If you haven't been following what's been happening in Baton Rouge lately, you might want to check this out. Some reports have indicated Shreveport could surpass Baton Rouge in population, but we have now learned that won't happen, at least not now.

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Residents of the community of St. George in Baton Rouge voted to create their own city and leave Baton Rouge. Spokesperson Drew Murrell says the new city could be up and running by January 1st. He tells the Louisiana Radio Network: “Generally, the vote will be certified by November 20th and the Governor should have thirty days at that point to appoint the interim mayor and city council.”

Murrell says it all began as an effort to create a separate school district, but lawmakers told them they could not do that without forming a city. So that began the push to get the signatures and get the measure on the ballot.

If you are familiar with Baton Rouge, here's the map of the new Town of St. George.

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St. George will now be the 5th largest city in the state with more than 85,000 people, which makes it bigger than Lake Charles.

The population shift now means Shreveport is closing in on Baton Rouge as the the second-largest city in Louisiana. But LSU Professor Dr. Jeff Sadow says much of the St. George area is in East Baton Rouge Parish, but NOT in the city limits of Baton Rouge. That's why he says our population won't move into 2nd place in the state.

20% of Baton Rouge's sales tax revenues will now go to the City of St. George.

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