Today marks one year until the 2023 Louisiana gubernatorial primary election, and a field of candidates has already begun to take shape. Last week, Attorney General Jeff Landry made his intentions official, but “LAPolitics.com” publisher Jeremy Alford says there are no less than 13 names declared or undeclared…:
Cut 4 (12) “made it official”
Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser has also made comments about running but has not made that official yet.

Beginning next week, the Louisiana Department of Health will cease to give daily COVID numbers and move to weekly updates. State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter says the change will go into effect on Wednesday, October 19th…:
Cut 10 (11) “every week”
Kanter says at this point in the pandemic 95% of Louisianans have either been vaccinated, had COVID, or both.

Two Baton Rouge teenagers are charged with plotting and carrying out a murder. More from Jeff Palermo…:
Cut 3 (31) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

AAA says gas prices are starting to step back slightly as demand and oil prices stumble. The current statewide average for a gallon of regular fell a penny overnight to $3.40, but that’s still 16 cents higher than last week.

Holden Hoggatt, who’s running against incumbent Congressman Clay Higgins, picks up the endorsements of three former southwest Louisiana congressional leaders…:

CUT 02(33)      “…Thorington.”

The multi-state Mega Millions jackpot has grown to a whopping $455-million for tonight’s drawing. That’s would be a $226-million lump sum payout to a lone winner. If there is winner tonight, it will be the 12^th largest in the game’s history. Tickets will be on sale until 9 tonight.

The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources has awarded contracts to Dynamic Group and Lemoine Disaster Recovery to plug orphaned oil wells in north Louisiana. DNR spokesperson Patrick Courreges says the state currently plugs 120 to 200 wells per year. They hope to double that number with these federal dollars, but they are still in discussions with these two companies to see if that can be done…:

CUT 11(10)      “…obligated.”

There are about 4500 well across the state.

To address a statewide shortage of qualified nurses, LSU Health New Orleans will teach nurses how to teach nurses. LSU Health’s Leanne Fowler says the school has received a $3-million federal grant to create a new program to help ease the nursing shortage in four states, including Louisiana…:

CUT 03(08)      “…new nurses.”

She says the new nursing academy will focus on the recruitment, education, and retention of licensed nurses.

We’re 4 weeks away from the November 8th elections and today is the final day to register to vote in person. Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin says over 3 million people are registered to vote, and stresses the importance of exercising this right…:
CUT 6 (13) “election day”
Early voting for November eighth begins October 25th.

As the race for Louisiana’s 3rd Congressional District heats up, former Louisiana Congressmen Charles Boustany and Chris John, along with former Senator John Breaux have endorsed Republican Holden Hoggatt against incumbent Clay Higgins. Breaux believes Hoggatt will fight for what the district needs as a whole..:
Cut 8 (11) “or what have you”

The Louisiana Department of Insurance announced Monday its approved rates for the 100,000 plus homeowners who have home insurance policies with Louisiana Citizens to increase by 63%. The change takes effect January 1st, but the increase wouldn’t kick in until a policy holder renews. Citizens is the state’s insurer of last resort, and it made the request because the costs of reinsurance shot up, according to state Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon.

The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources has awarded contracts to Dynamic Group and Lemoine Disaster Recovery to plug abandoned oil and gas wells. D-N-R spokesperson Patrick Courreges (koo·rezh) says Louisiana’s well count is around 45-hundred sites, and plugging them isn’t easy…:
Cut 12 (09) “200-thousand-dollar job”
Courreges says the state currently plugs 120 to 200 wells per year, they hope to double that number with these federal dollars.

Today is the final day to register to vote in person in the November 8th elections. Early voting begins October 25th and runs to November 1st. Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin says even if you know you’re registered to vote…:
Cut 5 (09) “as possible”
He says if you miss today’s deadline you can still register online at GeauxVote.com by October 18th.

According to a recent state audit, Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins spent more than $35,000 on travel between 2019 and 2021 without proper documentation. Roger Harris, Assistant Legislative Auditor for Investigations says Perkins is required to submit travel expenses within 30 days.
Cut 13 (09) “after travel”
Perkins responded to the report indicating that it was never his intention not to follow policies and he’d reimburse the city for all expenses.

Holden Hoggatt has picked up endorsements from 3 former southwest Louisiana Congressional leaders in his race against Congressman Clay Higgins…:
Cut 2 (33) “I’m Brooke Thorington”

Seven people are now in custody in connection with a deadly weekend shooting that left a Hammond High School student dead. Four teenagers, two aged 17 and one 16 and one 18-year-old are facing second degree murder charges in the death of a 16-year-old at a birthday party. The four teens are also facing obstruction of justice and other charges.

The deadline to register for elections hits today at 4:30 and we are just now two weeks away from early voting. Whitney Thomas has more…:
Cut 1 (33) “I’m Whitney Thomas”

AAA says rising demand and the higher cost of oil are starting to show at the pump. The current statewide average for a gallon of regular is $3.36 a gallon which is a 5-cent increase over the prior day, and over 25 cents higher than the same time last week.

The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources has awarded contracts to Dynamic Group and Lemoine Disaster Recovery to plug abandoned oil and gas wells, or orphan wells. D-N-R spokesperson Patrick Courreges (koo·rezh)…:
Cut 10 (10) “well populations”
He says they are targeting wells near disadvantaged communities.

The state’s chief auditor says Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins repeatedly failed to properly document many of his travel expenses that were paid for by the city during his term in office. Assistant Legislative Auditor for Investigations Roger Harris says Shreveport has strict policies elected officials must abide by..:
Cut 14 (08) “travel form”
The auditor also questioned Perkins’ actions early on in changing which insurance agents got the city’s lucrative property and workers compensation coverage.

Today marks the final day to register in person to vote in the November eighth election. Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin says the deadline officially hits at 4:30 pm…:
Cut 4 (10) “registrar voter”
If you miss today’s deadline, you can still register to vote for the November 8th election online, at geaux-vote-dot-com by October 18th.

As the race for Louisiana’s 3rd Congressional District heats up, former Louisiana Congressmen Charles Boustany and Chris John, along with former Senator John Breaux have endorsed Republican Holden Hoggatt against incumbent Clay Higgins. Breaux says southwest Louisiana needs someone who will work across party lines and he believes Hoggatt is the best candidate…:
Cut 7 (08) “the district”
Higgins was first elected to the district in 2016 and is in his third term.

The Louisiana Department of Insurance has approved Louisiana Citizens request for a 63-percent rate increase on its residential property insurance policies. Jeff Palermo has the story…:
Cut 3 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriffs Office says several people have been arrested in connection to the shooting death of a 16 year old at a birthday party in Hammond over the weekend. Deputies say more than 20 shots were fired in the incident and a total of 7 arrests have been made. An 18 year old and three other teenagers are accused of second degree murder.

The restaurant where Allie Rice worked is helping collect reward money for the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who shot and killed her last Friday. Co-Owner of The Shed, Chez Ciccone, says there has been an overwhelming outpouring of support from the community who wants to help. He says it will take a village to end the rise in crime in Baton Rouge….:
CUT 6 (06) “off the street”
Anyone with information on this incident is urged to contact Crimestoppers.

A federal judge rules that the U.S. Government may NOT require masks and/or COVID shots for teachers, staff and volunteers with Project Head Start. The suit was brought by a school teacher and represented by the Liberty Justice Center and the Pelican Institute for Public Policy, whose general counsel Sarah Harbison says the case against the government wasn’t just about compliance…:
Cut 8 (06) “to do so”

New Orleans experienced a major uptick in crimes this year with over 200 homicides, now locals are wondering if it will affect tourism. Whitney Thomas has more…:
Cut 3 (29) “I’m Whitney Thomas”

The NCAA Committee on infractions is set to announce its ruling on the LSU investigation today at noon. In March, the school was accused of violations by the NCAA including lack of institutional control and failure to monitor the conduct of its men’s basketball and football programs over an 8 year period.

A Baton Rouge restaurant has collected more than $30,000 in reward money for information that leads to a conviction for the murder of 21 year old LSU Senior Allie Rice. Rice was gunned down in Baton Rouge early last Friday while she was stopped for a train. One of the owners of The Shed BBQ, Chez Ciccone (chuh-coney) says they hope the reward is up to 50k by tomorrow…:
CUT 5 (07) “did this”
If you know anything please contact Crimestoppers.

Crime in New Orleans has also been off the charts and on his monthly call in radio show when asked how it’s been impacting tourism, Governor John Bel Edwards says travel to the Crescent City is up…:
Cut 14 (09) “that either”
He says getting more cops on the streets is the focus on fixing the problem.

A federal judge rules the US government may no longer require COVID shots or masks of teachers, staff or volunteers with Project Head Start. Kevin Gallagher has the story…:
Cut 2 (29) “I’m Kevin Gallagher”

We may see record high temperatures here on this first day of fall with highs expected to be in the mid to upper 90s or even higher north of I-10. State Climatologist Barry Keim says it won’t be this bad Saturday and Sunday…:
CUT 12 (06) “incredibly hot”