Terry Bauer in studio previewing this week's Moon Tunes, featuring Fayme Rochelle & the Wax Wings, along with the Saner & Gibbons Band.

Moon Tunes happens from 5:30-8 p.m. each Thursday at Riverside Park. They are free and open to the public. Multiple food and drink vendors are staged throughout the park. There's also free train rides for the kids and a bike corral — basically free valet bike parking — for anyone that wants to ride down.

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The 42nd National Night Out is right around the corner, and La Crosse Police Captain Avrie Schott joins to help preview the event. This is the 28th year La Crosse's police department has been involved and they are in a big way — with 14 different locations throughout the city.

We also discussed the reasoning behind speed enforcement zones. La Crosse Police have been posting these zone locations on social media, informing the public of an added police presence.

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The Mac and Rick show turns into La Crosse (Bubbler) Talk ahead of next week’s committee meetings, where there are two pieces of legislation on those now infamous green water fountains scattered everywhere.

Kiel breaks down what’s on Tuesday’s Judiciary and Administration Committee agenda in references to the bubblers — where we’ve determined there are at least four different versions and not all of them are green.

We also read a statement from the city’s engineering department on confusion about the bubblers. There are 53 bubblers in La Crosse — 35 of those cast iron. 

Bubblers weren’t the only thing we talked about. We also hit on the fact that the Kmart development doesn’t appear on next week’s big committee agendas — a month after their rezoning extensions expired. We also chatted a bit about a housing development, Onalaska's wheel tax — and how La Crosse tries to balance its budget — and the Capital Improvement Plan.

There are some other interesting items on the agenda including an age limit on hemp, a downtown parking assessment process and the Wagon Wheel Trail agreement.

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Wheel tax and transportation funding talk with Adam Hoffer, director of excise tax policy at Tax Foundation, in the WIZM studio.

Most of the La Crosse Talk conversation hovered around the Onalaska city council recently passing a $25 wheel tax but not for what those fees typically go toward.

That led to a discussion about Congress having to pass a federal transportation bill that could see the status quo — a gas tax — or a shift in how road funding happens. Will a gas tax be eliminated for something like a per-mileage fee or some other way to raise revenue? 

We also talked about the Milwaukee-based restaurant George Webb escaping having to dish out what could have been over 200,000 free hamburgers had the Brewers won their 12th consecutive game last week. It comes at a time when hamburger prices are sky high.

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La Crosse Schools superintendent, Dr. Aaron Engel, joins to discuss school lunch debt, teacher contracts, a middle school backpacking trip — with probably a lot of bug spray — and a first-ever Central High fundraiser

That's where we kicked off the interview, discussing Saturday's Central fundraiser, featuring Andy Hughes from T.U.G.G., which happens from 4:30-10 p.m. at All-Star lanes.

After that, we talked about getting the teacher contracts signed heading into the school year. Something that's done yearly, but made a bit more difficult in years when the state has to sign a two-year budget into law.

After that, it was school lunch debt talk, including how the Beer By Bike Brigade paid of La Crosse's over $3,000. The group paid off all La Crosse County schools' lunch debts, which totaled nearly $10,000.

Lastly, we chatted quick about Longfellow Middle School students roughing it, with a backpacking trip that could only have been filled with mosquitoes.

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La Crosse School Board president Deb Suchla in the WIZM studio to discuss results from a recent community visioning survey, the district’s building plans, and upcoming work — including approving new teacher contracts.

Suchla, elected board president in May, is currently in her second stint on the board. She previously served from 2001 to 2018 and was re-elected in 2023.

We talked about the district’s visioning survey — who responded, what priorities emerged, and how the process included input from nearly 20 community groups, including the La Crosse County Board and City Council.

We also covered ongoing building projects: a new elementary school going up at the Hogan Administrative site, bidding soon to begin on upgrades at State Road Elementary, and the delayed effort to sell the former Lincoln Middle School.

Throughout the conversation, Suchla emphasized the board’s role in all of these efforts — and its goal to improve transparency with the community.

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Is Wisconsin still a purple state?

With Gov. Tony Evers announcing Thursday he won’t seek reelection, we may have a definitive answer next year.

UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, joins to break down who’s up next for both parties in the quest to replace Evers and just how purple Wisconsin really is — given Democrats have won 12 of the past 16 statewide elections since 2016.

We began the show discussing the recent deaths of pop culture legends Hulk Hogan and Ozzy Osbourne, and how they’re known to some as a wrestler and musician, and to others as reality TV stars. That led to a conversation about the South Park debut, going after Donald Trump, and Stephen Colbert being fired by Paramount.

When it came to the governor’s race, Chergosky discusses the potential field for both parties, plus the pursuit of Trump’s endorsement among Republicans. In the midst of our conversation, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez announced her intention to replace Evers.

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Previewing Saturday’s 67th annual AAUW Art Fair on the Green with Jan Eriksen.

The event happens from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Viterbo courtyard featuring over 60 artists exhibiting, and will include food trucks, food-drink booths and an art raffle.

Eriksen is the past president of La Crosse’s branch of the AAUW (American Association of University of Women), which focuses on helping girls and women with education. While the art fair is free to attend, there is an opportunity to donate to AAUW and help keep awarding scholarships to those who need it. Proceeds will help students going to UW-La Crosse, Viterbo and Western Tech.

She notes that all the art at the fair is judged for quality, so “it’s all good stuff,” she said. 

The event is free. You can check out the artists here.

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Just hours after Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers announced he would not seek re-election, Rick Solem called state Sen. Brad Pfaff (D-Onalaska) for reaction.

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Just hours after Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers announced he would not seek re-election, Rick Solem called Hannah Testin, the chair of the 3rd US House District Republican Party, for reaction.

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