8:30 am Newscast

An important step has been taken in bringing passenger rail service to north Louisiana. The Federal Railroad Administration has awarded a 500-thousand dollar planning grant to the Southern Rail Commission. Commissioner Knox Ross says this money will determine what’s needed to bring passenger rail service to the I-20 Corridor…

Cut 12 (06)  “..want to be.”  
The proposed rail line would connect Dallas-Fort Worth to Atlanta, with stops in Shreveport, Ruston, Monroe and Vicksburg, Mississippi.

The Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign is underway. Greg Fischer with the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission says over the past five Christmas holidays in Louisiana 26 people were killed and 452 injured in vehicle crashes involving alcohol.

Cut 6 (05) “…any means.”

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There’s been plenty of speculation about a special session before the regular one to address the state’s property insurance crisis next year. But at a recent NOLA-dot-com town hall meeting, Insurance Commissioner-elect Tim Temple says it’s highly unlikely…

Cut 9 (11) “…timing issue.” 

If and when one is called, Temple says he’ll push to get legislation introduced, that would focus on bringing property owners immediate premium relief.

Meanwhile a federal appeals court refused Friday to reconsider its ruling setting a January deadline for the Louisiana Legislature to enact a new congressional map after a lower court found that the current political boundaries dilute the power of the state’s Black voters.  If lawmakers to not pass a new map by January 30th, then a lower court judge will likely decide on a plan for the 2024 elections.