La Crosse Talk PM WIZM

UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, in studio discussing optics of the Trump-Zelenskyy Oval Office meeting, media bias and why Republicans are now shying away from public town halls. Plus, Chergosky reignites the #CurdWar between Kwik Trip and Culvers, and we chatted quick about the end of Skype, when the video service should be ruling the world. We began the show by delving into media bias, highlighting billionaire Jeff Bezos's recent overhaul of The Washington Post's opinion section to prioritize "personal liberties" and "free markets," which led to the resignation of opinion editor David Shipley. This move has sparked significant debate about media handling of the Trump administration. Our conversation then shifted to the peculiar televised meeting between Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President Donald Trump, VP JD Vance, and the media. We analyzed the unusual dynamics of the event, including whether anyone emerged favorably from the encounter including the journalist who blew his question asking Zelenskyy about not wearing a suit). This led us to examine why Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, are retreating from holding public town halls, claiming paid actors are attending to voice complaints. Chergosky noted that Democrats held a similar stance around 2009 during Obama's tenure and the Tea Party movement. We wrapped up the show saying farewell to Skype and wondering how it managed to fumble what should have been an easy win as the pandemic moved everyone to video calls. Once the only name in that realm, Skype somehow let Zoom take over — when, really, it should have been ruling the world of virtual meetings. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, may have just sparked Wisconsin’s fiercest food fight — the Great Curds War between Kwik Trip and Culver’s. We kicked off Friday's show with this critical debate and circled back often. Chergosky took a firm stance on who has the best cheese curds based on some changes in the Kwik Trip kitchens. In the spirit of ranking Wisconsin favorites, we also discussed La Crosse-area businesses that made Forbes Top 100 list for customer service, including Kwik Trip, Chick-fil-A, Barnes & Noble, The UPS Store, Five Below, Texas Roadhouse, and the soon-to-arrive Raising Cane’s. From there, we tackled the La Crosse mayor race between Shaundel Washington-Spivey and Chris Kahlow. A big chunk of the conversation centered on the city administrator position, which was a continuation of Thursday's conversation with Dr. John Kovari. Chergosky discussed whether the position could bring out single-issue voters, how the candidates have (or haven’t) taken a firm stance on city administrator, and why it doesn’t really have political ideologies — unlike everything else these days (even cursive in Wisconsin, for some reason). We also briefly covered the La Crosse School Board race, featuring six candidates, and broke down Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ state budget address. Is it a legacy budget? A reelection budget? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UW-L political science and public administration professor, Dr. John Kovari, joins in-studio to dissect everything from the city administrator's role in lowering La Crosse taxes to working Oompa Loompas into a conversation about TIFs — which might explain why his TIF book is orange. Kovari breaks down TIF (Tax Increment Financing) districts, how La Crosse uses them, and why they're on the spring ballot for both mayor and city council. Oh, and speaking of TIFs, Kovari literally wrote the book on them — Tax Increment Financing: A Practical Guide for Analyzing TIF Risks, Benefits, and Outcomes (available here). He is yet to set up a Pearl Street Books signing. Beyond TIFs, we dig into the pros and cons of La Crosse potentially hiring a city administrator, which is also on the ballot. Part of that conversation included whether the position could help lower taxes. Finally, we discuss regionalizing assets, like the La Crosse Center and the La Crosse Regional Airport and how that, too, could reduce the burden on city taxpayers. Basically, the whole show toyed with the one big question: How do we lower taxes in La Crosse so people actually want to move here? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, joins on Valentine's Day, so of course we discuss those chalk hearts. We also got into voter turnout in Tuesday's primary with the mayor race being on the ballot, plus is Tim Walz going to run for US Senate in Minnesota? Began the show, though, with Valentine's Day, whether those candy hearts are even good and what ever happened to those candy cigarettes. Later in the show, we negotiate a babysitting hourly rate to watch Chergosky's 2 year old. After that, we hit on voter turnout in Wisconsin's primary election, which comes to conclusion Tuesday and how that could be all over the place. Onalaska has one thing on the ballot, while La Crosse has its mayor and school board. After that, news that 66-year-old US Sen. Tina Smith isn't running for reelection in Minnesota and if Gov. Tim Walz would put himself in that race. That led to a few conversations, including if governor or senator is a tougher job and if governor or mayor is more difficult. We also talked about how political parties might handle having a primary in those races and if that's better or worse in terms of winning the overall election. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, in the WIZM studio Friday for La Crosse Talk PM, breaking down the mayor debate, while also discussing what you wish you knew before moving to the area and creating fake social media profiles. Less than 12 hours after WIZM hosted the four candidates for La Crosse mayor, Chergosky, along with WIZM’s Brad Williams, spent a good portion of the show covering different aspects of the forum, including the mic drop answer from one candidate and some of the other key questions. We also hit the La Crosse Reddit question of the day: What do you wish you'd known before moving to La Crosse? The third thing we covered was the controversy of public officials making fake social media profiles to either bash opponents or policy, or talk themselves up, as a story out of Oshkosh shows two school board members doing just that. It’s also something that’s happened in the area, when the Holmen School Board president did something similar. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Feb. 6, the four candidates running for La Crosse mayor took part in a forum hosted by WIZM at the UW-La Crosse Student Union. Shaundel Washington-Spivey, Vicki Markussen, Ellie McLoone and Chris Kahlow are looking to push through the primary and on to the spring election. Voting in the primary ends Feb. 18, when the field will be cut to two. Here's the rundown of questions: 3:24 - Opening statements 10:22 - Question 1: Allyson Fergot (WKBT) — What's your opinion of the Pathways Home project and what would you do as mayor to make it a success? 15:18: Question 2: Brad Williams (WIZM) — How do you see the ideal role of a city administrator who would work alongside and where do you stand on the idea if one is hired? 20:18: Question 3: Chandler Brindley (WXOW) — How do you continue to ensure a safe level of drinking water for the city of La Crosse? 24:40: Question 4: Hope Kirwan (WPR) — In what ways can the city best support La Crosse Schools? 29:53: Question 5: Todd Krysiak (Tribune) — Do you believe there's a need for the city to focus infrastructure updates on a specific type of infrastructure in upcoming budgets and, if so, what type needs the most attention? 34:56: Question 6: Fergot — As mayor what would you to build 200 new housing units a year to keep up with demand, while keeping prices affordable for residents. 40:44: Question 7: Williams — How do you plan to work with the surround communities and could you point to a program where you'd like to see more cooperation? 45:14: Question 8: Brindley — What are your thoughts on charging for a city amenity , like the new $25 a year to use the yard waste site? 49:59: Question 9: Kirwan — Should La Crosse Police be involved in immigration enforcement, assisting federal immigration officers? 52:28: Question 10: Krysiak — How would you hold city department heads accountable to meet your goals for the city, especially since at this time La Crosse does not have a city administrator? 56:22: Closing statements See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UW-L political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, in the WIZM studio for La Crosse Talk discussing the worthwhile and worthless bill lawmakers propose, like banning cellphones in school in Wisconsin and putting Donald Trump on Mt. Rushmore. We went down a rabbit hole on that latter idea, while I came up with a better proposal — putting Trump on the $1 million bill. That, in a way, actually, already happened, but it did lead to a deep dive on the idea. After that, we got into a more substantive discussion on Wisconsin legislators proposing a school cellphone ban and how this is an example of big government doing something good versus leaving it to small governments, like school boards, to be the arbiter of such things. After that, other proposals by Republicans in the Legislature, including requiring schools to display “in god we trust,” what flags get to be flown, no tax on tips, return to work requirements and curbing the governor’s veto powers. Began the show, though talking about the Super Bowl halftime show with Kendrick Lamar and how that’s triggered 17 Louisiana Republicans worried something might happen. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

La Crosse County and 3rd US House District Democratic Party chair William Garcia in studio trying to make sense of all the chaos that surrounds President Donald Trump's first days, the Dems' involvement in local races and Goonies turns 40 this year. Started and ended the show with Trump's first 10 days in office. We began with his administration's strategy of overwhelming with chaos. The impossibility of anyone or anything trying to keep track of what's going on. We ended with DEI. Trump blamed just about everything, including DEI, on the nearly 70 dead from an Army Blackhawk helicopter crashing into a passenger jet. In between that, we hit on some of the past and present legislative policies in Wisconsin, including Gov. Tony Evers lowering the standard on lead in water to help replace pipes, as well as the state allowing free tax filing. We also hit on how funding for reading, PFAS and emergency rooms couldn't get passed in the last two years, despite being in that budet. Then we got into the La Crosse mayor forum coming at 6 p.m. Feb. 6 at the UW-La Crosse Student Union, plus how the La Crosse County Democratic Party is involved in local elections, like mayor, school board and city council. After that, we paused a bit to chat about our other passion: sci-fi. A new Spiderman series dropped on Disney, but we also talked about the latest Star Wars show Skeleton Crew, as Garcia compared it to Goonies — which actually turns 40 this year. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, in studio as we kickoff the show breaking news that a La Crosse mayor primary debate is coming, plus the news of a media group laying off or firing local meteorologists. Began the show talking about WIZM hosting an upcoming La Crosse mayor debate between Ellie McLoone (who will be on La Crosse Talk at 7 a.m. Wednesday), Chris Kahlow, Shaundel Washington-Spivey and Vicki Markussen (who was on La Crosse Talk last week Monday). After that, we discussed Allen Media perhaps backtracking on laying off meteorologists, including in La Crosse, after public outcry. We also conjured up a strange scenario in what could be their plan to replace weather people with some Weather Channel intern in Atlanta, and what that might look like. Lastly, we simply asked the question, "Do we need local meteorologists?" We can access the weather any time, plus there are nearly a dozen employees at the National Weather Service La Crosse, up on the bluff. After that, more weather news, as a meteorologist in Milwaukee was fired for expressing their opinion on their personal social media site of Elon Musk's "Nazi-like salute." Lastly, we talked about a "Captain Obvious" statement from the Walgreens CEO, who said people buy less stuff when it's locked behind glass cases. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, in the WIZM studio Friday for La Crosse Talk PM, despite it being Quitters Day. We discuss what that is, along with a slew of other things: La Crosse Talk PM airs weekdays at 5:06 p.m. Listen on the WIZM app, online here, or on 92.3 FM / 1410 AM / 106.7 FM (north of Onalaska). Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts here, Spotify here or subscribe to La Crosse Talk PM wherever you get your podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Katie Kotlowski, the two-time National Champion with the No. 1-ranked University of Wisconsin women’s hockey team, joined La Crosse Talk PM on Thursday. The senior defensive player, who calls La Crosse her hometown, talks about playing on the ice on Wrigley Field last weekend, how she got started in hockey at the Green Island Ice Arena and what she does off the ice through volunteering. Plus, you know, winning titles in 2021 and 2023, losing in the championship 1-0 last season, and who’s better: Badgers hockey or Wisconsin volleyball? Kotlowski has started for the Badgers since she was a freshman. The Badgers (20-1-1) are ranked No. 1 in the nation and it’s not even close. We start out talking about playing that game at Wrigley against No. 2 Ohio State, and also get into how she’s an advocate for mental health and what it’s like playing all five years on a team that always has national championship expectations. La Crosse Talk PM airs weekdays at 5:06 p.m. Listen on the WIZM app, online here, or on 92.3 FM / 1410 AM / 106.7 FM (north of Onalaska). Find all the podcasts here or subscribe to La Crosse Talk PM wherever you get your podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

He's the man behind the eats on Abe's Raves, Abram Dyke, stopped in the WIZM studio to talk everything food. We got into things like best pizza and best burger in the La Crosse area, but also how Abe's Raves got started, because it's a pretty heart-warming story. We also hit on what La Crosse does well for dining out, and what it's missing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, in the WIZM studio Friday for La Crosse Talk PM, predicting the Top 2025 stories for both La Crosse and Wisconsin. This conversation went back and forth, as we did a bit of a dive on each topic, including the La Crosse mayor's race and adding ranked-choice voting, plus school referendums and when to put those on the ballot and Chergosky's storyline predictions for 2025. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Instead of having Pam Starcher stop in at WIZM, we took La Crosse Talk PM to her, and discussed how to make yoga a New Year's resolution, right from her studio at The Yoga Place at Fifth and Main streets, downtown. Stacher has been the owner for a decade but The Yoga Place has been there nearly 40 years and was La Crosse's first-ever yoga studio. For those who want to try and make yoga their thing in 2025, Starcher has a beginner series for eight Monday's from 4-5 p.m. beginning Jan. 6. So, we talk about her approach to yoga, how to make that a resolution you can keep and the way she makes yoga inclusive for people of all abilities. We hit on how how athletes could benefit from yoga, and how a lot of people wish they would have gotten into it sooner. We also talked a bit about the studio itself, its location in City Square and how that was the old Herberger's, when all the big box stores used to be downtown. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

WIZM's Brad Williams in studio to recap La Crosse's biggest topics of 2024 from the porn scandal at UW-La Crosse to Donald Trump and Kamala Harris campaigns in town and capped off by development in the area. A week ago, we broke down the Top 25 most viewed stories on the WIZM News website, but this conversation is about Williams Top 3 story categories, which was led off with the UW-La Crosse saga involving fired chancellor Joe Gow and the aftermath of Board of Regents learning he has sex with his wife on camera and with adult film stars that makes its way to the internet. After that, we talk about all the presidential campaigns that barnstormed through La Crosse right up until the day before the election, plus the local political headlines, like the mayor not seeking reelection or not having enough candidates running for La Crosse School Board. The last topic to top off 2024 was all the development that happened — or didn't — in La Crosse, including the Macy's getting torn down for more parking, another Starbucks, a Raising Canes, a Panda Express and a carwash. Plus, every Shopko in the area was converted into something, while the old Kmart is still standing and when that might be coming down. And things that didn't happen, like the Kmart getting demolished or Costco going up near downtown. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The owner of Pearl Street Books, Beth Hartung, and La Crescent’s public library director, Jess Witkins, stopped in the WIZM studio to discuss, what else, books, including the best of 2024, book bans, reading as a New Year’s resolution, and what’s changed in popularity over the year and years. This is part of a series of La Crosse Talk PMs about New Year’s resolutions, as we discussed a couple of different strategies to help get you reading more — and how to stick with it. We also talked about a shift in popular genres over the years — including to fantasy to horror to unsolved murders — plus what’s been most popular in 2024 and what is a must read this year, and ever. We discussed book bans, how Wisconsin and Minnesota have handled those and making sense of why they happen. Other things we hit on included buying used and the two instances when you should buy new, plus reading physical books versus a digital copy. Hartung has owned Pearl Street Books downtown for three years, and talked about some of the events she’s been holding there to make the store more inclusive and a third space. Witkins has been with the library systems eight years and talks about programs they have and what’s been popular to the public there, lately. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Claire and Phillip Mitchell kickoff a La Crosse Talk PM series on health, as the new year approaches and we all start thinking about resolutions. The two own Mitchell Holistic Health in Onalaska, a clinic that tackles health issues in various ways, from physical therapy to functional medicine to life coaching. The Mitchells are headed into their fifth year at the clinic, and we talked about their origins stories, that hovered around Claire’s health battles, and led to Phillip deep diving into those issues. All that sort of sprouted the clinic, where Claire as a nutritionist and Phillip a physical therapist, plus the rest of the team, can address people’s needs in ways that regular clinics won’t look at. A lot of the conversation hovers around what they describe as functional medicine and how your body can be inflamed — not like the inflammation that comes from a sprained ankle — and the three-tiered way they help people overcome their issues. We also discuss the kind of people their clinic is for — whether that’s someone with a sports injury or people with everyday chronic pain — and what it takes to get them healthy and, perhaps just as important, keep them on track in what could be a lifestyle change. Afterall, this is a new year's resolution show, and most of that battle is sticking with the plan. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two conversations about homelessness on Monday's La Crosse Talk PM with city council members Chris Woodard and Mac Kiel. La Crosse’s two big committees meet next week Thursday, Woodard discusses a resolution he’s authored that — simply put — requests the state and federal government’s help in addressing homelessness. After that, Kiel joins to talk about the warming shelters being full and how the council’s “camping ban” has affected the homeless. Plus, we discussed the need for a surge shelter and how that should have coincided with something like a camping ban. She also broke down the city’s policy on using the Main Street library as an emergency shelter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, in the WIZM studio Friday for La Crosse Talk PM, discussing whether Santa is a Democrat or a Republican, how old is too old to believe, is Elon Musk or Donald Trump the president, and will the next two years of the Wisconsin state Legislature be less productive than the last. Began the show with a caller complaining about alternate-side parking rules, after she received a $0 ticket, and using police to hand out tickets when they have better things to do. After that, we talk of the news that the US House could only fund the government again for a few months. It kicked the can down the road to now the next Congress to fund the government. One of the funding bills that didn’t pass was the House — whose members make $174,000 a year — giving itself a pay raise. We recap how this Congress has been the least productive in modern history, especially in the House. That debacle began with a historic record 13 votes to make Kevin McCarthy the Speaker, kicking him out, and not ever passing a government funding bill or a farm bill. After that, we quickly hit on a new La Crosse mayoral candidate has filed to run, bringing that total to four to replace Mayor Mitch Reynolds. Then, from an unproductive Congress to just how productive will Wisconsin’s state Legislature be with new voting districts, a state Supreme Court race that could turn that upside down and a governor’s race at the end of the term. Part of that conversation was about how the Legislature was unable to do much with a multi-billion-dollar state surplus to pass any meaningful legislation on PFAS, rural hospitals, marijuana legalization, childcare or the state’s 175-year-old abortion ban. After that, we went back to Congress, and the future of now-Speaker Mike Johnson, and whether Musk or Trump is running the country, after Musk tweeted to kill the first US House government funding bill. Finally, we discuss a couple of YouGov polls in regards to whether Santa Claus is a Democrat or Republican and how old is too old to believe in the big guy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Central High School teacher John Havlicek in studio discussing, in his over 30 years, how kids have changed because of cellphones. We also hit on the $4.5 billion state surplus, as Gov. Tony Evers was in La Crosse on the budget, and how school funding leads to better student outcomes. We started, though, with Havlicek teaching Spanish and how or whether that’s changed of his three decades. After that, we got into the state’s $4.5 billion budget surplus, how Gov. Evers was in town for a budget listening session and Havlicek’s takes for attending. At the midway point, we got into school funding — as voters in the La Crosse School District just passed a $53.5 million referendum to build and upgrade elementary schools — and how much the voucher school system costs taxpayers and the district. We then got into healthcare for just a bit, before discussing a listener question on how more money means better students — or better student outcomes. And that led into a conversation about how kids have changed in Havlicek’s time in schools with the evolution of cellphones and the negative impact they have on things as simple as interacting with each other. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.