La Crosse Talk PM WIZM

The director of "sin" tax — or excise taxes — joins to talk about the effects of a gas tax holiday, what Wisconsin gains and is missing out on with legalizing sports betting and marijuana, plus Adam Hoffer is on a mission to walk every street in the city of La Crosse.

We start with the definition of sin or excise tax, and why Hoffer views the gas tax differently as a "user fee" for road maintenance. We then examine calls Hoffer has been taking at the Tax Foundation lately about a gas tax holiday, and what that could mean to our road infrastructure when nearly every dollar of that tax is funneled directly into transportation budgets.

After that, we discuss Hoffer’s walking tour and his goal to cover all 250 miles of city streets, plus how he leads the Emerson Elementary students to school on Wednesdays.

The conversation then turns to the proposed indoor aquatic center at the Northside Community Pool site, as the first of five public meetings was happening just after we recorded. Hoffer, who sat on the UW-La Crosse Faculty Senate during the construction of the $49 million field house, offers perspective on potential funding hurdles, recalling how a single bid jump added $6 million to that project's bottom line.

Lastly, we break down Wisconsin’s legalization of sports gambling and the tens of millions in windfall the state could see, as well as how much it loses by not legalizing marijuana — as all of Wisconsin's neighbors move toward established legal markets.

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La Crosse’s housing crisis is a multi-front battle involving soaring rents, stagnant inventory, and a lack of available homes. To highlight these challenges and explore potential solutions, Natalie Heneghan, community outreach director at Habitat for Humanity of the Greater La Crosse Region, joined us in studio to preview Housing Week.

From the drivers behind high rent to the struggles of local builders and the city’s pending zoning code updates, Heneghan broke down the upcoming seminar schedule.

Before diving into the policy, we recapped the impact of last weekend’s Neighbor’s Day and then turned our attention to the unique culture at Habitat La Crosse. The organization is powered by a team of 12 — 11 of whom are women.

Then there’s Ralph, the dog. We talked about the dynamic of being a women-led organization and Ralph’s official role on the website: “Director of First Impressions.”

we spoke with Heneghan regarding the Heritage Preservation Commission’s recent vote to grant historic designation to Emerson Elementary School. The seven-member commission voted in favor of the designation, with Heneghan and Mackenzie Mindel casting the only two “no” votes.

The school is slated to close after the next academic year. The school district is currently fighting the historic status, arguing that the designation will restrict future redevelopment options for the site.

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Wisconsin state Assembly Rep. Steve Doyle (D-Onalaska) in studio to discuss the "good old days" in Madison, how partisan politics affects getting bills passed, where he stands on online sports gambling, and what the state should do about AI data centers.

We also talked about the upcoming open house at La Crosse County’s newly renovated Hillview Healthcare Center. As a member of the county board, Doyle discussed the $19 million project’s unique features, including a first-of-its-kind intergenerational daycare.

In terms of state politics, the conversation centered around this statistic: of the 500 bills introduced by Democrats this past session, only 19 got a committee hearing. Doyle pointed out that when Democrats last controlled the Legislature, roughly 40% of Republican bills received a hearing — a stark contrast to the 3.8% rate currently seen in Madison.

We also discussed whether getting a bill signed into law actually boosts a candidate's stock during a campaign. Doyle shared a story about a "stolen" bill he had written and saw passed by a Republican. He also highlighted his recently passed legislation capping crypto kiosk deposits at $1,000 per day to protect residents from rampant fraud.

We ended the show discussing online sports betting — which was just signed into law by the governor — and the urgent need for the Legislature to address data centers, which Doyle warns can create astronomical energy demands and offer very few long-term jobs despite receiving massive tax breaks.

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William Garcia, the 3rd Congressional District Democratic Party chair in Wisconsin, joined to discuss Wisconsin's candy-soda ban, Democrats winning on the economy for the first time since 2010 — according to FOX, yes FOX — and just how he's feeling about the midterms.

We began the show with then-and-now, asking Garcia about the "mixed bag" of the 2024  election —balancing heartbreak of federal losses with the success of picking up 10 state Legislature seats.

Garcia explains why flipping the state Assembly is now the primary target and how those new boundaries have shifted the political landscape for incumbents like Republican Derek Van Orden in the US House.

We then get into the FOX poll on the economy, where 52% now trust Democrats. We hit on the 32% spike in gas prices tied to the conflict in Iran to the $162 billion corporate "tariff refund" that's like a gift to retailers like Walmart.

In the second half of the show, we dive into a new Wisconsin law that the use of food stamps on soda and candy — except for things like ice cream, because "Wisconsin," of course.

We look how the government needs to spend $73 million to ban poor people from using food stamps to buy a Mt. Dew, and also Trump's Big Beautiful Bill only complicates this more by opening the door for the feds to take up to $200 million in federal funding away for food stamps.

We wrap up with the Trump administration targeting the Southern Poverty Law Center.

We did hit on two funny nonpolitical stories. One, a quote on dating from actor Henry Cavil saying, "If you like her, just ask her out. It always works for me." And another story on a California man  arrested after returning $34,000 worth of Lego sets with macaroni in the boxes. 

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A 10 out of 10. That’s how interesting, or maybe it was how "important," Mac Kiel thought the April monthly city council meeting was.

She stopped in studio to help recap the meeting, which included things like the city police being a couple hundred thousand dollars over budget, while other city departments were under budget and how the city council learned of this over the past few weeks. 

Another thing the council apparently learned over the past few weeks is that the city had around $300,000 in ARPA interest funding with no official plan to use it. That led to one council member proposing using $90,000 to open the North Side Community Pool this summer last minute. So, we discussed that revelation and the dilemmas to having the pool open for the season — while there are also plans to build a new indoor pool facility at that site potentially.

We also discussed — to a degree — using $400,000 in TID money on the Civic Center Park District. It’s a thing we discussed before it made its round on council and how the TID money does or does not have to be used before it expires. 

Lastly, we talked about the La Crosse School Board’s decision earlier this week to keep the old name for a new elementary school, while renaming an old school. We also discussed briefly the names that were not picked.

Kiel is a former La Crosse City Council member, who is an advocate for providing the public with what is happening with city government. She also serves on some city boards and works with the unsheltered population.

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It happened this show, trying to recall a famous name from the 1990s and going through the steps with your mind to get there.

Is it Alzheimer’s? No, and Dr. Kimberly Mueller, an associate professor at UW-Madison and researcher at the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, was there firsthand to explain it.

Mueller joined the show ahead of her visit to town to give us a look at the current state of dementia and Alzheimer’s research. We dive into the “blood test revolution” making early detection easier, the local impact of the WRAP study at Mayo in La Crosse, and the lifestyle changes that actually work for prevention — all while getting a glimpse into how an expert in the field spends a typical day.

We began the conversation by discussing why these “tip of the tongue” moments — like trying to recall the Mark McGwire using creatine to hit homers scandal — are actually a standard part of typical aging that many of us notice as early as our 40s.

Mueller explains that even experts in the field experience these lapses, but she clarifies the specific “red flag” for when word-finding transitions from a normal annoyance to a medical concern. That McGwire connection led to a deeper look at the diagnostic side of the field, where simple blood tests are now replacing invasive brain scans to detect changes earlier than ever before.

Much of this data comes from the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer’s Prevention (WRAP) — one of the largest studies of its kind — which operates a research site right here at Mayo Clinic in La Crosse.

From there, the discussion shifted to the prevention side of the research, exploring why heart health and exercise are proving more effective than “brain games.” Mueller explains that while staying active might not stop the biological proteins of Alzheimer’s from forming, keeping your cardiovascular system in check is a major reason dementia prevalence is actually starting to trend downward.

Lastly, we asked Mueller what a professor who researches, studies, and teaches about dementia does in a typical day. Mueller explains her expertise in studying the brain by listening to the way we speak. She breaks down how her team uses digital recordings to analyze “acoustic measures” — the subtle timing, pauses, and sounds within our speech — to identify microscopic red flags that the human ear simply cannot hear.

Any school, group or organization that would like to host a Badger Talk, either in person or online, email here or request a speaker online at badgertalks.wisc.edu.

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The best and worst from La Crosse Mayor Shaundel Washington-Spivey’s first year in office, as he stops in studio just days after that anniversary. We also discuss the city’s decision to appeal the Town of Campbell’s incorporation, the ongoing conversation around the north side pool, community outreach, and the reimagining of Pearl Street.

We began the show highlighting Washington-Spivey’s top year-one successes before tackling the tougher challenges.

That led to a bit of a deep dive into city budget talks and how La Crosse qualifies for between $1-2 million in state funding by staying under a strict spending cap — something that was also discussed in the last city council meeting.

Another big part of our conversation — and the last city council meeting — was the status of the north side pool. The Mayor weighs in on the council voting down $90,000 in funding to operate the pool this summer, its need for $1 million in repairs, and the potential collaboration between the city and school district to build a year-round indoor facility.

After that, the Mayor was asked about the legal tension with the Town of Campbell wanting to incorporate and the city’s reasons for appealing that decision.

In the second half of the show, we break down the features of the new city website and how to get the community better involved and informed on what’s happening within government.

We also hit on a couple of things happening, including why the city is putting off a decision on bike lanes down Green Bay Street and the details about how La Crosse could revamp Pearl Street to be better for both community and business.

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UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, in studio discussing how Wisconsin's US House members use the F bomb more than anyone, taxpayers are now paying for Badgers players and have state Republicans lost their "muscle."

We started the show with the Brewers "city" Wisco jerseys, which led to how our state Legislature will do anything to use taxpayer money on sports. From the $500 million Brewers stadium funding deal a few years ago to the state signing into law this week using $14.6 million to pay Badgers players.

Chergosky offered an interesting theory: lawmakers are just giant Badger fans who are terrified of losing ground to Indiana and Michigan — the National Champions in football and men's basketball. 

Next, we recapped the spring election fallout on the GOP side. With a 20-point blowout in the Supreme Court race, we discussed the "lazy GOP" theory, put forth by Bill McCoshen, a prominent Republican strategist and former top advisor to Tommy Thompson. It's the idea that years of favorable maps left the party organizationally "out of shape" and unable to scrap for votes now that the playing field has leveled.

Lastly, we get to analysis of who in Congress uses the F word the most, and it turns out two of the top three are US House members from Wisconsin. And the list is bipartisan — Republican Derrick Van Orden and Democrat Mark Pocan. 

Lastly, we get to analysis of who in Congress uses the F word the most, and it turns out two of the top three are US House members from Wisconsin. And the list is bipartisan — Republican Derrick Van Orden and Democrat Mark Pocan.

That, though, led to a discussion about the Third Congressional District race and Van Orden's recent social media push for a debate. Chergosky noted that Van Orden seems ready to bypass the primary entirely to take on Rebecca Cooke, who still has to defeat Emily Berge in August. Van Orden hasn't debated in either of his past two races. The last time he debated was before a 2020 loss to Ron Kind.

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Mandela Barnes is back on the campaign trail, this time running for governor, and he stopped in studio leaning heavily into a "working class vs. corporate greed" narrative.

Throughout the show, Barnes hit on his priorities, giving a Top 10 of what he’d like to get done that included expanding BadgerCare, fully funding public schools, and increasing the minimum wage. He also detailed plans to freeze utility rates, tax billionaires, and implement universal childcare, arguing that Wisconsin has "backslid" while neighboring states have pulled ahead.

We didn't just talk about his "wish list," though. We also threw Barnes a bit of  a conspiracy theory that Republicans in the Legislature — including retiring leadership — might be trying to "set the state up to fail," by draining the budget surplus before a potential Democratic takeover. 

Barnes also took aim at US House Rep. Tom Tiffany, the Republican candidate for governor, calling his support of certain federal policies a "dereliction of duty" that has left Wisconsin family farms and small businesses footing the bill.

The conversation wrapped with skepticism about AI data centers in the state. Barnes joined the pushback against the "secrecy deals" and non-disclosure agreements that often surround these projects, arguing that if big tech wants to use Wisconsin’s water and energy, they shouldn't be doing it behind closed doors — or at the expense of local ratepayers.

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La Crosse City Council president Tamra Dickinson in studio for our monthly deep dive into the April council cycle.

On the show, we discuss shifting operating budget funding, where the city administrator talk should be happening, and what's the latest for the old Kmart lot. We also hit on the idea of building an indoor pool facility and the debate over Emerson Elementary School getting historic designation.

But we started with a "restart" on the Kmart site—why a last-minute decision to split the lot into four parcels is pushing the project back another 30 days. We also dig into the "orthopedic" history of Emerson and why the school district is pushing back against a landmark status that could complicate a future sale and how the council will have the final say.

Sticking with the school district, we discuss how the indoor pool proposal could cost anywhere from $30-$50 million and Dickinson breaks down how those conversations are moving forward.

Finally, when it comes to city finance, we look at the "controversial" process of shuffling operating budget money between departments to cover those "in the red," plus the $450,000 use of TID money for Civic Center Park. That leads to talk on how these budget items highlight the need for a City Administrator, but where exactly are those conversations happening?

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