Bossier City weekend: 2025 Red River Balloon Rally and Louisiana Ballooning State Championship
Plus — Council President Chris Smith on change to sanitation rates for apartment complexes: Little impact to City's budget.
Bossier City weather — Heat Advisory. Today: Mostly sunny. Hot with highs in the mid-90s. West winds around 5 mph, becoming north this afternoon. Heat index values up to 106. Tonight: Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 70s. Northeast winds around 5 mph in the evening, becoming light and variable. Friday: Partly cloudy. A chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Humid with highs in the lower 90s. East winds around 5 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Heat index values up to 105.
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Bossier City weekend: 2025 Red River Balloon Rally and Louisiana Ballooning State Championship
The skies over Bossier City will be more colorful this weekend as the 2025 Red River Balloon Rally and Louisiana Ballooning State Championship drift into town.
The two-day event returns to Louisiana Downs in Bossier City.
“The Balloon Rally was such a success last year in its first year at Louisiana Downs,” said Sara Nelms, Director of Sports at the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission. “As this is the Balloon Rally’s eighth year in Shreveport-Bossier, we’ve been working all year long to get ready for year two at this wonderful venue, and we can’t wait for everyone to see what’s in store.”
The festival will include spectacular balloon glows, live music, tethered balloon rides, a Kids Zone, craft vendors from the Bossier City Farmers Market, fireworks, and much more.
Louisiana Ballooning State Championship
The Louisiana Ballooning Championship features up to twenty-five of the nation’s top balloon pilots competing for the grand prize. The competition involves landing on a ground target.
The competitive balloons can be seen throughout the area both days from approximately 6:45 am to 8:30 am, weather permitting. Check the Delta Utilities Red River Balloon Rally Facebook page to find out exactly where the balloons will fly and how the weather will affect these flights.
Ticket Information
General admission: $5 for ages 6 and older; children under 5 get in free.
Military with a valid ID: FREE admission thanks to Shreveport Regional Airport.
Tethered balloon rides: $25 cash only. An ATM will be available on site.
Parking: Free this year, thanks to A Brighter Smile Dental Care for sponsoring the parking lots.
Council President Chris Smith on change to sanitation rates for apartment complexes: Little impact to City's budget
At Tuesday's Bossier City Council meeting, an ordinance was introduced to amend sanitation rates for residential apartment complexes or residential facilities. Sponsored by at-large councilmember Craton Cochran, there was no discussion on how the revision would impact the annual budget shortfall that the City has been experiencing.
Council President Chris Smith tells BossierNow that he doesn't expect a significant impact, "if there is one at all."
In December 2024, City CAO Amanda Nottingham said the City lost $4.3 million in 2023 providing sanitation, water, and sewer services — and the budget pressure would likely require a tax hike and higher utility bills. In January, the council approved the administration's rate hike, which included a $6 increase in flat-rate monthly water bills and a $12 increase in sanitation fees.
However, in May, apartment complex owners and managers complained about what they said amounted to "14,000% increases in sanitation rates."
Smith says the enterprise fund supported by the $12 per customer rate hike is currently $100,000 under budget on expenses.
The ordinance introduced this week and set for a final vote at the council's next meeting, revises the collection rate for apartment complexes to 80% of units, rather than 100%.
"I understand the complaint that it’s not fair for property owners to be charged for units that are vacant but at the same time there is no mechanism to truly know the current occupancy month to month," Smith said. "So as a real estate professional, I proposed that we use the national average vacancy rate for rental properties as a baseline that is consistent and doesn’t change."
The December sanitation rate hike was "the right decision," Smith added.
"The property owners should have been paying this fee for years prior. It was the implementation where mistakes were made. If you are paying $12 a month and then you open a bill and find out that $12 went to $6,000, that’s a tough pill to swallow."
Traffic stop leads to arrest of a suspect in a string of Bossier burglaries
A Bossier Parish Sheriff's Office traffic stop led to the arrest of man accused of a string of burglaries in Bossier Parish.
Wednesday, BPSO deputies conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Hadrekus Bailey. During the stop, deputies discovered stolen property inside Bailey's vehicle.
"Further inquiries revealed that Bailey was connected to a string of burglaries committed in the days leading up to the stop," BPSO public information officer Lt. Neil Johnston said in a release. "Detectives recovered stolen items taken from five separate residences, including property stolen from a garage, a shed, a vehicle, and items taken from the front porch of a Bossier Sheriff's Office employee."
Johnston said Bailey later admitted to his involvement in some burglaries.
Bailey was booked into Bossier Max on the following charges, with additional charges pending:
Package Theft (Felony)
Simple Burglary of an Inhabited Dwelling (Felony)
Simple Burglary - Theft from a Motor Vehicle (Felony)
No bond has been set at this time.
The investigation is ongoing. Sheriff Julian Whittington expressed his appreciation to the Springhill Police Department, whose assistance was instrumental in this case.
Jimmie Davis Bridge to be reduced to one lane this weekend
On Saturday, July 19th and Sunday, July 20, 2025, the Jimmie Davis Bridge over the Red River will be reduced to one lane.
This lane closure is scheduled to take place from approximately 6:00 am to 5:00 pm each day, and is necessary for routine bridge inspection.
Restrictions/Permits: This lane closure will allow vehicles 10 feet wide or smaller to pass through the inspection zone. Larger vehicles must utilize an alternate route.
Alternate Route: LA 1 to LA 3032 (Shreveport-Barksdale Bridge) to US 71
Bossier City events calendar
Live music in Bossier City and other notable events in the area for your free time consideration. If you would like to add an event to the Bossier City free time calendar, send the details to email@bossiernow.com.
July 18: Randy Rogers Band at The Stage at Silver Star
July 18-19: Red River Balloon Rally at Louisiana Downs. Two nights of hot air balloons, fireworks, live music, and family fun. Gates will open at 5:00 pm and close at 10:00 pm both nights. Tickets are only available at the gate and are $5 (kids 5 and under are free)
July 24: Parker McCollum brings his What Kinda Man tour to the BGA.
August 9: Sheila and the Caddo Kats at Louisiana Downs Casino & Racetrack
August 16: Anxious at the Louisiana Downs Casino
August 15: KC and the Sunshine Band will bring their classic funk and disco sound to the Riverdome at Horseshoe Casino & Hotel. 8 pm.
August 22: The Marshall Tucker Band at Margaritaville Resort Casino
August 31: The 14th Annual Shreveport Blues & Southern Soul Pre-Labor Day Fest at Festival Plaza
September 12: Hudson Westbrook and the Texas Forever Fall Tour. Shreveport Municipal Auditorium.
September 13: Lainey Wilson at the Brookshire Grocery Arena
October 3: Billy Bob Thornton & The Boxmasters at Margaritaville
October 17: Zach Top and his Cold Beer and Country Music tour at the Brookshire Grocery Arena.
October 18: Wanda Sykes and her Please and Thank You tour at the Horseshoe Bossier City.
October 24: Styx at the Live Casino & Hotel Louisiana. 8:00 pm. Tickets start at $59.99. Must be 21+
November 20: ZZ Top at Shreveport Municipal Auditorium
December 12: Jiaoying Summers at the Live! Casino and Hotel. Get ready for a night of fearless, dark, and laugh-out-loud comedy from a global sensation with over 1 billion views online! You’ve seen her viral “Uber Karen” sketch and hilarious English name roasts — now catch her live on her “What Specie Are You?” tour!
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