John Maginnis, whose syndicated column about all things Louisiana political appeared in newspapers around the state, died this morning at his home in New Orleans, according to a report on his website LaPolitics. Maginnis was 66.

Maginnis also was the author of several books on Louisiana politics, including The Last Hayride, the story of former Gov. Edwin Edwards' wild 1983 gubernatorial campaign. In recent years, he had partnered with Baton Rouge journalist (and Gambit columnist) Jeremy Alford on the LaPolitics website and the subscriber-only LaPolitics Weekly report.

Clancy DuBos will have more on the life of John Maginnis later today on Blog of New Orleans..