La Crosse Talk PM WIZM

Ken Cooper in studio for La Crosse Talk PM to participate in the Festivus tradition, the Airing of Grievances, in celebration of the holiday. 

For those who don't know, Festivus is a holiday from Seinfeld, created by Frank Costanza — George's dad — as an alternative to the commercialism of Christmas.

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Wisconsin Sen. Brad Pfaff in studio to discuss his New Year’s resolutions for the state Legislature, the debate over property taxes, strategies to address healthcare costs and his outlook for 2026.

We started the show, though, with a bit of Christmas spirit, asking Pfaff when his kids first figured out the truth about Santa Claus.

After that, we dived into the debate over the rise in property taxes and Republicans targeting a provision put in the budget 2.5 years ago, where Gov. Tony Evers used his veto pen to extend $325 in per-pupil funding to school districts for 400 years if they choose. That argument comes, though, as the GOP-controlled Legislature provided no increase in school aid in the latest budget, signed last July.

Building on that, we also talked about a bill by State Rep. Ryan Clancy that would make Wisconsin the first state to shift away from a property tax funding model for K-12 schools.

We also discussed some of Pfaff’s bills aimed at lowering rising healthcare costs, including a $35 cap on insulin in Wisconsin and better drug price transparency.

Finally, we got his outlook for 2026 — a year where the Legislature is only in session for 17 days between January and March, before taking the rest of the year off to campaign.

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Wisconsin state Assembly Rep. Tara Johnson stopped in studio to recap her first year in office, and explain to us the phrase bill-jacking.

Johnson (D-Shelby) also tells a couple of stories — one on what she saw as a useless education bill and another on how a near-unanimous, bipartisan postpartum care bill was stalled by one man, Robin Vos. 

Other things we hit on included how Johnson would like the Legislature to be more organized when voting on bills — not fly through 50 in one day with minimal public debate — and if Wisconsin Democrats should get into the gerrymandering fight, if they control all of government. 

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A fun show brainstorming a new beverage to commemorate the 94-year-old Lansing bridge explosion, and recapping the 2025 words of the year with UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky.

WIZM News Director Kevin Millard shared his experience watching the bridge blow, and we cold-called Todd Wiedenhaft, owner of Skeleton Crew Brew, to see if he could craft a "Blown Bridge Beer." Wiedenhaft didn't skip a beat, pitching an incredible idea.

In between, we reviewed Merriam-Webster’s top words of 2025. Some seemed controversial as actual words, like "six seven" and "touch grass," while we got into the politics over some others, such as "gerrymander" and "slop."

Lastly, we briefly looked at the 2025 most-searched topics on Google for the La Crosse-Eau Claire area to see what local residents were actually curious about as the year comes to a close.

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Mac Kiel in studio with the latest update on La Crosse hiring a city administrator and the recent conversations around that, plus the sale of the Charmant to billionaire Diane Hendricks and what that might mean for downtown.

We discuss city administrator a couple different times during the show, first talking about the council structure — plus Kiel geeking out on seating charts — and the idea of adding amendments to the city administrator legislation. Later in the show we talk about the city council working group studying the administrator position and presenting that info to the council.

With the Charmant sale to Hendricks, we talk a bit about her work revitalizing the her hometown, Beloit, Wis., and what that might mean for La Crosse. We also talk about the building being in a TIF district and how a sale like that goes through, after the city put money up front to help renovate the building.

Other things we hit on included the La Crosse Queen getting a 20-year contract, the airport needing a new director and adding Allegiant Air and — again — needing to regionalize assets the city owns, like the airport and the La Crosse Center. 

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Rivoli co-owner Jonathan Gelatt in studio talking holiday movies, theatre etiquette, and some of the unique events they’re having this month, including the hit YouTubers, Found Footage Fest.

The Wisconsin-born comedy duo behind Found Footage Fest will bring their best VHS finds for a live comedy show, beginning at 7 p.m. Saturday. The duo boasts over 160,000 subscribers on YouTube.

On the show, we get Gelatt’s take on whether Gremlins and Edward Scissorhands — now playing at the Rivoli — count as Christmas movies. We also get his review of Dutch, a 1991 “Thanksgiving movie,” featuring Ed O’Neil of Married with Children and finally, Modern Family fame.

We also talk about how Gelatt — despite owning a theatre — has never seen It’s A Wonderful Life, but that will change with a free showing at the Riv at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Gelatt will be there to watch it for the first time.

On the show he explains why what's widely thought of as the top Christmas movie of all time initially bombed at the box office and the real reasoning behind the movie’s lasting popularity. Have we all been dupped into loving this movie?

The theatre is also hosting a holiday kids ' party featuring Santa Claus and the movie The Muppet Christmas Carol, beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Gelatt talks about some of the unique comedy behind the movie, and how critics say it’s the closest movie rendition to the Charles Dickens’ book.

Other things we got from Gelatt were the best places to sit at the Rivoli, plus their new membership club and unique food options. We also hit on some movie theatre etiquette, like talking during the previews.

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Citizen Action of Wisconsin executive director Robert Kraig joins to discuss how the state should handle data centers and energy costs. We also talk healthcare at both the state and federal level, and Wisconsin's gerrymandered US House maps, as there are two lawsuits pending seeking to change them.

We began the show, though, since Citizen Action is based in Milwaukee, discussing the Bucks potential trade of Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Brewers talk of getting rid of ace pitcher Freddy Peralta — using “small market” as the excuse.

Next we dive into healthcare. At the state level, we talk about a recent report showing Wisconsin teachers spending 20% of their salaries on healthcare. Federally, we hit on the US Senate voting down both the extension of ACA subsidies and a GOP plan that would have let people buy into high-deductible bronze or catastrophic plans and receive a direct deposit of up to $1,000 into a Health Savings Account to cover out-of-pocket costs.

In the second half of the show, we deep dive on data centers in Wisconsin and how the state should handle their massive energy consumption with more solar power. We also talk about how there’s literally rules against residents creating solar farms and no incentive for power companies to create more solar because it’s not profitable.

Lastly, we talk about Wisconsin’s gerrymandered US House maps, as two lawsuits go through the courts that could upend the current lines.

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We're back on La Crosse Talk PM with UW-La Crosse political science professor Dr. Anthony Chergosky, who helps us take a deep dive into civics vs. politics.

Before we get to that, we had to reset after nearly a year away from the Friday slot. The last PM show we did, Chergosky was ironically trying to start a cheese curd war between Kwik Trip and Culver’s.

After that, we discuss the top Google trending stories of 2025, ranging from the Epstein files to a new Pope and the Charlie Kirk murder.

Then we take a deep dive into civics education as Chergosky explains the Wisconsin requirements to graduate from high school and we watch a certain talk show host fail the questions.

We also talk about the difference between civics and politics and how education can further build knowledge on how government works.

Lastly, we hit on the Wisconsin governor's race. Joel Brennan has become the eighth Democrat to enter the field, pushing the total number of candidates to replace Tony Evers into double digits.

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The UW-La Crosse men’s basketball team has opened the season right where it left off last year, when it set a school record with 25 wins and got to the Elite Eight for the first time ever.

Now, coach JT Gritzmacher has his team ranked No. 3 in the nation and off to a 7-0 start. Gritzmacher joined La Crosse Talk PM to talk about the hot start, hype up his shooting guard Sam Grieger — who's is averaging 24.6 points. But, we also got into some other topics, like should UW-L build a new gym, should the Bucks trade Giannis Antetokounmpo and why he used the letter O for the names of all his children.

Gritzmacher is in his third year at UW-L. Their next games are Dec. 19-20 at the Wisconsin Dells Invite. They’re not back home again until Jan. 3

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La Crosse County Board chair Tina Tryggestad in studio, discussing a slew of topics, including the cost to plow snow, having the fifth-lowest tax levy, regionalizing assets, funding the SMRT bus and updates to the Hillview Healthcare Center.

We also talked about county board elections across Wisconsin. La Crosse County has 30 seats — always up for election every two years.Tryggestad talks about gathering signatures and what candidates must do to run or — for those already on the board — declare they’re not running.

In regards to taxes, we hit on the topic a couple different ways. With the 2026 budget recently passing, La Crosse County holds the fifth-lowest tax levy in the state. We worked that into a conversation about what’s on a tax bill and how the area could lower the tax burden — by regionalizing assets. Tryggestad talked about how Western Technical College is taxed through 11 counties, but we don’t do that for things like the airport or the La Crosse Center — entities owned by the city.

In the midst of a snowstorm, we also discussed the cost of plowing snow. County figures determine it costs $3,000-$4,000 per hour for the snowplows to run. The county has 26 of those and 440 miles of roads to cover — or uncover.

Other topics included the county board figuring out a way to fund the SMRT bus another year and the Hillview Healthcare Center getting its first residents for the transitional housing units called Park Lane Studios. 

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