Higher Ed Commissioner Kim Hunter Reed is concerned with a decline in the number of high school graduates accepting the TOPS scholars to attend an in-state four year school. Reed says there is a large of number of students who are eligible for TOPS, but not continuing their education….
cut 14 (12) “…go anywhere”
Reed says they are trying to determine if those eight-thousand students entered the workforce right out of high school.

Suicide rates in the U.S. saw the largest one-year increase in 2021, that’s after two previous years of decline. According to the CDC, the suicide rate increased by four percent to 14 deaths per 100,000. And LSU Health New Orleans Chair of Psychiatry Dr. Rahn Bailey says men are four times more likely than women to commit suicide.
Cut 7 (09) “…their own.”
If you are having suicidal thoughts, call The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 9-8-8.

The latest survey of small business owners shows optimism for the near future continues to slide.
Cut 3 (32) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.”

This weekend is the Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival. Strawberry farmer Rhonda Poche says it’s been a challenging year with too much rain at times and her farm also battled a fungal disease…
cut 5 (08) “…of them”