Up North Podcast

Kirk, Pat, and Kristin talk to Jim Santelle, Former US attorney for Wisconsin’s eastern district, on how there is a likely chance that if Wisconsin ends up with three right-wing branches of government, the will of the people may be ignored in future elections Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pat and Kirk spoke with Charles Franklin, the Director of Wisconsin’s gold standard Marquette Law School Poll, about how negative ads can hurt candidates’ poll numbers, and how Wisconsin’s Republican Majority legislature has often ignored issues that large numbers of Wisconsinites support. Rep. Jodi Emerson came on next to talk about how the same legislature ignored Governor Evers’ special session...

Pat and Kirk talk to Jill Normington, a professional political pollster currently working for Senator Tammy Baldwin and recently for democratic primary candidate Alex Lasry, on how difficult it had become to do political polling in Wisconsin. She explains how the the closer the race is, the less accurate the poll, and most voters don’t want to pick up the phone or answer an online survey. Hosted o...

Pat, Kristen, and Kirk speak with Becky Schacter, a nurse at UW Health, about the reasons nurses felt they needed to unionize. She then discusses how a strike was averted with the help of Governor Evers.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kirk, Kristin, and Pat talked to former US Attorney Jim Santelle in Milwaukee about the decision to grant Trump a “Special Master” and hindering the DOJ investigation into him stealing confidential documents. We then examined the Trump-appointed Judge who made the ruling, and why it wasn’t based in American Law. Has our federal judicial system been tainted by unqualified, partisan judges, and if s...

Kristin and Kirk talked to Congressman Mark Pocan about his reactions to the January 6th hearings, and then talked to the Executive Director of the Wisconsin High Speed Rail Alliance about our opportunity to finally get things right after throwing away a great opportunity to expand Wisconsin passenger rail in 2010. What connects these two debacles? The misinformation coming from Wis...

Kirk, Kristin and Pat discuss the different ways that people who used to be considered on the extreme fringes of the political spectrum are now in some powerful positions—not just at the state and national levels, but local, too. Two concerned citizens from Sparta talk about how their community has been hijacked by a group dedicated to killing public education. And we’ll have the latest on the con...

Kirk, Kristin and Pat discuss the latest Jan. 6 Committee hearing on the Trump campaign’s connection to the violent extremist groups. They talk to Deb Baldus McGrath, a former CIA officer and candidate for Congress. Pat shares interview clips with the other three Democratic candidates in the 3rd District. And Gov. Evers comments on how Republican legislators have been hostile to democracy.  H...

Kirk, Kristin and Pat discuss the right-wing takeover of the US Supreme Court and how the illogical repeal of Roe v. Wade is a harbinger of other rights sure to be targeted next. Also, how the Roe repeal and the Jan. 6 Committee revelations should serve as a battle cry to become more active in protecting democracy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kirk, Kristin and Pat visit again with attorney Mel Barnes of Law Forward to review the case of the fake electors, and attorneys Mark Leitner and Joe Goode also comment on the other new findings from the special congressional committee investigating the attack on the US Capitol. Subscribe and never miss an episode: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD7KqQDdZNyoMjtuG9YlvSQ Website: https://u...

Kirk, Kristin and Pat talk to attorneys Mark Leitner and Joe Goode for a Wisconsin interpretation of what’s happening with the special congressional committee investigating the attack on the US Capitol. (Note: The show was recorded live on radio as severe weather was rolling through, so you will hear some interruptions about watches and warnings.) Subscribe and never miss an episode: YouTube https...

Kirk, Kristin and Pat talk to Denise Gaumer Hutchison of the Wisconsin Public Education Network about the reality behind the claim that schools are awash in pandemic relief funds. A pro-choice pastor talks about her faith journey that has her advocating for abortion rights. And after a lengthy list of the misdeeds done before and after the Jan. 6 insurrection, it’s time to remind ourselves we can...

Kirk, Kristin and Pat talk about the exhausting but rewarding process of getting on the ballot to run for office—and how some people who've tried to take shortcuts failed at it. They also discuss three important elections that are under the radar of most voters. And after a review of Ron Johnson's new website about "truth," they discuss the declining value of law enforcement endorsements in a...

Kirk, Kristin, and Pat talk about what some are doing in Wisconsin to ensure that our students stay safe when politicians fail to address the school shooting epidemic themselves. Also, the former chair of the Brown County Republicans talks about exposing Ron Johnson hypocrisy on the 2020 election. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The lawyer is our own Sarah Yacoub, who is joined by Dr. Kristin Lyerly for some important updates. The guns on our streets are causing endless tragedy, but the politicians squawking the loudest about crime have done the least to fix the issues. And a new chancellor for UW-Madison isn’t exactly news up north, but Republicans appear to be using the news to prepare for big changes that could hurt ev...

Call them advocates, activists, or “democracy’s little helpers,” there are some folks who pay extra attention to policy issues and inform other voters. But now the time they’d spend helping people is being spent trying to save democracy. We talk to seven plaintiffs in a lawsuit against three insurrection supporters in Wisconsin’s congressional delegation. Guests: Jim Kurz, Cheryl Maranto, Rick Bec...

Kirk, Sarah, and Pat talk about the leaked Supreme Court document indicating Roe v. Wade is about to be overturned. Dr. Kristin Lyerly, an obstetrician-gynecologist, talks about the impact on her patients. Former moderate Republican state Sen. Dale Schultz talks about what has happened to his party. And the 7th Congressional District race has a new candidate, Ty Kunelius, a moderate Republican cha...

Kirk, Sarah, and Pat talk about how the issues of rural Wisconsin should matter to everyone—especially certain big-city political types who keep writing off a big chunk of the state. Darin Von Ruden of the Wisconsin Farmers Union is a guest along with Kelly Westlund, who was the longtime northern Wisconsin representative for Sen. Tammy Baldwin—until last week when she announced her campaign for st...

Kirk, Sarah, and Pat talk about the Wisconsin Supreme Court conservatives locking in criminally rigged maps for another decade. Conservatives are also blatantly moving into book banning in places like the Wausau school district. And the Marathon County Board has solved racism—in their minds—by abolishing the committee working on a resolution to speak out against racism. In lighter news, can Pat ma...

Kirk, Sarah, and Pat talk about how tough-guy conservatives lose their credibility when they lose their cool and encourage violence. They also talk to Kathleen Cooper and Tony Rio, two candidates who ran for the Oneida County Board, about the low blows and the high achievements when good people stand up to bullies and engage with their neighbors. Subscribe and never miss an episode: YouTube https:...

Kirk, Sarah, and Pat talk to John Bonifaz, president of Free Speech for the People, about the ongoing efforts in multiple states including Wisconsin to hold insurrectionists accountable for trying to undermine our elections. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kirk, Sarah, and Pat talk to the outgoing mayor of Merrill about the creeping authoritarianism that’s being found at all levels of government—federal, state, and local. Chris Hambuch-Boyle of the Wisconsin Public Education Network talks about the wild rhetoric coming from right wing groups and school board candidates. And state Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler discusses the importance of not stay...

Kirk, Sarah, and Pat debate their favorite counties. But first, the more serious topics of a US Supreme Court striking down new maps that were good enough for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and one of Kirk’s employees talks about reentering the workforce after a prison sentence—especially when one county refused to let him have a new path forward. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more info...

Kirk, Sarah, and Pat talk to Milwaukee lawyers Joe Goode and Mark Leitner about the federal lawsuit they filed against Senator Ron Johnson and Congressmen Tom Tiffany and Scott Fitzgerald for aiding the attempted presidential coup that culminated with the insurrection of January 6, 2021. Our guests first piece together the story on how these three defendants played their part in an orchestrated co...

Kirk, Sarah, and Pat talk to attorney Mel Barnes of Law Forward and political analyst Joe Zepecki about the new political maps Wisconsin voters will have for the next 10 years.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.