WIZM - La Crosse Talk Interviews

They’re the busiest wildlife rehab center in the U.S. — located smack in the middle of the Twin Cities — and on pace to treat over 22,000 animals this year. Phil Jenni with the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota joins to explain how they do it, some of the big plans they have for the future and share a couple of the weirder rescues he’s experienced — includin...

Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, joined in the WIZM studio for La Crosse Talk, discussing inflation, tariffs, interest rates, immigration, the housing crisis — and whether he ever gets to go into the vault. Much of the conversation centered on housing and what role the Federal Reserve plays in addressing the crisis. Kashkari’s answer was simple: add...

The old Kmart in La Crosse has, perhaps, never been more popular today than when it first opened back in 1965. The buzz now, though, is when will it get demolished?  Jeremy Novak, vice president of development at Three Sixty Real Estate Solutions, joined WIZM's La Crosse Talk on Tuesday to give an update on the long-delayed redevelopment project, renamed Copper Rocks. Novak explains why const...

The La Crosse Skyrockers’ Sonya Mix and Bennett Norris in studio ahead of the big July 4 show at Riverfest on Friday. Mix has been playing with fireworks for 35 years, while Norris has been with the Skyrockers for 12, and we discuss how this stuff has changed so much over that time. We also discuss what it takes to put on a fireworks show, and maybe provide a spoiler or two for the Fourth. T...

UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, joined us in studio as we discussed what it would take to make Wisconsin a video game industry hub — including what a video game based on Wisconsin might look like — plus, whether Gov. Tony Evers should run for a third term. That’s the big topic we got into first, as the newest Marquette Law School poll shows 42% of...

Kahya Fox, executive director for Habitat for Humanity of the Greater La Crosse Region, in studio recapping committee week, going through the old Mayo St. Anne’s building and a look at ReNew the Block on La Crosse’s north side. Fox talks about how Habitat was invited to go through the old Mayo hospital, much like it did a few weeks ago trying to preserve some of the Pink Palace on Main...

A new development plan near the old Shopko on the north side, tearing down the La Crosse Tribune building and recapping the decision to double the city’s stormwater utility bill.  It’s committee week and Mac Kiel joined La Crosse Talk on Friday to discuss those decisions by the council and more, as the Judiciary & Administration committee meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday and the Financ...

When you say it out loud, ‘Tornado siren’ it seems kind of obvious, but it might not be to everyone. So, Molly McCormick, the La Crosse Fire Department community risk educator, stopped in studio to tell us just what exactly that siren can mean — spoiler alert, it's that there IS a tornado, seek shelter.  McCormick also discusses what’s legal and illegal when it comes t...

He won’t pick a state cheese, but we pinned down Wisconsin state Sen. Brad Pfaff on a state meat — and perhaps a more controversial state vegetable — this week on La Crosse Talk. Pfaff joined us in studio for a lighthearted discussion about why the state Legislature should “waste its time” doing things like picking a state meat — though he suggested that could c...

The La Crosse area community set a record for donations at last year’s Steppin’ Out In Pink at $443,000.  The event that goes toward breast cancer research and support programs has a new goal of $500,000, according to Olivia Moths, Philanthropy Program Coordinator at Gundersen Medical Foundation. Moths and Sarah Staff were in the WIZM studio this week to talk about all the ways St...

Longtime Loggers president Chris Goodell joined to talk about Brewers rookie phenom pitcher Jacob Misiorowski, and how he compares to some past greats that have come through La Crosse. The Loggers have seen some of the best pitchers in MLB history, as Goodell talks about the summers when Chris Sale and Max Scherzer were on the Loggers. Goodell also talks about the La Crosse Area Day matchup betwee...

One of the highlights of this weekend’s Big River Rally is an exclusive tour of the birthplace of S&S Cycle. Howard Kelly, with S&S joined La Crosse Talk to preview the tour, which will feature six ultra-custom bikes that have only been shown at a handful of events this year — and a look at the manufacturing side of things at the Viola, Wis., plant. S&S Cycle is a living ch...

Milwaukee Brewers president Rick Schlesinger joined and seemed on board with a few nickname ideas we pitched for his rookie phenom Jacob Misiorowski, who’s set to face off against the Pirates Paul Skenes on Wednesday — also La Crosse Area Day at AmFam Field. Skenes is arguably the best pitcher in baseball right now, and Misiorowski is living up to the hype, beginning his career throwin...

As Brewers rookie Jacob Misiorowski gears up to face MLB’s top pitcher, Paul Skenes, on La Crosse Area Day at AmFam Field, Brewers TV analyst Vinny Rottino joins to help try to land the right nickname: The Big Mizzarella? The Mizzarella Stick? Rottino, a UW-La Crosse alum, also helps break down Wednesday’s hyped matchup — where 900 from La Crosse will bus in for the game —...

Brad Quarberg stopped in the WIZM studio to talk about the interesting origins of La Crosse Area Day, where 900 people will hop into busses Wednesday to head to AmFam Field for Brewers-Pirates and the biggest pitching matchup of the season. La Crosse Area Day started in 1998 by La Crosse Mayor John Medinger but the reasoning behind it is not what you think. This interview followed a talk with Brad...

La Crosse native Nick Quarberg joined from Pittsburgh, where he’s spent the past five years on the grounds crew for the Pirates. He shared what that job’s like — including putting in 15 miles a day at PNC Park, and the time he made national TV trying (and failing) to catch a squirrel during a game. There's video . In studio was Nick’s dad, Brad Quarberg, as the Brewers get...

We took a rollercoaster ride that is trying to save the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness with Ingrid Lyons last week. Lyons is the executive director of the nonprofit Save the Boundary Waters . The Boundary Waters is a million-acre expanse of lakes and forests along Minnesota’s Canadian border — one of the most remote and cherished wilderness areas in the U.S. It’s long been...

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin joined WIZM’s La Crosse Talk earlier this week to discuss how insane it is to keep up with everything the Trump Administration is doing, but that her focus is on opposing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) talks about how the bill could kick 250,000 Wisconsin residents and add nearly $3 trillion to the national debt. Baldwin also discussed showing u...

We look at ditching Wisconsin’s income tax — if only to make the Packers more competitive — with the Tax Foundation’s Dr. Adam Hoffer, plus how the state pays to fix roads and build roundabouts using gas taxes and EV fees. We kicked things off by looking back at when Tyreek Hill signed with the Miami Dolphins, noting he chose Florida partly because it has no state income ta...

UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergoksy, in the WIZM studio for La Crosse discussing the history of Bridgeview Plaza, where Shopko once lived, the plan for tax cuts, and when Giannis get his, plus Bernie Sanders endorsing Derrick Van Orden’s opponent and a Wisconsin native who doesn’t believe in history — at all. Began the show bringing in the Human Ask Je...

La Crosse County Sheriff, John Siegel, in the WIZM studio for La Crosse Talk discussing his office’s role in the manhunt for the Minnesota killer, which included welfare checks on at least one area state Legislator. Siegel talked about how he got a phone call while at a wedding, and then things got real, as he learned someone had shot and killed a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband, sh...

A Taste of Home gala and a great conversation about homelessness in La Crosse with Julie McDermid, the executive director at Karuna, who was in the WIZM studio recently. McDermid talks about how Karuna takes a different approach to helping those experiencing homelessness, mental health crises and struggling with substance use. The Karuna house in La Crosse is home to multiple people, where they ca...

Moon Tunes co-founder, Terry Bauer, in studio to preview Week 3 of the Thursday concert series in La Crosse's Riverside Park. This week, T.U.G.G. and the La Crosse Confluence are on the stage. We did give Bauer some homework, to find out what the acronym for T.U.G.G. stands for — the band that's been with Moon Tunes since the start. As for the Confluence, we talk about this band that rotates...

A quiet time for the La Crosse County Board, so there’s no big monthly meeting. Board chair Tina Tryggestad stopped in the WIZM studio for La Crosse Talk to discuss why there’s no meeting — and how that’s not really good or bad — plus some of the priorities the board is working on. Usually, the county board meets the third Thursday each month as one of its biggest mee...

While we spent one segment on the Black Friday of Onalaska rummage sales, the rest of Friday’s La Crosse Talk with UW-L political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, was almost exclusively on A.I. in government, in classrooms and in our everyday lives. The topics we delve into when it comes to A.I. included politicians using it to write legislation — and it becomes very obvious f...