A study shows Louisiana lost a net 28,000 college-educated workers to other states in a ten year period starting in 2007. Matt Doyle spoke with the study’s author…

Cut 1 (31) “…I’m Matt Doyle” 

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President Donald Trump officially qualifies to be on the Louisiana Republican primary ballot for the April 4th primary. Kevin Barnhart has the story.

cut  2 (32) “…I’m Kevin Barnhart”

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A study shows a net 28,000 college educated Louisianans migrated out of the state between 2007 and 2017, with a net 38,000 aged 25-54 leaving for greener pastures.

UL Lafayette Professor of Economics Gary Wagner conducted the study and says that’s bad news for the state because you need college-educated workers to power a modern economy.

Cut 3 (10)  “…have been.” 

Dating back to 2000, a net 88,000 college-educated people migrated away.

So where are these folks heading? Wagner says three-quarters of the migration is heading to just four states.

Cut 4 (09) “…Virginia.”

A few states are bucking that trend. Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, New York, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania all had net positive migration of over a thousand.

There’s concerns that continuing outmigration could create an economic death spiral, but Wagner says if we can create more high paying jobs, that trend could reverse itself quickly.

Cut 5 (10) “…back.”

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Former LSU athletics director Joe Alleva spoke candidly to Advocate columnist Scott Rabalais about moves made during his tenure. Alleva hired Ed Orgeron as head football coach in 2016. But in 2015 there were reports LSU wanted to fire Les Miles and hire then-Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher. In the Rabalais’ column, Alleva said he was not interested in Fisher

Cut 6 (11) “about that”

Rabalais’ column also says LSU could have hired then-Houston coach Tom Herman in 2016, but Alleva told Rabalais he didn’t want to pay Herman the money he wanted and thought Orgeron was the better choice

Cut 7 (06) “he’s had.”

Alleva is also quoted in the column that Miles squandered and didn’t’ utilize the players properly. Rabalais says Alleva told him that talking to Les was like talking to a wall…

Cut 8 (11) “…at Michigan”

Alleva also told Rabalais that he regrets hiring current basketball coach Will Wade. It was the Wade F-B-I wiretap scandal that led to Alleva being pushed out as AD.

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President of the Louisiana Association of Educators Dr. Tia Mills says the recent resignation of the state’s education superintendent John White is a welcomed change. Mills says many educators were not thrilled with his administration.

Cut 9 (07) “…across the state.”

White clashed with teacher unions on several issues, including the expansion of the state’s voucher program and student-testing is now a major component of teacher evaluations.

Mills says the union is hoping for that the new leader is someone who has worked directly in the classroom.

Cut 10 (07) “…low rated schools.”

Mills says the union will be very vocal with the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Senate in the selection process of a successor.

Cut 11 (06) “…our great state.”
White has served in his role since 2012. The resignation is effective March 11.

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President Donald Trump officially qualifies to appear on the ballot for the April 4th presidential primary in Louisiana. Attorney General Jeff Landry filed the paperwork on behalf of the President at the Secretary of State’s office this morning.

Cut 12 (12) “…I happily accepted.”

Landry says it is important for President Trump to be victorious in 2020 because nearly 300,000 Louisiana jobs are supported by the oil and gas industry.

Cut 13 (11) “…that doesn’t happen.”

Landry also serves at the national co-chair of Veterans for Trump and says the President’s administration has help vets, military and their families.

Cut 14 (12) “…Democrat is nominated.”

So far, nine Democrats have qualified in Louisiana for the primary. In November 2016, Donald Trump received one-point-one million votes, the most votes ever in Louisiana history.

President Trump says there will be no military retaliation in response to an Iranian rocket attack on US bases in Iraq. Matt Doyle has local reaction.

Cut 1 (31) “…I’m Matt Doyle” 

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After eight years as the state’s top education leader, John White informs the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education that he’s stepping down in March. Jeff Palermo has the story…

cut  2 (30) “…I’m Jeff Palermo”

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KingCakeSnob.com launches the fifth annual “Seal of Approval” ranking competition.  Spokesperson Andrew Alexander says the biggest criteria when rating king cakes is presentation, flavor, freshness, and uniqueness.

Cut 3 (06)  “… rise to the top.” 

The 2019 competition featured 633 different king cakes from more than 160 bakeries.  Alexander says there isn’t necessarily a pattern that is followed when it comes to the voters’ rankings of king cake.

Cut 4 (10) “…the winners circle.”

Last year’s competition saw nearly 3,500 king cake reviews on the website.  Alexander says the competition is an excuse to put the New Year’s health resolutions on hold.

Cut 5 (11) “…of king cake.”

Voting runs through February 18th. Last year, Manny Randazzo won the top overall “Traditional” King Cake, while Caluda’s repeated as best “Filled” King Cake.

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President Trump says the US will not retaliate militarily against Iran for last night’s rocket attack targeting two US bases in Iraq. Congressman Garret Graves sees a de-escalation of tensions in the region that hit a boiling point after the US killing of a top Iranian Commander

Cut 6 (11) “none”

The President says the missile attack will result in new sanctions on Iran.

Graves says it likely is not a coincidence that the barrage did not kill a single person. He says Iran likely calibrated the attack so as to not provoke a response from the US.

Cut 7 (09) “activity.”

Iranian officials have stated that if the US does not retaliate, they will not escalate further, but Graves says that doesn’t mean the region will become much calmer.

Cut 8 (12) “…activites”

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Monday’s College Football Playoff National Championship Game is expected to be a financial winner for southeast Louisiana. Chief Marketing Officer for New Orleans & Company Mark Romig says thousands of visitors are expected…

Cut 9 (10) “…go into Monday.”

LSU fans are expected to be the most prominent fan base in town, and Romig says they’ll show off why they are the best fans in the world.

Cut 10 (10) “…friends with them.”

Romig says those that are still looking for overnight accommodations in the Big Easy may be in luck in finding a place to stay.

Cut 11 (08) “…national championship brings.”

Romig expects the economic impact from the national championship game to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
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Louisiana Economic Development reports there was eight billion dollars in new capital investment in 2019 resulting in 12-thousand new jobs. L-E-D Secretary Don Pierson says they have been working to diversify the state’s economy with these new projects

Cut 12 (13) “…economy in.” 

Pierson says since the start of the Edwards administration, Louisiana has attracted more than 210 project wins…

Cut 13 (12) “…is operating”

Pierson says the big economic wins in 2019 include a new deal to keep CenturyLink’s headquarters in Monroe through 2025, a helicopter assembly plant locating in Lafayette and in St. Tammany Parish, Medline announced it will build an 800-thousand square foot distribution center

Cut 14 (10) “…the state”