La Crosse Talk PM WIZM

Before we get into it with David Crowley, since the interview was recorded a day prior to going live on air, I start things off with a a bit of a recap / preview of our conversation, and throw a little theory of mine out there on how AI data centers going up all over the place is likened to the 2013 Tom Cruise movie, Oblivion.

As for Crowley, he stops in the studio and we discuss everything from housing challenges and budget management to Wisconsin and data centers, plus how he sets himself apart in a crowded field of candidates running for Wisconsin governor.

But, since he’s the Milwaukee County Executive, and the city of La Crosse has been in a two-year debate on hiring an administrator, we selfishly started right there — on his job and his thoughts on how that position might fit in a city like La Crosse.

From there, we got into Republicans in the state Legislature deciding to end work for the year on Feb. 19 — and what Crowley might do in this situation if he was governor right now. Would he publicly call out the early adjournment or would he be more like Giannis Antetokounmpo, and handle the situation mostly behind closed doors?

We also brought up what seems like the word of the year: affordability. Crowley talks about how a state can manage costs vs. how the feds might handle things. That got us into how housing density can reduce the property tax burden and fuel economic development.

We also spent a lot of time on data centers. Crowley balances the conversation here, defending the environment and the need for transparency while highlighting the potential for these companies to pay their way by upgrading the state's power grid and expanding broadband. The conversation digs into whether those trade-offs are worth it, especially considering the noise, the drain on resources, and the fact that these massive buildings provide very few jobs once they’re actually running.

Lastly, since he’s one of seven major Democratic candidates, along with the lone Republican running for governor, Crowley is asked what sets himself apart. He points to his "receipts" in Madison — specifically the passage of Act 12 — to show he has the executive experience to actually negotiate with a Republican Legislature. We finish the conversation by looking to the general election and his potential opponent, US House Rep. Tom Tiffany, whom Crowley characterizes as a "lapdog" for national interests.

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Defend, not repeat. That’s the motto this season for the No. 1-ranked UW-La Crosse gymnastics team, as they look for back-to-back National Championships.

Coach Kasey Crawford, along with All-American juniors Paige Breckwoldt and Raina Christenson stopped in studio to talk about winning it all last year, who the best athletes are on campus, what makes their sport so tough and — again — trying to defend, not repeat winning it all.

We also hype up a matchup at 6 p.m. Friday at the La Crosse Center with No. 3-ranked UW-Whitewater, and a special appearance by Maggie Nichols — a world champion gold medalist and was the first gymnast in NCAA history to earn a "Gym Slam" by scoring a perfect 10.0 on all four individual events.

This is Crawford’s 10th season at UW-L, where she now has a title, plus three second-place and two third-place finishes nationally.

Meanwhile, Christenson is the reigning National Champion and WIAC Champion on the beam and a two-time All-American, she made history earlier this season by becoming the first Eagle since 2018 to win an individual title at an NCAA Division I meet, taking first on beam at Northern Illinois.

And Breckwoldt is a two-time All-American and a key force on vault, where she placed third at the National Championships last season. She has already proven to be a standout in 2026, recently sweeping the vault and floor exercise titles in the Eagles' victory over top-ranked UW-Oshkosh.

Since recording, UW-L went from No. 2 to the top team in the national rankings.

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Mac Kiel in studio recapping last week’s city council meeting, where both city administrator and what we call the “bike lanes” plan were both on the agenda. 

Now, what that plan really entailed was the council making a recommendation to the Wisconsin DOT for basically a revamp of downtown La Crosse from storefront to storefront between King and La Crosse streets. We talk about the “hybrid” plan that was selected — bike lanes on only two blocks north of downtown — and how it will impact downtown. 

We also discussed Pearl Street, including the farmers market moving there this upcoming season and what that area might look like as a pedestrian-only street — something we explored with economist Dr. Adam Hoffer last week.

The second half of the show was dedicated to the city administrator plan(s) that didn’t pass the two-third majority last week. Kiel explained how the original charter ordinance, that’s been on the agenda since 2024 failed 0-13, and why the new plan was the one actually considered — and why just having the plan on the agenda has hampered the council.

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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Economist Dr. Adam Hoffer in studio to discuss some wild ideas we have, a day after the La Crosse council took votes on city administrator and the “bike lanes” plan for downtown.

Hoffer, the director of excise tax policy at the Tax Foundation, helps brainstorms some new ideas for La Crosse, like turning Pearl Street and King Street into greenways — basically turning them into parks. 

We also break down what’s been called the “hybrid option” for downtown La Crosse. The council is recommending that plan to the Wisconsin DOT, which is preparing to revamp downtown from storefront to storefront starting in 2030.

We end the show by breaking down the city administrator proposal, including the cost of the position, plus how the city could go about having a position like that to make government more efficient in different ways.

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Wisconsin Assembly Rep. Jill Billings hopped on La Crosse Talk PM on Wednesday from Madison to describe what she called the most chaotic end to a legislative session of her 15-year career.

Most of the conversation centered on the volume of bills moving through committee and the frenetic pace for lawmakers, staff, and lobbyists, as Republicans have scheduled legislative work to conclude for the rest of 2026 on Feb. 19 ahead of the upcoming campaign season.

In these final days, Billings has seen three of her bills pass through committee and hopes they receive a vote from the full Legislature and reach the governor’s desk.

The bills that cleared committee were AB 1000 out of Children and Families, while AB 957 and AB 958 passed through Criminal Justice and Public Safety.

Billings is also hoping to see her Water Notification Act advance — a bill that would require the DNR to notify local health departments within seven days of discovering contaminated well water.

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US Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) joins as a midnight Friday deadline looms to fund the Department of Homeland Security and rein in what she describes as "unidentified, masked, armed, untrained agents" roaming residential streets.

The negotiations come in the wake of the killing of 37-year-old Alex Pretti, a Green Bay Preble High School graduate and ICU nurse, who was fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis last month. Baldwin, who recently honored Pretti on the Senate floor, is calling the current federal activity "chaos" and is demanding "common sense guardrails" be added to the DHS funding bill.

Baldwin is calling on these agents to "take the masks off and put their body cams on" and stop "roving patrols" that target people who "look different."

She argues that these federal units must be held to the same "rules of engagement" and "basic rules of conduct" as local law enforcement.

The Senator also breaks down her opposition to the GOP-backed SAVE Act, labeling it an "effort on the part of this administration to intimidate voters."

Baldwin warns one part of the bill would "disenfranchise people who take their husbands' names" because their current IDs often don't match their birth certificates.

Baldwin calls the legislation "crazy the way in which they are trying to make it more difficult to vote" and says the plan has no chance of passing the Senate.

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 To bike lane or not to bike lane? That’s one of the questions La Crosse's city council will answer Thursday at its monthly meeting.

If that isn't enough, the council will also vote on whether to hire a city administrator. Council President Tamra Dickinson stopped in studio to help break down the legislation and discuss some other city business.

Before getting into bike lanes and the administrator position, Dickinson gave us the rundown on recent airport news, including Thursday's upcoming confirmation of new director Lauren Koss and two new airlines launching service in La Crosse. Dickinson also talked about the La Crosse Fire Department working with Tri-State Ambulance to provide EMTs three nights a week.

After that, we dove into the city administrator decision — which involves two “charter ordinances” for a position the council has put off multiple times since September 2024. The first ordinance, created in 2024, received no recommendation from the committee last week, while a new ordinance passed through committee with a 7-0 vote.

We closed out the show discussing the Highway 53 Corridor Project, where the Wisconsin DOT will tear up downtown La Crosse down 3rd and 4th streets, storefront to storefront. There are three plans the council could recommend to the DOT: one without bike lanes, one with bike lanes down both 3rd and 4th, and a hybrid plan that features two blocks of bike lanes north of downtown.

We also talked about where the roundabout on La Crosse Street fits into that plan. 

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From 8k to 100-miles, we covered the distance runners with UW-La Crosse national champions, Aidan and Grant Matthai, and ultramarathoner Julia Hartig in studio.

The Matthais are in the midst of trying to win back-to-back triple crowns — winning national titles in cross county, plus indoor and outdoor track. So far, the seniors have four wrapped up, as they’re in the midst of indoor season.

Meanwhile, Hartig is coming off winning La Crosse’s Hixon 50 and breaking the course record in the Midwest States 100K, as she gears up for multiple ultramarathons this spring. 

On the show, we talk about the emotions leading up to winning — and losing — a national championship, what you eat before a big race and the mindset you need to run an 8K vs. a 100K.

We also talk about “The Mahthai Twins” channel on YouTube, and their recently released documentary “The Road to Repeat,” chronicling winning last fall’s cross country national title.

The origins of that channel are funny, as it didn’t start because of running and one of the most popular videos on there is “Cell Analogy - How an Animal Cell is Like a School,” from eight years ago. That video only needs about 3,000 more views to be their most popular one ever. 

We also joke about being identical twins — as both the Matthais and Hartigs are just that — and how that hasn’t seemed to pay off in their running careers. 

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Covered a lot with Wisconsin state Sen. Brad Pfaff (D-Onalaska), including the GOP-led Legislature ending its work for the year by Feb. 19.

We looked at bills butting up against that clock to legalize recreational marijuana, ban cellphones in schools, and exempt tips from taxes — thought Pfaff would like to see that coupled with raising the minimum wage.

We also discussed the situation with ICE in Wisconsin and whether the Legislature could implement regulations, such as banning agents from wearing masks.

Additionally, Pfaff talked about passing "Bubba’s Law." Bubba’s Fund recently got funding to provide defibrillators to every childcare facility in the city of La Crosse and Pfaff now wants to see the $1 million initiative expanded statewide.

Pfaff acknowledged that many of the bills he’d like to see pass won’t move forward with Republicans keeping such a short legislative clock.

He also broke down why "no-brainer" legislation — like securing defibrillators for all state childcare facilities — likely won’t clear the GOP, nor will any kind of legal marijuana.

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Measles is making a comeback, chicken pox hides in your brain and — once more — we discuss why vaccines don’t cause autism with immunologist Dr. Chris Mayne.

The Viterbo University biology professor joins us as Wisconsin sees its first case of measles — a University of Wisconsin student — and as outbreaks occur in ICE detention facilities and in various states — mostly amongst kids.

Mayne explains that measles is the most contagious virus known to man — there are already more cases in 2026 than in all of 2024 — how vaccine hesitancy is fueling a resurgence, and why the virus is so dangerous.

Mayne also explains how the autism-vaccine hoax began.

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