La Crosse Talk PM WIZM

Onalaska Mayor Kim Smith dropped by the WIZM studio. Kicked off the show talking about her position as mayor, some of the unique things the city is doing with the fire department and where Onalaska is at with budget limits, yet rising inflation. Also got an update on what's going in the old Shopko and if we can just turn that whole area into one big roundabout.

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John Siegel in studio, as he runs for sheriff in La Crosse County. After talking some football, we did get around to some issues that the Sheriff’s Office deals with, including making the job more appealing for deputies, as well as jailers, and how each law enforcement agency — like city police and county sheriff’s — communicates with each other. Siegel also talked about the Sheriff’s Office being a bigger part of the community and how it could be more open to the public.

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Elmer's Auto & Toy Museum in Fountain City, Wis., goes to auction Sept. 14-17. One of the biggest auction companies in the world, Mecum Auctions, is conducting the event. John Kraman, the TV voice of Mecum, joined to talk why Mecum is in tiny Fountain City and why the items at Elmer's are so sought after worldwide. We also talked about some of the most expensive auctions Mecum has ever hosted.

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La Crosse County Democratic Party chair William Garcia joined. Spent quite a bit of the show talking about conversion therapy, as the La Crosse city council this week banned it. We also discussed what the Oath Keepers are about, as a Holmen Village Board member was found to be on a leaked list from the group. Other topics included a racist name being wiped from federal sites -- 28 in in Wisconsin -- ranked-choice voting and the GOP vs. Gov. Tony Evers on using opioid settlement money.

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UW-La Crosse political science professor, Anthony Chergosky, Ph.D, joined. A big portion of the show was spent trying to dissect some of the Donald Trump-Top Secret document saga that's brewing. We also discussed how the 2023 election cycle has already started in Wisconsin, as well as Pumpkin Spice season.

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We like to call him a political blowhard, Adam Murphy joined to talk about student loan forgiveness. We also discussed PPP loans, as Murphy owns a small business called Big Bang, LLC. Murphy was also one of around a dozen who ran for US Senate in Wisconsin to go up against Ron Johnson.

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La Crosse Mayor Mitch Reynolds joined. Among the topics discussed included the city council meeting to discuss where they're at with helping unsheltered as we head into winter. Also talked about the school district's $194.7 million consolidation plan and how that affects the city. Hit on the River Point District and some potential cuts the city will need to make because of a lack of funding, as the state sits on a $5 billion budget surplus. 

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UW-La Crosse political science professor Anthony Chergosky, Ph.D, on a Friday news dump. We did hit on Ozzy Osbourne leaving the US because it's too "f***ing ridiculous out there." Politically, Tim Micheals wants to get out the pitchforks and torches based on a story from open records, another GOP candidate refuses to say if he'll support Trump and Mandela Barnes is spending a lot on security. 

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La Crosse County Sheriff's Office investigator Fritz Leinfelder joined in studio. Leinfelder is one of two candidates running for sheriff. He's going against John Siegel. On the show, we discussed the mental health aspect of the job, as it’s now Suicide Awareness month. We also talked about the county’s dilemma of keeping jailers and what can be done there. Leinfelder also revealed some of the endorsements he’s received.

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Mark Neumann in studio to talk about city council and local government a bit, as well as his experience in running for the US House of Representatives here for the 3rd Congressional District. Part of the conversation was about the Finance and Personnel Committee meeting coming up Thursday, which includes the Capital Improvement Budget ($40 million in spending for 2023) and the next five years.

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