Hosting Thanksgiving dinner will put less strain on your wallet this year. Colleen Crain reports.

Cut 1 (34) “…I’m Colleen Crain.”

_____________________________________________

Is the tax reform package that the legislature overwhelmingly passed a good thing or a bad thing? Jeanne (ZHAHN) Burns reports it depends on who you ask.

Cut 2 (32) “…I’m Jeanne Burns.”

_____________________________________________

LSU football won its first game in five weeks. Andrew Greenstein has this report from Tiger Stadium.

Cut 3 (36) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

_____________________________________________

This year, you can host a Thanksgiving feast for ten for relatively little money. Avery Davidson with the Louisiana Farm Bureau says the price of Thanksgiving dinner has gone down this year.

Cut 4 (11) “…was last year.”

Furthermore, that’s more than 12 dollars less than the national average. Davidson says that low cost is spurred in large part by a drop in the price of turkeys.

Cut 5 (14) “…$25.67 this year.” 

Davidson says part of the reason for our comparatively low price is the fact that it costs less to transport the goods to your local supermarkets.

Cut 6 (12) “…all come through.”

_____________________________________________

After a hiatus of more than 20 years, Northwestern State University is restarting its rodeo program. Faculty advisor Dr. Michelle Morris, a professor of educational psychology, says a huge outpouring of support from the community led to the resumption of the program.

Cut 7 (05) “…are actively recruiting.”

One of the riders that the school recruited was McKenzie Davis, who had participated in barrel racing her entire life. Davis, an accounting major from Pollock, had previously been enrolled at LSU Alexandria. She says Northwestern State’s resumption of their rodeo program got her to transfer. 

Cut 8 (14) “…back to Northwestern.”

When Northwestern State ended their rodeo program in the mid-1990s, the school sold all the property that it had used for training. Morris says the community is stepping up in providing the school’s rodeo riders places to train.

Cut 9 (13)  “…can train physically.”

There are five rodeos in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association each semester, and the national finals are held in the summer.

_____________________________________________

Is the overall tax reform package passed by the legislature good or bad for Louisianians? It depends on who you ask. Invest Louisiana director Jan Moeller says raising the state sales tax will hurt low-income workers

Cut 10 (11) “…up even higher.”

Louisiana’s sales tax rate is 4.45 percent. It will go up to five percent on January 1st and drop to 4.75 percent in 2030. Moeller is not a fan of this plan…

Cut 11 (11) “…them are temporary.”

On the other hand, Daniel Erspamer (ERS-pah-mer), the CEO of the Pelican Institute, calls it a great day for the people of Louisiana.

Cut 12 (14) “…here in Louisiana.”

Governor Jeff Landry originally proposed to tax 41 services that are currently not taxed., but that bill did not pass. Erspamer says the debate over sales taxes is not over yet.

Cut 13 (12)  “…up in April.”

_____________________________________________

For the first time in more than a month, LSU is in the win column. The Tigers beat Vanderbilt Saturday night, 24-17, snapping a three-game losing streak. Adding to the turmoil of a three-game losing streak that took LSU out of playoff contention was the news days earlier that they lost the nation’s top recruit, quarterback Bryce Underwood, to Michigan. After the game, Coach Brian Kelly said he’s proud of how his team tuned out all the chatter and focused on the job at hand.

Cut 14 (20) “…this football team.”

LSU simplified its defense. Defensive End Bradyn Swinson, who assisted on four tackles and one sack, said that game plan paid off.

Cut 15 (10) “…probably ran today.”

In the week leading up to the game, Josh Williams, Greg Penn, Will Campbell and Garrett Nussmeier called a players-only meeting. Williams discussed the nature of the meeting after the game. 

Cut 16 (10) “…out for us.”

With the win, LSU improves to 7-and-4 on the season. They wrap up the regular season next Saturday at home against Oklahoma, then they’ll await their bowl destination.

_____________________________________________

The Ragin Cajuns are one win away from a Sun Belt Western division championship with a 51 to 30 win over Troy on Saturday. Coach Mike Desormeaux’s team is now 9-and-2 overall and 6-and-1 in league play…

Cut 17 (20) “…part of it” 

Redshirt senior Chandler Fields made his first start of the season for the injured Ben Woolridge and threw for a career-high 323 yards and two touchdowns. Fields on his team’s big day…

Cut 18 (11)   “…excited about it.”

____________________________________________________

Louisiana Tech fell to 4-and-7 on the season and will not go to a bowl game after losing to Arkansas 35-14. Coach Sonny Cumbie’s offense could only muster 43 yards in the first half and could not take advantage of two turnovers forced by the defense…

Cut 19 (21) “…overcome that.”  

__________________________________________________

ULM’s losing streak is now up to five after losing to Arkansas State 28 to 21. The Warhawks have one more chance to reach bowl eligibility and they will need to beat the Cajuns this Saturday. ULM Coach Bryant Vincent…

Cut 20 (13) “…embrace that.”

Kick-off against the Cajuns is at 11 AM.

Early voting is underway in the December 7th election. Andrew Greenstein reports.

Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

______________________________________

The state Legislature has approved a major change to Louisiana’s tax laws, which will result in a cut in income taxes in exchange for higher sales taxes. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

______________________________________

Early voting is underway in the December 7th election. Joel Watson with the Secretary of State’s office says what’s unique about this early voting period is that it goes straight through Thanksgiving; and as such, there are some days when the polls will be closed.

Cut 3 (11) “…their voice heard.” 

Watson says turnout is expected to be low, which would be unfortunate since everyone will have something on their ballot.

Cut 4 (10) “…big mayor’s race.”

Watson says the Baton Rouge mayor’s race may be the highest profile runoff race, but it’s not the only high-profile item on the ballot.

Cut 5 (08) “…in the state.”

Early voting ends Saturday, November 30th.

______________________________________

A prison escapee’s run for freedom comes to an end. 20-year-old Jamarcus Cyprian escaped from the Tangipahoa Parish Jail back on May 16th; and on Wednesday, he was arrested at an apartment complex in Hammond. Cyprian was serving time for armed robbery. Sheriff Gerald Sticker says deputies were executing a search warrant in connection with a shooting at another apartment complex, in which he was identified as a person of interest.

Cut 6 (06) “…with a gun.”

Sheriff Sticker says Cyprian was going to great lengths to change his appearance so that he would not get caught.

Cut 7 (07) “…of his hair.”

Sticker says Cyprian was traveling out of and back to Louisiana during his six months on the lam. 

Cut 8 (11) “…some family there.”

And Sticker says Cyprian was likely committing several crimes in Dallas during the times he went to that city. It was ten days before jail employees realized that Cyprian was gone, only discovering this after three other inmates escaped. Those three were quickly recaptured.

______________________________________

A Rapides Parish Sheriff’s deputy is recovering after being shot by a patient at a psychiatric treatment facility. Tommy Carnline with the sheriff’s office says there was a disturbance between the patient and hospital employees, and the patient started fighting with a deputy who was trying to de-escalate the situation.

Cut 9 (12)  “…shot the suspect.”

Carnline says both the deputy and the suspect were taken to hospitals.

Cut 10 (11) “…of this time.”

Carnline says this could have ended much worse for everyone involved.

Cut 11 (03) “…injured too bad.”

The investigation into the incident is still ongoing.

______________________________________

Louisiana lawmakers have approved a tax reform package that will result in lower income taxes for working individuals, but a higher state sales tax rate. The individual income tax rate would be a flat three-percent rate. The standard deduction would triple $12,500 dollars. Leesville Senator Mike Reese says this tax change will help grow the economy…

Cut 12 (12) “…to our state.”

Most Democrats also supported the tax code overhaul, even though the state sales tax rate will increase from 4.45 percent to five percent for the next five years. Lafayette Senator Gerald Boudreaux is the Chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus

Cut 13 (12)  “…additional adjustments.”

The cut in income taxes would result in a one-point-three billion dollar annual loss in revenue. The state will get most of that back by raising the state sales tax to five percent. Also getting approved on Friday, charging state and local sales taxes for streaming services and online games.

The film tax credit program has been capped at 125-million dollars, down from 150-million. Legislators also voted to repeal the corporate franchise tax. Foil says this tax penalized businesses

Cut 14 (07) “…concerned.”

The tax section of Louisiana’s constitution has also been changed, which will require voter approval in March.