The founder and president of Acadian Ambulance Richard Zuschlag has passed away at 76. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 1 (34)  “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

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Professional hockey is coming back to the Monroe Civic Center this October. Sean Richardson has more.

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The founder and President of Acadian Ambulance Richard Zuschlag has passed away at 76 after a battle with cancer. The Pennsylvania native moved to Lafayette in 1970 and a year later started Acadian Ambulance with two ambulances. Zuschlag appeared on WRKF’s Talk Louisiana in 2022 and talked about growing Acadian Ambulance into one of the country’s largest privately held medical transportation companies

Cut 3 (13) “..successful” 

Acadian Ambulance is based in Lafayette and has 52-hundred employees, operating in four states. Zuschlag said he could not have grown this company without the help of Acadiana…

Cut 4 (14) “…working people.” 

Acadian Ambulance started out by providing private ambulance service to funeral homes in Lafayette. Zuschlag said it began to grow when they hired several Vietnam War veterans as medics to cover Lafayette Parish…

Cut 5 (14)  “… save lives.”

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Louisiana started sending a rotation of 50 Louisiana Army National Guardsmen to the Texas border last March to help secure the border against illegal crossings. The three-month deployment is coming to an end and Landry says he is in talks with Texas Governor Greg Abbott about keeping Louisiana soldiers at the border.

Cut 6  (11) “…around this time. ” 

Landry says it is important to have a presence of National Guard troops from Louisiana and they are helping to secure the border

Cut 7 (07) “…state of Texas.”  

Louisiana’s deployment due to wrap up this month has cost around $3 million.

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Secretary of State Nancy Landry says she’s extremely pleased with the 11 bills passed in the session to improve Louisiana’s election system. Even though the Bayou State is in the ranked in top ten for election integrity by the Heritage Foundation and number one in the south by the Electoral Integrity Project

Cut 8 (11)  “…(x2) number one.” 

Landry says even the Louisiana Legislative State Auditor gives the state’s election high marks.

Governor Jeff Landry is expected to sign all of the bills, including one that passed three times before, but former Governor John Bel Edwards vetoed them each time. She says the legislation allows them to further clean up the voter rolls when someone has been inactive for 10 years. It’s estimated that 160,000 people fall into that category.

Cut 9 (13) “…inactive voter list.” 

Inactive voters will still be able to vote and when they do they’ll return to active status unless they fail to vote in two consecutive federal elections, then they are removed and will have to register to vote again.

When asked if the 11 bills would make it more difficult to vote, Landry believes the changes won’t create any burdens for voters.

Cut 10 (12) “…our elections.”

Landry says one of the bills allows them to check for citizenship when individuals register to vote in Louisiana.

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Its official, professional hockey is back in Monroe, Louisiana. The managing partner and president, Parker Moskal announced the newest team in the Federal Prospects Hockey League.

Cut 11 (10) ” …Monroe Moccasin’s.”

Moccasin’s Owner Nick Perkins says he knows Louisiana is passionate about their sports teams.

Cut 12 (11) “…the first year.” 

It’s been over two decades since Monroe had a professional hockey team and some say history will repeat itself and the new Monroe Moccasin’s won’t last, but Perkins has a message for the doubters saying, “That will not happen.” And are in talks with the Governors office to bring an NHL team to New Orleans.

Cut 13 (09) “…pretty notable.” 

The Moccasins return to the Monroe Civic Center October 11^th

Several governors including Louisiana’s Jeff Landry spoke at a diesel refinery in Chalmette to criticize the Biden administration’s energy policy. Sean Richardson has more.

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When it comes to how education fared in the most recent legislative session, one advocacy group says it’s a mixed-bag. Brooke Thorington has more.

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President Joe Biden is enacting new migrant restrictions at the southern border. Colleen Crain has the story…

Cut 3 (34) “…I’m Colleen Crain.” 

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Governor Jeff Landry and several of other Republican governors spoke at a diesel refinery in Chalmette to hammer the Biden administration’s energy policy and called on the president “to pursue an all-of-the-above energy approach” that will promote homegrown energy that benefits all Americans.

Cut 4 (09) “…cost to Americans.”

Landry says the Biden administration’s enhanced energy regulations have cost taxpayers almost $1.4 trillion since he took office.

Cut 5 (10) “…domestic energy.” 

The U.S. has been producing more oil than any country in history, but Landry says that should be increased further to help with consumer costs.

Cut 6 (09) “…pockets of Americans.”

The request is for Biden to ease regulatory pressure on the fossil fuel industry, prioritizing technology and to end his moratorium on permits for liquid natural gas export facilities.

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Besides the Gator Scholarship Program, several education bills were passed in the session. Council for a Better Louisiana President Barry Erwin says interventions to improve literacy in Louisiana have led to improved reading scores and now there will also be a focus on math.

Cut 7 (12) “…numbers up.”

Higher Education also chalked up a win. More than 70 percent of state buildings are on college campuses, and they need an estimated $2 billion to fund deferred maintenance. Erwin says lawmakers dedicated $75 million to help with those projects.

Cut 8 (08) “…higher ed.” 

But Erwin points out that lawmakers sent a mixed message on education this session with another round of teacher pay stipends instead of raises and a $9 million cut to early childhood education.

Cut 9 (07)  “…a difference.”

Erwin says while lawmakers did address policy changes to improve education they failed to dedicate enough monies towards early childhood education.

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The Louisiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo in Monroe celebrates its 100^th year birthday this June. City of Monroe spokesperson Emily Stogner…

Cut 10 (12) “…fresh new look.”

Part of the rebranding was reaching out to the community with surveys and getting an idea of what the zoo means to them.

Cut 11 (10) “…100 years.”

The newest addition is the Louisiana Purchase exhibit where visitors can feed animals and get a sense of what it was like during the time of the Louisiana Purchase.

Cut 12 (07) “…better than ever.” 

The zoo is home to over 300 animals representing 150 species of animals from around the world.

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President Joe Biden revealed plans Tuesday to immediately enact significant restrictions on migrants seeking asylum at the southern border. His plan becomes active when border encounters reach 2,500 per day, then any migrant without a reason to fear return to their country will be removed from the US within days or hours. Many Republicans including Senator Bill Cassidy question the president’s timing.

Cut 13 (10)  “… illegal immigration.”

Biden says “the border is not a political issue to be weaponized” and he would have preferred more lasting legislation, but Republicans left him no choice.

The president’s plan will only be active until migrant encounters drop below 1,500 per day for two weeks. Asylum seekers will also be held to a higher screening standard than previously used but Cassidy isn’t sure it’s enough.

Cut 14 (10)  “…under Biden.”

Biden says his plan will help gain control of the border and restore order to the process while Cassidy compared the number of border crossings of the previous two administrations with an eight-fold increase during the first three years of Biden’s term. Republican Senator John Kennedy blames the president’s policies.

Cut 15 (11)  “…illegally.”