La Crosse Talk PM WIZM

Test riding an e-bike and eliminating all downtown La Crosse parking Robbie Young on La Crosse's Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory Committee stopped by and talked about of the city's plans in making La Crosse more "user" friendly. Also discussed the E-Bikes I test rode from Coulee Bicycle Co in Onalaska. And we did a bit of a deep dive on how one might transform a downtown if you simply removed on-street parking, which could be done in La Crosse. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Started talking about the two suspects identified in the La Crosse County triple homicide. After that, Adam Lorentz, MTU Czar, joined to talk Joe Biden's visit — how stingy the secret service were, when it sounds like Biden's team wanted to have some fun — bus ridership and a new ranking system the city is using for future projects.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Should we end the $300 added benefits for the unemployed in Wisconsin? The GOP-controlled Legislature is going to try and end that, while Gov. Tony Evers holds a special session on education funding. Also discussed the triple-homicide that occurred in La Crosse County late last week, and if we, as a society, are becoming numb to these atrocities.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

La Crosse County Democratic Party chair William Garcia joined today. We did talk about a very expensive grilled cheese sandwich, as well as the Goodyear blimp flying over Onalaska. Started the show discussing the triple homicide that happened overnight just north of West Salem and Garcia had a good explanation about hate crimes, stemming from the Copeland incident against a transgender girl.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hit a bunch of topics with La Crosse Fire Chief Ken Gilliam, including the difficulties the fire dept. has with traffic circles (not roundabouts) on, for example, King Street. We also did a sidebar on how Mayor Mitch Reynolds is doing and what's the more difficult job, mayor of a city or Congressman. Started the show discussing share service planning with Holmen's fire dept. and ended with where La Crosse is at with new fire stations. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Riding high after Giannis Antetokounmpo carries the Milwaukee Bucks to their first NBA title in 50 years. Talked about the lovable character he is, including his Instagram Live video ordering 50 chicken nugs. Also discussed all the odd Olympic stories that basically go after women unfairly. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the midst of a dedication ceremony where La Crosse Mayor Mitch Reynolds was speaking outside the fire department, a car accident. We asked him about that. About the Bucks. And, sure, why not some city stuff.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

City council member Mac Kiel joined. We discussed her District 7, which contains the old Kmart site, and what feedback she's getting for redeveloping that site. Also talked about the American Rescue Plan pumping $22 million into La Crosse — what should be done with that money. And the capital budget for the next five years.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Talked about a host of topics with UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, including a guy who cancelled his $28 million trip to fly with Jeff Bezos to space. Also, the Iowa man who had a huge cache of guns on a Chicago hotel window sill, overlooking Navy Pier, but he was actually there to propose to his girlfriend. Also discussed the ridiculous amount of money flowing through Wisconsin campaigns.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Viterbo University immunologist, Dr. Chris Mayne joined to discuss the COVID, how he's become increasingly more popular since the onset of the virus and how he handles questions pertaining to it, which we watched him do on this show. Then we talked Bucks basketball.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Ben Wikler joined La Crosse Talk PM to discuss the child tax credit, how it will help Wisconsin families and how Republicans wanted no part of it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When the shelter gets a call from someone they can't take care of their cats ... and then you discover it's 50 cats. That's what the La Crescent Animal Shelter is dealing with right now. We talked with Diane Foerster about it. After, Ben Wikler, the Democratic Party Chair of Wisconsin joined to talk child tax credits and the hipocracy of Ron Johnson being against those but for tax cuts on himself back in 2017.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Re-hashed some of the environmental stories from the past week, including the pipeline portal to hell swirling in the Gulf of Mexico, relating that to Enbridge's Line 5 plan to build a oil pipeline tunnel under the Great Lakes -- and another Enbridge line 3 leak in Minnesota. After that, hit on a bunch of whacky topics from a crazy Wisconsin judge to an odd Minnesota lawmaker ignoring some simple laws, then claiming racial profiling.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Car shows: Great for reminiscing but getting out of hand with the 1980s "classics," like your Chrysler LeBaron. Aside from the tangent on old cars, we did discuss the La Crosse River Marsh with "Friends of the Marsh" board president Chuck Lee. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They spelled PLOVER wrong on the water tower. It's the second consecutive Friday of water tower talk with UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky. We also discussed the Joe Biden visit, the Republican version of the Wisconsin budget and why some Democrats signed onto it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since Joe Biden didn't talk about bicycle infrastructure on his trip to La Crosse, we decided to with Robbie Young, owner of Coulee Bicycle Company on Main Street in Onalaska. Discussed e-bikes quite a bit, biking rules on the trails and how, perhaps, downtown should be better utilized for people, not cars.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

No Joe Biden on La Crosse Talk PM, but we did have Police Chief Shawn Kudron for the hour, as well as Mayor Mitch Reynolds. Obviously spent most of the show talking about Biden's visit to the city, but also discussed the murder in Houska Park that happened overnight, as well as where the La Crosse PD is at with some of the police reform bills that went through the state legislature. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US Congressman Ron Kind of La Crosse joined, talking about the Joe Biden visit to La Crosse. Not a ton of new info, however, on when and where he'll be. Did tell him to get a Happy Gilmore-sized check from Biden for La Crosse Police security detail. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky joined. We talked the brewing controversy of Dan Bongino, now on WIZM in the Rush spot, blocking Chergosky on Twitter. We also discussed, or tried to dissect, just what Sen. Ron Johnson is, or is doing. And, lastly. the cramming for the big test that Wisconsin's state Legislature is currently doing, passing a flurry of bills.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's a question, we've all wondered: Does a fire chief automatically take over the grill at a cookout? La Crosse Fire Chief Ken Gilliam was put on the spot with that one. We also talked about fire station plans in the city with building costs being so high. And there was a bit of Fourth of July fireworks safety mixed in there.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Housing market is crazy right now. Real estate agent Ben Bockenhauer with Gerrard Hoeschler Realtors joined to discuss what is going on. We also asked him if he's sold any of those Shopkos yet. At least one? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Talked mostly education but worked in some minimum wage talk with La Crosse Education Association President John Havlicek. Funding K-12 schools at the state level, Critical Race Theory and a minimum wage conversation that turned into teachers' starting pay at $70k, just some of the things we talked about. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a bit of state budget talk, we got serious (#Sarcasm) with UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky discussing how cities should be selling out to big corporations for updating their artwork, like La Crosse's Eagle statue at Riverside Park and Rochester's expensive fix for the corn on the cob water tower. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Spent most of the show talking about the stupidity of health care in the U.S. Obamacare was "saved." But it seems like we have a long way to go before health care is fixed ... universally, for everyone. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Had some fun talking with Mya Curtis and Shy Jackson as we get set to celebrate Juneteenth this weekend in La Crosse at Riverside Park. The two are founders of Hope Restores in La Crosse, which does a lot of great things for the community. And when asked if white guy Rick should feel comfortable coming to Juneteenth or volunteering at Hope Restores, they had a pretty great answer! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hit a lot of topics, all on dogs, with the Dvoraks from the Monroe County Dog Shelter. From their weirdest calls to Adam's dog rescue boot camp, which is coming soon. Before that, however, talked a bit about photography, and how I was so proud of my Airfest pics until I saw Aperture by Steve Davis' post on Facebook.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How many corndogs would your kid eat if he was at the Kwik Trip daycare, which included a "Hot Spot" bar? Talked mostly about how things like childcare and healthcare being lumped into our jobs is kind of burden on both the employer and the worker. A story recently about Kwik Trip having daycare is great news for those at Kwik Trip but not great news if you still have a child and want to leave Kwik Trip. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We always save the toughest debates for UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky. This episode, we discuss the BK vs. Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwich wars, which La Crosse can't participate in, having only half the equation. Plus, those restaurants are owned by the same parent company. We also discuss fried chicken. Oh, and some Wisconsin state politics and how the phrase Critical Race Theory is just thrown around now, despite nobody knowing what it is.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The pilot of the military's newest toy, the F-35 Lightning II, joins in studio. Major Kristin Wolfe talks about taking selfies while pulling 7 Gs and if Top Gun is a terrible depiction of pilots. After that, Airfest announcer Phil Dacy and Dave Larsen talk about the rest of the air show.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A whirlwind of news out of Madison today, we cover to start, before bringing on a couple people to talk about gerrymandering, the stupidest name for rigging legislative maps. Peter Cameron from the Badger Project joined, followed by UW-Madison political science professor Ryan Owens, who mentioned he has three golden retrievers, and we did provide some advice for him at the show's end.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

First, had to vent about the Milwaukee Bucks, down by as many as 49 points ... in a playoff game. After that, Airfest's Dave Larsen joined to break down what to expect from this weekend's shows. After that, we had some fun with earlier conversations about bringing in a Popeyes Chicken and if Costco were to come to the area. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

La Crosse Mayor Mitch Reynolds stopped by to break down the Bucks-Nets series and pickup basketball. We also did talk city stuff, like temporary speed bumps and getting a Popeyes Chicken downtown. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UFOs in the sky, UFOs in the theaters again, as we can feel good about going back to the movies. La Crosse County Democratic Party Chair William Garcia joined to talk some nonsense and some politics, including Wisconsin Republicans vs. Evers and a bit of Donald Trump vs. Facebook news.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Discussed Verizon wanting to put a 30-foot cellphone tower in Riverside Park, which we don't really want versus a developer wanting to put a 16-unit apartment complex on King Street, which neighbors in the area don't really want. Also talked with WIZM's Brad Williams about the Moon Tunes opener.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Vented about broken appliances and needing a permanent three-day weekend, before La Crosse County DA Tim Gruenke joined to explain those 16 voters in the city that registered from a UPS store. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Running against Ron Kind, the difference between running for Congress and City Council, Dr. Mark Neumann joined. We discussed a little bit of everything from those races to health care to COVID to a pig farm trying to expand just south of La Crosse.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We bring in the political expert to talk about a scenario in which you steal your friend's car for a weekend. UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, also discusses the Wisconsin state Legislature's week of rejection.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

La Crosse Fire Chief Ken Gilliam on all things fire ... and duck related. The fire department did rescue some ducks in a storm drain recently. Also discussed building new stations, possibly at the old Kmart site, shared services with surrounding departments and how the city basically uses the game Sim City to model their coverage area.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A few weeks ago, an emu (an ostrich) got loose in West Salem. Cody Ratkovich, a La Crosse County Sheriff's Deputy was first to the scene. He joined to talk about the viral videos of him wrangling this thing to the ground, how he was getting married two days later and what the guys in the office have now nicknamed him. After that, we talk developing the old Kmart site.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

La Crosse County DA Tim Gruenke on a citizens' police oversight board, soliciting prostitution citations and the Todd Kendhammer murder appeal.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We covered a host of topics with UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, including Republicans getting set to skip out on their fourth special session called by Gov. Tony Evers in about the past year -- this one on accepting federal money to expand Badger Care. Also discussed the GOP voting against Wisconsin Capitol police officers getting bodycams and $300 a week federal unemployment.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you're vaccinated, you don't have to wear a mask. But who's going to wear one if they're not vaccinated? Why aren't you vaccinated? Meghan Buechel, infection preventionist at Gundersen Health System in La Crosse, talked masks, vaccines for a little bit. More questions came afterward. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We talked ticks, bees, cicadas ... we talked bugs with Viterbo University biology chair, entomologist, Dr. Ted Wilson. What happens after the tick falls off your dog? What are these things living underground for 17 years and are starting to emerge now? And what can you do to help the pollinators? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Talked with La Crosse Parks and Rec's Jared Flick about everything from the transient dock at Riverside Park to the pools getting set to open, as well as Trane All-Abilities Park nearly ready for its grand opening. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rick, back after a week off, talks about road tripping, automated cars and Cleveland. Yeah, Cleveland. They've got a pretty sweet Public Market, something La Crosse is looking to do. But, to get there, driving a car that basically does everything for you, was different.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Always important to discuss when West Salem police bring down an emu (just call it an ostrich) with UW-La Crosse political science professor Dr. Anthony Chergosky. Also discussed was the Wisconsin state budget battle between Gov. Tony Evers and Republicans, who control the Legislature. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two guests, two interesting interviews. First we talked with International Owl Center executive director Karla Bloem ... not so much about owls, but about some, essentially, ATV trails that could go up in Houston, Minn., that might be fun for some, but no good for people and animals that live in the area. After that, Wisconsin state Sen. Brad Pfaff joined to talk about how the GOP-controlled Legislature just axed Gov. Evers budget, what he in the minority can do. We also discussed the PFAS situation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

La Crosse Mayor Mitch Reynolds debuts. We discussed Aaron Rodgers, banning weapons at the La Crosse Center and how important the new mayor sees the River Point district, as well as other vacant areas in La Crosse that could be business and housing.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bring up the vaccine, and people tend to call in about why they're not taking the vaccine. Speaking of that, also discussed La Crosse priest James Altman and his COVID-19 denial. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Talked quick about this 240-pound sturgeon caught in the Detroit River, before jumping around with La Crosse City Council president Barb Janssen on all the committee hearings this week.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.