WIZM - La Crosse Talk Interviews

Heather Drievold, executive director at the Coulee Region Humane Society, joins to talk about the animals they have, some of the weirder experiences she's had and the events they have coming up. One of the latter is Rounds for Rescues , which only has one four-some spot remaining. The golf outing happens Sept. 12 at Fox Hollow Golf Course. Another event, a few months out, is Sip to Save on Nov. 8....

Holmen High School football coach Travis Kowalski joined to help preview the season, as they open on the road Friday at Medford. The Vikings were 7-4 last year and one of five teams to tie for the Mississippi Valley Conference championship — though Kowalski does reveal who was the outright winner. WKTY will stream all Holmen’s game this season on its  website  or search the&n...

La Crosse School Superintendent, Dr. Aaron Engel, stopped in studio Monday, just days before students are in the classroom and summer break is over. And we discussed just that, as La Crosse is now starting the year earlier after getting approval to do so by the Wisconsin state Legislature — a move that saves the district $200,000, as it no longer has to bus only private school students. We a...

Chris O’Hearn in studio to help preview the 17th annual Rockin’ the Prairie happens Saturday, a fundraiser for Brice Prairie EMS and Rescue. The event runs 4:30 p.m.-midnight behind Angry’s Way Out in Brice Prairie ( map ). It will feature bands Double Take and Last Call. There will also be meat and gun raffles, along with pull tabs and a huge silent auction. Tickets are $12 and...

Moon Tunes co-founder Terry Bauer, plus Andy Temte, the lead singer of The Remainders, in studio to talk music, a new album and preview Thursday’s show at Riverside Park. The Remainders have been performing for 21 years and Temte unveiled their new album, Thinking of You, on the show. It’ll be available for purchase at Riverside. Check out their YouTube page with over 27,000 subscriber...

La Crosse Mayor Shaundel Washington-Spivey in studio to talk through his new proposal for a city administrator, more ways he wants to connect with the community, and wrapping up bubbler talk — at least for now. The mayor joined ahead of his public roundtable Thursday at the La Crosse Center from 5-7 p.m. on three issues ( register here ). He also unveiled a new initiative, “Our City, Y...

A year ago, they were a win away from getting to the state championship. Central High School football coach Casey Knoble joined La Crosse Talk to preview this season, as they have a new quarterback in sophomore Tommy Check at the helm, behind a lot of returners on the line, plus Maxim Roberts at running back. Roberts returns after rushing for 864 yards and eight touchdowns. Check has to replace hi...

Laura Benjamin, a Democrat running for the US House in Wisconsin’s 3rd District, stopped in studio last week to talk about her priorities if elected to Congress. Those include tackling the affordability crisis — from raising the minimum wage to having universal healthcare. She also said she’d like to see the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision overturned, which gave co...

Central High School football coach Mitch Olson joins to help preview the season, ahead of their opening game at home Thursday against Waunakee.  The RiverHawks were in a five-way tie for the Mississippi Valley Conference last year and finished 5-5, losing to Holmen in the first round of the playoffs. Olson takes over this season as head coach, after being defensive coordinator and with the pr...

Mac Kiel in studio to help recap last week’s city council meeting, as we focused mostly on the installing of ADA compliant bubblers, plus the capital improvement plan. The council last week voted on two resolutions dealing with bubblers — passing one to install 18 ADA bubblers and voting down the other to delay removal of old fountains. We also talked about what was a $49 million capit...

We talk everything from teaching grade schoolers the music from KPop Demon Hunters to the voucher school system with La Crosse Education Association (LEA) president Jill Schams. She stopped in studio last week, ahead of teachers returning to the classrooms. We chatted a bit about the LEA’s relationship with the school board, before having a fun conversation about music — as Schams is a...

A Raising Cane’s is set to open, a Brewers beer vendor is running for governor and the La Crosse mayor might be pushing a vote on hiring a city administrator.  UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, in studio to hit on those topics, plus some Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ veto on gig workers — like Uber drivers. WIZM’s Brad Williams also popped t...

Lisa Klein and Randy Nelson, co-chairs of the Great Rivers United Way's annual campaign, in studio to talk about what they do, promote the inaugural United Way Week and how the funds they raise are used. Kicked off the conversation just breaking down what the Great Rivers United Way is and how they help out within the community. Then we talked about this new United Way week, running Monday through...

Wisconsin state Rep. Jill Billings in studio discussing the upcoming governor’s race, the recent 1,000-year flood in southeast Wisconsin, her off-session work — that included agrivoltaics and data centers — and an update on the Prairie Springs Science Center project at UW–La Crosse. Billings, a member of the state Building Commission, has spent seven years pushing to get Ph...

An anonymous donor has put up $100,000 in funding for a new Onalaska park.  This person is going to match up to that $100,000 at the end of August for the  Every Child’s Dream  All-Inclusive Playground that the  Onalaska Lions Club  is spearheading.  Megan Pence and Jeff Woyak with the club stopped in the WIZM studio for La Crosse Talk to discuss the fundraising...

Art McClure and Bill Harnden in studio to help preview Thursday’s Lindy Shannon Tribute at Moon Tunes. McClure is one of the original members of the Milly Maguires, the featured band this week, while Harnden is a La Crosse music enthusiast. The two, along with Moon Tunes co-founder Terry Bauer, tell stories of Lindy Shannon, like when he interviewed Elvis in La Crosse. We also talk about the...

Shelly Fortner, executive director of the Hunger Task Force of La Crosse, in studio, discussing the struggles food banks are having right now with federal funding cuts and future uncertainty, plus the dire need for the community's help. Fortner also talked about their annual Taste of the Garden fundraiser coming up from 5-8 p.m. Aug. 20 at the Kane Street Community Garden. This year's event will f...

More bubbler talk, plus a discussion about some plans on Highway 35 and airport improvements with La Crosse city council president Tamra Dickinson in the WIZM studio. Two resolutions are before the city council at Thursday’s meeting in regards to bubblers. One is to install 18 ADA compliant bubblers and the other is to delay removal of the green, cast iron ones.  We discuss why this is...

Smuggling cigarettes is a thing and there’s a new No. 1 in town, when it comes to which state does that the most. Economist, Dr. Adam Hoffer, joins to talk about the Tax Foundation’s latest report on cigarette smuggling. Wisconsin ranks 19th in the U.S., while Minnesota is sixth in the latest rankings. Hoffer explains why it happens and how states kind of depend on that excise tax from...

It’s Overdose Awareness Month in La Crosse County, and health educator Laura Runchey stopped in studio to talk about it. We discussed why the county recognizes this month — understanding overdoses, reducing stigma around drug-related deaths — and how overdose deaths have dropped sharply over the past two years, after reaching a record-high 55 deaths in 2023. The La Crosse County...

Author Tom Nelson joins ahead of his visit to La Crosse to discuss his book, Wrecked — about not only the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, but also its connection to the collapse of America’s industrial economy. Nelson will be at Pearl Street Books from 6:30–7:30 p.m. Tuesday for a book signing and discussion. November marks 50 years since the ship sank in Lake Superior, clai...

A gigantic number of topics Friday with UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky in studio, including 83-year-old Tommy Thompson for governor, Democrats fleeing Texas and the parallels it has with Wisconsin, what’s on the Presidential Fitness Test, and how much Elon Musk actually spent here last election. Plus, how the kids’ meal toy at Rudy’s Drive-In is b...

Wisconsin state Sen. Brad Pfaff in studio almost announcing a run at lieutenant governor, plus his being one of the decisive votes in getting the state budget passed — and UW-La Crosse’s science center approved. We also discussed what’s missing from the budget and upcoming priorities with a lame-duck governor. Pfaff, while not exactly announcing his intentions for a lieutenant go...

Pat Stephens didn't think Irishfest would last 20 years, but here we are. He stopped in studio to preview the three-day festival that runs Friday-Sunday at the south side Oktoberfest grounds — and across the street for the Highland Games.  Stephens gives a bit of the origins story on Irishfest, then highlights some of the activities, including all the Irish beer, a mashed potato eating...

She’s done with summer vacation. Jill Schams, the La Crosse Education Association president, stopped in studio to talk about back to school. We got into the School District of La Crosse changing its clocks and calendars — the year will start earlier on the calendar, while older and younger students will start at new times on the clocks. We also did our recurring segment on teaching mus...