Publisher: 30 years on, and still Baton Rouge-proud

People often ask Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister, “How is business in Baton Rouge (or Louisiana)?” In his new column, McCollister says it’s as promising as it has ever been. “I have seen good and I have seen really bad,” McCollister says, reflecting on Business Report‘s 30th anniversary this month. “But today, business is good in our city and state. Despite a national recession that started in late 2007, Louisiana is one of only two Southern states (along with Texas) that have more jobs today than in January 2008, when Gov. Bobby Jindal took office. Our unemployment rate has remained well below that of the South and the United States every month since January 2008. Here in Baton Rouge, the total sales of Business Report‘s Top 100 private companies have increased every year since 2008. We should celebrate that.” The nation is increasingly taking notice of the improved business climate in Louisiana, McCollister says. “Since January 2008, Louisiana has improved to its highest-ever position in every major national ranking of state business climates,” he says. “These are lists everyone used to complain we were always at the bottom of. Not anymore.” Read the full column, which also touches on Business Report‘s anniversary and McCollister’s hopes for the future of Baton Rouge and LSU’s flagship campus, here. Send your comments to editors@businessreport.com.