The Grand Isle Town Council reversed itself Tuesday night by voting to issue a permit to the Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo.
Remarkably, the council had voted only a week earlier to delay issuing the permit until the rodeo agreed to compensate the local fire department for overtime hours.
After the permit-refusal vote, the council was beseiged by angry calls from local businesses who got word from tourists that they would not come to Louisiana’s only inhabited barrier island if the annual rodeo were canceled.
Council members indicated the strong local reaction was the reason for the reversal.
The rodeo typically draws about 15,000 people to the island.
