LRN Am Newscall November 30

One sector that has seen an increase in sales this year despite COVID is the real estate industry, Brooke Thorington tells us how things are in the Bayou State

Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

_______________________________

Matt Doyle checks in with ULM Political Science Professor Joshua Stockley for the state of the 5th Congressional District run-off race ahead of Saturday’s election…

Cut 2 (31) “…I’m Matt Doyle.” 

__________________________________________

Today marks the end of the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season. Matt Doyle spoke with State Climatologist Barry Keim about this record breaking year…

Cut 3 (30)  “…I’m Matt Doyle”  

__________________________________________

According to Zillow, more homes are changing hands now than in the last 15 years, something that is hard to believe in a year of economic downturn. CEO of Louisiana Realtors Norman Morris says historically low mortgage rates are allowing many to become homeowners for the first time and existing homeowners to upgrade.

Cut 4 (12) “…larger home.”

Morris says some areas across the state are reporting quite an increase in sales compared to 2019, for example, in Northeast Louisiana, residential sales are up 13-percent, in the Central part of the state they’ve seen an increase of 16 million in sales, Northwest Louisiana is up 8-percent and the New Orleans market is up 15-percent.

Cut 5 (11) “…11 months.”

Morris says many buyers are looking for additional space to create a home office now that more employers are allowing workers to work from home during the pandemic.

Morris also credits Realtors for their adaptability to the changing market and embracing technology to show homes for a safer experience.

Cut 6 (10) “…COVID time.”

________________________

The race for the open 5th District Congressional seat will be decided Saturday with state lawmaker Lance Harris up against retiring Congressman Ralph Abraham’s former Chief of Staff Luke Letlow. ULM Poli Sci Professor Joshua Stockley says Letlow is the favorite given his substantial fundraising lead…

Cut 7 (10)  “…place.”

Harris has raised half a million dollars to Letlow’s 1.1 million.

But Stockley cautions against counting Harris out. He says this race is likely to come down to geography with Harris being from Alexandria and Letlow hailing from Ouachita Parish.

Cut 8 (10) “…election.”

Letlow secured 33 percent of the vote in the first round while Harris grabbed 17-percent, just nudging past Democrat Sandra Christophe’s to make the runoff.

Democratic candidates secured about a third of the vote in the primary, but Stockley says many of those voters will not cast a ballot in the December runoff…

Cut 9 (11) “…vote.

_____________________________________________________

A historic 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season ends today, one Louisiana residents will remember for a long time. State Climatologist Barry Keim notes the 30 total named storms broke the record of 28 set in 2005, and of those 30, five made landfall in Louisiana, another record.

Cut 10 (08) “…December”

12 named storms made landfall in the United States, also a record.

Southwest Louisiana is still recovering from Hurricanes Laura and Delta. Keim says Laura tied for the honors of being the most powerful storm to make landfall in Louisiana in recorded history.

Cut 11 (11) “..parish”

Laura made landfall on August 27th. After that ten named storms then developed in September, also a record, including one day where three named storms formed within six hours of each other, another record.

Keim also says we had a highly unusual number of dual landfalls, where named storms make landfall practically in the same place at different times.

Cut 12 (13) “.Louisiana”

_____________________________________________________

It wasn’t much of a football game, but it goes down as a Black and Gold victory as New Orleans defeated the quarterback less Denver Broncos 31-3. Because of COVID issues involving the Broncos QBs, Denver was forced to use a practice squad receiver and running backs as their quarterbacks. Coach Sean Payton summed it up well…

Cut 13 (06) “…it is what is”

The victory improves the Saints record to 9-2 and New Orleans starting quarterback Taysom Hill is not apologizing for taking advantage of the short-handed Broncos…

Cut 14 (12) “…get it” 

Hill only threw for 78 yards. But Payton says the game plan was to keep the ball on the ground…

Cut 15 (10)“…of that” 

Hill rushed for 44 yards and two touchdowns, while Latavius Murray led all rushers with 124 yards and two touchdowns. Denver completed just one pass and had 112 yards of offense.

_______________________

It was a rough night for LSU’s offense in 20-7 loss to Texas A-and-M on Saturday night. The Tigers rushed for just 36 yards and starting quarterback TJ Finley had another bad game on the road, throwing for 118 yards and two interceptions. Coach Ed Orgeron says the offensive line didn’t give Finley much help

Cut 16 (22) “..should of.”

After Finley threw a pick six, Max Johnson played a little better and threw for 113 yards and one touchdown. Orgeron said numerous times in the post-game that the Tigers need a better plan

cut 17 (17) “….better plan.”

LSU’s defense played well. They gave up a 52-yard touchdown run by Isaiah Spiller, but senior QB Kellen Mond was just 11-of-34 for 105 yards. Linebacker Micah Baskerville led the way with 12 tackles. He says the team plans to stick together

cut 18 (18) “…getting better”

________________________________________________

The 23rd ranked Ragin Cajuns won their fifth in a row as they beat ULM by 50. U-L Lafayette quarterback Levi Lewis accounted for five touchdowns in the 70-20 win. Coach Billy Napier says it was a good performance by the offense in their first game since November 14th…

cut 19 (21) “…Central Arkansas game”

Lewis threw for 147 yards and three touchdowns. Trey Ragas and Elijah Mitchell each rushed for over 90 yards and a touchdown. Freshman Kyren Lacy led the receivers with five catches for 48 yards and a touchdown. Napier’s offense produced 511 total yards…

cut 20 (20) “…in mind”