6:30 LRN Newscast May 31

The Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office has released a report to the state legislature designed to help the state attract and retain a capable teaching workforce. State auditor Ed Seyler says they’ve found teachers with more years of experience tended to be more effective and certified teachers were more effective on average than uncertified teachers…
cut 7 (08) “…certified teachers”
Seyler says they also found that teachers in schools with more economically-disadvantaged students were less likely to be certified and had fewer years of experience.

Tomorrow is the official start of the 2022 hurricane season and in Terrebonne Parish, there are about 400 households still waiting on a FEMA trailer as they look to rebuild their home from Hurricane Ida. Terrebonne Planning and Zoning Director Christopher Pulaski says dealing with the federal government on temporary housing has been a far more complicated process than the state-run program…
cut 11 (06) “…much, much sooner”

Louisiana is well-represented in the NCAA Baseball Tournament. David Grubb has more…
Cut 3 (31) “…I’m David Grubb.”

For fans looking to drive to those regional destinations, they’ll find the statewide average for a gallon of regular gasoline is $4.22 According to Triple-A, gas prices have been holding steady for the last week.

LRN AM Newscall May 31

The latest report from the Louisiana Economic Activity Forecast finds that Louisiana will not add as many jobs as previously thought. Brooke Thorington has more…

Cut 1 (33) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

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The Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s office has sent a report to state lawmakers that looks at teacher retention and certified teachers’ impact on student achievement. Kevin Gallagher has the story…

Cut 2 (31) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.” 

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Louisiana will be well-represented in the NCAA baseball field of 64. David Grubb has more…

Cut 3 (31) “…I’m David Grubb.” 

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The Louisiana Economic Activity Forecast for the second quarter of 2022 has reduced the projected number of jobs the state was expected to add by 40-percent. University of Louisiana at Lafayette economist Gary Wagner says the latest forecast now has the state adding 21-thousand jobs over the next year…

Cut 4 (11)  “…the state.”

Wagner says the number of jobs remains about 5-percent below pre-COVID levels, which is about 81-thousand jobs. A full recovery is not expected until 2024. He says the Houma-Thibodaux and Lafayette metro areas are expected to experience the fastest job growth in the state…

Cut 5 (07) “…strongest growth.”

Wagner says consumer spending remains relatively strong, but vehicles and recreational goods saw a decline in the first quarter of this year…

Cut 6 (11)  “…the year.”

_____________________________________________

The Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office has released a report to the state legislature designed to help the state attract and retain a capable teaching workforce. State auditor Ed Seyler says they’ve found teachers with more years of experience tended to be more effective and certified teachers were more effective on average than uncertified teachers

Cut 7 (08) “…certified teachers.”

Seyler says one way to keep experienced and certified teachers around is by raising their pay…

Cut 8 (13)  “…workforce”

Seyer says the state also could improve teacher retention if salaries in areas with high housing costs were higher…

Cut 9 (09)  “…this state.”

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Nine months after the devastation of Hurricane Ida, there are still roughly 400 households, representing about 12-hundred people, in Terrebonne Parish awaiting FEMA trailers. Parish Planning and Zoning Director Christopher Pulaski says people are frustrated…

Cut 10 (08) “…nine months out.”

Pulaski says the FEMA staff on the ground isn’t the problem, it’s the system as a whole, and that dealing with the federal government on housing has been a far more complicated process than getting support from the state.

Cut  11 (06)  “…much,  much sooner.” 

With hurricane season starting June 1, Pulaski says another major storm could create a housing crisis once again. He hopes that the state and FEMA are prepared for that possibility.

Cut 12 (09) “…10 thousand people.” 

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The bracket is out for the NCAA baseball tournament. After going 1-2 at the SEC tourney this weekend, it wasn’t a shock when Baton Rouge was left off the list of Regional host sites. Tigers coach Jay Johnson says once that happened, he could read the tea leaves on where his team was headed…

Cut 13 (12) “…a surprise.”

Jay Johnson will lead the Tigers into the NCAA tournament for the first of what is expected to be many trips to the postseason. Second-seeded LSU faces Kennesaw State at 6 pm on Friday at the Hattiesburg Regional. Johnson says he’s excited about the opportunity to add to the Tigers’ winning tradition.

Cut 14 (17)  “…or six years.”

Louisiana Tech enters the tournament for the second straight year after claiming its first Conference-USA tournament championship. Head coach Lane Burroughs says winning the title in Hattiesburg made it just a little bit sweeter.

Cut 15 (11)  “…extra special.”

The Bulldogs head to the Austin Regional as the two-seed behind Texas and will face Dallas Baptist at 6:30 pm on Friday. Tech lost to the Patriots, 7-4, at home back on March 29. Burroughs says he expects another tough battle this weekend.

Cut 16 (12)  “…to bring it.”

Southeastern gets back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2017 by shocking McNeese in the Southland Conference Championships. Matt Riser has led the Lions to the regionals four times in nine seasons, but this may have been the most difficult road there, as SLU won 22 of its last 33 after an 8-18 start.

Cut 17 (12) “ …experience that.” 

The Lions are the four seed at the Auburn Regional, where they will face the top-seeded Tigers on Friday.

The Ragin’ Cajuns will head west to College Station, as they return to the NCAAs for the first time in six seasons after winning the Sun Belt tournament title this weekend. Coach Matt Deggs says this is another big step to rebuilding the program.

Cut 18 (19) “ …into words.” 

UL takes on TCU Friday at 7 pm.

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4:45 LRN Sportscast May 30

The bracket is out for the NCAA baseball tournament. After going 1-2 at the SEC tourney this weekend, it wasn’t a shock when Baton Rouge was left off the list of Regional host sites. Tigers coach Jay Johnson says once that happened, he could read the tea leaves on where his team was headed…

Cut 13 (12) “…a surprise.”

Second-seeded LSU faces Kennesaw State at 6 pm on Friday at the Hattiesburg Regional.

—

Southeastern gets back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2017 by shocking McNeese in the Southland Conference Championships. The Lions are the four seed at the Auburn Regional, where they will face the top-seeded Tigers on Friday. The Ragin’ Cajuns will head west to College Station, as they return to the NCAAs for the first time in six seasons after winning the Sun Belt tournament title this weekend. UL takes on TCU Friday at 7 pm.

—

Louisiana Tech enters the tournament for the second straight year after claiming its first Conference-USA tournament championship. Head coach Lane Burroughs says winning the title in Hattiesburg made it just a little bit sweeter.

Cut 15 (11) “…extra special.”

The Bulldogs head to the Austin Regional as the two-seed behind Texas and will face Dallas Baptist at 6:30 pm on Friday. Tech lost 7-4 to the Patriots back in March.

—

The NBA Finals matchup is set as the Golden State Warriors will face the Boston Celtics. Boston beat the Miami Heat in seven games to make their 21st Finals appearance. Golden State will be playing in the Finals for the sixth time in the past eight seasons. Game one is Thursday night at 8 pm.

—

And Tulane guard Jalen Cook announced that he is withdrawing his name from the NBA draft and returning to the Wave for another season. As a sophomore, the LSU transfer was named first-team All-American Athletic Conference after averaging 18 points, 3.5 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. His scoring average was the highest for a Tulane player in over 20 years.

2:30 LRN Newscast May 30

Louisiana’s bond rating – a main barometer of how much the state pays in interest on money borrowed – has been upgraded for the first time in nearly seven years. Moody’s Investor Service upgraded the state from an Aa2 rating, to Aa3. State Treasurer John Schroder says the upgrade will mean significant savings to the state (and taxpayers) in interest paid…:
Cut 3 (07) “…pretty big deal.”
Louisiana had been ranked among the five lowest-rated states by Moody’s.

Today we observe Memorial Day, a day to remember the men and women who died while serving in the U-S military. If you have a relative or loved one who paid the ultimate sacrifice, Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Joey Strickland says the state has partnered with the Veterans Legacy Memorial…
cut 8 (10) “….forever”
For more information or to find a veteran’s page, visit v-a-dot-gov/remember.

A proposed law sitting on the governor’s desk for his signature would make noodling legal in Louisiana. Noodling is fishing for catfish using bare hands. The bill’s author, Jonesboro Representative Jack McFarland,says noodling has become popular in Louisiana thanks to a series of YouTube videos…
cut 11 (06) “….quite popular now”
Governor Edwards could sign McFarland’s measure this week.

The bracket is out for the NCAA baseball tournament. After going 1-2 at the SEC tourney this weekend, it wasn’t a shock when Baton Rouge was left off the list of Regional host sites. Tigers coach Jay Johnson says once that happened, he could read the tea leaves on where his team was headed…
Cut 13 (12) “…a surprise.”
LSU will play Kennesaw State on Friday night at 6 PM. The Cajuns are headed to the College Station Regional. La Tech is in the Austin Regional and Southeastern Louisiana is in the Auburn Regional.

1:30 LRN Newscast May 30

On this Memorial Day, we remember the men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the U-S military. Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Colonel Joey Strickland says there’s now a digital platform dedicated to the memory of millions of veterans interred in V-A national cemeteries and state-run veteran cemeteries…
cut 7 (08) “…never dies”
For more information go to va-dot-gov-slash-remember.

If you are firing up the grill this Memorial Day, Dave Foster, CEO of the Cattle Producers of Louisiana says there are a couple of things you should keep in mind before buying your beef…
Cut 12 (09) “…limited as well.”

Moody’s has raised Louisiana’s bond rating up a notch which will save the state 750-thousand dollars a year in interest for every 300-million dollars in bonds issued. That’s according to state Treasurer John Schroder who says the state over the last five years has significantly increased reserves…
cut 4 (07) “….the bottom five”
Louisiana had been ranked among the five lowest-rated states by Moody’s.

A bill making it legal for Louisiana sportsmen (and women) to catch catfish with their hands has been sent to Governor Edwards’ desk. The bill is authored by Jonesboro Representative Jack McFarland, who says the sport – called “noodling” – is catching on in Louisiana, and his legislation assures folks can do it without running afoul of Wildlife & Fisheries agents…:
Cut 9 (08) “…and noodle a catfish.”
McFarland’s bill was passed with little objection in both the House and Senate, and there is little reason to think the Governor will veto it.

12:30 LRN Newscast

The Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs announces a new way to honor a fallen loved one online. Brooke Thorington explains.
Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

LSU is not hosting an NCAA Baseball Regional but they will not have to travel far as they are one of four teams in the Hattiesburg Regional. Southern Miss is the host school, while the second-seeded Tigers will play Kennesaw State. La Tech is at the Austin Regional, the Cajuns are at the College Station Regional and Southeastern Louisiana is at Auburn.

Moody’s has raised Louisiana’s bond credit rating to A-a-2 after it was A–a-3 for six years. It’s because Louisiana has made significant progress towards “restoring its financial reserves and liquidity in recent years by structurally aligning revenue and spending. State Treasurer John Schroder says the new rating will save the state about 750-thousand dollars a year in interest for every 300-million in bonds issued….
cut 5 (12) “….uhh for the state”

Noodling is just a Governor John Bel Edwards’ signature away from becoming legal in Louisiana. Jonesboro Representative Jack McFarland says noodling is fishing for catfish with your bare hands…
cut 10 (08) “…pull it out”
McFarland says noodling has become more popular thanks to YouTube videos.

8:30 LRN Newscast

Today is Memorial Day, a day to remember the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice. There are Memorial Day events across the state and Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary, Colonel Joey Strickland says the Bayou State has played a major role in the fight for our freedom…
cut 6 (07) “….our state”
Over 7,500 veterans are interred at LDVA cemeteries.

Louisiana’s bond rating – a main barometer of how much the state pays in interest on money borrowed – has been upgraded for the first time in nearly seven years. Moody’s Investor Service upgraded the state from an Aa2 rating, to Aa3. State Treasurer John Schroder says the upgrade will mean significant savings to the state (and taxpayers) in interest paid…:
Cut 3 (07) “…pretty big deal.”
Louisiana had been ranked among the five lowest-rated states by Moody’s.

For this Memorial Day weekend, you’ve probably noticed the price of beef is up from last year. CEO of the Cattle Producers of Louisiana, Dave Foster, says the reason for the spike isn’t a lack of product, but a distribution issue only heightened by soaring gas prices…
cut 14 (07) “….retail market”
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, prices for meat between March and April increased by 0.7%.

A proposed law sitting on the governor’s desk for his signature would make noodling legal in Louisiana. Noodling is fishing for catfish using one’s bare hands. The bill’s author, Jonesboro Representative Jack McFarland,s ays noodling has become popular in Louisiana thanks to a series of YouTube videos…
cut 11 (06) “….quite popular now”
Governor Edwards could sign McFarland’s measure this week.

7:30 LRN Newscast

Today we observe Memorial Day, a day to remember the men and women who died while serving in the U-S military. If you have a relative or loved one who paid the ultimate sacrifice, Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Joey Strickland says the state has partnered with the Veterans Legacy Memorial…
cut 8 (10) “….forever”
For more information or to find a veteran’s page, visit v-a-dot-gov/remember.

Moody’s has raised Louisiana’s bond rating up a notch which will save the state 750-thousand dollars a year in interest for every 300-million dollars in bonds issued. That’s according to state Treasurer John Schroder who says the state over the last five years has significantly increased reserves…
cut 4 (07) “….the bottom five”
Louisiana had been ranked among the five lowest-rated states by Moody’s.

A bill making “noodling” legal in Louisiana has been sent to Governor Edwards’ desk. Kevin Gallagher reports it’s not about making pasta…:
Cut 2 (32) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.”

LSU will not host an NCAA Baseball Regional as their R-P-I was not high enough. So they will be a two-seed at a regional somewhere. U-L Lafayette, Louisiana Tech and Southeastern Louisiana will join the Tigers in the NCAA Baseball Tournament after those three schools won their conference tournament championships to receive an automatic berth.

6:45 LRN Sportscast

Despite winning 18 SEC games this season, the LSU Tigers will not host an NCAA Baseball Regional. The 16 regional sites were announced last night and the Tigers are not in that number. LSU has an RPI of 25 after going one and two in the SEC Tournament, which is why they’ll be on the road for the regionals. The pairings will be announced at 11 AM today.

The Ragin Cajuns are in the NCAA Baseball Tournament for the first time since 2016 after rallying from a five-run deficit beat 25th ranked Georgia Southern seven to six in the Sun Belt Conference Championship game. Will Veillon drove in the winning run with a one-out RBI double in the ninth and Brandon Talley earned the save.

Louisiana Tech won its first postseason conference title since 1987 when it defeated UTSA nine to eight to win the Conference USA Baseball Championship. Right fielder Steele Netterville’s walk-off single puts the Bulldogs in the NCAA Tournament for a second straight season.

Southeastern Louisiana will join LSU, Louisiana Tech, and U-L Lafayette in the NCAA Baseball Tournament after the Lions defeated McNeese 11 to seven on Saturday night in Lake Charles. It’s the Lions’ first Southland tournament title since 2014 and will send S-L-U back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017.

Southern nearly got into the NCAA Tournament as well, but the Jaguars lost to Alabama State six to five in 14 innings in the SWAC Tournament Championship game.

Former LSU golfer Sam Burns won his third PGA Tour event of the season as he defeated Scottie Scheffler to win the Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas. Burns won in dramatic fashion by sinking a 38-foot putt for birdie on the first playoff hole. Burns rallied from seven strokes down to get into the playoff.

The NBA Finals are set. It will be Golden State versus Boston as the Celtics defeated the Heat in Miami last night 100 to 96 to win Game seven of the Eastern Conference Finals.

6:30 LRN Newscast May 30

It’s Memorial Day and the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs announces a new way to honor a fallen loved one online. Brooke Thorington explains.
Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

There are four teams who are in the NCAA Baseball Tournament. The LSU Tigers are not hosting but they’ll be a number two seed somewhere. Meanwhile, Louisiana Tech, the Ragin Cajuns, and Southeastern Louisiana all received an automatic bid after winning their conference tournaments.

Moody’s has raised Louisiana’s bond credit rating to A-a-2 after it was A–a-3 for six years. It’s because Louisiana has made significant progress “restoring its financial reserves and liquidity in recent years by structurally aligning revenue and spending. State Treasurer John Schroder says the new rating will save the state about 750-thousand a year in interest for every 300-million in bonds issued….
cut 5 (12) “….uhh for the state”

If you are heading out to the grocery store today to pick out meat to throw on the grill. Dave Foster, CEO of the Cattle Producers of Louisiana, has this advice…
cut 13 (09) “….quality experience”