We’ll examine how President Trump is defending Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, despite the discovery of a second text chain leaking classified information, while slamming the independent Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell for truthfully noting how the president’s tariffs are causing global economic instability. We’ll also ask, where’s the outrage from the “law and order” crowd who said they need to have lots of guns to guard against a government that can engage in unconstitutional tyranny—such as kidnapping people off the streets and denying them due process. Also: Cherita Booker has a review of our most popular social media posts of the past week.

UpNorthNews with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-8 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast line up. Follow the show on Facebook, X, and Instagram to keep up with Pat & the show!

This week includes National Independent Bookstore Day, so we’ve asked author Laura Bird to join us and discuss what makes them important—not just for the local economy but for diversity in reading opportunities and providing community spaces to celebrate literature.

UpNorthNews with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-8 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast line up. Follow the show on Facebook, X, and Instagram to keep up with Pat & the show!

Pope Francis died Monday morning, after more than a decade of leading the Roman Catholic church toward a rediscovery of its roots of inclusion and mercy. Already the debate has begun over whether the next pontiff will be equally public in the church’s need to care for the poor and downtrodden or if it will ratchet up its doctrinaire pursuit of cultural adherence. Like it or not, the public’s politics-dominated discourse will look toward the papal conclave with all the trappings of a partisan convention and the recent movie about the jockeying among the church’s cardinals.

UpNorthNews with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-8 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast line up. Follow the show on Facebook, X, and Instagram to keep up with Pat & the show!

Each day brings its own challenges during this presidential administration, but the headlines today alone threaten to be overwhelming—with Trump cuts affecting public health, consumer protection, and the health of the oceans. We’ll go through it all with our Week In Review panel.

UpNorthNews with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-8 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast line up. Follow the show on Facebook, X, and Instagram to keep up with Pat & the show!

Fake elector Robert Spindell is somehow still a member of the Wisconsin Elections Commission. On Thursday, his latest spewing of conspiracy theories about voting in Milwaukee led to a shouting match at a commission meeting. We’ll also review the latest on the Maryland resident abducted illegally by the Trump administration and sent to a concentration camp in El Salvador.

UpNorthNews with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-8 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast line up. Follow the show on Facebook, X, and Instagram to keep up with Pat & the show!

This has been a week of declarations in Wisconsin. There are now multiple candidates running for Congress in the 3rd Congressional District. We’ll talk to Emily Berge of Eau Claire about her decision to become the second Democrat to enter the 2026 race. There are also multiple candidates running to become the next chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. Might our regular Thursday guest, political strategist Joe Zepecki, throw his hat in the ring as well? We’ll ask him live.

UpNorthNews with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-8 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast line up. Follow the show on Facebook, X, and Instagram to keep up with Pat & the show!

These are serious times we’re living in right now, which makes it that much more critical that we pause now and then to enjoy some lighter moments. Instead of every movie featuring drama and potential death, how about some old-fashioned slapstick through some modern filmmaking? We’ll talk to the producer of “Hundreds of Beavers” about how a silent movie in black and white is becoming a streaming sensation. You’d also normally hear Joe Zepecki in this hour, but he’ll join us in the 7am hour.

UpNorthNews with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-8 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast line up. Follow the show on Facebook, X, and Instagram to keep up with Pat & the show!

It won’t be much longer until the Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee of the Legislature starts to write its own version of a two-year state government budget. It will certainly be different than what Democratic Gov. Tony Evers proposed, but that doesn’t mean some valuable priorities can’t be included. We’ll get an update from a couple of grassroots groups about how they’d like the public to reach out to their state senators and representatives and push for their priorities.

UpNorthNews with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-8 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast line up. Follow the show on Facebook, X, and Instagram to keep up with Pat & the show!

It wasn’t that long ago that wetlands were considered a wasteland—and the people who urged that they be protected were mocked by politicians who joked about canoes unable to navigate dry culverts. Now, with a changing climate bringing monsoon rains with greater frequency, folks are understanding how flash flooding becomes much worse if nature’s sponges aren’t on the job. We’ll discuss how Wisconsin is now a bipartisan example to the rest of the nation in this week’s Climate Check.

UpNorthNews with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-8 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast line up. Follow the show on Facebook, X, and Instagram to keep up with Pat & the show!