La Crosse Talk PM WIZM

Todd Fergot joined to talk about the big role he was just awarded, becoming the executive director of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association and some their priorities, like implementing a shot clock and expanding the state tournament.

Fergot has been the boys basketball coach at Central High in La Crosse for 22 years and that’s not changing. But he now takes over this statewide organization that oversees both boys and g...

It's not often you randomly go to interview someone and learn she's the wife of your old high school coach, but that's just what happened in talking with Stephanie Hauser. Not only is she the WIAA's executive director, but her husband is my old basketball coach from Hortonville High School.

But we skipped right over how much Dave Hauser may have yelled at me in gym class and immediately had to talk about their son, Sam Hauser, who'...

The director of "sin" tax — or excise taxes — joins to talk about the effects of a gas tax holiday, what Wisconsin gains and is missing out on with legalizing sports betting and marijuana, plus Adam Hoffer is on a mission to walk every street in the city of La Crosse.

We start with the definition of sin or excise tax, and why Hoffer views the gas tax differently as a "user fee" for road maintenance. We then examine call...

La Crosse’s housing crisis is a multi-front battle involving soaring rents, stagnant inventory, and a lack of available homes. To highlight these challenges and explore potential solutions, Natalie Heneghan, community outreach director at Habitat for Humanity of the Greater La Crosse Region, joined us in studio to preview Housing Week.

From the drivers behind high rent to the struggles of local builders and the city’s p...

Wisconsin state Assembly Rep. Steve Doyle (D-Onalaska) in studio to discuss the "good old days" in Madison, how partisan politics affects getting bills passed, where he stands on online sports gambling, and what the state should do about AI data centers.

We also talked about the upcoming open house at La Crosse County’s newly renovated Hillview Healthcare Center. As a member o...

William Garcia, the 3rd Congressional District Democratic Party chair in Wisconsin, joined to discuss Wisconsin's candy-soda ban, Democrats winning on the economy for the first time since 2010 — according to FOX, yes FOX — and just how he's feeling about the midterms.

We began the show with then-and-now, asking Garcia about the "mixed bag" of the 2024  election —balancing heartbreak of federal losses with the...

A 10 out of 10. That’s how interesting, or maybe it was how "important," Mac Kiel thought the April monthly city council meeting was.

She stopped in studio to help recap the meeting, which included things like the city police being a couple hundred thousand dollars over budget, while other city departments were under budget and how the city council learned of this over the past few weeks. 

Another thing the council appar...

It happened this show, trying to recall a famous name from the 1990s and going through the steps with your mind to get there.

Is it Alzheimer’s? No, and Dr. Kimberly Mueller, an associate professor at UW-Madison and researcher at the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, was there firsthand to explain it.

Mueller joined the show ahead of her visit to town to give us a look at the current state of dementia and A...

The best and worst from La Crosse Mayor Shaundel Washington-Spivey’s first year in office, as he stops in studio just days after that anniversary. We also discuss the city’s decision to appeal the Town of Campbell’s incorporation, the ongoing conversation around the north side pool, community outreach, and the reimagining of Pearl Street.

We began the show highligh...

UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, in studio discussing how Wisconsin's US House members use the F bomb more than anyone, taxpayers are now paying for Badgers players and have state Republicans lost their "muscle."

We started the show with the Brewers "city" Wisco jerseys, which led to how our state Legislature will do anything to use taxpayer money on sports. From the $500 million Brewers stadium fund...

Mandela Barnes is back on the campaign trail, this time running for governor, and he stopped in studio leaning heavily into a "working class vs. corporate greed" narrative.

Throughout the show, Barnes hit on his priorities, giving a Top 10 of what he’d like to get done that included expanding BadgerCare, fully funding public schools, and increasing the minimum wage. He also detailed plans to freeze utility rates, tax billiona...

La Crosse City Council president Tamra Dickinson in studio for our monthly deep dive into the April council cycle.

On the show, we discuss shifting operating budget funding, where the city administrator talk should be happening, and what's the latest for the old Kmart lot. We also hit on the idea of building an indoor pool facility and the debate over Emerson Elementary School getti...

Adam Murphy on the environmental suck of AI data centers and Wisconsin's Supreme Court race

He's what we like to call our political blowhard — politics and economics expert Adam Murphy recently joined the show to discuss the cost of AI data centers, the cost of gasoline vs. EVs and whether gender might play a role in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race.

We start with the physical infrastructure of AI and why RAM prices are explo...

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers does the Friday news dump, vetoing no tax on tips and overtime, and the state doesn’t have a villain to make voters care about a Supreme Court race.

Those were the big topics we covered with UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky. 

We also looked at the politics behind whether leaders in the state Legislature and the governor — who are all retiring — are goin...

A couple of ideas we've been talking about for years on WIZM are now being put into action at La Crosse City Hall.

Jenna Dinkel, an associate city planner, joined to discuss La Crosse bringing back the iconic "Hatched Baby" or blue baby, as well as a the reimagining of Pearl Street in downtown La Crosse. 

Hatched Baby was vandalized years ago and the city had to take it down. But artists have now restored the 9-foot-tall artwo...

Terry Bauer in the WIZM studio, telling us about the Moon Tunes tribute party Thursday at the Rivoli Theatre in downtown La Crosse, ahead of the 15th year of this concert series at Riverside Park. The event is free but it's already half full. Tickets can be found on the Rivoli website here. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. and the tribute video begins at 6:30 p.m. There will be raffles drawn throughout the night, which Bauer goes over. Afte...

Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez stopped in studio to discuss her campaign to become Wisconsin's next governor hitting on everything from housing to childcare to minimum wage and marijuana — plus how weird her current job is.

After getting to know the former healthcare executive and public health expert, we dove into her "nurse-first" approach to policy, including a bold childcare plan that caps family costs at 7% of income and her pu...

Stadium food prices are getting out of hand, and Wisconsin state Sen. Brad Pfaff was in studio to discuss how legislative action could bring costs down for fans.

Pfaff (D-Onalaska) broke down his “Stop the Squeeze” bill, which would cap concession prices at state-funded stadiums at 20% profit margins.

We also compared what must be the best and worst concession deals in baseball — a St. Louis Cardinals ticket-food ...

Mac Kiel in studio previewing committee week for the city of La Crosse, which includes potentially spending thousands of dollars in TID money like it’s an expiring gift card, that includes some big projects.

Kiel helps explain—with the help of TID expert John Kovari from UW-L speaking with us before the show—some of the potential avenues for spending the money, which includes moving up the timetable on $450,000 in...