6:45 LRN Sportscast May 6

LSU Quarterback TJ Finley has reportedly entered the transfer portal. Finley started five games last season as a true freshman, but the former Ponchatoula star appeared to be the third quarterback on the depth chart heading into preseason camp, behind Max Johnson and Myles Brennen.

Longtime Louisiana Tech SID Malcolm Butler has been named the new voice of Bulldog football and men’s basketball replacing Tech Hall of Famer Dave Nitz. Nitz has scaled back his duties to just calling baseball games. Butler has spent the last 22 years of his life working in La Tech Athletics.

The LSU Board of Supervisors meets today to approve new women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey’s contract. The former Hammond High standout and Lady Techsters star has agreed to an eight-year contract that will pay her 2.5 million dollars in her first season and grow to 3.3 million dollars by 2029.

The LSU baseball team begins a series tonight at Auburn in the need of victories in order to make the SEC and NCAA tournaments. There are just three SEC series remaining in the regular season and while every series is important, coach Paul Mainieri wants to take a game-by-game approach.
Cut 17 (15) “…one game at a time.”
Tonight’s game will begin at 6:30. Junior right-hander Landon Marceaux will start for the Tigers and face an Auburn offense that ranks third in the SEC in hitting.

Last night in college baseball, Southeastern Louisiana knocked off 20th ranked Southern Miss five to three. Seven Lions pitchers held the Golden Eagles to three hits.

ULM was held to four hits and lost to Jackson State four to two. The Warhawks begin a Sun Belt series tomorrow as they host U-T Arlington.

6:30 LRN Newscast May 6

A bill to allow citizens 21 and older to carry a concealed handgun without a permit received approval from the Louisiana House on a 72-29 vote. Representative Aimee Freeman spoke against the bill and read a statement from New Orleans Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson.
Cut 10 (08) “…violence.”
But the bill’s author Thibodaux Representative Bryan Fontenot says Constitution says citizens have the right to possess firearms and they should be able to do so without a permit.

President Joe Biden will be in Louisiana today to promote his two-point-three trillion-dollar infrastructure plan with stops in Lake Charles and New Orleans. State Transportation Secretary Shawn Wilson says the state has had ongoing infrastructure needs for decades and Biden’s American Jobs Plan provides a solution.
Cut 5 (11)“…achievable.”

As the statewide vaccination campaign stalls out officials are looking for ways to begin a more targeted, grassroots approach. Matt Doyle has more on a program aimed at vaccinating homebound Louisianans…
Cut 3 (29) “…I’m Matt Doyle.”

AM LRN Newscall May 6

President Biden will make two stops in Louisiana today as part of his Getting America Back on Track tour. Brooke Thorington has more on what he’s expected to spotlight in the state.

Cut 1 (31) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

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With no debate, the Senate overwhelmingly agrees to advance Senator Beth Mizell’s bill to ban transgender athletes from competing in girls’ sports. Brooke Thorington has more.

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Brooke Thorington” 

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As the statewide vaccination campaign stalls out officials are looking for ways to begin a more targeted, grassroots approach. Matt Doyle has more on a program aimed at vaccinating homebound Louisianans…

Cut 3 (29)  “…I’m Matt Doyle.”

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President Biden is visiting New Orleans and Lake Charles today as part of his Getting America Back on Track Tour. DOTD Secretary Shawn Wilson says Biden promoting his infrastructure plan is comparable to President Franklin D Roosevelt’s response to the Great Depression almost 90 years ago.

Cut 4 (07)“…today.”

Wilson says the state has had ongoing infrastructure needs for decades and Biden’s American Jobs Plan provides a solution for those outdated necessities.

Cut 5 (11)“…achievable.”

On his visit to New Orleans Wilson says the President will most likely spotlight the need to update the city’s water and sewer system, and in Lake Charles the Calcasieu River Bridge that was built in 1952.

Cut 6 (11) “…restore it.”

Biden is also expected to highlight a proposal to remove the I-10 overpass in New Orleans above Claiborne Avenue.

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The US birthrate dropped four percent from 2019 to 2020, now putting the country “below replacement levels” meaning more Americans die annually than are born.

LSU Health New Orleans Professor of Maternal-Fetal Medicine Dr. Robert Maupin says the decline is partially COVID-related, but also the result of advances in contraceptive access and options…

Cut 7 (10)  “…time.”

The drop was biggest amongst women aged 20 to 24 and 25 to 34 at six percent and four percent respectively. Maupin says this is reflecting a cultural shift among young women.

Cut 8 (08) “..family.” 

The US has experienced a two percent annual decline in the birthrate since 2014, but Maupin says last year’s doubled rate of decline is likely COVID-related.

Cut 9 (11) “..year and a half.”

The numbers come courtesy of the National Center for Health Statistics.

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A bill to allow citizens 21 and older to carry a concealed handgun without a permit handily made its way through the House Wednesday. Thibodaux Representative Bryan Fontenot’s bill garnered lively debate. Rep Aimee Freeman spoke against the bill and read a statement from New Orleans PD Superintendent Shaun Ferguson.

Cut 10 (08) “…violence.”

Representative Mack Cormier says it is a God-given right to arm yourself and everyone should have the opportunity to defend themselves.

Cut 11 (08) “….good bill.”

The House did reject an amendment by Oil City Representative Danny McCormick to reduce the minimum age to carry a concealed weapon from age 21 to 18. The amendment failed 29-69.

Freeman says any legislation that has the potential to bring thousands of untrained individuals with weapons to the streets of New Orleans mixed with alcohol is a deadly combination.

Cut 12 (12) “…legislation.”

Fontenot says Louisiana is behind because other states already have constitutional carry, and it hasn’t had a negative impact.

Cut 13 (11) “…standing here.”

The bill passed 72-28. It now heads to the Senate where last week they approved a similar bill, which like the House version is more than enough to override a gubernatorial vet. However, veto overrides are extremely rare in Louisiana.

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State officials are celebrating our low overall COVID caseload while expressing real concern that the vaccination campaign is stalling out sooner than expected.

State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter says Louisiana’s percent positivity rate is down to 2.7 percent with six out of nine medical regions seeing week-to-week case decreases. Compared to the nation…

Cut 14 (12) “… per capita.”

And while just under a third of Louisianans have initiated their vaccine series and 27 percent have completed their series Governor Edwards says the rapid decline in demand is concerning.

Cut 15 (12)“..themselves.”

Only 81 percent of all vaccines ordered by the state have been used so far. Edwards says at this point if you want a vaccine, you can get one possibly as soon as same day.

Kanter says they’re beginning to move resources away from mass vaccine events and into targeted community outreach like their new program that vaccinates homebound individuals in their homes.

Cut 16 (09) “…vaccine.”

If you are homebound, or care for a homebound Louisianan call the vaccine hotline at 855-453-0774 and request an in-home vaccination visit.

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The LSU baseball team begins a series tonight at Auburn in the need of victories in order to make the SEC and NCAA tournaments. There are just three SEC series remaining in the regular season and while every series is important, coach Paul Mainieri wants to take a game-by-game approach.

Cut 17 (15) “…one game at a time.”

The Tigers have shown a lot of improvement in the field, nobody more than shortstop Jordan Thompson, who Mainieri says has performed much better than expected.

Cut  18 (13)”…get better.” 

LSU is still looking for a third-weekend starter since Jaden Hill suffered his season-ending injury.  Ma’Khail Hilliard got the start this past weekend and performed well.  Hilliard explained his mindset when he knows he’ll start.

Cut 19 (16) “…doing my deal.” 

530 PM LRN News

The move to bring in more revenue for the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries by raising hunting and fishing license costs is gaining momentum. LDWF Secretary Jack Montoucet says license fees have remained steady for the last 20 years and a fund that’s helped finance the department is nearly dry

Cut 9 (07) “…big dilemna”

The proposal calls for the cost of a basic fishing license to increase seven dollars, a basic annual hunting license would climb 50 bucks.

Slidell Senator Sharon Hewitt withdrew her bill that would establish closed primaries for Congressional races. She says the fight isnt over and moving away from the jungle primary would help grow healthy state parties…

Cut 6 (13) “…record”

Former LSU President F. King Alexander says the opposition he faced from local leaders to his move to deprioritize standardized test scores in admissions was racist. Before instituting the change three years ago prior policy only allowed four percent of the incoming freshmen to not meet the required ACT/SAT requirements. He says it was disproportionately used to recruit student-athletes of color.

Cut 13 (08)“…laboratories.”

Alexander made the comments on Talk Louisiana.

A new program goes into effect today to help speed up the verification process for Louisianans filing for unemployment. Louisiana Workforce Commission Secretary Ava Cates says ID.me will help ensure the correct person collects benefits.

Cut 3 (11)  “…10 minutes” 

4:45 LRN sportscast May 5

LSU catcher Hayden Travinski will miss the remainder of the season as the Shreveport product had surgery today on a torn UCL in his throwing elbow. Coach Paul Mainieri on the injury.
Cut 20 (15) “the ligament”
Travinski has appeared in 29 games this season, hitting .271 with four home runs and 13 RBIs. Tomorrow, LSU begins a three-game series at Auburn. The first pitch is at 6:30 and the game can be seen on ESPN-U.

Tonight, ULM is at Jackson State. The Warhawks have won the last four games played between the two teams, including a matchup in Monroe that was won by ULM 18-6 earlier this season.

Southeastern Louisiana concludes a nine-game road trip tonight as the Lions visit 20th ranked Southern Miss.

An effort to increase hunting and fishing licenses in Louisiana has cleared its first legislative hurdle. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Jack Montoucet says a Conversation Fund has helped keep license fees at the same level for 20 years, but that fund is nearly out of money and it’s come to a point where they need more dollars…
cut 10 (09) “…this bill”
The bill was approved by House Natural Resources, but still has a long way to go in the legislative process.

Lonzo Ball scored a career-high 33 points and the Pelicans defeated Golden State 108-103 last night. They were able to pull out the victory even though starters Brandon Ingram and Steven Adams left the game with injuries in the third quarter. New Orleans’ next game is Friday at Philadelphia.

La Tech announced today that longtime SID Malcolm Butler will replace Dave Nitz as the voice of the bulldogs for football and men’s basketball. Nitz has scaled back his duties to just calling Tech baseball games.

4:30 LRN Newscast May 5

Legislation that would have established a closed party primary system for Louisiana congressional elections gets shelved for the session. Louisiana GOP Deputy Chairman Charlie Buckles says the party authored a resolution in support of the bill and says the jungle primary system results in elections that are less issue-based.

Cut 7 (12) “…rat.”

Louisiana is one of the few states in the nation that does not have a closed primary system.

The House Natural Resources Committee approves legislation that would increase the cost of recreational hunting and fishing licenses. A basic fishing license would increase to 17-dollar and a basic hunting license would climb to 200-dollars.  Abbeville Representative Ryan Bourriaque says his constituents are concerned about the increases and he’s hoping that as the bill moves through the legislative process they can find other sources of funding…

Cut 11 (10) “…hurricanes”

More discussion on the bill is expected in the House.

ID.me the new verification process for unemployment goes into effect today to help reduce fraud. Brooke Thorington has more.

Cut 1 (27) “ …I’m Brooke Thorington.” 

President Biden will visit New Orleans and Lake Charles Thursday as part of his Getting America Back on Track Tour. The plan focuses on repairing highways, rebuilding bridges, upgrading airports, and transit systems. Winter storms in February and multiple hurricanes last year highlighted the state’s need to update several outdated systems.

3:30 LRN Newscast May 5

The House Natural Resources Committee approves legislation that would increase the cost of recreational hunting and fishing licenses. A basic fishing license would increase to 17-dollar and a basic hunting license would climb to 200-dollars. State Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Jack Montoucet says his department has been doing more with less money, but it can’t go on.

Cut 10 (09) “..this bill” 

Several other types of licenses related to hunting and fishing would also see an increase.

Louisiana Workforce Commission Secretary Ava Cates says ID.me a new verification process for benefits goes into effect today. The new identification process is a federal requirement for COVID-related unemployment claims. Cates says the process also protects claimants.

Cut 5  (09)  “…those benefits.”

Legislation to establish a closed party primary system for Louisiana congressional elections gets shelved for the session. Bill author Slidell Senator Sharon Hewitt says under the current jungle primary system voters don’t have much incentive to make sure they register with a party that matches their views.

Cut 6 (13) “…record”

Former LSU President F. King Alexander says the opposition he faced from local leaders on his move to deprioritize standardized test scores in admissions was racist. Alexander says he doesn’t regret the firestorm his policy change created and says he wouldn’t have done it differently in that regard.

Cut 14 (10) “…university” 

Alexander made the comments on Talk Louisiana with Jim Engster.

230 PM LRN News

Former LSU President F. King Alexander says the opposition he faced from local leaders to his move to deprioritize standardized test scores in admissions was racist. Alexander says his support for and adoption of holistic admissions three years ago prompted outrage from prominent boosters and members of the Board, but…

Cut 12 (11)   “…university” 

Alexander says LSU was one of the last schools in the nation to adopt holistic admissions.

Legislation that would have established a closed party primary system for Louisiana congressional elections gets shelved for the session. Despite its defeat many still support the change, including Libertarian Party activist Mike Wolf…

Cut 8 (09) “…candidate”

A measure to increase the cost of a hunting and fishing license clears its first legislative hurdle as it receives approval from the House Natural Resources Committee. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 2 (30) …I’m Jeff Palermo”  

Governor Edwards is expected to address the public today at 3:30 PM regarding the state’s progress with the vaccination campaign. This comes as a quarter of everyone in Louisiana, or 1.23 million people, but the pace of new vaccinations has slowed to just a trickle.

LRN PM Newscall May 5

ID.me the new verification process for unemployment goes into effect today to help reduce fraud. Brooke Thorington has more.

Cut 1 (27) “ …I’m Brooke Thorington.” 

____________________________________

A measure to increase the cost of a hunting and fishing license clears its first legislative hurdle as it receives approval from the House Natural Resources Committee. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 2 (30) …I’m Jeff Palermo”  

________________________________________

A new program goes into effect today to help speed up the verification process for Louisianans filing for unemployment. Louisiana Workforce Commission Secretary Ava Cates says ID.me will help ensure the correct person collects benefits.

Cut 3 (11)  “…10 minutes” 

Cates says those new to filing and existing claimants transitioning from one type of unemployment to another will be required to use the new verification process.

Cut 4 (11) “…social security card.” 

The identification process is a federal requirement for COVID-related unemployment claims and Cates says don’t be surprised if you have to resubmit verification documents again in the future. She says the process also protects claimants.

Cut 5  (09)  “…those benefits.”

A recent audit indicates more than 100-thousand individuals received unemployment benefits they were not entitled to from LWC.

__________________________________________________

Legislation that would have established a closed party primary system for Louisiana congressional elections gets shelved for the session.

Slidell Senator Sharon Hewitt wrote the bill. She says under the current jungle primary system voters don’t have much incentive to make sure they register with a party that matches their views.

Cut 6 (13) “…record”

The bill had a 5.5 million dollar price tag due to the need to hold an additional election every cycle, and concerns were raised about the logistics of holding that extra election and how it could create a logjam.

Louisiana GOP Deputy Chairman Charlie Buckles says the party authored a resolution in support of the bill. He says the jungle primary system results in elections that are less issue-based.

Cut 7 (12) “…rat.”

Louisiana is one of the few states in the nation that does not have a closed primary system.

Libertarian Party activist Mike Wolf says moving to closed primaries would produce candidates that more consistently represent their party’s mainstream views.

Cut 8 (09) “…candidate”

Opponents argued closed primaries would result in more ideologically extreme candidates and give independent and no party voters less of a say in politics.

__________________________________

The House Natural Resources Committee approves legislation that would increase the cost to purchase recreational hunting and fishing licenses. State Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Jack Montoucet says license fees have remained steady for the last 20 years and a fund that’s helped finance the department is nearly dry

Cut 9 (07) “…big dilemna”

The proposal calls for the cost of a basic fishing license to increase from $9.50 to 17-dollars, a basic annual hunting license would climb from 150 to 200-dollars. Several other types of licenses related to hunting and fishing would also see an increase.

Montoucet says over the last several years his department has done more with less money, but it’s come to a point where they can’t continue operating this way…

Cut 10 (09) “..this bill” 

Abbeville Representative Ryan Bourriaque says his constituents are concerned about higher fishing and hunting licenses and so he’s hoping that as the bill moves through the legislative process they can find other sources of funding…

Cut 11 (10) “…hurricanes”

More discussion on the bill is expected in the House.

____________________________________

Former LSU President F. King Alexander says the opposition he faced from local leaders to his move to deprioritize standardized test scores in admissions was racist.

Alexander says his support for and adoption of holistic admissions three years ago prompted outrage from prominent boosters and members of the Board, but…

Cut 12 (11)   “…university” 

Alexander says LSU was one of the last schools in the nation to adopt holistic admissions.

The prior policy only allowed four percent of the incoming freshmen to not meet the required ACT/SAT requirements. He says it was disproportionately used to recruit student-athletes of color.

Cut 13 (08)“…laboratories.”

Alexander says about a quarter of all student-athletes at the time did not meet the school’s baseline GPA or ACT/SAT criteria.

Alexander says he doesn’t regret the firestorm his policy change created and wouldn’t do anything differently in that regard.

Cut 14 (10) “…university” 

Alexander made the comments on Talk Louisiana with Jim Engster.

1:30 LRN Newscast May 5

The House Natural Resources Committee approves legislation that would increase the cost to purchase recreational hunting and fishing licenses. State Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Jack Montoucet says license fees have remained steady for the last 20 years and a fund that’s helped finance the department is nearly dry

Cut 9 (07) “…big dilemna”

The proposal calls for the cost of a basic fishing license to increase from $9.50 to 17-dollars, a basic annual hunting license would climb from 150 to 200-dollars.

A new verification process ID.Me begins today for Louisianans filing new claims for unemployment. Workforce Commission Secretary Ava Cates says those filing claims and existing claimants transitioning from one form to another will be required to use the new verification process.

Cut 4 (11) “…social security card.” 

She says the process takes about five to 10 minutes.

 

Legislation that would have established a closed party primary system for Louisiana congressional elections gets shelved for the session. Louisiana GOP Deputy Chairman Charlie Buckles says the party authored a resolution in support of the bill and says the jungle primary system results in elections that are less issue-based.

Cut 7 (12) “…rat.”

Louisiana is one of the few states in the nation that does not have a closed primary system.

A Port Allen police officer who used a stun gun twice on a man who was seated resigns from the department. Nolan Dehon III was scheduled for a hearing Tuesday before the Port Allen City Council, to consider his termination but resigned before the hearing. A letter obtained by WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge says he chose to resign in the best interest of his family and the community. He was arrested on battery and malfeasance in office charges from the incident.