8:30 AM LRN Newscast

A celebration of life ceremony for the legendary Skip Bertman will be held in the PMAC tonight. Kace Kieschnick has more.

Cut 2 (33) “…I’m Kace Kieschnick.”

Republican state Senator Blake Miguez has picked up the endorsement of the Louisiana Republican party in the race for Louisiana’s 6th Congressional district.  The November 3rd election is what’s known as a jungle primary, which means all candidates, regardless of party, will be on the same ballot.

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Big announcement expected from Governor Landry this morning regarding plans for SpaceX to build a spaceport in coastal Vermillion Parsish.  The Pecan Island area is a haven for hunting and fishing, and outdoor enthusiasts are concerned about what the spaceport will mean for them. But Parish President Chad Vallo says he’s confident the net for Vermilion Parish will be overwhelmingly positive, just as a similar project in Brownsville, Texas, has been.

Cut 5 (07) “…community as well.”

Willis Knighton Health in Bossier City is the first facility in the region to offer a new treatment for thumb arthritis. It’s called the TOUCH CMC 1 Prosthesis, and it’s being performed by hand and wrist surgery specialist Dr. Diego Miranda, who says while traditional treatments require complete removal of the trapezium (tra-PEE-zee-um) bone, this new procedure keeps it intact.

Cut 13 (05)  “…the joint surfaces.”

7:30 AM LRN Newscast

Governor Landry will be in Abbeville this morning, where he’s expected to announce that SpaceX will be building a spaceport in Vermilion Parish. Here’s Andrew Greenstein.

Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

Poice in Eunice have identified the two victims who were killed in Saturday morning’s shooting as 22 year old Davion Fugett and 34 year old Rico Morgan, both of Eunice. The two were killed when five people were shot early Saturday at Chip’s Daiquiris there. So far, no arrests have been made but police say they have identified a person of interest.

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LSU’s celebration of Louisiana legend Skip Bertman’s life will be held in the PMAC tonight at 7.  Doors are set to open at six and the event is open to the public. The ceremony will also be broadcast on ESPN-plus and the SEC Network. Doug Thompson, one of Bertman’s national champion pitchers, says LSU fans are known for showing up for their teams, and he hopes that the PMAC is bursting at the seams with Tiger fans honoring Bertman.

Cut 8 (08) “…we’re so unique.”

The Louisiana High School Athletic Association is seeing more multi-sport officials. Director of Officials Lee Sanders says there are about four-thousand officials, and 926 of them work multiple sports, which is a 10-percent increase from last year and a 22-percent increase from 2024.

Cut 10 (07) “…and member schools.”

 

6:45 LRN Sportscast

LSU football coach Lane Kiffin is defending the program’s decision to recruit NFL players that have been granted a fifth year of college eligibility. Kiffin says his obligation is to LSU and its fans and to go recruit the best available players.

Cut 27 (13) “…against them.”

The NCAA approved a new five-year eligibility model this summer that opened the door for hundreds of athletes who just finished their eligibility to file lawsuits to get the fifth year many of their teammates and future athletes will now receive.

A Baton Rouge judge has also granted another year of eligibility to former Big East Player of the Year RJ Luis, who signed with LSU back in May. The NCAA argued Luis is not eligible after signing contracts with two different NBA teams, but Luis never appeared in a regular season game.

 

The Saints will close out the preseason against the Cowboys on Friday. New Orleans will carry three kickers on the roster after signing two-time All-Pro Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson. Head coach Kellen Moore says the veteran will join the competition between Charlie Smyth and Tannar Hudson.

Cut 16 (09) “…go from there.”

Carlson is 31-years-old and was just 22 of 27 on field goals last year for the Raiders.

Tonight at 7 PM it is the Celebration of Life memorial at the PMAC for legendary LSU baseball coach and athletics director Skip Bertman. Before the doors of the PMAC open to the public at 6 PM, there will be a private ceremony for family, staff and former players. Former LSU pitcher Doug Thompson…

Cut 9 (09) “…with his boys”

Governor Landry ordered flags to be flown at half-mast today in Bertman’s honor.

6:30 AM LRN Newscast

LSU’s celebration of Skip Bertman’s life will be held in the PMAC tonight at 7 p-m. The event honoring the Louisiana legend who passed away at the age of 88 earlier this month is open to the public. Doors open at 6 p-m, with general admission seating around the upper bowl available. Doug Thompson, one of Bertman’s national champion pitchers, says it is a great opportunity to celebrate an icon.

Cut 7 (11) “…to do it.”

Governor Jeff Landry will be in Abbeville this morning, where he’s expected to announce that SpaceX will be building a spaceport in coastal Vermilion Parish. Parish President Chad Vallo this is a monumental day for his parish.

Cut 4 (14) “…very good jobs.”

The news conference is scheduled to start this morning at 11.

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The Louisiana High School Athletic Association is pleased to see the number of officials who are working multiple sports is growing. Jeff Palermo has the story.

Cut 3 (35) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the U-s Fish and Wildlife Service are investigating the illegal shooting and killing of a bald eagle.  It happened in Vermillion Parish in early December of last year.  A reward of up to 20-thousand dollars is being offered to anyone with information that leads to a conviction in this case.

LRN AM Newscall August 25

Governor Landry will be in Abbeville this morning, where he’s expected to announce that SpaceX will be building a spaceport in Vermilion Parish. Andrew Greenstein reports.

Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

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A celebration of life ceremony for legendary LSU baseball coach and athletic director Skip Bertman will be held in the PMAC tonight. Kace Kieschnick has more.

Cut 2 (33) “…I’m Kace Kieschnick.”

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The Louisiana High School Athletic Association is pleased to see the number of officials who are working multiple sports is growing. Jeff Palermo has the story.

Cut 3 (35) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

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Governor Landry will be in Abbeville this morning, where he’s expected to announce that SpaceX will be building a spaceport in coastal Vermilion Parish. Parish President Chad Vallo this is a monumental day for his parish.

Cut 4 (14) “…very good jobs.”

The Pecan Island area is a haven for hunting and fishing, and outdoor enthusiasts are concerned about what the spaceport will mean for them. But Vallo says he’s confident that the net for Vermilion Parish will be overwhelmingly positive, just as a similar project in Brownsville, Texas, has been.

Cut 5 (07) “…community as well.”

Vermilion Parish was hit hard by Hurricane Rita in 2005, and Vallo says SpaceX’s arrival should lead to better protections to avoid a repeat occurrence.

Cut 6 (13) “…us as well.”

The news conference is scheduled to start at 11 a-m. No word on whether SpaceX CEO Elon Musk will be in attendance.

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LSU’s celebration of Skip Bertman’s life will be held in the PMAC tonight at 7 p-m. The event honoring the Louisiana legend who passed away at the age of 88 earlier this month is open to the public. Doors open at 6 p-m, with general admission seating around the upper bowl available. Doug Thompson, one of Bertman’s national champion pitchers, says it is a great opportunity to celebrate an icon.

Cut 7 (11) “…to do it.”

The ceremony will also be broadcast on ESPN-plus and the SEC Network. Thompson says LSU fans are known for showing up for their teams, and he hopes that the PMAC is bursting at the seams with Tiger fans honoring Bertman.

Cut 8 (08) “…we’re so unique.”

A private ceremony will be held with former players, staff and family members. Thompson says grieving Bertman’s passing has been hard, but it is important to come together to celebrate him because the relationships he formed and lives he touched were what he was most proud of.

Cut 9 (09)  “…with his boys.”

Governor Jeff Landry ordered flags around the state to be flown at half-mast in Bertman’s honor.

__________________________________________

The Louisiana High School Athletic Association is seeing more multi-sport officials. Director of Officials Lee Sanders says there are about four-thousand officials, and 926 of them work multiple sports, which is a 10-percent increase from last year and a 22-percent increase from 2024.

Cut 10 (07) “…and member schools.”

Each multi-sport official will receive a commemorative flipping coin as a token of appreciation. This year’s design celebrates Louisiana’s unique cultural heritage.

Sanders says they are also working to recruit and train the next generation of multi-sport officials, and a lot of skills needed to officiate a particular sport can work for another sport as well.

Cut 11 (09) “…sport to another.”

Sanders says officials who work multiple sports have to dedicate the time, but it’s worth it.

Cut 12 (12) “…that you love.”

The start of the fall sports season is right around the corner. Sanders says they’ve increased the volleyball officials by four percent, there’s a two-percent increase in football refs, and they’re always looking to add more.

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Willis Knighton Health in Bossier City is the first facility in the region to offer a new treatment for thumb arthritis. It’s called the TOUCH CMC 1 Prosthesis, and it’s being performed by hand and wrist surgery specialist Dr. Diego Miranda. He says whereas traditional treatments require complete removal of the trapezium (tra-PEE-zee-um) bone, this new procedure keeps it intact.

Cut 13 (05)  “…the joint surfaces.”

The joint surfaces are replaced with a dual-mobility ball-and-socket implant. Dr. Miranda says like the traditional procedure, this is an outpatient procedure, and the recovery time is three weeks.

Cut 14 (09) “…from then on.”

Miranda says he started offering this new procedure earlier this summer, and the demand for it among patients suffering from thumb arthritis is growing.

Cut 15 (08) “…for this procedure.”

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The Saints will close out the preseason against the Cowboys on Friday. New Orleans will carry three kickers on the roster after signing two-time All-Pro Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson. Head coach Kellen Moore says the veteran will join the competition between Charlie Smyth and Tannar Hudson.

Cut 16 (09) “…go from there.”

New Orleans traded former LSU linebacker Deion Jones to the 49ers for running back Zamir White. Jones just signed with the Saints earlier this month, but New Orleans needs depth in the running back room as injuries pile up. Alvin Kamara will be sidelined for a month, Devin Neal reinjured his hamstring and Ty Chandler could be facing a severe knee injury. Moore says White is an experienced back who fits into the scheme well.

Cut 17 (11) “…it’ll be good.”

LSU earned a commitment from former Saints undrafted free agent Zxavian Harris as he returns to college football for a fifth season. Moore’s brother, Kirby, is the head coach at Washington State, and he says the slew of lawsuits giving players new eligibility puts coaches in a bind.

Cut 18 (17) “…developed here shortly.”

 

5:30 LRN Newscast

Governor Landry will be in Abbeville tomorrow morning, where he’s expected to announce that SpaceX will be building a spaceport in coastal Vermilion Parish. Parish President Chad Vallo this is a monumental day for his parish.

Cut 4 (14) “…very good jobs.”

It’s the new NFL-to-college pipeline, and LSU is poised to be the first beneficiary. After being waived by the Browns, tight end Dae’Quan Wright is set to return to college football, committing to LSU. This is due to a ruling by a Baton Rouge judge granting him a fifth season of eligibility. LSU Coach Lane Kiffin says this is unprecedented.

Cut 9 (11)  “…unique circumstance.”

Saturday marked the one-year anniversary of the Smitty’s Supply explosion in Roseland and contamination concerns remain. Jeff Palermo has the story.

Cut 1 (31) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

For the second time in the span of four days, an earthquake rocks north Louisiana. The latest one was a magnitude 2.6 that struck this morning near Pleasant Hill. It comes on the heels of a magnitude 3.4 earthquake that struck Coushatta Friday. No reports of any damage from either quake.

4:45 LRN Sportscast

LSU received another commitment from a former NFL training camp player looking to come back to college football. All-SEC Ole Miss D-tackle Zxavien Harris was waived by the Saints this preseason after going undrafted and is now coming to LSU. He joins tight end Dae’Quan Wright as another standout under Lane Kiffin last season, hoping to come back for a fifth year of college eligibility thanks to the ruling of a Baton Rouge judge. Kiffin says he does not think pro players should come back to college but this is an unprecedented situation.

Cut 21 (15) “…fifth year.”

The Patriots are trading former LSU receiver Kayshon Boutte to the Texans for safety Jaylen Reed and a 2028 seventh-round pick. Another ex-Tiger, linebacker Deion Jones, was traded by the Saints to the 49ers for running back Zamir White. Jones just signed with New Orleans earlier this month.

The Saints have been hit by the injury bug hard this preseason. New Orleans returned from a disastrous 34-0 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in their second preseason game Saturday and over 20 Saints were not at practice. Cornerback Rejzhon Wright was placed on injured reserve as he undergoes hip surgery, and running back Ty Chandler is feared to have suffered a severe knee injury.

Tulane announced that Madison Prep product Zeon Chriss-Gremillion will start at quarterback to open the season against Duke. The redshirt senior started his college career at UL Lafayette and spent the last two seasons at Houston.

Grambling head coach Mickey Joseph has yet to name a starter at QB for the Tigers’ season opener Saturday.

Former LSU quarterbacks Max Johnson and Michael Van Buren were each named starters. Johnson will start for Georgia Southern in his seventh college football season, and Van Buren earned the number one spot at South Florida.

Louisiana Tech women’s basketball coach Brooke Stoehr has agreed to a contract extension to stay in Ruston through the 2030-2031 season. She led the Lady Techsters to a 26-and-7 season last year.

4:30 LRN Newscast

Amazon Web Services holds an open house tomorrow at the Shreveport Convention Center to discuss the three data centers it’s building in the Shreveport-Bossier area. The data centers are expected to create more than 700 permanent jobs, and AWS Vice President of Economic Development Roger Wehner says Amazon will focus on hiring workers from the local community.

Cut 15 (08) “…workforce development.”

LSU football coach Lane Kiffin is defending his decision to sign former NFL tight end Dae’Quan Wright. The undrafted free agent out of Ole Miss was released by the Browns after not playing a single down in either of the team’s first two preseason games. Kiffin says he and his staff will continue to do whatever it takes to make LSU better.

Cut 11 (10) “…no matter what.”

This past weekend marked the one-year anniversary of the Smitty’s Supply plant explosion in Roseland. The blast released stored motor oils, lubricants and fuel additives into the local environment and the Tangipahoa River. Pat Mashburn lives 35 miles south of the explosion site and told Talk 107-3 in Baton Rouge that wildlife still has not come back…

Cut 3 (08) “…not one.”

A new mRNA vaccine to reduce the risk of melanoma returning is showing great promise when combined with the immunotherapy drug Keytruda. Dr. Katherine Chang, an assistant professor of ear, nose and throat surgery at LSU Health Shreveport, says this vaccine could be a game-changer, especially in states like Louisiana.

Cut 12 (10) “…a death sentence.”

3:30 LRN Newscast

LSU football coach Lane Kiffin defended the program’s decision today to recruit NFL players that have been granted a fifth year of college eligibility. The NCAA approved a new five-year eligibility model this summer that opened the door for hundreds of athletes who just finished their eligibility to file lawsuits to get the fifth year many of their teammates and future athletes will now receive. Kiffin says his obligation is to LSU and its fans and to go recruit the best available players.

Cut 10 (13) “…against them.”

This past Saturday was the one year anniversary of the Smitty’s Supply plant explosion in Roseland. It’s been estimated 12 million gallons of oily liquid and industrial chemical waste were released into the local drainage systems and Tangipahoa River. Local resident Pat Mashburn tells Talk 107-3 in Baton Rouge that he’s disappointed in the lack of updates from local leaders…

Cut 4 (09) “…Roseland.”

 

A Drive Sober, Get Pulled Over campaign is underway across the state as law enforcement will step up its enforcement through the Labor Day weekend for impaired drivers. LDWF Law Enforcement Division Superintendent Colonel Stephen Clark says not only will patrols on roadways be beefed up, so will patrols on Louisiana’s waterways.

Cut 8 (15) “…fatality boat accidents.”

University Medical Center New Orleans opened phase one of its expanded cancer center today. Dr. Amelia Jernigan with UMC New Orleans says the additional space will allow cancer patients to be seen quickly and will help support the needs of oncology patients regionally.

Cut 16 (14) “…systemic therapy.”

LRN PM Newscall August 24

Saturday marked the one-year anniversary of the Smitty’s Supply explosion in Roseland and contamination concerns remain. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 1 (31) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

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LSU football coach Lane Kiffin responds to the criticism he’s receiving for recruiting a football player that was competing for an NFL roster spot. Kace Kieschnick has the story…

Cut 2 (34) “…I’m Kace Kieschnick.”

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This past weekend marked the year anniversary of the Smitty’s Supply plant explosion in Roseland. The blast released stored motor oils, lubricants and fuel additives into the local environment and the Tangipahoa River. Pat Mashburn lives 35 miles south of the explosion site and told Talk 107-3 in Baton Rouge that wildlife still has not come back…

Cut 3 (08) “…not one.”

It’s been estimated 12 million gallons of oily liquid and industrial chemical waste were released into the local drainage systems and Tangipahoa River. Mashburn tells Talk 107-3 in Baton Rouge that he’s disappointed in the lack of updates from local leaders…

Cut 4 (09) “…Roseland.”

Smitty’s Supply has been responsible for cleaning its Roseland plant. The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality was put in control of operations related to the cleaning of the polluted riverways and ponds. The EPA says millions of gallons of oily runoff have been recovered and containment systems remain active. But Mashburn tells Talk 107-3 in Baton Rouge that oil is still in the river…

Cut 5 (07) “…a year ago.”

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Louisiana’s Labor Day “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign is underway and runs through September 7th. State Police Superintendent Frank Besson (beh-SAHN) says there will be extra patrols at both the state and local levels specifically looking for impaired drivers during this campaign.

Cut 6 (10) “…and proactive patrol.”

According to data from the Center for Analytics and Research in Transportation Safety at LSU, 18 people were killed and 271 people were injured in crashes over the Labor Day holiday from 2020 through 2024. Baton Rouge Police Chief T.J. Morse says go out and have a good time this Labor Day weekend, but don’t ruin it by driving home when you’re in no condition to do so.

Cut 7 (13) “…all ideal options.”

LDWF Law Enforcement Division Superintendent Colonel Stephen Clark says not only will patrols on roadways be beefed up, so will patrols on Louisiana’s waterways, which can be just as deadly as highways.

Cut 8 (15) “…fatality boat accidents.”

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LSU received a commitment from former Ole Miss tight end Dae’Quan Wright to return to college football after being waived by the Browns. Wright would become the first player to ever play in an NFL training camp and return to college football thanks to a ruling by a Baton Rouge judge giving him a fifth season of eligibility. LSU coach Lane Kiffin says this situation is unprecedented and you cannot compare it to previous standards.

Cut 9 (11)  “…unique circumstance.”

The NCAA approved a new five-year eligibility model this summer that opened the door for hundreds of athletes who just finished their eligibility to file lawsuits to get the fifth year many of their teammates and future athletes will now receive. Kiffin says his obligation is to LSU and its fans and to go recruit the best available players.

Cut 10 (13) “…against them.” 

Kiffin says eligibility injunctions are not a new thing, and judges are ruling that student-athletes should have been told about and given a fifth season of eligibility along with their peers. He says he and his staff will continue to do whatever it takes to make LSU better.

Cut 11 (10) “…no matter what.”

LSU also received a commitment from returning fifth-year Notre Dame defensive end Junior Tuihalamaka (TOO-ee-ah-luh-mah-kuh). He did not sign a professional contract.