To our credit we have numerous dreamers, cheerleaders and entrepreneurs who have big plans for Shreveport. Shreveport Commons, sports teams, new businesses and employers, neighborhood revitalization, completion of I-49 North, bicycle and pedestrian lanes, historic preservation, downtown living and The Riverfront/Cross Bayou Corridor.

While we all love that fall brings us football, pumpkins and an opportunity to finally make gumbo, it also is the start of cold and flu season. While the children are getting back to school and back into a routine, this is always the best time of year to remind ourselves about how to stay healthy year-round.

It’s time to get married … to a fitness program. Everyone thinks of “fitness season” as the time when people are making resolutions for the new year. In reality, fitness should not be seasonal.

Clinical trials are often thought of as a last resort to cancer treatment. While this can be the case, most often patients who participate in a clinical trial are helping researchers, physicians and other medical professionals gain insight into cancer, how it works and how to treat future patients.

As temperatures rise, the risk of heat illness for those participating in outdoor activities rises with them. Children, individuals with low fitness levels and those who have suffered from a previous heat illness are more susceptible to falling victim of the heat.

Recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines suggest this is the age group of many undiagnosed carriers of Hep C. Without treatment, these carriers may face advanced liver disease issues during the aging process. It is estimated 2.4 million Americans do not know they are infected with the hepatitis C virus.

Surprisingly, approximately one in six couples will struggle with infertility at some point. As many couples are now delaying pregnancy, infertility is becoming more common. Unfortunately, many couples do not feel comfortable discussing this struggle publicly and prefer to deal with it in private.

To celebrate their milestone 175th anniversary, Morris and Dickson Company, Louisiana's second-oldest business, hosted a grand party July 16 in downtown Shreveport.