2:30 LRN Newscast May 24

The state health department reports there are 271 people in the hospital today suffering from COVID-19. That ties for the lowest numberCOVID hospitalizations since the state began to track the daily total on March 24, 2020. L-D-H also reported 13 more COVID deaths and 577 new cases since Friday.

As COVID cases continue to decrease, health officials are seeing a comeback of another virus. Brooke Thorington explains.
Cut 1 (32) “ …I’m Brooke Thorington.”

The House Appropriations committee advances Senate-approved legislation mandating five years olds attend Kindergarten. The vote was 19-1 with Bossier City Representative Raymond Crews the lone dissenter. He says he’s been bombarded with calls from concerned constituents…
Cut 9 (10) “…that age”
The bill would impact an estimated 2,800 students a year at most, and cost about 11 million dollars extra a year if all of those students went to school instead of being homeschooled.

It’s been a wet May, but it should be mostly dry this week, which is good news for cotton farmers. State cotton specialist Matt Foster says many producers will have to re-plant because of the rain and cool nightly temperatures that extended into May. Foster says a delayed planting season means a later harvest into hurricane season…
cut 14 (06) “….that crop”
Foster expects to see more soybean acres and a lower cotton crop because of the wetter than normal May.