomers on their 14-person roster.
Despite the high level of turnover, Cabrera said already he has seen positive signs with regards to team chemistry throughout the offseason and preseason.
“We’ve got 11 new guys, but we’ve got a really close-knit group of new guys,” he said. “They have welcomed each other with open arms. It has made our job as coaches easier. They’re very coachable young men, who are very physical, talented and aggressive. They get after it after every practice.
“This is the start of year four (at Northwestern). I really liked my Year 2 team, but I really love this team coming up. Since June up to the two scrimmages and the exhibition, they have done everything we’ve asked and more.”
What the Demons also have is a deeper roster for Cabrera and his staff.
Northwestern grabbed its exhibition win at North Texas while playing without senior guard Izzy Miles, its leading returning scorer (10.5 points per game) from a season ago.
“Izzy has been our best player in the summer and the fall, but we have depth,” Cabrera said. “We have a second group that can step in and be starters just as much. Do we need (Miles) back? Absolutely. When he’s going to come back, I don’t know. He’s getting better every day, but we’ve got good players.”
A pair of newcomers – junior guard Kai Simpson and sophomore forward Isaiah Vick – ignited the offense at North Texas, combining for 37 points.
Simpson’s second-chance floater provided the winning points after North Texas erased an 11-point Demon lead in the closing minutes.
In addition to watching Simpson and Vick shine in their first taste of Division I competition, the finish gave Cabrera and the Demons plenty of positivity ahead of the season opener.
“We preach that a lot of our games are going to be close under four minutes,” Cabrera said. “We have to learn how to win under four minutes. We ran a play and Kordrick (Turner) goes and gets a big offensive rebound in traffic, and he throws the ball out. I had a timeout, and in that moment of live play with the clock ticking, I was going to call it and I wasn’t going to call it.
“I didn’t want them to be able to reset their defense, so we didn’t call it. Kai made a play because of his talent, not because of coaching. The ability to win a game brought some joy and happiness to our team.”
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Photo: CJ Larry is one of three returners on the Northwestern State roster. Credit: Chris Reich/NSU Photographic Services
Photo: Ja’Marion Bonner makes a tackle against UIW receiver Isaiah Champagne.
Credit: Brad Welborn, NSU Sports Information
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SAN ANTONIO – Speed is the name of the game for UIW, and the Cardinals displayed plenty of it from the opening minutes Saturday.
UIW scored three touchdowns before the midpoint of the first quarter, using a pair of scoring drives that lasted less than 90 seconds and an interception return for a touchdown to build an early lead on its way to a 66-14 victory against Northwestern State.
The Cardinals (5-4, 4-2) scored on five of their first six possessions, with each of those scoring drives lasting less than two minutes, as Northwestern State (0-9, 0-6) was unable to recover from the fast start.
“They are exactly who I thought they would be,” head coach Blaine McCorkle said. “We got beat in all three phases. There’s no other way to describe it. The score is what it is, but the thing that is most disappointing is that for eight straight weeks we’ve gotten better and I don’t know that we did this week.
“We’ll go back to work. We’ve got three more games to try and find a win or two, and the biggest thing we have to do is piece together some bodies because we are beat up right now injury-wise.”
Despite UIW’s offensive efficiency, Northwestern State’s defense had chances to get off the field. The Cardinals went just 1-for-6 on third down in the first half, although they converted both fourth-down attempts, scoring touchdowns on each of their first two fourth-down conversions.
The Demons’ best offensive drive began late in the first quarter.
A pair of 15-yard penalties against the Cardinals helped Northwestern State move down the field before quarterback Zach Wilcke found Amaaz Eugene across the middle for a 12-yard completion to set up the score.
Camryn Davis capped the 10-play, 75-yard drive with a 17-yard touchdown catch on a post route near the back of the end zone early in the second quarter. It was Davis’ fourth touchdown reception of the season, tying him for the team lead, and his second straight game with a scoring catch.
“We did a good job taking advantage on that drive,” McCorkle said. “Abram (Johnston) did the same thing late in the game to take us down to score. Defense did get some pressure at times and we saw some spurts of that, but just wasn’t anywhere near enough today.”
UIW answered six plays later to push its lead to 35-7.
NSU continued to create pressure throughout the first half but could not fully capitalize on its opportunities.
KB Anderson-Dale recorded a 10-yard strip sack in the first quarter, with Blake Fann recovering the fumble, but the Demons were forced to punt three plays later. Anderson-Dale had another fumble in the second quarter that UIW recovered, leading to another Cardinal punt.
Braden Woods added a forced fumble on a second-quarter sack-fumble that knocked UIW out of field-goal range and helped force another punt.
The Demon defense opened the second half by forcing a punt and holding UIW to a missed field goal on its first two possessions. A Demon turnover, the fourth of the game, however, led to a 20-yard Cardinal touchdown pass and sparked three straight UIW scoring drives to close the game.
The Demons added one final score late in the contest.
Jake Peveto made his first catch as a Demon count, hauling in a one-handed, over-the-shoulder catch along the sideline for 47 yards on the first play of the drive. Backup quarterback Abram Johnston later connected with Eugene on a 12-yard crossing route before finishing the drive himself with a one-yard touchdown run.
Northwestern State returns to Turpin Stadium next week to begin its final two-game homestand of the season, hosting UTRGV in the first meeting between the programs. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Nov. 7.
NATCHITOCHES – The Northwestern State volleyball team has several measuring-stick matches remaining down the stretch of Southland Conference play.
The Demons found out Saturday just where they need to go when those arrive.
Visiting UIW entered Prather Coliseum as one of four teams tied for the Southland lead, and the Cardinals maintained that standing after sweeping Northwestern, 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-16).
“That is the cream right now,” second-year head coach Ben Kaszeta said. “They are the team that has been at the top of the conference or second in the conference all season. They were the preseason No. 1 or No. 2. They’re very good at what they do. They’re a very disciplined team. For us, we’re just trying to learn how to have continued and sustained success against teams like that.”
Northwestern (13-14, 5-7) strung together a few moments on each side of the ball throughout the match, but UIW (12-9, 10-2) had an answer for whatever the Demons put together.
Down 4-2 early in the second set, Northwestern delivered its best blocking sequence of the match as the duo of Amber Craig and Olivia Nzioki combined for back-to-back combo blocks to tie the set.
One point later, Nzioki notched her lone solo block of the match to again level the score.
From there, however, UIW took control of the set and the match with an 8-1 run.
Nzioki finished with a match high seven total blocks (one solo, six assists) as each team recorded seven blocks.
“We had some great moments today,” Kaszeta said. “Our defense played awesome. We reminded them of the game plan coming out. We wanted to take away (UIW outside hitter Kitana Tu’ufuli) line shot. That’s her favorite shot when she’s swinging hard. We did that twice.”
The Cardinals hit .313 for the day, buoyed by a .333 mark in the first set and a match-best .342 number in the second.
Meanwhile, the Demons hit .085 with Northwestern’s best offensive set coming in the second as well. Coming off a thrilling five-set win against HCU on Thursday night, Northwestern could not find the same spark.
“Maybe the five-set match the other day took a little bit more of our emotional energy,” Kaszeta said. “We were a little flatter and couldn’t sustain today.”
Nzioki and Elizabeth Muguruza led the Demons with seven kills each while libero Emmarie McFarland notched a match-high 19 digs.
Nzioki found her groove offensively in the third set, collecting four kills on 10 swings, but it was too late for Northwestern.
“Their change took a little bit of pressure off of us, and that made it a little easier to get the ball to Olivia,” Kaszeta said. “Earlier, when (Tu’ufuli) was on the court, it made it hard to find Olivia, because (Tu’ufuli) hits some shots that made it awkward and weird enough to get it to the middle hitter.
“When she was out, we were able to get the ball to Olivia a little better, and we had a great little run there in set three.”
Northwestern returns to action Thursday when it opens a two-game road trip at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m.
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Photo: Olivia Nzioki (22) shared the team lead with seven kills and had seven total blocks in Saturday’s loss to UIW. Credit: Chris Reich/NSU Photographic Services
RUSTON – The Northwestern State tennis team’s fall season has come to a sooner-than-expected end.
The threat of inclement weather has caused the cancelation of the Bulldog Invitational, set for Saturday and Sunday at the Louisiana Tech Tennis Complex.
The tournament would have been the fifth of the fall for Northwestern, which last competed Oct. 16-18 at the Bearkat Invitational at Sam Houston.
CLARENCE, La. — Construction crews continue work on the replacement of a damaged box culvert on U.S. 84 at Bourbeaux Bayou near Clarence in Natchitoches Parish.
According to the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, the culvert is located approximately 1.35 miles east of U.S. 71. The roadway was closed in August because of the condition of the structure and concerns for public safety.
DOTD officials estimate the project will take approximately 10 weeks to complete and expect the highway to reopen in January 2027, weather permitting. U.S. 84 will remain closed at Bourbeaux Bayou during construction.
Motorists are encouraged to follow posted detour routes and allow additional travel time while work continues.
