Newsmakers, August 13, 2021

This week on “Newsmakers,” we discuss an upcoming racial justice workshop taking place in La Crosse later this month. Host Ezra Wall speaks with event coordinators from area organizations including La Crosse’s YWCA and the Ho-Chunk Nation. We then turn to a memorial dedication in honor of longtime public radio colleague Gene Purcell, who passed away recently from a motor vehicle accident. Purcell began his decades long public media career in La Crosse at UWL and worked for many years at WLSU radio. He went on to become WPR’s La Crosse Regional Manager, eventually relocating to Madison and held the position of Director of Wisconsin Public Media at the time of his passing. We speak with longtime WPR Senior Regional Manager Dean Kallenbach who knew and worked with Purcell over several decades.