WIZM - La Crosse Talk Interviews

La Crosse Police Chief Shawn Kudron joined to talk about enforcement in Burns and Cameron parks, and policy in dealing with homeless people. Burns Park recently reopened, while Cameron remains closed indefinitely.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Vernon Area Rehabilitation Center (VARC) president and CEO Liz Filter stopped by the studio to hype their 4th Annual New Year's Eve gala. The fundraiser takes place at the Waterfront's Cargill Room in downtown La Crosse. Filter says it's a black-tie event, but added to just can come as you are and celebrate the holiday and organization. Tickets for the event is $125 per person . Proceeds go t...

City Council President Tamra Dickinson in studio as La Crosse Talk PM returns from about a year hiatus. On the show we discuss a crazy amount of things, including one of the two parks reopening, the Charmant sale needing council approval, the search for an airport director and bringing in Allegiant Airlines. We also hit on the old Kmart lot development status, the DOT bike lanes plan for downtown,...

Wisconsin state Sen. Kelda Roys stopped in studio to discuss her bid to become the next governor, as we talked about her top priorities, plus AI data centers, public education, gerrymandering, healthcare, and retirement. As she lays out her platform, Roys emphasizes her experience as a small business owner and legislator who can "get things done" even under divided government. Roys highlights her...

Molly McCormick, the La Crosse Fire Department Community Risk Educator, says winter is the worst season for fires.  She stopped in studio to update us on where the area is with fire calls — investigative fires are up — plus McCormick gives some pointers on winter avoiding fire hazards — and where to put the carbon monoxide detector. Lastly, we talk about a program they&rsquo...

UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, joins to discuss Mandela Barnes officially entering the Wisconsin governor’s race. We break down a primary field that’s swelled to nearly double digits and talk whether it’s beneficial to run negative campaigns against political allies. We also dug into the history of the former lieutenant governor challenging US Se...

UW-La Crosse football coach Matt Janus joined to discuss his team's matchup with the defending national champions, No. 1 ranked North Central. The Eagles are 13th in the nation, heading into Round 3 of the Division III playoffs. North Central has been to the national title five consecutive seasons — winning three times. We talk with Janus about getting by Hope College last week, the ride its...

We might be close to discovering we're not alone in the universe, and we talked to one University of Wisconsin astronomer who is on the forefront of helping make that discovery. UW-Madison Astronomy Professor Dr. Thomas Beatty joined to discuss his work on the James Webb Space Telescope, why he believes proof of life on another planet is less than 30 years away, plus we got his take on the best sp...

Rick Rux with Salvation Army of La Crosse County stopped by the WIZM studio Wednesday with the focus that they need more volunteers to ring the Red Kettle bells. Rux talked about some of the experiences he’s heard from those bell ringers — one particular volunteer stuck out, as the temps really dropped this week.   “Well yeah, it’s been cold already,” Rux said. &...

Wisconsin state Assembly Rep. Steve Doyle (D-Onalaska) in studio discussing everything from another candidate entering the governor’s race to proposals banning candy and soda from poor people, to the feds killing the cannabis industry, plus his work on the Elder Services task force. Began the show discussing Mandela Barnes getting into the Wisconsin governor’s race and whether having s...

La Crosse Schools superintendent, Dr. Aaron Engel, joins to discuss how they decide its a snow day, new school names as the Hogan Administrative building comes down, and the fact that Central High School now has the only planetarium in town. We began with snow days, as Engel shares insights into how they make the decision, which includes him driving the district as early as 3:30 a.m. to test the r...

Tim Alberts in studio discussing the formation of a new committee between the La Crosse School District and the city with the primary focus being an indoor pool plan on the north side. Alberts, a La Crosse School Board member, details how the committee is being formed, drawing on his past experience with similar groups through the school district and, of course, dives into the pool discussion. The...

Araia Breedlove with the Lac du Flambeau Tribe and Sister Sue Ernster with the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration join to talk about a historic first: a land return — a reparations deal between the Catholic church and Native Americans. The two tell the story of returning the Sister’s Marywood Spirituality Center in Arbor Vitae, Wis., back to the Tribe for $30,000 — the ori...

"Come for community, stay for the food," that's the motto for this year's 44th annual La Crosse Community Thanksgiving Dinner. Ruth McQuiston-Keil and Vince Ristow stopped in the WIZM studio to help preview the event, which happens 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. on Thanksgiving in South Hall at the La Crosse Center. McQuiston-Keil stressed that this event is free to all, and welcomed everyone to come in and enj...

A week away from “committee week” in the city of La Crosse, and Mac Kiel stopped in the studio to help break down what’s on the agenda. We also discussed the old Kmart development, as Three-Sixty Real Estate Solutions presented to another neighborhood association this week, a new restaurant — Ichiddo Ramen — opening in downtown La Crosse.   Committee weeks starts...

Pat Stephens in the WIZM studio to help preview the 31st annual Rotary Lights. The holiday display goes live in Riverside Park when Santa hits the switch after the downtown parade at 5 p.m. Friday.  Stephens tells the story of how they got Rotary Lights started, and why it moved a couple times and now is home at Riverside. He also talks about some of the new lighting displays this year, inclu...

We talked mostly what's on the table for Thanksgiving dinner with Southern Bluffs music teacher Jill Schams, but we did get into some education topics, as well. Schams more or less admitted that her mom won a turkey cooking competition one year simply because she wrapped that turkey in bacon. Schams, the La Crosse Education Association president, also talked about the types of conversations that a...

Green Bean casserole, pistachio salad — these are staples that we only see on Thanksgiving. But one item that's never talked about is the turkey itself. Do people actually like turkey? That was just one part of the Thanksgiving show with Wisconsin state Sen. Brad Pfaff and UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky. We also got into some holiday-related politics, includi...

There aren’t many Thanksgiving movies, but we found one Rivoli co-owner Jonathan Gelatt hasn’t seen. Gelett joined WIZM's La Crosse Talk, as we discussed holiday movies and what the downtown La Crosse theater has coming up for the season. We also learned that the Rivoli has a semi-relaxed spaghetti policy — for those Always Sunny fans. Gelatt talks about how the Rivoli focuses on...

A La Crosse wheel tax, why the Wisconsin Legislature is balking at sports betting, the crowded field in the Wisconsin governor’s race and the politics behind Madison politicians voting on hundreds of bills all at once — before leaving for the year. Those are the things we threw at UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, beginning with the state Legislature now...

Mac Kiel in studio discussing the closing of the north branch library, the two downtown La Crosse plans, public outreach and rezoning.  Before bringing Kiel in, though, began the show with a quick rant about the future of downtown La Crosse and what that might look like, as the city council last week postponed plans for 3rd and 4th streets. That future includes that Wisconsin DOT plan, plus a...

UW-La Crosse is doing something special Saturday to celebrate the first-ever Greg Lonning Day. Both the 15th-ranked UW-L women’s basketball team — coached by Greg Lonning’s daughter, Moran Lonning — and the fifth-ranked UW-L wrestling team will be competing side by side against Luther in Mitchell Hall, beginning at 5 p.m. So, if you're sitting in the bleachers at Mitchell H...

The 61st annual Holiday Fair gets underway at the La Crosse Center today, as David Tauscher and Nikki Kimpton stopped in studio to give us a preview. The event runs Thursday through Sunday with door prizes given away every hour, every day. Santa Claus will be there for pictures and Rudolph will be running around the premises, as well. There's also a snow globe you can get your picture taken inside...

UW–La Crosse cross country coach Derek Stanley joins us in studio ahead of both his men’s and women’s teams heading to the National Championships on Saturday. The UW–L men are the defending champs and have been ranked No. 1 all season, while the women are ranked sixth and coming off a 13th-place finish at Nationals last season. We break down both teams, but we also talk abo...

National Weather Service La Crosse meteorologist Jonathan Naylor joined to talk about getting ready for winter and if we’re going to have a white Christmas. The National Weather Service notes that its Winter Weather Awareness Week, and Naylor pointed to some tips for being prepared. About a month ago, the NOAA put out a report that said this could be a harsher winter than in the past. We als...