4:45 LRN Sportscast September 23

With the college football season set to start for SEC schools on Saturday, the league released its preseason media poll today. Media members picked LSU to finish in second place in the SEC West behind Alabama. Auburn is picked to finish in third, followed by Texas A-and-M, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Arkansas. Florida is the preseason favorite in the East, receiving 53 first-place votes, while Georgia has been picked to finish in second and the Bulldogs received 43 first-place votes.

After getting fined 100-thousand dollars by the NFL for failing to properly wear a mask in Monday night’s loss to Las Vegas, Saints Coach Sean Payton says he may do something else than wear a gaither…
cut 30 (13) “…with it”
Payton and the Saints returned to practice today as they get ready for Sunday night’s game against the Green Bay Packers.

Despite not having a full roster because of COVID-19 and being down 17 points to Southern Miss, Louisiana Tech still rallied to defeat the Golden Eagles last Saturday. Coach Skip Holtz says he’s still amazed they won…
cut 19 (29) “…as a coach”
Louisiana Tech is home this Saturday to host Houston Baptist. Huskies Quarterback Bailey Zappe has thrown for 1,047 yards and seven touchdowns in two games, both were losses to North Texas and Texas Tech. Kick-off at Joe Aillet Stadium is at 6 PM.

LRN PM Newscall September 23

Louisiana Senator John Kennedy says the November election should not stop President Trump from naming a Supreme Court Justice nominee. Jim Shannon has the story…

Cut 1 (30) “…Jim Shannon”  

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The vast majority of Entergy Louisiana customers in southwest Louisiana have now had their power restored. Matt Doyle has the story.

cut 2 (30) “I’m Matt Doyle”  

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A Pineville police officer who alleged Sunday night that he had been ambushed and shot is now under arrest for allegedly shooting himself and then lying about it.

Deputy Chief of Pineville P-D Darrell Basco says the incident was investigated and they now believe Officer John Goulart Jr. filed a false report.

Cut 3 (10)  “shot him”  

The incident occurred behind a shopping center, and Goulart suffered minor injuries and was released from the hospital Monday.

Basco says they’re still piecing together exactly what happened but they’re confident Goulart was lying.

Cut 4 (09)“ office” 

Goulart has been booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center and is on administrative leave.

Basco says the incident is incredibly disappointing.

Cut 5 (13)  “to do ”

CrimeStoppers offered a 5,000 dollar reward for information leading to an arrest in what was initially believed to have been an ambush.

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Democrats say the winner of the November presidential election should be the one who names a new justice to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Supreme Court seat. But Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy says the U-S Constitution says nothing about the electoral calendar

Cut 6 (11)  “…Senate votes”  

The President is expected to announce a nominee on Saturday and hearings could start next month. But Kennedy says the Senate will not rush to hold a confirmation vote before the election

Cut 7 (10)“ …we’re ready” 

Kennedy says as a member of the Judiciary Committee, he’ll judge the nominee on basis of intelligence, temperament and integrity and he’s not looking for a judge to be a politician in robes…

Cut 8 (08)  “…ought to be” 

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Only 2,500 Entergy Louisiana customers in Cameron and Calcasieu parishes remain without power just under a month after Laura devastated southwest Louisiana.

Spokesperson Brandon Scardigli says restoring power to the hard-hit area has been a monumental task.

Cut 9 (10) “…time”

Entergy Louisiana sustained an estimated 1.25 to 1.4 billion dollars in damage to its infrastructure as a result of the storm.

Scardigli says they managed to get power back to 99 percent of their customers by bringing a 13,000 worker strong army into southwest Louisiana.

Cut 10 (09) “…Canada”

About 13,000 total customers remain without power in Cameron and Calcasieu parishes.

Scardigli says those 2,500 customers are scattered throughout the parish and not in just one geographical area. He says they’re mostly homes that were severely damaged.

Cut 11 (09) “…right away”

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During a visit to LSU’s campus, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Doctor Deborah Birx says the changes made to Louisiana’s COVID-19 mitigation measures saved lives. Birx says two and a half months ago, 80-percent of the parishes had over a ten-percent positivity rate on coronavirus tests taken, but there’s been a decline in cases since the mask mandate

Cut 12 (05) “…masks work”

On July 11th, Governor Edwards called for a statewide mask mandate and closed bars. Birx says it’s important these mitigation measures stay in place…

Cut 13 (07) “…discussion”

Since Birx was on the LSU campus, she was asked about the university having 25-thousand fans inside Tiger Stadium this Saturday for the season opener versus Mississippi State. Birx says it’s important that fans stay socially distanced from others and the no tailgating rule is a good one…

Cut 14 (10) “…event”

1:30 LRN Newscast September 23

During a visit to LSU’s campus, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Doctor Deborah Birx says the changes made to Louisiana’s COVID-19 mitigation measures saved lives. Birx says two and a half months ago, 80-percent of the parishes had over a ten-percent positivity rate on coronavirus tests taken, but there’s been a decline in new cases since the mask mandate
Cut 12 (05) “…masks work”
On July 11th, Governor Edwards called for a statewide mask mandate.

Louisiana Senator John Kennedy says the Constitution does not prohibit the Senate from confirming a Supreme Court Justice nominee, even though we are 41 days away from a presidential election. Kennedy sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee and says he’s not looking for a judge to be a politician in robes…
Cut 8 (08) “…ought to be”
President Trump has said he’ll nominate a new Supreme Court Justice on Saturday.

The vast majority of Entergy Louisiana customers in southwest Louisiana have now had their power restored. Matt Doyle has the story.
cut 2 (30) “I’m Matt Doyle”

The Louisiana Democratic Party is accusing Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin of voter suppression and gross incompetence because the voter registration portal on the Secretary of State’s website was down for several hours yesterday, which was National Voter Registration Day. Ardoin says the website issues were the result of maintenance and he calls it an unfortunate error.

11:40 LRN Sportscast September 23

LSU’s season opener against Mississippi State will certainly feel and sound different on Saturday as Tiger Stadium, which holds 100-thousand fans, will be limited to just 25-thousand because of the coronavirus. But Safety Jacoby Stevens says the smaller crowd will not damper their enthusiasm…
Cut 16 (22) “…upcoming Saturday”
LSU running back Tyrion Davis Price says that he will dedicate his performance on Saturday to Remy Hidalgo. He’s the lineman from Denham Springs who collapsed at practice last week and died a few days later. The school has scheduled a celebration in Hidalgo’s honor on Saturday night at Yellow Jacket Stadium.

There were a lot of heroes in Louisiana Tech’s come from behind one-point win over Southern Miss last Saturday. Freshman linebacker Tyler Grubbs fits that description as he had 16 tackles in his collegiate debut. Coach Skip Holtz compliments Grubbs’ preparation, who was fourth string on the depth chart when he arrived on campus…
Cut 18 (30) “…four years”
Louisiana Tech hosts Houston Baptist on Saturday night.

The Southland Conference has announced seven of its schools, including the four from Louisiana, will play a six-game spring schedule starting on February 20th.

11:30 LRN Newscast September 23

The upcoming special session will see a major debate over the reopening of Louisiana’s economy. Many GOP lawmakers have vocally condemned the Governor for acting unilaterally on pandemic restrictions, but Edwards says you can’t manage a public health crisis by committee…
Cut 13 (10) “…council”
But Republican House Speaker Clay Schexnayder believes the governor’s coronavirus rules have created an imbalance of power.

A Pineville police officer who alleged Sunday night that he had been ambushed and shot is now under arrest for allegedly shooting himself and then lying about it. Deputy Chief of Pineville P-D Darrell Basco says the incident was investigated and they now believe Officer John Goulart Jr. filed a false report.
Cut 3 (10) “shot him”
Goulart has a gunshot wound in his leg and placed on administrative leave.

Louisiana Senator John Kennedy says the November election should not stop President Trump from naming a Supreme Court Justice nominee. Jim Shannon has the story…
cut 1 (30) “…I’m Jim Shannon”

Today is the last day for residents in 21 parishes impacted by Hurricane Laura to apply for disaster food stamp assistance. The program called D-SNAP can help families who don’t regularly receive food stamps buy groceries because they’ve lost income or power for an extended period of time because of the storm. More information can be found on the Department of Children and Family Services website.

10:30 LRN Newscast

No bills have been filed for the special session that lawmakers have called that’s set to begin Monday. Republicans are looking to roll back some of the governor’s coronavirus restrictions, like getting bars back open. But John Bel Edwards says if the virus is too prevalent there are some things you just can’t do…
cut 15 (09) “….the virus”

Democrats say the winner of the November presidential election should be the one who names a new justice to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Supreme Court seat. But Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy says the U-S Constitution is clear on this issue…
cut 6 (12) “…Senate votes”
The President is expected to announce a nominee on Saturday.
400 “mystery seed” specimens were mailed to Louisiana residents two months ago and an analysis of the specimens revealed some good news. Matt Doyle spoke with Ag Commissioner Mike Strain.
Cut 2 (31) “…Matt Doyle”

The Calcasieu Parish School Board says they plan to re-open between 10 to 15 schools next week. The board believes most schools can be reopened by the third week of October. In Calcasieu, power has been restored to 92-percent of the customers.

6:45 LRN Sprotscast

The NFL has fined Saints Coach Sean Payton and Raiders Coach John Gruden for failing to wear face coverings during last night’s game. Each coach will see 100-thousand dollars docked from their pay and the two organizations are also being fined 250-thousand dollars. New Orleans begins preparations today for this Sunday’s game against Green Bay.

First-year Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach will make his SEC debut on Saturday when his Bulldogs visit the 6th ranked LSU Tigers. Leach’s Air Raid offense has been successful at Texas Tech and Washington State and now he’ll test it against SEC defenses. LSU safety Jacoby Stevens says Leach knows how to get the most out of his team…
cut 17 (16) “…their potential”
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After a thrilling season opening win at Southern Miss, Louisiana Tech kicks off its home schedule on Saturday against Houston Baptist. Because of coronavirus restrictions, the Bulldogs can have about eight-thousand fans in the stands. Tech Coach Skip Holtz is looking forward to playing at home…
cut 20 (17) “…at home”
Kick-off in Ruston is at 6 PM.

The Southland Conference has announced plans for a six-game conference schedule featuring seven schools, including the four in Louisiana. The season will begin February 20th and continue through April 10th. The NCAA has also announced plans for a 16-team playoff involving F-C-S teams that would begin April 24th.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says it’s unlikely that the next season will begin before January.

LRN AM Newscall September 23

A State Trooper who was set to be fired for his role in the death of a black man while in police custody has died from injuries sustained in a single-vehicle car crash. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 1 (29) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

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400 “mystery seed” specimens were mailed to Louisiana residents two months ago and a carefully analysis of the specimens revealed some good news. Matt Doyle spoke with Ag Commissioner Mike Strain.

Cut 2 (30) “…Matt Doyle” 

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Republicans will attempt to roll back some of Governor Edwards’ public health restrictions in the upcoming special session, but Edwards isn’t sweating it…

Cut 3 (29)  “…I’m Matt Doyle”  

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Families whose children receive free or reduced-price lunches in school have only one week left to apply for Pandemic-EBT cards. The cards were authorized to make up for the missed meals children did not receive when schools closed in March. Louisiana Department of Education spokesperson Ted Beasley says families of 500,000 students have applied so far…

Cut 4 (06)“ … the first time” 

Beasley says families of those 264,000 students are leaving a lot of money on the table.

Cut 5 (08)  “dollars”

Beasley says this is money for families that need it most.

Cut 6 (10) “…all day”

To apply go to Louisianabelieves.com.

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State Trooper Chris Hollingsworth, who was set to be fired for his role in the death of a Black man in police custody, has died from injuries sustained in a single-car crash near Monroe. The FBI is investigating whether Hollingsworth and other troopers covered up how Ronald Greene of West Monroe died in May of 2019. President of Metropolitan Crime Commission Rafael Goyeneche says State Police has done a poor job investigating…

Cut 7 (08) “…answers.”

State Police originally reported that Greene died in a high speed chase, but his family says they’ve uncovered evidence that shows Greene may have been assaulted by Troopers who attempted to arrest him. Goyeneche wonders why this new information is coming out over a year later…

Cut 8 (09) “…May 2019 incident”

Multiple media reports say Hollingsworth received a notice of termination a day before he got involved in a single-vehicle wreck. Goyeneche asks why it took 15 months before State Police took action against Hollingsworth…

Cut 9 (09) “…an explanation”

Governor John Bel Edwards said on Tuesday that he has complete confidence in the head of State Police, Colonel Kevin Reeves, as they investigate Greene’s death.

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Officials say over 16,000 “mystery seed” specimens were sent out to residents nationwide two months ago, but they appear to be mostly harmless. Louisiana Ag Commissioner Mike Strain says we still don’t know exactly who sent the mystery seeds to people in the US, UK, and Caribbean, but…

Cut 10 (11) “…seeds.”

That being said Strain says you still shouldn’t handle or plant the seeds and should report receiving any mystery seed packages to Ag and Forestry.

Strain says in Louisiana we’ve received over 400 mystery seed specimens. Nationwide we’ve seen them come in from 44 different countries…

Cut 11 (04) “…identified.”

Strain says the feds are working to make sure something like this never happens again.

Cut 12 (09) “…plants”

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The upcoming special session will see a major debate over the reopening of Louisiana’s economy. Since the summer, many GOP lawmakers have vocally condemned the Governor for acting unilaterally on pandemic restrictions, but Edwards says you can’t manage a public health crisis by committee…

Cut 13 (10) “…council”

A legislative petition circulated early in the summer seeking to override the Governor’s public health emergency but was not successful.

Critics have attacked the Governor for issuing broad statewide orders instead of allowing parishes to set their own criteria for the reopening of businesses. Edwards countered…

Cut 14 (11) “critical.”

One of the most prominent complaints appears to be about limitations of where bars can open and the fact they can only serve until 11 pm. Edwards says if the virus is too prevalent there are some things you just can’t do…

Cut 15 (09) “…the virus”

Bars can only open in parishes with less than a five percent positivity rate, which excludes the vast majority of parishes at this moment.

The special session will kick off Monday and run for 30 days. It will also focus on the depleted unemployment insurance trust fund and Hurricane Laura recovery.

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LSU’s season opener against Mississippi State will certainly feel and sound different on Saturday as Tiger Stadium, which holds 100-thousand fans, will be limited to just 25-thousand because of the coronavirus. But Safety Jacoby Stevens says the smaller crowd will not damper their enthusiasm…

Cut 16 (22) “…upcoming Saturday” 

Saturday also marks Mike Leach’s first game as a head coach in the SEC. His Air Raid offense has been successful at Texas Tech and Washington State and Stevens says Leach knows how to get the most out of his team

Cut 17 (16) “…their potential” 

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There were a lot of heroes in Louisiana Tech’s come from behind one-point win over Southern Miss last Saturday. Freshman linebacker Tyler Grubbs fits that description as he had 16 tackles in his collegiate debut. Coach Skip Holtz compliments Grubbs’ preparation

Cut 18  (30) “…four years” 

The Bulldogs stormed back to beat the Golden Eagles with a reduced roster because of COVID-19. Also Tech didn’t even have many physical practices leading into the game. Holtz says he still can’t believe they won

Cut 19  (29) “…as a coach”    

Louisiana Tech will host Houston Baptist on Saturday. Capacity at Joe Aillet Stadium will be set at 25-percent, 71-hundred available seats and up to one-thousand student tickets. Holtz is looking forward to playing at home

cut 20 (17) “..at.home”

5:30 LRN Newscast Sept 22

A 30-day special session called by lawmakers will begin on Monday and one of the topics up for discussion is the governor’s coronavirus executive orders. Governor Edwards says he’s used public health experts and the White House Coronavirus Task Force to guide the state’s response to the pandemic. He says there’s evidence the measures they’ve taken are working. But House Speaker Clay Schexnayder says they are not working for everyone.
Cut 4 (10)“ …that are not”
Since the summer many GOP lawmakers have vocally condemned the Governor for acting unilaterally on pandemic restrictions, but Edwards says you can’t manage a public health crisis by committee.
cut 13 (10) “…council”
A push to override the Governor’s public health emergency with a petition was not successful earlier in the summer.

The Main Street Recovery Grant program has obligated more than half of its 275 million dollar fund so far. Matt Doyle has the story.
cut 2 (29) “I’m Matt Doyle”

The NFL has reportedly fined Saints Coach Sean Payton and Raiders Coach John Gruden for failing to wear face coverings during last night’s game. Payton and Gruden will see 100-thousand docked from their pay and two organizations are also receiving a 250-thousand dollar fine. New Orleans also lost the game 34-24 yesterday.

4:45 LRN Sportscast September 22

After watching last night’s Saints loss to the Raiders, some fans have come to the conclusion that Drew Brees doesn’t have the arm strength anymore to throw the ball down the field. Brees says he’s just throwing passes to the open man…
cut 13 (06) “…do it”
The Saints didn’t score enough and lost 34-24.

Just three more days until LSU’s season-opening game against Mississippi State. The Tigers set all kinds of passing records last season. Coach Ed Orgeron says for LSU to have an explosive passing attack again, Myles Brennan needs to make smart decisions with the football…
cut 18 (16) “….make plays”

ULM is off to an 0-2 start after losing to Texas State 38-17 last Saturday. Warhawks Quarterback Colby Suits threw for 377 yards in a loss, but Coach Matt Viator wants a more balanced attack and would like to get the ground game going
Cut 19 (22) “…football better”
The Warhawks will look for their first win on Saturday when they host the UTEP Miners at 2:30 at Malone Stadium. E-S-P-N-U will televise the game.

The Southland Conference announced today that seven schools will compete in a six-game regular-season football schedule starting on February 20th and ending on April 10th. Each team will play three home and three away games over an eight-week period and Southland schools could play some non-conference games as well.