La Crosse Talk PM WIZM

La Crosse County Board chair Tina Tryggestad in studio fresh off a five-hour 2025 budget meeting the night before, so of course that was a focus of the conversation that also included homelessness and renaming facilities.

We also got a bit of a civics lesson from Tryggestad in how the board gets to a final budget meeting, plus some budget details, including how American Rescue Plan Act funding is incorporated and granting certain funding requests from area groups. 

We also discussed the Pathways Home plan, which is a five-year plan to end homelessness and we got into some of the details of the Hillview Healthcare Center, which Tryggestad says is not going to be renamed by selling out to a corporate sponsor — something brought up for no reason whatsoever.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wisconsin state Assembly Rep. Jill Billings in studio fresh off an election win, where she holds onto her District 95 seat. On the  show we look at some of the numbers and how she did in a voting district that had new boundaries, plus what to expect from the state Legislature over the next two years. Billings points out there's a state Supreme Court race on the ballot just months from now, which could turn the state upside down in terms of voting. We also talk about some priorities going forward, when the Legislature reconvenes next year. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, in studio to help dissect the fall election cycle, where we came to the conclusion that every level of government was its own unique situation. From Wisconsin's state Assembly and Senate races to the US House and Senate, to the presidency. Before that, however, La Crosse Mayor Mitch Reynolds may have come up with a great name for a band, as he showed some discontent with the Judiciary and Administration Committee on the idea of creating a working group for a city administrator position.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A day after the election, Democrats Steve Doyle and Tara Johnson, who both won on Tuesday, stopped in studio to discuss whether the new makeup of Wisconsin's state Legislature means things getting done over the next two years. Doyle won by 217 votes in Assembly District 94, while Johnson  is the first Democrat to win in the 96th District since 1985. Also talked about was the money in politics, how Republican leadership framed losses in the Legislature and how to go about tackling issues this upcoming term, including the $4.7 billion budget surplus, school funding, childcare and more. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

La Crosse County and 3rd Congressional Democratic Party chair, William Garcia, in studio, working in sci-fi and politics as the fall election cycle comes to an end.

Garcia was a good sport to come on and have a conversation that would remain relevant, even after Election Day is over, so there’s not a ton of predictions going on here but we do talk about impact and philosophy a bit — including Darth Vader, Dark Helmet and other sketchy leadership.

So, of course, that meant bringing up my Scarlett Johansson interview this week, where I asked her “Star Wars or Star Trek?,” and while her answer was perfect, we dissected it even more when it came to Donald Trump.

As for this election cycle, we got into Garcia’s role as a delegate, where he was one of about 4,000 who selected Kamala Harris to replace Joe Biden, plus all the big names that came to La Crosse County — from Harris and Trump to Tim Walz and Tammy Baldwin, or Bernie Sanders and Amy Klobuchar to Mark Cuban — and his experience with all of that.

Before that, though, we hit on the importance of a party controlling the US House or the US Senate and the idea of an electoral college tie.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Just hours after she left La Crosse with her husband, Gwen Walz called back into La Crosse Talk PM. The wife of Tim Walz joined to talk about education, her husband and his advocacy for women and the underprivileged. And, we did ask her if Tim's getting anxious — not because of the election stuff — but because there's no deer hunting in Washington, DC., despite the deer population thriving and the need to reduce that population. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two prominent Republicans, fed up with Donald Trump, stop in the WIZM studio Friday for La Crosse Talk PM to discuss why they’re touring the country to campaign for Kamala Harris. 

Ex-Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan of Georgia and former Mike Pence national security advisor Olivia Troye deep dive into why they feel this is such a crucial time for democracy, and the Republican Party, to vote for Harris and end Trump’s run in politics.

Adding to the discussion, UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, who helps analyze the political spectrum of this election

Before starting that deep dive, though, we, of course, had to hit on Duncan’s baseball past — a standout pitcher at Georgia Tech and drafted by the Florida Marlins. We talked how he played around the same time Alex Rodriguez was with the Appleton Foxes. And we unlocked a core memory for Duncan, who used to be called “The Vulture” — as he somehow amassed 10 wins and 13 saves one season — and may now be called Vulture again, come the end of this election.

Politically, we discussed Trump flooding the media with outrageous rhetoric, and brought up two things he said just this week, including in Green Bay. At a rally there Trump said he’s going to protect all women and “I’m going to do it whether the women like it or not.”

We also discussed the “whisper caucus,” which is a group of conservatives done with the Republican Party under Trump and what that means for the future of the GOP.

In terms of National Security, we got into Trump sidling up to dictators and how the rest of the world is watching and worrying about the potential outcome of the election with a second Trump term. 

And we got into empathy, one the themes from Duncan’s book, “GOP 2.0: How the 2020 Election Can Lead to a Better Way Forward for America's Conservative Party.

To wrap up (33:20), Chergosky gave his takes on the unique position that Duncan and Troye have put themselves in, going to multiple swing states, campaigning for Republicans to make that choice of Harris this election.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ben Wikler, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin chair, in studio, right before he sent his kids off to either go door knocking or trick-or-treating.

On the show with Wikler (3:15), we took a top-down approach to the fall elections, starting with Kamala Harris v. Donald Trump and then moving on to the US Senate race and then state Legislature battles. 

We also discussed some of the policies each race features, like Harris' proposals for first-time homebuyers, first-time parents and new small business owners. And what it would take in Congress to get those passed.

We also hit on Wisconsin's $4 billion budget surplus and what should be done with that funding. Republicans have been sitting on it for nearly two years with no negotiations between them and Democrats as to how to move that money.  

Began the show talking quick about Halloween. what politicians might be the most popular this season, and if it was possible for someone to put on more bronzer than Trump.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Three guests and three different topics including the Mid-West Family, Children’s Miracle Network Hospital Radiothon raising $118,000. Plus, the La Crosse County clerk predicts a huge turnout, but now who or when we’ll have a president. And, the La Crosse teachers union co-president says more awareness is needed for the $53.5 million referendum.

Started things off with Abby Ryan, a specialist with the  Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Hospitals, talking about the Mid-West Family team-up Radiothon seeing the community bring in so much in donations, and what that money — which stays local — will go toward.

After that (5:50), Ginny Dankmeyer is the La Crosse County clerk, and she discussed what their office will be doing on election night, the matter of election security and some predictions on voter turnout and on the presidential race.

Lastly (18:35), Jesse Martinez, the La Crosse Education Association co-president, discusses the referendum to building a new elementary school at the Hogan Administrative site, and update State Road Elementary, while consolidating three other schools in the district. But, we also discussed La Crosse requesting from the state that school start earlier, and what kind of input teachers had in that school board decision.

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.

We did the weave on Halloween and politics with UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, in studio with our traditional trick-or-treat preview. Among some of the topics was, of course, best and worst candy, but also some good poll questions surrounding the holiday:

What age is too old to trick-or-treat — and do you have to tell your kids to stop? 

Have you ever dressed as a political figure for Halloween?

How often do you have nightmares after watching a horror film?

At what age should you stop dressing up for Halloween?

In the political world, we discussed the onslaught of nationally known Democrats that have descended to La Crosse and Wisconsin but, aside from Donald Trump, where are the Republicans — and who are the Republicans? We also talked quick about Elon Musk's $1 million giveaway.

And the last topic came from a caller: What happens if you vote early, but your candidate dies? It's actually happened.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.