After years of shrinking trooper ranks, Louisiana is planning to train a new class of state police officers early next year.
Budget constraints kept the state police from adding new troopers, but lawmakers earmarked a $5 million set-aside fund for the training in the last legislative session, saying they worried that too few officers were patrolling state highways.
The 19-week training academy for 50 people is scheduled to begin in January, the first cadet class since September 2008, according to the Louisiana State Police.