The state has released a COVID contact tracing app that lets you know if you have been in contact with someone who has tested positive. State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter says the app requires you to opt in to voluntarily allowing the service to utilize your Bluetooth. Kanter says the state is not saving this information, and your phone will not tell you who the infected person you had contact with was.
Cut 5 (09) “..information.”

Qualifying for the March Congressional special elections is set with 15 candidates running in the 2nd district race and 13 candidates in the 5th.
Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says of the 28 candidates in the two fields combined it’s unlikely more than a few of them are serious candidates.
Cut 15 (07)“…percent”

Louisiana has been told by the federal government to expect a flat amount of weekly vaccine allocations for the next four to five weeks, which means about 58-thousand doses a week. Each state receives a percentage of doses based on its population that have been made available to the United States. Governor John Bel Edwards says as far as he can tell, Louisiana is receiving its proper share…
Cut 9 (08) “…is flat”

The Louisiana Department of Insurance has received 691 formal complaints about home insurance companies related to issues stemming from Hurricanes Laura, Delta, and Zeta.
Smaller insurers have a higher rate of complaints filed against them per policyholder than bigger insurers. State Insurance commissioner Jim Donelon says when it comes to responsiveness bigger companies may have some advantages.
Cut 12 (08) “…contribute.”
Of the major insurers, Liberty Mutual had the lowest complaint rate, while State Farm had the highest.

Slidell Police say two people are injured and a suspect is dead following a stabbing incident at a Circle K gas station in Slidell Sunday afternoon.
Police responded to a call of a stabbing in progress around 4:30 p.m. at the Circle K gas station in the 61100 block of Airport Road.
When officers arrived at the scene, they encountered the alleged suspect. Slidell Police and St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Deputies opened fire on the suspect killing the suspect.
Two people were injured in the stabbing incident before officers arrived.
Louisiana State Police are investigating the officer-involved shooting.

The Louisiana Department of Insurance has received 691 formal complaints about home insurance companies related to issues stemming from Hurricanes Laura, Delta, and Zeta. If you are having a problem with your insurance company or agent Insurance commissioner Jim Donelon asks you to reach out to his department for assistance.
Cut 11 (09) “….matter”

The state has no plans to expand eligibility for those who can get a COVID-19 vaccine, because they are not anticipating an increase in allotments. Jeff Palermo has more…
Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Jeff Palermo”

Qualifying for the March Congressional special elections is set with 15 candidates running in the 2nd district race and 13 candidates in the 5th.
Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says in the 2nd District New Orleans Democratic lawmakers Karen Carter Peterson and Troy Carter look most likely to make the run-off. Pinsonat expects this to be a highly competitive race.
Cut 14 (10) “…money.”

Louisiana has a new tool in the fight against COVID-19: an app that lets you know if you have had close contact with a COVID-positive individual. Matt Doyle has the story.
Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle”

Saturday night in Lake Charles around 7:30 Calcasieu Sheriff’s deputies arrived at a grocery store on Highway 14 for an alleged stabbing. Investigators say a fight between several girls resulted in a 15-year-old girl getting stabbed. She later died at a nearby hospital. Four female girls were arrested and booked into Juvenile detention. One is charged with 2nd degree murder the other 3 principals to 2nd degree.

The Louisiana Department of Insurance has received 691 formal complaints about home insurance companies related to issues stemming from Hurricanes Laura, Delta, and Zeta.
Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon says most of those complaints are related to companies’ failure to communicate with policyholders.
Cut 10 (09) “…resolved.”

Qualifying for the March Congressional special elections is set with 15 candidates running in the 2nd district race and 13 candidates in the 5th.
Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says Congressman-elect Luke Letlow’s widow, Republican Julia Letow, is a shoo-in to win the 5th and likely to win it outright in the March 20th primary.
Cut 13 (12) “….vote”

The state has released a COVID contact tracing app that lets you know if you’ve been in contact with someone who has tested positive.
State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter says the app is designed to sense nearby phones, and with that data let you know if you’ve been near a positive case.
Cut 4 (10) “…measures.”
The app requires you to opt in to voluntarily allowing the service to utilize your Bluetooth.
Louisiana has been told by the federal government to expect a flat amount of weekly vaccine allocations for the next four to five weeks, which means about 58-thousand doses a week. Governor Edwards says state leaders were previously told that once vaccines became available there would be a steady increase…
Cut 7 (12) “..happening yet.”

The field of candidates for the 2nd and 5th Congressional district special elections is now set. Matt Doyle has the story.
Cut 3 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle.”

The state health department reports that 314-thousand vaccine doses have been administered and 41-thousand individuals have received both dosages. State Health Officer Doctor Joe Kanter says the state will receive another 58-thousand vaccines next week, the same as this week and they expect the allocation to remain flat for the next four to five weeks…

Cut 14 (15) ” doing that” 

With Mardi Gras Parades out this year due to COVID Delgao’s baseball coach came up with a different way to celebrate carnival, a drive thru experience at New Orleans’ City Park. Proceeds from the ticked event will go towards the park and Coach Joe Scheuermann it’s a great fundraiser too.

Cut 11 (10) “..it’s exciting”

The event will be held from February 4 through the 14^th and attendees are encouraged to decorate their cars.

An entry in the 5^th Congressional District race has name recognition, he’s awaiting retrial after his murder conviction was overturned for the murder of his eight-year-old stepson in 2008. Brooke Thorington has more.

Cut 1 (31) “ …I’m Brooke Thorington”  

And voters will be allowed to use the expanded version of absentee-by-mail voting for the upcoming spring elections that was an option last November due to the pandemic. Voters who either have COVID or are in quarantine, have a preexisting condition, or caring for someone can request a mail-in ballot for the spring elections.

The state health department reported 41 more deaths today bringing the total number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths to just shy of eight-thousand. Governor John Bel Edwards says we will likely surpass that grim milestone this weekend. While there’s a decline in the total of new cases reported each day, Edwards says the lagging indicator is deaths…

Cut 13 (07)“unacceptably high”

A pastor from St John the Baptist Parish, once convicted of murder and currently in prison is on the ballot for the 5^th Congressional District special election race. Errol Victor Sr. awaits a retrial because of last year’s Supreme Court decision declaring non-unanimous convictions unconstitutional. ULM Political Science Professor Joshua Stockley…

Cut 3 (12)  “…circumstances.”

Victor was arrested for the 2008 murder of his eight-year-old stepson.

Two days into office and the Biden Administration is following through on campaign promises to roll back American oil production via executive action. Louisiana Oil and Gas Association interim president Mike Moncla says the administration is attempting to push Americans away from oil and gas and towards green and electric energy.

Cut 8 (10) “…areas”

The Biden Administration says these steps were crucial to reducing the nation’s carbon output and limiting potentially catastrophic levels of global temperature increase.

While there won’t be any Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans due to the pandemic, folks will be able to experience a drive-thru event at City Park. Delgado baseball coach Joe Scheurmann says once he posted the idea on his Facebook page it gained a lot of traction.

Cut 9 (12) “..went viral”

The event will take place from February 4^th through the 14^th.

Errol Victor Sr. a pastor from St. John the Baptist Parish, is one of seven candidates running for Louisiana’s 5^th Congressional district. Victor’s also awaiting trial after his murder conviction was ordered for retrial because of a non-unanimous jury conviction. As for his motive to run for office ULM Political Science Professor Joshua Stockley wonders if Victor truly wants to represent the state…

Cut 4 (10) “….who knows” 

While there won’t be any Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans due to the pandemic, folks will be able to experience a drive-thru event in New Orleans City Park. Delgado baseball coach Joe Scheurmann says once he posted the idea on his Facebook page it gained a lot of traction.

Cut 9 (12) “..went viral”

The event will take place from February 4^th through the 14^th.

The Louisiana Oil and Gas Association says the Biden Administration’s early, aggressive moves against the industry will drive up prices at the pump. Taylor Sharp has the story.

cut 2 (29) ….I’m Taylor Sharp”  

The state reports 1,937 COVID-19 cases today and 41 deaths from the virus.

A group of 33 mayors from across the country asks President Joe Biden to back sending Americans recurring survival checks through the end of the pandemic. Brooke Thorington has the story…

Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Brooke Thorington”

Governor Edwards will hold an 11 am briefing today, he was in DC earlier this week for the Inauguration of President Joe Biden. On Thursday, the state reported 3,856 new COVID-19 cases and 59 fatalities.  However, hospitalizations have decreased since January 15th.

The City of Bogalusa received welcome news this week when an over $50-million-dollar expansion was announced for International Paper. After a trend of paper mills closing over the years in the Washington Parish city, Mayor of Bogalusa Wendy Perrette says it’s welcome news.

Cut 4 (11) “…to stay.”

International Paper is one of the largest employers in Bogalusa with 492 direct jobs.

Crawfish harvests have been slow to start the year with pond temperatures still pretty cool but the season looks set to pick up steam shortly. LSU Ag Center Crawfish Specialist Mark Shirley says while it’s been slow going so far he projects we will have a strong peak crawfish season this year.

Cut 13 (11) “….far away”

On the sales side, the pandemic is still likely to keep prices low.

Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins joins 33 other mayors in calling on President Biden to support sending Americans recurring checks through the end of the pandemic. While they didn’t name a dollar amount Perkins left the door open to potentially leaving these recurring checks to continue even after the pandemic ends. He says adopting these checks now will give us valuable data…

Cut 9 (12) “…or not”

Due to cooler pond temperatures, crawfish harvests have been slow to start the year but the season looks set to pick up steam in the near future. LSU Ag Center Crawfish Specialist Mark Shirley despite demand that will likely be lower than a non-pandemic season he projects we’ll still have a sizeable harvest.

Cut 15 (07)“…more.”

Prices are expected to remain low as the pandemic continues.

The Biden Administration announces a 60-day moratorium on the issuing of new oil and gas leases on federal land and revoked the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. Associate Director of the Tulane Energy Institute Dr. Eric Smith says if the Biden Administration follows through on promises to begin significantly reducing the US’s carbon emission, the state’s economy could be in for some big changes.

Cut 12 (13) “…CO2.”

The City of Bogalusa received uplifting news this week when International Paper announced a more than $52-million dollar. Mayor of Bogalusa Wendy Perrette says the company has been very community involved and a great asset to the town of just over 11-thousand. She’s relieved they are investing in the future.

Cut 6 (10) “…to stay.”

Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins joins 33 other mayors in calling on President Biden to support sending Americans recurring checks through the end of the pandemic. The group, which purchased a full-page ad in the Washington Post touting the idea, does not back a specific dollar amount. When asked how these checks would be financed Perkins responded…

Cut 8 (09) “…itself.”

The Biden Administration announces a 60-day pause in the issuing of new oil and gas leases on federal land and revoked the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. While the Keystone does not run through Louisiana Associate Director of the Tulane Energy Institute Dr. Eric Smith says we do utilize the sour crude carried by the pipeline.

Cut 11 (11) “….stream”

A Crawfish Specialist projects a healthy crawfish season ahead of us. Matt Doyle has the story.

Cut 3 (30)  “…I’m Matt Doyle.”  

Governor Edwards will hold an 11am briefing today, he was in DC earlier this week for the Inauguration of President Joe Biden. On Thursday, the state reported 3,856 new COVID-19 cases and 59 fatalities. Hospitalizations total 18-hundred, which has been on a steady decline since January 15th. As for vaccines, LDH says more than 301-thousand have been administered in the state so far.