La Crosse Talk PM WIZM

UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, in studio to break down the most disliked Christmas songs, most liked Christmas movies and the US House rep that seemingly lied about everything to get elected. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Central Cares czar and success coach Brad Bryan in studio to talk about food insecurity and running the Central High School's food pantry. Also dropping in was Economic Support Manager Lorie Graff to talk about all the things La Crosse County does to help those in need, including food share, health care, child care and energy assistance. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Erin Goggins, executive director of the Harry J Olson Senior Center, and her lawyer, Terry Collins, in studio to discuss the ongoing dispute/negotiations between them and the city of La Crosse on the future of that building. The lease ended in 2020, and the senior center is hoping to stay in the building permanently, buying the property at 1607 North Street from the city for $1 — an offer that was previously offered to them, which they did not accept.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Micheal Kurz, the Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the National Weather Service La Crosse in studio. Aside from reviewing the best/worst weather movies -- and he has yet to see Sharknado -- we previewed the bitter cold, snowy upcoming weather heading into Christmas, and we recapped what's perhaps La Crosse's craziest weather systems, which happened on Dec. 15, 2021. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UW-La Crosse political science professor Dr. Anthony Chergosky joined to discuss everything from meeting with US House-elect Derrick Van Orden to bipartisan legislation coming from, perhaps, the most opposite US Senators in the history of our country — Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson. And that legislation: The FDA doesn’t deem cranberries healthy. That bled into a Mariah Carey Christmas conversation and the show ended talking about Uncrustables PB&Js. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Coulee Region Wildlife Rehabilitator Kathy KasaKaitas dropped in to tell some stories about rescuing animals. She's working with 1,000-1,200 rescues a year and is pretty much self-funded through donations and grants. She told us two big stories over the past year they've helped with, including a bald eagle that was hit by a train and some baby barn owls nesting in Onalaska — the first nest found in Wisconsin in 21 years. We also discussed the city of La Crosse ending its contract with Coulee Region Humane Society to take animal calls and how that affects them going forward.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UW-La Crosse outreach coordinator, Spencer Wilken, nicknamed Mrs. Photon, in studio to talk science. The big news for, not just the week, but the century, maybe ever, is scientists at a lab in California, have fused the atom -- they did fusion. We try to dissect. Before that, we talked about the diminishing snow in Wisconsin over the past few decades, as well as some snow facts from the state. Ended the show, quick, talking about real Christmas tree vs. fake tree.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Viterbo economist John Robinson joined the show to help explain how Wisconsin ended up with a $6.6 billion projected budget surplus. In reference to that conversation, we also had to dive into how inflation has played a role in the surplus, as well as record-corporate profits happening at the same time. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kathy Harris, the Clean Vehicle and Fuels advocate for the NRDC, joined to talk about why the world needs to transition to electric vehicles. First, of course, the why — the impact of oil/gas vehicles versus electric.  After that, some of the ins and outs about that transition, including the need — or lack thereof — for charging stations at every "Kwik Trip" (gas station), how the tax credit has changed recently for buying an EV and how the US compares to the rest of the world in the transition, among other things.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

La Crosse Fire Chief Jeff Schott in studio. He's six months into the job, but 22 years with the department. As the Chief, he did not drive the giant ladder truck to the studio, but he did say he can take it out now whenever he wants. It's been a busy week for the department and we talked about why that might be. There have also been two huge downtown La Crosse fires in the past two years, so we discussed those, as well. We got a little bio from him, as he's the new chief and we also discussed what involves becoming a firefighter, the city's future plans for new fire stations and if the department gets a lot of "cats in tree" calls, as the police department is about to take animal control responsibility in the city.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.