State Police are stepping up patrol for Mardi Gras, sending over 170 troopers to the New Orleans area leading up to Fat Tuesday. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Cut 1 (30) “I’m Kevin Barnhart.”
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Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries wants to pay folks 950-2,500 dollars to lease their land for dove season. Matt Doyle has the story.
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Campuses across the state can now offer a compressed, STEM focused 18 hour certificate program aimed at getting more Louisianans employed at Bayou tech giants. Matt Doyle has the story.
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State Police have been assisting New Orleans Police with carnival season the last few weeks and will be stepping up patrols. The highly anticipated weekend will draw larger crowds and Trooper Melissa Matey says LSP will be deploying over 170 troopers to the area to assist in the festivities.
Matey says LSP has many different moving parts for Mardi Gras and some of the troopers will be working undercover, wearing plain street clothes.
Cut 5 (12) “…entire metropolitan area.”
Matey says troopers want to make sure everyone has a safe Mardi Gras, so they’ll be on the lookout for impaired drivers on the roadways.
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The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is looking for anyone willing to lease their land to hunters for the opening day of dove season in September. Research and Survey Program Manager Jeffrey Duguay says it’s got to be at least 50 acres, and not all fields will be eligible to make the easy money. Duguay says doves can be pretty picky.
Baiting could land you in legal trouble as well.
Duguay says it’s a decent little payday for plots of farm land that likely won’t be used anymore by September 7th.
The minimum payout is 950 dollars.
And if someone leasing your land for dove hunting were to get injured?
LDF says about one to five landowners take them up on the offer every year.
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The Board of Regents unveiled a new certificate program designed to get enrollees new age STEM skills necessary for work in many of the state’s largest companies in a compressed 18 hour course load. Commissioner of Higher Ed Kim Hunter Reed says the classes were developed to supplement a workers existing education with flexible tech training.
Reed notes the classes will all be focused skills that are immediately applicable in a professional setting.
As two and four year diplomas become more and more common, many workers are seeking to set themselves apart by obtaining vital certifications that indicate their ability to do specialized work. Reed says many of the best paying jobs on the market aren’t getting filled by Louisianans, because of our state’s low rate of higher ed attainment.
Only 45 percent of adults 25-64 in Louisiana have a certificate or post-secondary degree.
On a national level, there’s been some calls for a reorientation in higher ed towards more compressed, career-oriented education instead of the broad liberal arts education most students receive. Reed says she foresees an increase in the attainment “stack-able credentials” in the future.
The program was requested by companies, including CenturyLink, DXC and IBM.
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A recent spike in fatal motorcycle accidents has highway safety advocates asking motorists to be more mindful of those on two wheels. Highway Safety Commission spokesperson Mark Lambert says the uptick is not usual for this time of year.
Cut 13 (07) “…a little better.”
Minor changes in road conditions can be a major hazard for motorcyclists and they may have to adjust speed or position suddenly in reaction. Lambert says there are several steps drivers can take to ensure safety with motorcycles on the roads.
Cut 14 (11) “…your turn signal.”
Lambert says the most recent numbers show that in 2017, 96 motorcycle drivers were killed in crashes on Louisiana roads.