Midwest Legends

MVP and All-Star baseball legend Christian Yelich joins Russell this week on the Midwest Legends Podcast! Christian Yelich’s legendary status goes without saying. From being the first member of his family to play baseball to becoming the face of MKE baseball, Christian has already made history and he’s just getting started. Don’t miss Christian’s take on Giannis heading to Miami, the iconic Cubs r...

Former NHL Player, Olympian, and Minnesota legend, Lou Nanne joins Russell on this week’s Midwest Legends episode! Lou has years of impressive accomplishments under his belt. Known as “the Godfather of Hockey,” although he would argue that title actually belongs to John Mariucci, Lou has undoubtedly made an impact on the hockey world. Coming from a small Canadian town, playing at the U of M, going...

The legendary Packers player Leroy Butler is back again for part two! This week, Leroy goes behind the scenes of his anxiety inducing draft experience when his dream of becoming an NFL player finally came true at the same time he realized he has no idea where Green Bay is. Leroy talks Russell through his accidental creation of the now iconic Lambeau Leap and his disbelief that a US President didn’...

This episode was so good, it had to be a two-parter! You may know him as the inventor of the Lambeau Leap or for his run in the iconic Puntrooskie play, but in this week’s Midwest Legends episode Leroy takes Russell back in time to his life before the Packers. Leroy grew up with everything stacked against him. He grew up in the projects in Duval County, Florida, was raised by a hardworking single...

Matthew Golden is a first-round draft pick, lightning-fast wide receiver, and now a Midwest Legends guest. At just 22 years old, Matthew has worked hard, gained a lot of perspective, and he's not even as old as the history he is making. It’s been 23 years since Green Bay’s home team chose a wide receiver as their first round pick, and he says that draft night “will stick with me for the rest of my...

Midwest Legend? More like international legend! This week, star hockey player Laila Edwards gives Russell the inside scoop on her amazing journey from growing up in Ohio playing on the boy’s hockey team to winning gold at the 2026 Olympics in Milan. Laila takes us behind the scenes of the Olympics, sharing how she overcame the nerves to clinch the win over the iconic Canadian rivals in the game th...

Former Minnesota Vikings linebacker and current sideline analyst Ben Leber joins Russell to discuss his journey from a multicultural childhood in Iowa to a professional NFL football player. Ben talks about his supportive family, including two older brothers who inspired him to try football and how coaches along the way shaped the player he later became. After a trying rookie season in college, Ben...

Noah Bakken, a motocross expert who is no stranger to performing impressive feats on two wheels, sat down with Russell to talk all things speed and spectacle. Noah Bakken remembers his childhood growing up in a family of motorcycle lovers fondly. Despite his first ride on a PW50 when he was just three ending with him hitting a swing set, he fell in love with all thing’s motocross. Noah tells Russe...

Welcome to Midwest Legend’s third dial-in special. Jared from Wisco Dive Bars sat down with Russell to react to 3 listener submitted stories.   Featuring stories from Lindsay, Dan, and Nate

CJ Ham recently retired from the NFL after 10 seasons playing for the Vikings, and he sat down with Russell to talk about where his love for football started and where it’s taken him. CJ Ham remembers dropping out of Augustana’s fall training camp for three days. He was one of many freshman players who quit, but he can’t remember the head coach telling anyone else to come back if they changed thei...

For Promise, the road to landing a morning show on Hot 105.7 FM wasn’t easy, but it was a labor of love. He sat down with Russell to talk about how his passion carried him through the long hours and late nights. From hosting a college radio show to becoming the voice Milwaukee woke up to, Promise spent years honing his craft. Hosting gigs are scarce, and while that scarcity helped fuel his hunger...

Ryan Ruebl’s entrepreneurial spirit collided with his love for Wisconsin and 'Meanwhile In Wisconsin' was born. He stopped by the Midwest Legends studio to talk with Russell about America’s Dairyland. Ruebl knows his way around a fish fry, and he’s got tips and recommendations, but his lips are sealed on the best fishing spots. He and Russell bond over their love for the Packers, and joke...

Mason Crosby's sixteen-year run with the Green Bay Packers was fueled by his commitment to be present and available to his teammates. Newly retired, he sat down with Russell Nicolet to reflect on the memories that defined his history-making NFL career. As a kicker, Crosby became adept at balancing “hurry up and wait” with the intense, barely-over-a-second window most kickers have to launch the...

Call 866-MW-LEGND for a chance to have your story played on a future dial-in episode! On the second Midwest Legends dial-in episode, Russell Nicolet and Jared Schutz are back, reacting to three more handpicked stories live on the mic. We set up 866-MW-LEGND so that our listeners could tell their stories, and boy have we had fun listening to them. Enjoy stories about someone chewing on a rattlesnak...

Chris Kanan probably knows more about lawns than most people do, but he does anything but gatekeep. He sat down with Russell in the Midwest Legends studio to talk about his journey and get into the weeds of keeping a lawn looking tidy. Chris explains how a brief stint studying architecture led to a focus in landscape architecture, with a chief focus on lawns: “Everyone was always looking at the gr...

Brett Favre is a Mississippi kid who became a larger than life figure in Green Bay and an NFL icon. He sat down with Russell to talk about the moments that came before, during, and after his legendary run. Brett was once told he wouldn’t play more than three years. When he officially retired in 2011, he had a twenty-year legacy behind him. That legacy was fueled by many things, including tough lov...

Jim McMahon is in the Midwest Legends hotseat this week, but it’s nothing he can’t handle. McMahon walks Russell about the highs and lows of his career, which spanned seven NFL teams, two Super Bowl wins, and injuries that could’ve ended most careers. Along the way, McMahon and Russell bond over their love of football and the reverence they hold for some iconic football players. Tune in to listen...

Andrea Boehlke’s love for Wisconsin has stayed strong, even as her career took her to New York and Los Angeles. While she spent plenty of time interviewing celebrities, today she’s the one with the inside scoop. A three-time competitor on  Survivor , Boehlke revisits the cover story she and her mom created to comply with the NDA she received after being selected for the show while still in college...

Gilbert Brown made a name for himself on the Green Bay Packers defensive line, and he stopped by the studio to talk with Russell about the experiences that defined his career. No matter the story, Brown always brings plenty of humor and heart. He’s happy to revisit everything from his iconic Gravedigger dance to the origins of his famous Gilbert Burger, and he and Russell bond over their shared lo...

Call 866-MW-LGND for a chance to have your story played on a future dial-in episode! On the first Midwest Legends dial-in episode, Russell Nicolet shares hosting duties with previous guest Jared Schutz. We set up 866-MW-LGND so that our listeners could tell their stories, and boy have we had fun listening to them. For this episode, we handpicked three stories for Russell and Jared to react to, liv...

This week’s guest, Billy Doucette, better known as Billy Deuce, admits he’s terrible at ending conversations, so it’s a good thing Midwest Legends actually has a runtime. Billy has grown up all over the country, and that “foot in both worlds” perspective has given him plenty of material and earned him quite a following online and in person. He and Russell bond over their shared love of Kwik Trip a...

Die-hard Packers superfan Matt Ramage sits down with Russell Nicolet to talk about his favorite team and more. Matt fondly remembers growing up in a home where every Packers game was an event that could see uncles placing bets on anything they could think of. He and Russell reminisce on childhoods spent outdoors, and the reverence that the Packers and Lambeau Field have in Green Bay. Learn more ab...

Every dive bar has at least one story to tell, and thanks to Jared Schutz, those stories and the bars themselves are reaching a wider audience. Jared and Russell discuss dive bar charm, quirks, and maybe most importantly: etiquette. He shares the memories he’s made and hidden gems he’s discovered along the way (check out his interactive “bar map” online). Since starting his journey in 2022, Jared...

Richard Lorbach, the man behind “Drink Wisconsinbly,” joins Russell Nicolet to share stories about growing up in the Midwest and talk about watching his homegrown brand take off. Richard and Russell bond over their shared love for Wisconsin, childhoods spent outdoors, and the communities and friendships that form at local dive bars. Now 13 years strong, the Drink Wisconsinbly Pub is a staple in th...

You may have seen him win Cutthroat Kitchen, compete on Super Chef Grudge Match, Beat Bobby Flay, and Hell's Kitchen, but today, Adam Pawlak is in front of the camera as a guest, not a chef. Chef Adam discusses how a job at a pizzeria at the early age of 14 led to a career in the restaurant industry that many know him for today. Russell shares his own experience working in the restaurant indus...