At the July Minden City Council meeting, Caroline Mladenka of Local Government Strategists, LLC, who was hired soon after Mayor Nick Cox took office, reported on what she and local and state politicians have secured for the City of Minden.
“Minden has a seat at the table, and a prominent one,” said Mladenka.
“In working directly and really well with Representative Wayne McMahen and Senator Bass. They are true ambassadors and wonderful representatives for Minden. In working with them and other legislators, we secured for the Minden area almost $8.94 million cash in priority-one funding during this 2025 session,” said Mladenka.
Among the key accomplishments, Mladenka highlighted the city’s number one goal: improvements to Homer Road. “We accomplished our number one goal for Minden, which was Homer Road improvements. We went to do that through capital outlay requests, and through strategic planning, and building on our relationships and a lot of hard work, the end result was over and beyond what we expected,” said Mladenka.
Additionally, the Minden area was awarded an $8.1 million DOTD infrastructure project, one of only 37 such projects funded statewide. Mladenka also detailed funding for the restoration of the city’s water tank, noting, “We funded $3.45 million on that. This year, in 2025, we got the remainder of $584,000. That was the remainder that was needed to get this project finished.” Further, the city received $250,000 for repairs to Industrial Drive.
“To be able to do all of this, you really have to have some good working relationships, strategy planning — something Representative McMahen is very good at — and it was a big team effort between the state and the city and this accomplishment is something that we should all be proud of,” said Mladenka.
In total, Mladenka reported nearly $12.5 million in infrastructure investment in the area over the past year.
Representative Wayne McMahen also addressed the council, reflecting on Louisiana’s recent legislative session. While instrumental in the city projects presented by Mladenka, McMahen also focused on efforts to address Louisiana’s high auto and property insurance rates.
“In the legislative session this year, the highest priority that we dealt with was insurance. Living close to a state line, and you look across and you see people paying less for car insurance, or truck insurance, or property insurance, and wondering why we can’t lower our rates,” said McMahen. “The package of bills that we passed this year is what we’ve been looking at for the last seven years that I’ve been in the legislature. Six significant bills that should make a change over the next 2-3 years that we can see, in car insurance, truck insurance, and our property insurance.”
Later in the meeting, Mayor Nick Cox presented a proclamation recognizing Emma Kate Fox’s exceptional achievement of winning first place in the National Student Auditions, hosted by the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Contestants must excel in state and regional competitions to even qualify for this national contest. Fox advanced through multiple rounds to secure the top prize and was awarded $800. “I … would like to formally recognize Emma Kate Fox for her extraordinary achievements and encourage her to continue to share her talents,” said Mayor Cox.
The meeting also honored local acts of bravery and lifesaving efforts. Police Chief Jared McIver shared the story of an incident last December when a suspect armed with a weapon threatened employees at Burger King. Two citizens, Joshua Pittman and Michael Douglas Sr., who did not know each other before the incident, intervened to subdue the suspect, sustaining injuries themselves. “Both men sustained lacerations and injuries that later required medical attention. The suspect fled the store after the altercation with the two men. Because of the two men’s heroic actions, the suspect shortly thereafter was apprehended by our Minden Police officers, who also had a pretty good struggle with the suspect,” said Chief McIver. Pittman and Douglas were awarded the Civilian Valor Award for their heroism.
Chief McIver further commended officers and presented them with awards for their recent lifesaving efforts. Deputy Chief Kendale Booker and Officer Tokia Harrison were praised for their quick response to a life-threatening situation. While serving as security at a local event, they were informed of an unresponsive woman. These two officers performed CPR on the woman until EMS arrived. Other officers, including Officer Anthony Brown, Officer Cody James, Sergeant Logan Klingan, and Officer DJ Anderson, resuscitated an unresponsive male at an apartment complex and maintained his condition until paramedics could take over.
He also took the time to highlight that these officers were equipped to respond in these situations as a direct result of the training they had received from one of Minden’s own officers. “Officer Brian Sparks has done immense training with our staff, and it’s because of that training that our officers have been receiving… That is what allowed them to save lives in those instances,” said Chief McIver.
The monthly Minden City Council meetings are held on the first Monday of each month at 6 PM at the Minden Civic Center. Meetings are open to the public and are also livestreamed on the City of Minden’s Facebook page and YouTube channel, both titled “City of Minden,” for those who cannot attend in person.