Former governor of Louisiana dies

The governor who led Louisiana during one of the state’s most devastating disasters died Sunday. Kathleen Blanco, who was 76 and had a protracted battle with cancer, died under hospice care in Lafayette, according to the office of current Gov. John Bel Edwards. Blanco had a rare eye cancer that she battled successfully in 2011. It later returned and spread to her liver. She announced she was undergoing treatment for incurable melanoma in December 2017.

Who was Kathleen Blanco? A former high school teacher and a devout Catholic, the Democrat served in Louisiana government for more than two decades. She made history in 2004 when she became the state’s first woman elected governor but saw her political career derailed by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. The storm resulted in more than 1,500 deaths and thousands of displaced residents.