La Crosse Talk PM WIZM

Erin Goggins, executive director of the Harry J Olson Senior Center, and her lawyer, Terry Collins, in studio to discuss the ongoing dispute/negotiations between them and the city of La Crosse on the future of that building. The lease ended in 2020, and the senior center is hoping to stay in the building permanently, buying the property at 1607 North Street from the city for $1 — an offer that was...

Micheal Kurz, the Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the National Weather Service La Crosse in studio. Aside from reviewing the best/worst weather movies -- and he has yet to see Sharknado -- we previewed the bitter cold, snowy upcoming weather heading into Christmas, and we recapped what's perhaps La Crosse's craziest weather systems, which happened on Dec. 15, 2021.  See omnystudio.com/listen...

UW-La Crosse political science professor Dr. Anthony Chergosky joined to discuss everything from meeting with US House-elect Derrick Van Orden to bipartisan legislation coming from, perhaps, the most opposite US Senators in the history of our country — Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson. And that legislation: The FDA doesn’t deem cranberries healthy. That bled into a Mariah Carey Christmas conversation...

Coulee Region Wildlife Rehabilitator Kathy KasaKaitas dropped in to tell some stories about rescuing animals. She's working with 1,000-1,200 rescues a year and is pretty much self-funded through donations and grants. She told us two big stories over the past year they've helped with, including a bald eagle that was hit by a train and some baby barn owls nesting in Onalaska — the first nest found i...

UW-La Crosse outreach coordinator, Spencer Wilken, nicknamed Mrs. Photon, in studio to talk science. The big news for, not just the week, but the century, maybe ever, is scientists at a lab in California, have fused the atom -- they did fusion. We try to dissect. Before that, we talked about the diminishing snow in Wisconsin over the past few decades, as well as some snow facts from the state. End...

Viterbo economist John Robinson joined the show to help explain how Wisconsin ended up with a $6.6 billion projected budget surplus. In reference to that conversation, we also had to dive into how inflation has played a role in the surplus, as well as record-corporate profits happening at the same time.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kathy Harris, the Clean Vehicle and Fuels advocate for the NRDC, joined to talk about why the world needs to transition to electric vehicles. First, of course, the why — the impact of oil/gas vehicles versus electric.  After that, some of the ins and outs about that transition, including the need — or lack thereof — for charging stations at every "Kwik Trip" (gas station), how the tax credit has c...

La Crosse Fire Chief Jeff Schott in studio. He's six months into the job, but 22 years with the department. As the Chief, he did not drive the giant ladder truck to the studio, but he did say he can take it out now whenever he wants. It's been a busy week for the department and we talked about why that might be. There have also been two huge downtown La Crosse fires in the past two years, so we di...

Longtime La Crosse Central Spanish teacher John Havlicek joined. Among the topics discussed included the state of teachers and the teaching profession right now, where the La Crosse School District goes with a consolidation plan, and just some interesting aspects Havlicek experiences in teaching. In the middle, however, we also talked politics, including the effects of rigging district lines for o...

Wisconsin state Rep. Jill Billings of La Crosse in studio. Among the topics discussed included running for local office versus campaigning in state races. We also hit on the lack of Democratic voices being heard, when statewide races are 50-50, yet the 99 Assembly sets only have 35 Democrats. Billings also talked out where the state will go with a projected $6.6 billion budget surplus, and we hit...

La Crosse Mayor Mitch Reynolds in studio. We discussed an upcoming lobbying effort to get the federal government to address drought along the Mississippi River. We also talked about how development is going in the River Point District, which is the old Mobil Oil site. The mayor comes on the Monday before the monthly city council meeting, which will be addressing a new contract and responsibilities...

UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky in studio. Began and ended the show on the important topics, including Dunkin' Donuts in La Crosse and suing Kraft because it takes too long to microwave Mac n Cheese. In between that, we discussed the "nonpartisan" spring elections coming up that are becoming all too partisan and why Donald Trump didn't campaign for losing GOP candid...

Another outside, multi-billion-dollar corporation, this time in Switzerland, is trying to come into northern Minnesota and create a copper-nickel (sulfide) mine. It's controversial in many ways — from the company itself to even state agencies skating rules — as explained by WaterLegacy Advocacy Director Paula Maccabee. She spent a majority of the show talking about the Polymet mining project that...

John Siegel, who will become La Crosse County's sheriff on Jan. 2, spent the hour in studio. A lot of the conversation centered around how Siegel wants to create and expand lines of communication with the public through town hall-like events, social media and the media. We also talked about the county being the first in the state to allow free phone calls for people in jail, and the makeup of the...

La Crosse School District superintendent, Dr. Aaron Engel, joined for the hour. We hit on a lot of topics, beginning with whether we still have snow days, being students can "remote learn" now. We spent the second half of the show going over the aftermath of not passing the $194.7 million question, to build a new high school on the south side, and where the district — and when — goes from there. A...

Common Cause Wisconsin executive director Jay Heck joined to talk about "gerrymandering," a term that does not elude to what is actually happening in Wisconsin and other states. Map-rigging, a better phrase, as Heck explains how this past election exploited power even more and how an upcoming Wisconsin Supreme Court race becomes the most important in the country. See omnystudio.com/listener for pr...

UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, in the WIZM studio. Capping off the holiday week, we talk a lot of nonsense about Black Friday and Thanksgiving themed movies. We did, however, get very serious for a bit on the La Crosse County sheriff's race that was recently and seemingly reluctantly conceded by Republican Fritz Leinfelder, giving Democrat John Siegel the win. See...

La Crosse Education Association President Jesse Martinez and Wisconsin Assembly Rep. Steve Doyle on the show. Spent most of the time with Martinez talking about the future consolidation plans of the school district and how combining and middle and high school might work — or not work. Doyle joined to talk about Wisconsin's ever-growing budget surplus, that is projected to hit $6.6 billion by July....

La Crosse County Board chair Monica Kruse in the WIZM studio. Kicked off talking quick about what she's learned in her 14 years on the board. After that, discussed the news that Wisconsin has a $6.6 billion budget surplus and what the state Legislature could do for counties with that money it has been sitting on since January in an election year. After that, we highlighted the board's passing of a...

UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky in the WIZM studio. Opened the show following up on a conversation from last week about a Florida man packing a gun in a raw chicken while going through airport security. So, we brought in La Crosse Regional Airport director Ian Turner to walk us through what kind of meats we can and can't bring through TSA. After that, WIZM's Brad Wi...

UW-La Crosse Outreach Specialist Spencer Wilken in the WIZM studio to talk science. We hit on everything from space to the Earth, or water. The world now has 8 billion people. Is that sustainable? In relation to that, scientists are growing meat — not the plant-based stuff you see, but basically chicken breasts. Spencer also had to get her take on Betelguese (not the movie Beetlejuice), though tha...

Our political blowhard, Adam Murphy joins. Murphy ran as a Democrat in the Wisconsin US Senate race for what is now Ron Johnson’s seat for the next six years. We discuss how that happened, as the same batch of voters also elected a Democratic governor. We also talk about how Wisconsin got what’s projecting to be a $6 billion budget surplus and what to do with that now. Murphy owns a small business...

Hit on a lot of topics with La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke. That included Democrats taking control of state government in Minnesota and the almost certainty that recreational marijuana will be legalized, as Wisconsin barely even discusses it on a medical level. What kind of issues does that pose for law enforcement, with people traveling just a few miles to get a drug illegal in Wi...

UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky in studio with a midterm election recap. Most of the conversation was about voter turnout, young voters, Wisconsin state government gridlock vs. Minnesota Democrats taking full control. Capped off the conversation with a story out of Florida, where a man was caught hiding a gun in a raw chicken going through TSA. See omnystudio.com/li...

UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Tim Dale in the WIZM studio, recapping the midterm elections. Why are Democrats happy when Republicans won back a majority? How did Wisconsin's elections go? How much more engaged are young people? And do the yard signs work? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.