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Gov. Mike Foster died Sunday at his home in Franklin, Louisiana political columnist Jeremy Alford reports.

Foster, who served as governor 1996-2004, was 90.

Alford quotes former first lady Alice Foster, the former governor's wife of more than half a century, as saying, "Our family and I are saddened to announce that after 90 remarkable years, my dear husband has passed. Our family will miss him dearly."

Foster was surrounded by friends and family when he died, the family said. They offered thanks to doctors, nurses, hospice and home health care professionals for the care they provided.

Foster was reported to have entered hospice care Tuesday.

Foster, who served two terms in the state Senate as a Democrat before running for governor as a Republican, will likely be remembered for ushering in decades of GOP dominance in Louisiana state politics. He also presided over eight years of relative peace and prosperity after the disastrous plunge in oil prices and the turbulent reigns of Edward Edwards in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Foster had a touch of the eccentric about him, too. He was known for riding a big motorcycle and his distaste for helmets, except for the welder's visor he sported in a famous TV ad during his gubernatorial campaign. He also entered law school at Southern University after he became governor, earning his juris doctorate in 2004.

State Sen. Bret Allain, like Foster a Franklin Republican, now holds the Senate seat that once belonged to Foster. Allain said he went into politics at Foster's urging and is proud of that because the former governor believed in public service, not politics.

"He was a hell of a public servant," Allain said. "He wasn't a politician."

The grandson of a governor, Murphy J. "Mike" Foster was born July 11, 1930, in Shreveport. He graduated from Franklin High School and earned a degree in chemistry from LSU.

Foster served in the Air Force and left the service with the rank of captain after serving in the Korean War. He followed his father into the sugar cane business and started a construction company, and was successful in both enterprises.

He entered politics in 1987, challenging incumbent state Sen. Anthony Guarisco, a Morgan City Democrat, and winning handily. Foster won reelection in 1991 with 85% of the vote.

Foster switched parties to Republican in 1995, shortly before becoming one of the lesser known candidates in a field that included former Gov. Buddy Roemer, Lt. Gov. Mary Landrieu and former Lt. Gov. Melinda Schwegmann.

But Foster came out strongly against the further expansion of legal gambling in Louisiana, where the New Orleans casino, riverboats, widespread video poker and the Louisiana Lottery had come into being in just five years. Campaign ads stressed that Foster was a regular working man who also supported social conservative values.

Foster easily led all candidates with 26% of the primary vote. His runoff opponent was state Sen. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, whom Foster vanquished in the runoff.

Foster won reelection in 1999 by winning the primary outright with 62% of the vote in an 11-candidate field.

Foster remained a conservative through his eight years in office. He pushed legislation allowing local option elections in which people could vote out video poker in their parishes. Four days after taking office in January 1996, Foster simultaneously declared a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and signed an executive order eliminating affirmative action programs, although he was quoted by the New York Times as saying the action would do little without the Legislature's support. Foster endorsed social conservative Pat Buchanan in the 1996 presidential race.

But Foster's conservatism had a practical side. He ran afoul of some anti-gambling forces in Baton Rouge by supporting legislation that effectively bailed out Harrah's Casino in New Orleans, a potentially large source of revenue for state government. "Though elected on an anti-gambling platform," wrote the Conservapedia website, "once in office Foster became a quiet ally of the gambling industry."

Foster also supported the controversial Stelly Plan, which made groceries and utility payments exempt from state sales taxes in exchange for an increase in state income taxes on the wealthiest residents. Approval by voters of the Stelly Plan ended the annual legislative ritual of suspending the exemptions in order to balance the budget. But the outcry over the income tax increases led to their repeal.

Foster is credited with being a business-friendly governor, despite being famously reluctant to travel in order to persuade businesses to relocate in Louisiana. He was a proponent of tort reform who successfully limited the legal exposure of business by eliminating punitive damages.

Foster oversaw Louisiana's participation in the state-federal Atchafalaya Basin Project, which led to the creation of a state commission and the 44,000-acre Sherbourne Complex, which is managed by the state. Foster's death occurred in what has been declared by Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser as Atchafalaya Month.

The push to raise U.S. 90 from Lafayette to New Orleans to interstate standards gained momentum during Foster's terms. Although the completion of the project has been stalled by fighting over the route the new I-49 South will take through Lafayette, the state embarked on a series of multimillion-dollar overpasses that eliminated dangerous crossovers and control access as required for interstates. The latest was at La. 318 in St. Mary Parish.

Foster told Allain that he wished he'd pushed harder for I-49 South.

"He was humble like that," Allain said.

But Allain said Foster accomplished many things, including a refurbished Franklin Foundation Hospital and other infrastructure projects in St. Mary. He credited Foster with working as a senator on changes that improved Louisiana's worker compensation system at a time when instability there threatened to drive businesses out of the state. Foster consolidated state buildings around the Capitol, simplifying a maze of leases on buildings that housed state offices.

And Foster also reorganized two-year higher education in Louisiana, creating the Louisiana Community and Technical College System. He brought in future Gov. Bobby Jindal, then a 24-year-old wunderkind, to help run both higher education and the state health care system. During Jindal's 2008-16 gubernatorial administration, Foster appeared with other former governors to urge Jindal to halt funding cuts in the state's higher education.

Foster is also credited with expanding the Tuition Opportunity Program for Students, or TOPS, by basing participation on merit rather than family income.

"We've lost a great man," Allain said. "When you look at everything he did for the parish and the state, he was a great man."

This story has been edited to report that Gov. Foster was born in Shreveport.

PATTERSON -- As Roe v. Wade appears more vulnerable than it has for 30 years, more than 50 local people turned out Sunday to make their opposition to abortion known to people passing on U.S. 90.

They participated in a Life Chain, part of a national movement to demonstrate opposition to abortion. The people who arrived beginning about 2 p.m. Sunday waved at westbound drivers on U.S. 90 near Wise Street, holding signs that said "Stop Abortion Now" and "40 Years is Enough."

Fifty-one were on hand for the start of the event, and more people were walking up.

They come together at a time when a Republican president has nominated a social conservative for the Supreme Court, and voters will see an anti-abortion constitutional amendment on the Nov. 3 ballot.

"Not only is this election season," said the Rev. Herb Bennerfield, pastor at nearby St. Joseph Catholic Church, "but we have the Love Life amendment to the constitution. "We've got to get that passed."

The amendment would write strong anti-abortion language into the state constitution.

Angela Stelly is the captain for the pro-amendment coalition in St. Mary Parish.

In other states, Stelly said, courts have ruled in favor of a right to abortion even though the procedure isn't specifically mentioned in their constitutions.

"Basically, [the Louisiana amendment] would state that the right to abortion, the right to have an abortion, cannot be found in the Louisiana Constitution," she said.

The prospect of another solid pro-life vote on the Supreme Court is raising hopes about abortion opponents and despair among those who consider abortion a question for the woman to decide.

The same court ruled in the 1973 Roe decision that states can't outlaw abortions outright. The court has since limited the prohibition to laws banning abortion before fetal viability.

Over the intervening decades, new justices, even those appointed by conservative presidents, have stopped short of an outright rejection of Roe. Now, President Donald Trump has nominated Amy Coney Barrett, a conservative, to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The first Life Chain was conducted 33 years ago in California, according to the national organization's website.

Since then, it has grown to encompass Life Chain events in more than 2,000 cities.

"The battle for life will not be won in the courtroom or the voting booth until it is first won in prayer," the Life Chain website says. "We call for pastors to lead the Church in repentance for our nation."

By GEOFF STOUTE
gstoute
@daily-review.com
Tri-City area football teams finished 0-3 on Friday night in week 1 action.
Central Catholic fell 41-28 at Loreauville, while Patterson dropped a 41-3 decision to Lafayette at Patterson. Morgan City fell in its home opener to Erath 55-6.
Below are recaps of the games.
Central Catholic vs. Loreauville
The Central Catholic Eagles just could not control Loreauville’s offensive and defensive lines in its loss to the Class 2A school, Central Catholic Coach Tommy Minton said.
“We had a hard time running the ball,” he said. “We had a hard time stopping the run, and that led to them being able to control pretty much the tempo of the game.”
However, the Eagles had some positives on special teams as Hugh Hamer returned a kickoff for a touchdown, and the Eagles blocked three punts. They had another kickoff return to put them in the red zone.
“We did some good things on special teams that gave us a chance,” Minton said.
No individual stats were available.
Central Catholic will return to action Friday when it travels to face Beekman Charter in Bastrop.
Patterson falls to Lafayette
Lafayette High returned three interceptions for touchdowns in the second half as the visiting Lions broke open a close game at halftime for a 41-3 victory.
Lafayette High linebacker Oliver Craddock returned two of the interceptions for touchdowns, while teammate Seth Jones returned a third interception 50-plus yards for a score.
In all, the Lumberjacks threw five interceptions against the Class 5A squad.
“We did a lot of things well, and we have some specific things that we’re really working on this week on improving,” Patterson coach Zach Lochard said. “Obviously turning the ball over is one of those big things, so a big emphasis this week is protecting the football while we’re on offense and generating turnovers on defense, which we hope to improve on this week against South Terrebonne.”
Quarterback Xan Saunier added two touchdowns on runs of 21 and 55 yards, while Carson Livesay had a 17-yard run.
“Lafayette was a very tough opponent,” Lochard said. “Obviously Coach Figaro’s doing a great job with that team in all aspects of running that program, but I was very proud of our guys. I was proud of our coaches.”
Patterson’s points came via a 29-yard field goal by Jose Rivera as time expired in the first half to cut Patterson’s deficit to 8-3 at halftime.
Tylon Walton led Patterson’s offensive attack as he had 11 carries for 59 yards. Through the air, he completed 7 of 19 passes for 76 yards but had four interceptions.
Kyler Paul led Patterson’s receivers with three receptions for 42 yards.
Patterson will return to action Thursday when it travels to Bourg to meet South Terrebonne.
Morgan City vs. Erath
Erath scored touchdowns on its first four offensive drives as it cruised to a 55-6 victory against Morgan City Friday night.
The Bobcats led 14-0 after a quarter, 27-0 at halftime and 41-6 after three quarters.
Quarterback Gabe Primeaux completed 7 of 15 passes for 151 yards with four touchdowns and one interception, while he added eight carries for 59 yards.
Trent Bristo led Erath’s ground game with 19 carries for 170 yards and a score. David Richard was the team’s leading receiver with two catches for 62 yards.
Morgan City’s touchdown came on a 60-yard completion from Ethan Blanco to Logan Linston in the third quarter.
“Erath’s a good football team,” Morgan City coach Chris Stroud said. “They’re well coached. They don’t have a lot of great speed, but those guys hit the weight room. They’ve got great numbers.
"They only brought 40 on their travel squad tonight, but that was 40 ballplayers. We’ve got a little bit better at spots. … I saw some guys be more physical, but we’re still not very good tackling. We still the first shot or hit we take we got to fight through some pain, but it’s football. It’s physical.”
Blanco, Adrian Garrison and Linston were Morgan City’s top offensive contributors. Blanco completed 5 of 11 passes for 64 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Garrison rushed seven times for 38 yards and completed 2 of 7 passes for 13 yards with an interception. Linston had two catches for 65 yards and a score.
Morgan City will return to action Friday when it hosts Hanson Memorial.

Five new COVID-19 cases, four of them in St. Mary, were reported locally for the 24 hours ending at midday Friday, according to the Louisiana Office of Public Health.

The new St. Mary cases raise the count since the pandemic began to 1,947.

One new Assumption case raises that parish's total to 766.

For the second day in a row, the St. Martin case count was adjusted downward by one, this time to 2,102.

No new fatalities were reported locally, so the death roll remains at 77 in St. Mary, 61 in St. Martin and 24 in Assumption.

Statewide:

--889 new cases raise the pandemic total to 167,401.

--26 deaths raise the toll to 5,355.

--2 more COVID-positive people were hospitalized, raising the total to 536.

--The number of people on ventilators dropped by one to 74.