La Crosse Talk PM WIZM

La Crosse Education Association President and Central High Spanish teacher John Havlicek joined to talk about school threats, how students and teachers are coping a year after what was supposed to be the toughest year on schools, as well as some other issues — healthcare, teachers quitting, masks. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cried a bit about not getting any GI Joes or Legos, again, for Christmas. Must be 30 years in a row. After that, Dr. Michael Dolan, executive vice president and in internal medicine at Gundersen Health System in La Crosse, discussed a host of health topics, mainly centered around the dilemmas that COVID-19 creates. After that, a peculiar tweet  from the CDC about health care in the US. See om...

Did some Christmas movie rankings, and dived right into the political talk and school threat talk with UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wisconsin state Sen. Brad Pfaff joined. He's also running for Ron Kind's seat in the US House of Representatives for the 3rd District. We discussed issues like PFAS, healthcare, campaign finance among other things that he's dealing with as both a Senator and a Congressional candidate.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fire Chief Ken Gilliam joined. Talked a bit about what goes into a fire investigation, after someone was charged with arson this week after a house fire. Also got updates on where La Crosse is at with new fire stations, as well as some fire safety, after 7 were found dead in Moorhead, Minnesota, after being possibly exposed to carbon monoxide. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Viterbo biology professor and immunologist, Dr. Chris Mayne joined to talk all things COVID-19 -- from the new variant to vaccines to some of the myths people are hearing. Before that conversation began, however, we did discuss a funny story about how a professor offered students an easy $50 but nobody figured out how to get it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UW-La Crosse political science professor Dr. Anthony Chergosky joined. We ranted about Congress easily passing a $768 billion military budget for 2022. After that, we got to the TikTok challenge of school threats and how the area has been inundated with them over the past two months. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Erin Waldhart with the WAFER Food Pantry in La Crosse joined to discuss just how the community has been impacted over the past year and a half and what kinds of things they offer to help. Before that, WIZM's Brad Williams discusses Rotary Lights damage — a conversation that continued later in the show.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kicked off the show with longtime meteorologist Todd Shea from the National Weather Service - La Crosse giving us an update on Wed. night's weather and how out of the ordinary it is. After that, talked a bit more about the weather, that Rotary Lights closed and also hit on the La Crosse Center open house and the guy that was arrested for setting a La Crosse home on fire -- which killed a dog -- an...

Grace Schrope with Lake Superior Helicopters joined the show to talk about the helicopter rides coming Thursday-Sunday to Rotary Lights in downtown La Crosse. Also talked about Elon Musk as the Times Person of the Year in parallel to teachers in S.D. on display grabbing $1 in a dash for cash game for school supplies. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Longtime La Crosse Center director Art Fahey joined to break down the completion of the $42 million expansion/renovation in a bit of a preview to Wednesday's open house, where at least one big statewide guest will be present.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UW-La Crosse political science professor Dr. Anthony Chergosky joined. We hit on some Christmas music, the movie Elf, and trying to cover politics down the middle, despite sometimes there being no middle. Ended talking about the idea of a WIZM studio built into the Fish Labs event center project at La Crosse's Riverside Park See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UW-La Crosse Planetarium director Bob Allen joined in studio to talk about all things out of this world. A cube-like structure found on the moon, an asteroid buzzing the tower that is Earth, billionaires headed to space and more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wisconsin Democracy Campaign's Matt Rothschild joined for a bit to talk about what's going on around the state, including election investigations. That conversation continued a bit afterward, along with some talk about another school threat in the area. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

La Crosse Mayor Mitch Reynolds joined for the hour. Talked a bit about Badgers star Johnny Davis. We hit on the object a rover has seen on the horizon of the dark side of the moon. And we did discuss some city biz, like the roundabout project on the southside and the purchase of the $2 million Chamber building downtown.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, joined. Yes, we had a conversation about how even there, the Valley View Mall -- and malls in general -- might not succeed. Other things discussed included the school threats in La Crosse and beyond, the election investigation in Wisconsin and how Roe vs. Wade is used in politics, but Citizens United never seems to be. See omnystudio...

Barn owl nests haven't been seen in Wisconsin in 22 years ... until a few months ago, when one was discovered in a La Crosse family's backyard up in a dead maple tree. International Owl Center executive director Karla Bloem joined to talk about getting that call and what happened after that. We also talked about big plans the Center in Houston, Minn., has coming up. See omnystudio.com/listene...

US Congressman Ron Kind talked about the infrastructure deals vs. the Pentagon budget, how PFAS are affecting La Crosse County residents and how politics have turned into one side hating the other. Kind is in his final term, after serving 13 years in the US House. After that, WIZM's Brad Williams joined to talk about the city-county plan to buy the Chamber building and turn it into a headquarters...

Common Cause Wisconsin executive director Jay Heck joined to talk about all things redistricting and voting, as the Wisconsin Supreme Court has made a decision in the process of map-making for the next decade. Heck has been working with the nonpartisan group for the past 27 years.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Talked with Pat Stephens of Rotary Lights on how the Riverside Park holiday display kicked off its opening weekend and what it takes to put on such a thing for the past 27 years. Before that, Bill Soper, CEO of the La Crosse Area YMCA, joined to discuss the new 24-7 plan at the Y, as well as some major building updates in La Crosse and Onalaska.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inform...

UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky joined. We ate some Festival fluff in honor of Thanksgiving, talked about how unproductive a day Black Friday is. We also discussed the new COVID-19 variant and wrapped up talking about how whatever the problem is in the US — the $1 store being the $1.25 store now, bc "inflation" and not corporate greed — just point to who...

Started the show talking about a big study showing that Thanos couldn't have snapped his fingers with the glove he was wearing, in a movie that must be two years old. Peter Cameron with the Badger Project joined to discuss that, as well as rural broadband across Wisconsin, gerrymandering in the state and Thanksgiving foods.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Laura Gooden, archivist at the UW-L library and on La Crosse's Heritage Preservation Commission, joined to talk about the city's most endangered buildings, the ones it lost in 2021 and what the commission could do to save others on the upcoming 2022 list. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Retired criminal law attorney Pat Heim joined to discuss the finale of the Kyle Rittenhouse case and whether or not the state needs to make some changes to laws that surrounded it. Also discussed a similar case in Kenosha about a black girl, Chrystul Kizer, who did not get the same treatment as Rittenhouse. Finished up hitting on the three Georgia men on trial for what's often called a modern day...

Hit a bit of everything with UW-L political science professor Dr. Anthony Chergosky, from editing anime videos where we kill co-workers and then get censured to moving homeless indoors in La Crosse. We also discussed politicians ignoring important, popular legislation which then dies without debate and, most importantly, what's Bri craving, 4 months into her pregnancy. See omnystudio.com/listener...