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The real story: Louisiana’s Capital Region

January 7, 2026

Baton Rouge Business Report, Capital Assets — As the sun rises over the Mississippi River, a lone runner moves along the levee—past a bench, a light pole and the everyday details that quietly shape life in the Capital Region. It’s a familiar scene, but also a telling one: a community at the start of something new. Across the region, leaders are rethinking how the city connects to its riverfront, with initiatives aimed at drawing residents and visitors back to the water and turning this defining natural asset into a more active, accessible part of daily life. That work is just one part of a much bigger transformation as the Capital Region reimagines itself across neighborhoods, industries and institutions. Like the runner at dawn, the Capital Region is in motion—grounded in what’s here, focused on where it’s headed. —Photography by Jordan Hefler

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This story is part of Business Report’s Capital Assets edition. Get the entire 2026 Capital Assets edition. Greater Baton Rouge is easy to underestimate. Drive through, and you might see a midsized Southern capital—government buildings, a big state university, refineries along the river. What you won’t immediately see is that this region sits at the

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