Ben Barton is 21 days on the job as the superintendent for the School District of Onalaska, and he's already got the lingo. Barton discusses the new updates to both the middle and high schools nearing completion, after the $75 million referendum passed in 2022. He also talks about getting to know the community and some of the challenges the district has. Barton is a Wabasha, Minn., native, and former Division I wrestler, who's coming off a superintendent job at Princeton, just north of the Twin Cities. 

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The Big Beautiful Bill quietly included a tax on money you lose. Economist, Dr. Adam Hoffer, at the Tax Foundation, broke it down recently on La Crosse Talk. Hoffer, the Foundation’s director of excise — or “sin” — tax, explained how this so-called “anti-income tax” could drive sports gambling out of the U.S. market.

Before that, we got into the strange case of former Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who was suspended from coaching high school football — despite being a volunteer who helped his team win a Florida state title last year. Hoffer and I debated whether Bridgewater deserved the penalty for providing players with things like food, rides, and physical therapy.

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We talked pelvic floor therapy on La Crosse Talk recently — a form of women’s health that’s a little outside my wheelhouse — but Claire Mitchell and Cassidy Hovenga from Mitchell Holistic Health in Onalaska did a great job explaining how it works, why it matters, and who it can help.

It’s especially beneficial for women dealing with issues after childbirth — whether their child is a newborn or several years old — addressing things like core strength, stability, and other common but often overlooked symptoms.

Hovenga, a physical therapist, runs the program. She talks about what PFT involves, the kinds of symptoms women might experience to know if it’s right for them, plus the process and timeline for going through the program. Hovenga also breaks down how someone would get started with the therapy.

Pelvic floor therapy is one of several programs at Mitchell Holistic Health that are designed to complement each other. Someone starting there, might also benefit from functional medicine — Claire Mitchell’s specialty — and wellness coaching. They also offer traditional physical therapy services.

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A year into the job, UW-La Crosse chancellor, Dr. James Beeby, in studio discussing finally securing funding for the Prairie Springs Science Center, the loss of federal funding for the university’s Adapted Physical Education program, and the growing challenges students face with tuition and housing costs.

Beeby talks about his trips to Madison, working the Wisconsin state Legislature to get what ends up being $194 million for Phase 2 of Prairie Springs funded — after seven years of GOP delays that will ultimately cost taxpayers an extra $100 million.

He also spoke emotionally about the funding loss from the US Department of Education for the PE program, which has trained special education teachers for 40 years.

Lastly, we covered the Universities of Wisconsin getting $256 million in the new 2025-27 state budget, plus $840 million for campus building projects — including Prairie Springs — while tuition is still set to rise 4-5%, and housing costs continue to climb.

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UW-L political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, in studio on the best late-night eats in La Crosse, an odd exchange between US House Reps. Derrick Van Orden and Mark Pocan and how the money shows us who’s running for office next year — from WI supreme court to the governor’s race.

Opened the show just highlighting some of that, before getting into campaign finance — where we also learned just exactly how much Elon Musk put into Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race last November, an election that broke a dollars record even without the billionaire’s involvement. 

We also discussed how the money might be an indicator on who is running for office in 2026 — Gov. Tony Evers and Justice Rebecca Bradley have peculiar dollar amounts that may indicate their intentions.

In between that, we played a video of an interaction between Pocan (D-Madison) and Van Orden (R-Prairie du Chien), where they insult and accuse each other of some inflammatory things. 

Lastly, we talked about a recent Minnesota poll that shows a La Crosse business being the top choice for “late night eats,” while also discussing our favorite spots in the area, if we found ourselves hungry, wandering around at 2 a.m.

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La Crosse Mayor Shaundel Washington-Spivey stops in the WIZM studio on day 99 of his term, as we discuss some city council votes on housing homeless and park security, plus where we're at with the old Kmart development and hiring a city administrator.

We started the show just talking about his first few months in office and some of the more memorable moments, so far — pothole patrol with the governor and having the prince of India in his office. 

After that, we discussed two city council votes from last week, including using $115,000 in contingency funds for security in the parks and ramps, as well as the $100,000 Mayo donation to help house some people experiencing homelessness.

Next we discussed the city administrator role for a bit. Washington-Spivey campaigned on hiring this, as a council working group continues to study the idea, though the potential hiring of the position has been pushed off until February.

Lastly, we talked about the old Kmart lot, a few weeks after Three Sixty Real Estate's Jeremy Novak was in studio breaking down their new plan for that development, after some city rezoning and approved delays had expired.

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We might see it soon back on the La Crosse city council agenda, the old Kmart, but it’s not there yet, as Mac Kiel joined La Crosse Talk this week.

Other things we discussed included the council approving $115,000 in contingency funding for security at parks and ramps — but how this funding option needs to change — plus a project to house homeless people through $100,000 in funding from Mayo in La Crosse. 

Outside of La Crosse, we also discussed the Onalaska city council approving a $25-per-vehicle wheel tax for the next three years to help deal with a budget deficit. 

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New Democratic Party of Wisconsin chair, Devin Remiker, joins to talk about getting his start in La Crosse, the state budget and Derrick Van Orden, plus the upcoming governor race.

Remiker began his term as chair this month, succeeding Ben Wikler. A UW-La Crosse graduate, Remiker got his start in politics with state Rep. Steve Doyle (D-Onalaska), before joining former La Crosse Mayor Tim Kabat’s campaign and later working for longtime U.S. House Rep. Ron Kind (D-La Crosse).

He joined the show just hours before heading to La Crosse for a 6 p.m. Thursday town hall (sign up here), focused on the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Attendees will also be able to ask questions on broader topics involving government and politics.

During the interview, Remiker gives his opinion on what he wants Gov. Tony Evers to do about running for re-election. Evers has not yet announced his plans, though that could come even before Thursday’s event.

We also talk with Remiker about the recent passage of the Wisconsin state budget and how U.S. House Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Prairie du Chien) wanted to both take credit for securing over $1 billion in federal healthcare funding for Wisconsin, while voting less than 24 hours later to take that same future funding away.

Remiker is also asked about the state of the Democratic Party right now and what it can do, as Republicans hold the entire federal government.

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Some of the Once Upon A Mattress crew stopped in studio to help preview their La Crosse Community Theatre musical happening this weekend.

The King, Marcus Palm, Minstrel Cooper Koepke and Queen Juni Waller tell us what Once Upon A Mattress is all about, how we can make theatre cool again and how to get over stage fright.

Friday and Saturday’s shows happen at 7:30 p.m., while Sunday’s show gets started at 2 p.m. Tickets can be had at the box office or on the La Crosse Community Theatre website.

Also helping preview the show was La Crosse Community Theatre education director, Katelyn Klieve.

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Terry Bauer dropped in the WIZM studio to preview this week's Moon Tunes concert at Riverside Park.

The concerts run 5:30-8 p.m. Thursdays all summer, and this week is a pair of Noon/Moon Tunes original bands, with The Executives kicking things off, followed by Blind Baby Olin & the Workbenches. 

As always, there will be plenty of food and drink trucks at the park, but feel free to bring chairs, blankets and coolers. There is also free train rides for the kids and Smith's Bike Shop hosts a bike corral, which is basically valet parking for bicyclists. 

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