The Louisiana Army National Guard has made significant jumps in their overall strength and retention of force. Eric Gill reports…

CUT 1 (29) “I’m Eric Gill”

______________________________________

Tomorrow is the last day to early vote for the October 24th primary and the Secretary of State’s office says turnout looks to be about average. Michelle Southern reports…:

Cut 2 (30) “I’m Michelle Southern”

______________________________________

A survey from LSU finds that a majority of Louisiana residents are still not paying attention to the governor’s race. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 3 (29) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

______________________________________

The Louisiana Army National Guard has made significant jumps in their overall strength and retention of force. LANG ranks number four among all other states’ National Guards in overall strength of its force and first for retaining personnel. Col. Pete Schneider praises everyone at the Guard for helping raise Louisiana’s rankings…

cut 4  (10)  “our state”

He says Louisiana ranked number 15 last year in overall strength. In the last year, LANG was able to increase their numbers to 9,650, better than 100-percent of their strength goal. Schneider credits the state with providing fantastic to benefits to our National Guard…

Cut 5  (09)  “in Louisiana”

He says LANG also surpassed its goal on retaining National Guardsmen. Schneider says as important as it is for the Guard to have new recruits, it’s also important that they keep as many experienced soldiers in their ranks as possible…

Cut 6 (10)  “coming in”

______________________________________

Tomorrow is the last day to early vote for the October 24th primary and the Secretary of State’s office says turnout looks to be about average. Spokeswoman Meg Casper says, so far, the numbers are only slightly behind what they saw for the Congressional elections in 2014…:

CUT 7 (10)  “several cycles”

The 2015 gubernatorial early voting period began October 10th and will be over tomorrow at 6pm. Casper says every day they’ve seen about 20 to 30 thousand people participating in early voting statewide. She says it’s becoming more popular for people to make their choices ahead of election day…:

Cut 8  (09)  “cast their ballot”

Casper says they can’t remind voters enough to make sure your schedule is clear on election day because there’s a lot going on with football and hunting next Saturday. She says this is a really big election with nearly 1,070 offices up for grabs, about 2,000 candidates running and 4 constitutional amendments..:

Cut 9 (08) “well informed” 

______________________________________

A new poll from LSU shows voters are getting more interested in the October 24^thprimary, with about 40 percent of voters following election news, up from 25-percent last spring. Dr. Michael Henderson with the LSU Public Policy Research Lab says even though we’ve seen an increase, it’s still lower than last fall’s election.

Cut 10 (08) “under construction”

Henderson says several gubernatorial candidates have higher name recognition compared to the spring and summer. He says Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle and state Representative John Bel Edwards have made the most gains in name recognition. He says with name recognition, comes changes on how voters feel about the candidates.

cut 11 (09) “each other”

 Henderson says voters’ opinions of the major candidates are evolving. He says this is especially true for Vitter, who has both the highest share of favorable opinions at 30-percent and the highest share of unfavorable opinions at 41-percent.

Cut 12 (10) “I thought”

______________________________________

Leonard Fournette and the LSU Tigers will face eighth ranked Florida on Saturday night in Tiger Stadium. Last year, the Tigers beat the Gators 30-27, as Fournette rushed for, at that time, a career-high 140 yards and 225 all-purpose yards. The sophomore expects another tight contest in Death Valley

Cut 13 (07)  “out and compete”

LSU is coming off a win over South Carolina that took place in front of a half-empty Tiger Stadium. Fournette says LSU fans are more than prepared for this Saturday and he’s looking forward to it…

Cut 14 (08) “be crazy”

Florida’s back-up quarterback, Treon Harris, will start for the Gators against LSU. He takes the place of Will Grier, who has been suspended for taking a banned over the counter supplement. Coach Les Miles says he doesn’t see a drop-off in talent with Florida’s number two QB….

Cut 15  (15)  “pocket presence”

______________________________________

The four major candidates for governor squared off in the final televised debate before the October 24^th primary and for most of the 60 minutes the four men stuck to discussing issues and how they would solve problems in the state. But Republican Scott Angelle did take one shot at the GOP frontrunner in the race David Vitter.

Cut 16  (11)  “of America”

At the end of the debate, all the candidates discussed why they should be elected governor. Democrat John Bel Edwards says he has learned leadership throughout his life and is ready to serve the people of Louisiana.

Cut 17 (09) “next governor” 

Republican David Vitter says he will be an effective governor because he’s fighting for the people. He says he has proven to be effective time and time again and will continue to do so if elected.

Cut 18 (10) “for you”

Republican Jay Dardenne says we need a leader who has the vision and skillset to run our state. He says Louisiana is at a crossroads, but we have the opportunity to make a positive change….

Cut 19 (09) “us apart”

___________________________

Republican David Vitter was not at a gubernatorial debate hosted by Louisiana Public Broadcasting, but that didn’t keep the candidates from talking about him. Jeff Palermo has the story…

CUT 1 (29) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

================

The federal government announces there will be no increase in benefits for Social Security. Emelie Gunn has more…

CUT 2 (30) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

===================

In a gubernatorial debate on Louisiana Public Broadcasting, the three candidates who were there, let out their frustrations over the attack ads during the campaign. Republican Jay Dardenne denied accusations the state paid for his wife during an overseas trip and he voted for pro-choice legislation. Dardenne blamed the attacks on Republican David Vitter, who didn’t attend the debate

CUT 3 (09) “sick of it”

Democrat John Bel Edwards says the Republican Governor’s Association is trying to distract and mislead voters in attack ads against him…

CUT 4 (12) “have taken”

Republican Scott Angelle says Vitter is the only candidate in the race running untruthful ads and criticized the Senator for missing debates because he doesn’t want to answer questions about his prostitution scandal…

CUT 5 (10) “means yes”

============================

A Jennings woman, with the help of DNA testing and technology, has been able to find information about her mother was who had not been seen in Louisiana since 1982. Katherine Renee Kratzer filed a missing persons report on her mother, Leejan Marie Kratzer, last year. Jeff Davis Sheriff Ivy Woods says the truth came out when a Tennessee woman began looking into her late mother, Lisa Neese’s, past…

CUT 6 (10) “LSU Faces”

Elizabeth Neese contacted authorities after seeing a photo that resembled her mother on the LSU Faces website. Woods says they began their investigation and were able to use DNA testing to prove Leejan Marie Kratzer and Lisa Neese were the same person…

CUT 7 (10) “are sisters”

Woods says it turns out Leejan started a whole new life in Memphis as Lisa Neese. Unfortunately Leejan/Lisa passed away in 2008. He says Katherine is ecstatic to learn the truth about her mother. Woods says this is a reminder that one should never give up on a missing person…

CUT 8 (06) “missing relative”

============================

The federal government has announced there will not be an increase in benefits for millions of Social Security recipients. Brenda Hatfield with Louisiana A-A-R-P says this is especially devastating because next year Medicare costs are expected to increase for seniors, veterans and the disabled.

CUT 9 (10) “from Social Security”

The main reason there is no Social Security increase is because of low gas prices. Hatfield says that’s unfair for seniors, because a good portion of them don’t drive long distances…

cut 10 (08) “health care”

This is the third time in 40 years that benefits will remain flat. Hatfield says A-A-R-P has written multiple letters pleading with our congressional representatives to prevent an increase to Medicare costs, if they will not receive a cost of living adjustment.

Cut 11 (10) “them significantly”

============================

Lack of rainfall in Louisiana in the past several weeks has put much of the state in drought conditions. The United States Drought Monitor reports that 86-percent of Louisiana is currently dealing with drought conditions. State Climatologist Barry Keim says the last 90 days have been extremely dry in the Bayou State…

cut 12 (09) “three months”

He says the state has received less than half of its normal rainfall over the past 90 days. The report shows that 51-percent of Louisiana is suffering from extreme drought conditions. Keim says this problem is most severe in the north-central part of the state…

cut 13 (10) “90 days”

He says that region has recorded only about an inch of rain over the last three months. Keim says El Nino tends to send rain across Louisiana, but that pattern has yet to kick in. He says these dry conditions are historic in some portions of the state…

cut 14 (06) “to 1895”

============================