La Crosse Talk PM WIZM

Tara Johnson joins to discuss the housing crisis, funding public schools and Wisconsin’s 175-year-old abortion ban, as she runs for state Assembly in the 96th District. Began the show getting a bit of Johnson’s experience. The Democrat was the first female president of the La Crosse County Board, where she was a member for 20 years, and was executive director of the United Way in La Crosse, before...

La Crosse Mayor Mitch Reynolds in the WIZM studio Monday for La Crosse Talk PM discussing the homeless legislation coming to city council, challenging the historic designation of the former south side library and creating a city administrator position. We overview those topics to start the show, then begin talking (5:40) about the process of creating a city administrator position, what that role w...

Dr. Charles Franklin, the architect for the Marquette University Law School poll joined La Crosse Talk PM on Friday, along with UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky. We, of course, discuss the Joe Biden-Donald Trump debate and how the polling will play out over the coming weeks and how the latest Marquette Law poll is a perfect representation of the two presidential cand...

Kelly Leibold and Ethan Schumann in the studio Wednesday for La Crosse Talk PM teaching radio talk show hosts how to speak better. Or trying to, anyway. Leibold is the president of the La Crosse Area Toastmasters Club and Schumann is public relations with the group. Throughout the show, we discuss what the Toastmasters is, exactly, some of the fun things they do at the bi-weekly meetings and go th...

We dive into the La Crosse area housing market with Gerrard Hoeschler Realtors owner Doug Billings, realtor Ben Bockenhauer and Granite Mortgage lender Jeff Thompson in the WIZM studio Tuesday for La Crosse Talk PM. Some of that talk included whether a housing crash is coming, is it still a sellers’ market, where people are best able to buy houses in the Coulee Region right now and what the housin...

Wisconsin Republican state Assembly Rep. Loren Oldenburg joins to talk about the possibility of inheriting La Crosse if he wins election, homelessness, taxes, what to do with the budget surplus, marijuana, vaccines and more. Oldenburg is the incumbent in the 96th District, which will change next year, going from mostly rural to incorporating the south side of La Crosse. And that’s where we started...

UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, in studio talking about, what else, the Joe Biden-Donald Trump debate, replacing Biden, the amazing timing of Bernie Sanders coming to La Crosse, the debate moderators and the need for Snoop Dogg to be more involved in all our lives — including debates. Spent most of the show covering the multiple angles of the Biden-Trump debate, in...

Stacey Klein, who is running for Wisconsin state Senate in District 32, stops in the studio to discuss healthcare and Medicaid, the billions in budget surplus, broadband and her not currently living in the district she’s running for. Klein also talks about her roots, growing up on a farm and working now as a financial advisor in La Crosse. She highlights the need to do more like the shared revenue...

City council members Mac Kiel and Tamara Dickinson in the WIZM studio Wednesday for La Crosse Talk PM discussing different aspects of homelessness, replacing District 5 rep., moving the aviation board and the sale of the old Fire Station No. 4. Kiel and Dickinson are on the Judiciary and Finance Committee, as we previewed some that upcoming Tuesday meeting, including how to replace Janesea Hameist...

Jason Gilman joins to discuss where La Crosse is at with the 65-acre, $300-million River Point District development, the impact it will have on the community and what giant box store was denied access.  Gilman, who owns JBG Planning LLC, is in year two as project manager of the district he calls “The gateway to downtown.”  Gilman discusses how much of the development is housing versus business, ho...

Steven Campbell in studio on why he is running for Assembly in Wisconsin's 96th District, which now includes the southern portion of La Crosse.  The Viroqua native, who owns a shop on Main and an assisted living business, discusses healthcare related issues in regards to Medicaid and mental health. Campbell also talks about public education and the two-year anniversary of Roe v. Wade being overtur...

A quick rundown of what we discussed with UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, includes campaigns not talking about a lot of real issues (homelessness, kids using social media), Donald Trump’s proposal getting rid of taxes on tips and the upcoming Joe Biden-Trump debate. A good part of the show dealt with why politicians aren’t campaigning on easy things like banning ph...

La Crosse Mayor Mitch Reynolds in the WIZM studio Thursday for La Crosse Talk PM, discussing the homeless situation, the city’s many broken pools and his work trip to Europe.  Spent most of the show talking about the city’s homeless situation (12:00), a few days after the city council called a special meeting on what to do in the short-term with those unsheltered.  Began the show discussing the ci...

Shy Jackson and Mya Curtis, co-founders of Hope Restores, in the WIZM studio Wednesday for La Crosse Talk PM previewing this weekend’s Juneteenth celebration at Riverside Park, talking about the origins of Hope Restores and what that group means for the community. After that, WIZM’s Brad Williams recaps Day 1 of the Joe Gow hearing on his future with UW-La Crosse, after the Board of Regents discov...

Brian Renkas, a longtime Logan High School band director, joins La Crosse Talk PM on Tuesday to hype up the La Crosse Confluence, a 25-student rock band, that’s playing Moon Tunes on Thursday and Ashely for the Arts later this summer. Renkas (7:00) talks how a 25-person rock band works, their favorite songs and where this got started.  The La Crosse Confluence has a full horn section, guitarists,...

Dr. Aaron Engel, the superintendent for the School District of La Crosse, joins to discuss the gigantic student band La Crosse Confluence playing big gigs in the area, the $53.5 million referendum, how school districts are struggling, and wrapping up his fourth year. The first big topic (8:15) was this huge student band that rotates through graduating and it’s playing at Moon Tunes this week and a...

UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, in studio discussing Donald Trump calling Milwaukee horrible right before the Republican convention there, politicians saying everything is taken out of context and the ketchup on your Kit-Kat TikTok challenge. Began the show right away with the Trump-Milwaukee comments, and politicians using the excuse of what they said was taken ou...

Jake Erickson joins to tell us what it's like for a civilian to take flight with the Blue Angels. Erickson, the CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater La Crosse, was selected as an influential community member, to go up on jet No. 7 of the Navy's F-18 Super Hornets this week. After that, he talks a bit about what's happening with the B&G Clubs.  Started the show about speaking with some of...

Two guests on a Wednesday, led off by La Crosse city council member Chris Woodard to talk about a bill to ban big animal acts, then Zach Trebelhorn from the county discusses elderly abuse calls rising in the area. Began the show talking a bit about the Biden Administration launching BINGO and pickleball campaigns , as First Lady Jill Biden plans to head to Wisconsin. After that (5:20), Woodard, wh...

Jed Olson, executive director of ORA Trails, in studio discussing how his nonprofit is helping lead the way to connecting La Crosse through big and bigger projects all over the county. Started the show a little backwards, talking about how ORA survives , because everything they’re working on is open and free to the public, plus a quick overview of a couple of things they’re overseeing — like the B...

Wisconsin state Sen. Brad Pfaff in studio discussing bike lanes, missing out on high-speed rail, the priorities of farms, his GOP opponent and the do-nothing legislature. We didn’t waste any time getting into it. Pfaff (D-Onalaska) brought up June being dairy month and that led to a lengthy conversation about farming crop priorities, meat monopolies and the federal farm bill that has yet to pass....

Isaac Hoffman, the La Crosse Area Family Collaborative director, in the WIZM studio for La Crosse Talk PM last Thursday updating us on the city-county plan to end homelessness, a project called Pathways Home. We make the distinction early, but Hoffman, who works with the county, is part of the long-term plan combatting homelessness, which is a separate entity to what the city is currently doing, h...

UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, in studio ranking Donald Trump’s VP picks and discussing how Wheel of Fortune is both not political and best for politics, as Pat Sajak has last show. Beginning of the show was mostly about Wheel of Fortune. But, not so much it being Sajak’s last show, but on Vanna White continuing and how she has the best job in history — though she...

Wisconsin Assembly Rep. Steve Doyle in studio discussing Donald Trump's guilty verdict, what the state should do about A.I. and how we haven't used much of the $4 billion in budget surplus. We also talked about plastic pollution, charging people in the Wisconsin false electors scheme, plus the half-hearted effort from Republicans in the Legislature on veto overrides that cost taxpayers.  First big...

A interesting and fun show with La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke, where we threw him some scenarios that are happening or could happen in regards to the courts, law and relating that to politics. Some of it had to deal with the Donald Trump trial, another with a Wisconsin judge possibly needing to recuse himself, plus some local scenarios where that might happen — like a La Crosse ju...