18:30 Newscast September 21,2016

A new independent poll on the US Senate race in Louisiana finds Republican Treasurer John Kennedy is still in the lead with 17-percent. The Southern Media and Opinion Research survey has Republican Congressman Charles Boustany on Kennedy’s heels at 15-percent. Pollster Bernie Pinsonat says the poll shows there are five candidates who can still make the runoff.
Cut 5 (06) “barn burner”

A West Monroe police officer is in the process of being reinstated after being found not guilty of negligent homicide for shooting a man in 2014. Officer Jody LeDoux shot Raymond Martinez, who evidence found to be drunk and belligerent outside of a store. Defense Attorney Mickey Dubose says he was confident LeDoux acted properly….
cut 14 (11) “to fire”

 

A new study from Triple A finds millions of drivers are wasting their money on premium gasoline. Spokesperson Don Redman says they encourage people to check their car’s owner’s manual to see what kind of gas their car requires. He says 70-percent of vehicles on the road just need regular gas.
cut 10 (09) “your money”

Redman says some high end vehicles do require premium gas because of the way the engine is calibrated and the only differences between regular and premium gas are the octane levels and the price.

Lafayette Police are looking for answers in the case of a woman’s body that was discovered in a tool box. Authorities say the victim, Alannah Montalvo, has a connection with the naked man who was shot and killed while trespassing in the yard of a home on Fanny Street. Montalvo is believed to be in a relationship with the trespasser, 36-year-old Barrett Farabee. Farabee is a suspect in her murder.

17:30 Newscast September 21,2016

A new poll from Southern Media and Opinion Research finds it’s a tight race for U.S. Senate in Louisiana. Republican State Treasurer John Kennedy is still leading with 17-percent, followed by Republican Congressman Charles Boustany with 15-percent. Pollster Bernie Pinsonat says Democrat Caroline Fayard is improving in the polls and is up to 11-percent…
Cut 4 (06) “New Orleans”

The poll was conducted from September 15th to the 17th.

The West Monroe police officer who fatally shot a man in 2014 has been found not guilty of negligent homicide and Police Chief Jeff Terrel says they are preparing for Officer Jody LeDoux to return to work. Defense Attorney Mickey Dubose says if convicted, LeDoux faced five years in prison.
Cut 16 (08) “future holds.”

 

A new app has been developed to help identify the more than 350 caskets that were uprooted in the recent flood in south Louisiana. Don Molino has more…
CUT 2 (26) “I’m Don Molino”

LSU enrollment numbers are in and the Baton Rouge campus has set records. The incoming freshman class is the most academically talented class with composite ACT scores of 25.6 and average GPA of 3.4. The enrollment of African American and Hispanic students is at an all-time high. Louisiana Tech also saw record enrollment numbers. The freshman class topped 2-thousand, which is the largest in the schools history.

16:30 LRN Newscast Sept 21

A new independent poll on Louisiana’s US Senate race shows its tightening. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 1 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

A grand jury has rejected murder charges against the two men accused of fatally shooting two Southern University students in April. 25-year-old Brandon Henderson could still stand trial for aggravated assault with a firearm. The grand jury did not take action against 23-year-old Ernest Felton, so right now his charges are in limbo.

Lafayette police are looking for answers after a body was discovered in a tool box. KATC is reporting the naked man who was fatally shot on Fanny Street has a connection to the body that was discovered. Cpl. Bridgett Dugas says they are working to identify the cause of death and how the tool box got on the side of the road.

Cut 13 (04) “the tool box”

Anyone with information on this incident is urged to contact authorities.

The living were not the only ones affected by the August flood in south Louisiana. Henry Yennie with the Department of Health says over 350 graves were disrupted in at least 8 parishes, and they’ve come up with a solution to get the deceased back to their final resting place.

Cut 6 (09) “the carrier”

Yennie says so far they have identified roughly 15-percent of the caskets that were disrupted in the recent flood.

*Corrected* 15:30 Newscast, September 21st, 2016

A new independent poll on the election for US Senate in Louisiana finds a tight race. Republican State Treasurer John Kennedy still leads the Southern Media and Opinion Research survey with 17-percent. But Pollster Bernie Pinsonat says GOP Lafayette Congressman Charles Boustany is only two-percentage points back….
cut 3 (10) “…his ads”
Pinsonat says Democrat Caroline Fayard has improving poll numbers as well, as she’s up to 11-percent.

Governor John Bel Edwards is on his way to Washington following his appearance on his Ask The governor radio show. He said on the radio he is optimistic about their requests for federal aid from Congress…:
CUT 1 (12) “assistance”

A six-person jury in Ouachita Parish determined West Monroe Police Officer Jody Ledoux was “Not Guilty” of negligent homicide in the shooting death of Raymond Martinez in December of 2014. Defense Attorney Mickey Dubose says witnesses testified that the homeless man was drunk and belligerent…:
CUT 15 (10) “to surrender”
If convicted, LeDoux faced five years in prison.

State officials are looking at ways unburied caskets could be easier identified following a disaster. Department of Health Program Manager in Emergency Preparedness, Henry Yennie, says they want to implement a barcode system you could scan on a casket with a phone app…:
CUT 8 (10) “these barcodes”
He says following the August floods, only 15% of interred graves have been identified.

14:30 LRN Newscast September 21st

An independent poll released today shows that Republican Treasurer John Kennedy’s once sizable lead in the US Senate race has been trimmed to two-percent. Southern Media and Opinion Research pollster Bernie Pinsonat says GOP Congressman Charles Boustany has closed the gap…
cut 5 (06) “…barn burner”

A West Monroe police officer who fatally shot a man in 2014 has been found not guilty of negligent homicide. Officer Jody LeDoux shot Raymond Martinez, who according to the evidence was drunk and belligerent outside of a store. Defense Attorney Mickey Dubose says…
cut 14 (11) “…to fire”
Dubose says LeDoux used his gun when he thought Martinez was reaching for a gun that turned out to be a cell phone.

Triple-A says American drivers wasted over two-point-one billion dollars in the last year by fueling their vehicles with premium gasoline when their vehicles called for traditional regular fuel. Spokesperson Don Redman says don’t use premium gas, unless your car’s owner’s manual calls for it…
cut 11 (08) “…gallon difference’

A new app has been developed to help identify the more than 350 caskets that were uprooted in the recent flood in south Louisiana. Don Molino has more…
voicer 2 (26) “I’m Don Molino”

13:30 Newscast, September 21st, 2016

A new independent poll on Louisiana’s US Senate race shows its tightening. Jeff Palermo has the story…:
CUT 1 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

Millions of drivers are wasting money on premium gasoline, according to a new study from AAA. Don Redman with AAA says over 16 million drivers are putting higher octane gas in their cars…:
CUT 9 (10) “regular gasoline”
He says 70-percent of vehicles on the road just need regular gas.

Lafayette Police are trying to get some answers in the case of a body that was discovered in a tool box. Corporal Bridgette Dugas says they received a call around 4pm Tuesday in reference to a possible deceased person enclosed in some type of bin…:
cut 12 (04) “inside a tool box”
Dugas says they are working to identify the victim and also the cause of death. Anyone with information on this incident is urged to contact authorities.

Governor John Bel Edwards will host his Ask the Governor program at two o’ cock this afternoon on many of these same stations. The governor is also scheduled to fly into Washington DC tonight to continue conversations with members of Congress about federal flood recovery dollars.

A former LSU player reportedly told a Baton Rouge radio station that Tigers Quarterback Brandon Harris got death threats following the season opening loss to Wisconsin, and it really bothered him. Jamie Howard, who was the starting quarterback for LSU in the early 90s, said he was giving Harris some advice because he was having a hard time with the death threats.

 

12:30 Newscast, September 21st, 2016

A new poll on the US Senate race shows it looks to be a close one. Republican State Treasurer John Kennedy is still in the lead in the Southern Media and Opinion Research survey at 17 percent. Pollster Bernie Pinsonat says Democrat Caroline Fayard has improving poll numbers as she’s up to 11-percent…:
CUT 4 (06) “in New Orleans”
The other candidates who polled near double-digits are Democrat Foster Campbell, at nine-percent and Republican Congressman John Fleming at eight percent.

After deliberating for one hour, a six-person jury in Ouachita Parish determined West Monroe Police Officer Jody Ledoux was “Not Guilty” of negligent homicide in the shooting death of Raymond Martinez in December of 2014. Ledoux testified he thought the homeless man was reaching for a gun, when he was pulling a silver and gray cell phone from his pocket. The West Monroe Police Department is holding a news conference at this hour concerning the trial. More on this as it develops.

The devastating flooding in south Louisiana caused over 350 graves to be disrupted, according to the Department of Health. Program Manager Henry Yennie says disasters in the state commonly unbury tombs so they’ve developed an app that would scan a bar code on a coffin providing identifying information about who is inside. He says they’ve already started using it…:
CUT 7 (11) “identify people”
Yennie says so far they have only identified roughly 15-percent of the caskets that were disrupted in the recent flood.

For the third time, Governor John Bel Edwards is going to Washington to try to drum up support for Louisiana getting billions of dollars in federal aid to assist in the flood recover.

 

11:30 LRN Newscast September 21st

A new independent poll on the election for US Senate in Louisiana finds a tight race. Republican State Treasruer John Kennedy still leads the Southern Media and Opinion Research survey of 500 likely voters with 17-percent. But Pollster Bernie Pinsonat says GOP Lafayette Congressman Charles Boustany is only two-percentage points back….
cut 3 (10) “…his ads”
Pinsonat says Democrat Caroline Fayard has improving poll numbers as well, as she’s up to 11-percent.

Governor John Bel Edwards will host his Ask the Governor program at two o’ cock this afternoon on many of these same stations. The governor is also scheduled to fly into Washington DC tonight to continue conversations with members of Congress about federal flood recovery dollars.

Two Louisiana metro areas are the fastest growing economies in the country, while two others are the fastest shrinking. Data from the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis says Lake Charles and Baton Rouge are growing very fast, while Houma-Thibodaux and Lafayette are struggling. The numbers show Houma-Thibodaux has the nation’s second-worst economy.

While the August flood destroyed homes and impacted thousands of people in south Louisiana, the living were not the only ones affected. Department of Health Program Manager in Emergency Preparedness, Henry Yennie, says over 350 graves were disrupted in at least 8 parishes, and they’ve come up with a solution to get the deceased back to their final resting place.
CUT 6 (09) “the carrier”
Yennie says it will be a while before the barcode system can be implemented on a larger scale.

10:30 LRN Newscast September 21st

A summer for the weather record books comes to an end today. Jeff Palermo has the story….
Cut 3 (28) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

There are more and more flood damaged homes on the market that are listed as “Currently Damaged.” Baton Rouge area realtor Ginger Maulden says we could see this last for another year or two. Maulden says many other homeowners are in a waiting game…
cut 9 (11) “…market area”

A six-person jury in Ouachita Parish has found West Monroe police officer Jody Ledoux not guilty of negligent homicide in the shooting death of a homeless man in 2014. Ledoux testified he thought Raymond Martinez had a gun when he was pulling a silver and gray cell phone from his pocket.

Lafayette Police are trying to determine who stuffed a body inside a toolbox. Officers made the grisly discovery yesterday afternoon after receiving a tip about a possible body at the location. The identity of the victim and cause of the death are unknown.

Twenty-nine people have been arrested in Terrebonne Parish as part of an operation by State Police and local enforcement agencies to reduce gun violence. Trooper Jesse Lagrange says they also seized illegal narcotics and weapons and six-thousand dollars in drug money…
cut 14 (08) “…the streets”
Eighteen arrests were for felony charges.

9:30 Newscast Sept 21

The federal Bureau of Economic Analysis released numbers showing two of the nation’s fastest growing economies are in Louisiana but there’s also two metro areas considered the worst.

Cut 2 (31) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

Governor John Bel Edwards will announce a new medical facility coming to north Baton Rouge at a press conference this afternoon, before he appears on his monthly call-in radio show Ask The Governor. Tonight the Governor will travel to Washington DC as the fight continues to get more federal aid for Louisiana flood victims.

Many flood victims in south Louisiana are selling their homes as is in a new listing category called “currently damaged.” Baton Rouge realtor Ginger Maulden says several homes in this category have already sold. She expects the number of homes in this category to continue to grow.

Cut (08) “already sold”

Maulden says all the homes sold were cash buys from investors.

A multi-agency investigation in Terrebonne parish has led to 29 arrests in just four days. State Trooper Jesse LaGrange says state police partnered with several narcotics agencies in Terrebonne parish to identify and target criminals in the wake of increased gun violence. He says they used street level enforcement, undercover operations and fugitive warrant services to find the violators.

Cut 13 (08) “an arrest”

Eighteen of the arrests were for felony charges.