After 27 months the Louisiana National Guard officially ends COVID response. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”
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The start of 2022 has not been kind to the Louisiana economy. David Grubb has more…
Cut 2 (36) “…I’m David Grubb.”
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With the fall midterm elections growing closer, could a Republican wave be forming? Kevin Gallagher asks a Baton Rouge analyst…
Cut 3 (31) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.”
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The Louisiana National Guard officially ends their more than two-year COVID response in the state. Task Force COVID Commander Brig. General Cindy Haygood says it’s the longest mission she’s ever been on but most of all she’s proud of the work they’ve done at home in the last 27 months.
And once vaccines were available, she says they added that to their mission. Haygood says it required a number of guardsmen to be trained to administer vaccines.
And while Haygood says all missions must come to an end she says this one is much different because it was done in their own backyard, and it allowed them to build relationships with various agencies and nonprofits across the state.
Service members conducted more than 636-thousand COVID tests and help administer 234-thousand vaccinations in addition to supporting food banks and assisting with hurricanes during the 27 month period.
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Compared to the rest of the nation, Louisiana’s economy is in the midst of a steep decline. The state’s GDP fell by 4-point-3 percent, a rate almost three times worse than the US as a whole, during the first quarter. University of Louisiana at Lafayette economist Gary Wagner says he thought things would be bad, but not quite this bad.
Cut 7 (08) “….high energy prices.”
Wagner says Louisiana is particularly susceptible to a downturn due to the state’s economy being heavily connected to the oil & gas industry and the global spike in energy prices.
Cut 8 (13) “…seeing that slowdown.”
Numbers indicated that 46 of 50 states are seeing a decline in economic activity, but Louisiana has seen some of the worst numbers. Wagner said that in the decade prior to the pandemic Louisiana had the slowest growing economy in the entire nation.
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With the 2022 midterm elections closing in, could a GOP wave be forming? All but 2 states – Louisiana and Delaware – have qualified candidates. JMC Analytics pollster and political analyst John Couvillon (COO-vee-yon) says he suspects a Republican wave IS forming, and he bases that on election and polling data going back to 2010…:
Cut 10 (12) “…at the same time.”
Couvillon says he bases his belief in a high degree of partisan enthusiasm, but also on changes he’s seen in voter registration. He says there’s been relatively little increase in newly-registered Democrats, but…:
Cut 11 (11) “…independent registration.”
Statistically, he says, independent or no-party voters more frequently vote for Republican candidates.
Couvillon says the GOP is galvanized against the Biden administration and its policies. He says independent voters just want to have competence in office, and hence the bleeding of no-party votes away from the Democrats…:
Couvillon says it’s quite possible Democrats could lose majority in one or both chambers of Congress in the mid-terms, and the margin of loss COULD bed large.
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If you’re thinking about changing careers or want to brush up on some of your certifications the University of Louisiana Lafayette is offering a variety of continuing education. Dr. Martha Bryant who oversees the continuing education program says you can even take the majority of their courses online, so their reach is worldwide.
Bryant says with changing industry and workforce trends they’ve had to shift their focus in continuing education to meet the demand. For example they are offering courses in leadership, workplace communication, literacy, and writing to name a few. And in August she says they’ll be launching a cyber security certification course.
As a result of the pandemic many individuals who were displaced from the workforce decided to make career changes and enter another profession. Bryant says as a result they’ve conducted a needs assessment to find out what courses they should offer.
For more information on the continuing education program visit ULL’s website.
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World Wrestling Entertainment returns to Bossier City for the first time in four years as Saturday Night’s Main Event invades the Brookshire Grocery Arena this weekend. Wrestler and manager Montel Vontavious Porter, better known as MVP, says fans can expect a great night of action.
While the closest most fans will get to their favorite WWE superstars is by watching them on television, MVP says there is nothing like the experience of seeing them live and in person.
Cut 17 (19) “ …treat themselves to.”
After going through a long stretch where they couldn’t perform in front of fans during the pandemic, Porter says the wrestlers are glad for the opportunity to feed off of the energy of a crowd and put smiles on people’s faces…
Cut 18 (18) “ …to entertain them.”
Tickets are still on sale for Saturday Night’s Main Event. The show starts at 7:30 pm and features a US Championship match between AJ Styles and Theory as well stars like Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins.
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Cut 19 (16) _“…when you know, you know.”