UPDATED LRN AM Newscall October 18

Voter turnout for this presidential election is expected to be heavy so you may want to participate in early voting which begins today. Colleen Crain has more.

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A warning as you make your way to your high school football game tonight – be on your best behavior, or else. Andrew Greenstein reports.

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With increased popularity in whole home generators comes increased strain on natural gas infrastructure. Andrew Greenstein reports.

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Early Voting begins today, and you may want to consider it since presidential elections typically have the highest participation in Louisiana. Secretary of State Nancy Landry expects a 68 to 71% turnout, and she says the state’s award-winning app, GeauxVote, can help with many important election related topics…

Cut 4 (11) “…vote dot com.”

The app and website will list all the early voting locations. If your parish has more than one site, you can early vote at any site in your parish. Election day voters must vote at their precinct. Either way, Landry says you can be sure your vote will be secure.

Cut 5 (11) “…will be counted.”

Landry says Louisiana’s high ranking is due to the 4 Ps of election security – the people of the state agencies involved are the only ones who can touch the machines, the policies and procedures including Voter ID laws and anti-ballot-harvesting, and physical security which says voting machines are never connected to the internet and…

Cut 6 (08) “…every election.”

Early voting continues through October 29 every day except Sundays.

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As teams take to the field for Friday night high school football tonight, the LHSAA issues a warning for players and coaches – be on your best behavior, or else. Executive Director Eddie Bonine (BO-nine) says if anyone gets out of hand, there will be consequences.

Cut 7 (14) “…for a game.”

Bonine’s warning comes after players from Comeaux and North Vermillion got into a fight on the field following the conclusion of their game last week. Both teams are forfeiting their games this week, and Bonine says that unfortunately comes with some collateral damage.

Cut 8 (09) “…anybody playing homecoming?”

Bonine says his same warning goes for the fans in the stands.

Cut 9 (11)  “…do with it.”

Bonine says on a positive note, the number of fights at sporting events has gone down the last two years. Still, he says even one is too many.

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Whole home generators are all the rage here in Louisiana, especially when the power goes out. Unfortunately, they’re taking a toll on natural gas supplies. Public Service Commissioner Mike Francis says during Hurricane Francine, people in a subdivision in Thibodaux overloaded the city’s natural gas infrastructure.

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Francis says improving the natural gas infrastructure is going to take money – money that gas customers will need to help out with.

Cut 11 (10) …a reliable system.”

Francis says other utilities have strengthened their infrastructures – now it’s time for natural gas to do the same thing.

Cut 12 (07) “…with natural gas.”

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The eighth ranked LSU Tigers will be Fayetteville tomorrow night to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks. This game always means more for the fans of Arkansas and running back Josh Williams is expecting a hostile crowd inside Razorback Stadium…

Cut 13 (12)  “..pretty chippy.”

It’s the annual Battle for the Boot. The winner of the game gets to possess a 200-pound trophy molded to resemble the states of Louisiana and Arkansas. Williams says it’s important for LSU to keep the Golden Boot

Cut 14 (13) “…want it.”

Arkansas is another test for LSU’s defense. The Razorbacks are third in the SEC in total offense and they’ll play up tempo. Tigers Safety Jardin Gilbert…

Cut 15 (10) “…physical team.”

Kick-off is at 6 PM.

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The Ragin Cajuns take their 5-and-1 record on the road to play Coastal Carolina at 11 AM central time on Saturday. It’s been a good first half of the season for Coach Michael Desormeaux’s team, but he says they haven’t done anything yet…

Cut 16 (19)   “…perform.”

Coastal Carolina is coming off a 39 to 7 loss to James Madison. But Desormeaux says they looked good in their five previous games…

Cut 17 (15) “…being motivated.”

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Missing nearly all their top players, the Saints were no match for the Broncos, losing last night at the Superdome 33-10. After the game, Saints coach Dennis Allen didn’t mince words.

Cut 18 (16)  “…game went along.”

The game was even more lopsided than the final score indicates – the Saints scored their lone touchdown with 1:22 left in the game on a Jake Haener 12-yard pass to Cedrick Wilson Jr., well after the game was out of hand. Before being pulled late in the game, Spencer Rattler completed 25 passes out of 35 attempts for 172 yards. While he didn’t throw any interceptions, he was sacked six times and lost two fumbles, one of which was run back for a touchdown. Alvin Kamara gained only 10 yards rushing and 14 yards receiving. Coach Allen said nothing is going right for the team right now.

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The Saints welcomed back a pair of old friends to the Superdome – Drew Brees, who was inducted into the team’s hall of fame, and Sean Payton, who’s now coaching the Broncos. Coach Payton says it was a special return to the Superdome.

Cut 20 (17) “…miss making memories.” 

Before the game, the Saints got some bad news when they learned that all-pro punt returner Rashid Shaheed would miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. During the game, cornerback Paulson Adebo broke his femur, and Marshon Lattimore exited with a hamstring injury. The Saints lost their fifth straight to fall to 2-5 on the season. They’ll try to right the ship a week from Sunday in Los Angeles against the Chargers.