La Crosse Talk PM WIZM

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.

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Longtime La Crosse Central Spanish teacher John Havlicek joined. Among the topics discussed included the state of teachers and the teaching profession right now, where the La Crosse School District goes with a consolidation plan, and just some interesting aspects Havlicek experiences in teaching. In the middle, however, we also talked politics, including the effects of rigging district lines for one party or another.

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Wisconsin state Rep. Jill Billings of La Crosse in studio. Among the topics discussed included running for local office versus campaigning in state races. We also hit on the lack of Democratic voices being heard, when statewide races are 50-50, yet the 99 Assembly sets only have 35 Democrats. Billings also talked out where the state will go with a projected $6.6 billion budget surplus, and we hit quick on topics like marijuana legalization and PFAS. 

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La Crosse Mayor Mitch Reynolds in studio. We discussed an upcoming lobbying effort to get the federal government to address drought along the Mississippi River. We also talked about how development is going in the River Point District, which is the old Mobil Oil site. The mayor comes on the Monday before the monthly city council meeting, which will be addressing a new contract and responsibilities with the Coulee Region Humane Society, as well as Pearl Street funding. Lastly, we hit on a south side building the city owns, and the lack of an agreement for years with the group that runs a senior center there.

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UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky in studio. Began and ended the show on the important topics, including Dunkin' Donuts in La Crosse and suing Kraft because it takes too long to microwave Mac n Cheese. In between that, we discussed the "nonpartisan" spring elections coming up that are becoming all too partisan and why Donald Trump didn't campaign for losing GOP candidate Tim Michels, up against Gov. Tony Evers.

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Another outside, multi-billion-dollar corporation, this time in Switzerland, is trying to come into northern Minnesota and create a copper-nickel (sulfide) mine. It's controversial in many ways — from the company itself to even state agencies skating rules — as explained by WaterLegacy Advocacy Director Paula Maccabee. She spent a majority of the show talking about the Polymet mining project that is being proposed upstream of the St. Louis River, which drains into Lake Superior. She also made arguments recently fighting the project to the Minnesota Supreme Court.

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John Siegel, who will become La Crosse County's sheriff on Jan. 2, spent the hour in studio. A lot of the conversation centered around how Siegel wants to create and expand lines of communication with the public through town hall-like events, social media and the media. We also talked about the county being the first in the state to allow free phone calls for people in jail, and the makeup of the jail, in general. We did open the show talking about football, however, as John's son, C.J. just wrapped up his senior year a standout corner at North Dakota. 

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La Crosse School District superintendent, Dr. Aaron Engel, joined for the hour. We hit on a lot of topics, beginning with whether we still have snow days, being students can "remote learn" now. We spent the second half of the show going over the aftermath of not passing the $194.7 million question, to build a new high school on the south side, and where the district — and when — goes from there. Also talked about the lack of state funding that affects every other aspect of the school district. And, in there, we hit on some of the programs La Crosse does with apprenticeships that perhaps weren't a thing back when their parents were in school.

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Common Cause Wisconsin executive director Jay Heck joined to talk about "gerrymandering," a term that does not elude to what is actually happening in Wisconsin and other states. Map-rigging, a better phrase, as Heck explains how this past election exploited power even more and how an upcoming Wisconsin Supreme Court race becomes the most important in the country.

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UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, in the WIZM studio. Capping off the holiday week, we talk a lot of nonsense about Black Friday and Thanksgiving themed movies. We did, however, get very serious for a bit on the La Crosse County sheriff's race that was recently and seemingly reluctantly conceded by Republican Fritz Leinfelder, giving Democrat John Siegel the win.

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