La Crosse Talk PM WIZM

Wisconsin state Sen. Brad Pfaff in studio discussing A.I. data centers, the budget surplus deal and — with Alabama and Megadeath coming to La Crosse — ticket prices and third-party sellers.

Pfaff also came in hyped that June is dairy month and will be hosting a dairy breakfast from 6-11 a.m. at Creamery Creek Farms in Bangor.

When it comes to legislation, though, the state did nothing the last two years with data center...

The logrolling champion of the world, seven years running, La Crosse’s own Livi Pappadopoulos, in studio to hype up Saturday’s La Crosse Open and give us the inside scoop on how she dominates the sport.

Pappadopoulos owns Coulee Region Logrolling, and it’s hosting the 25th annual La Crosse Open, beginning at 10 a.m. at the Pettibone Lagoon.

She tells us what to expect during the event, who might give her fits on t...

What happens next now that the north side library is officially closed?

La Crosse Mayor Shaundel Washington-Spivey in studio Monday to break down the city's next steps, explaining the upcoming request for proposals (RFP) process and addressing the transparency questions surrounding the three groups that have already expressed interest in the building.

Before that, though, we discussed the narrative that the city is “on (the) ...

For the first time as the La Crosse School Board president, Trevor Sprague joins, and we take a look at the developments for a $33 million indoor aquatics center, technology in schools and the continuing plans of the district consolidation process.

With the pool, we talk about the city and the district creating a committee to come up with a plan, the survey that received about 3,500...

We discuss the culture and politics of gambling and drinking in La Crosse with UW-L political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, and WIZM’s Brad Williams, and then feature another woman-owned business "for no reason whatsoever" Friday on the Rick Solem Show.

The "sin taxes and vices" conversation went in a bunch of different directions, including a look back at when La Crosse residents voted twice by referendum, in 199...

We look at farming issues in Wisconsin, a week after President Donald Trump visited a Chippewa Falls farm last week and, after that, we continue what could be a series, “Hyping women-owned businesses for no reason whatsoever.”

But first, Brian Reisinger, joined to talk about fuel and fertilizer prices because of the Iran war and ways to better help the small farms — whether that’s the government or consumers...

Every election, politicians around Wisconsin gather signatures to get on the ballot. This can be an incredibly stressful time for politicians and the results give us interesting clues about the elections to come. From independent candidates to signature challenges in court to hints about what seats will be competitive in November, there is a lot to learn from the end results, if we just bother to look. And that's what we do here.

Se...

Hyping up women-owned businesses for no reason whatsoever Wednesday on the Rick Solem Show. 

We were joined in studio by Abram Dyke of Abe’s Raves. Our local foodie helped track down a bunch of awesome local businesses that we got on the show, including:

• Sam Sveum, who owns Nom Sips & Eats
• Mia Davis of the Mia’s Kitchen food truck
• Maria Norberg, owner of Grounded Coffee
• Ka Lia Vang...

An 18-month data center ban in La Crosse is on the docket for the county board. 

The moratorium legislation comes as a county study committee has its first meeting Wednesday.

Dillon Mader and Lia Manock stopped in studio to break down their reasonings for a moratorium, discuss the work the study committee will be doing, and why they feel a ban on data centers is necessary.

While there are multiple angles to consider when pausi...

Bringing down La Crosse’s Kmart, what ever happened to the green bubbler talk from last year and the potential selling of the north side library.

Those were some of the big topics we discussed with city council president Tamra Dickinson ahead of their monthly Thursday meeting.

We started with the north library, which is scheduled to close for good June 15. Dickinson walks us through the process of declaring it a surplus prope...

John Havlicek stopped in studio just days after saying adiós to the teaching profession after 31 years — 28 of those at Central High School.

So, of course, we had to tell a couple of retirement stories, but also got into some of the politics surrounding education and beyond with Havlicek, who is a political activist. 

Beyond education, we also discussed what he’d like to see as priorities in those running for state...

Wisconsin state Assembly Rep. Steve Doyle in studio discussing whether the state might get that $2 billion in budget surplus back to taxpayers before the election. We also discussed a data center moratorium, his opponent in November, one governor candidate being $30,000 in credit card debt and an update on rebuilding the Tank Creek Bridge.

Earlier in the day, a news release went out from Keith Purnell, who will be Doyle’s Rep...

We honed in on a couple of President Donald Trump's pet projects and rehashed the state's failed budget surplus deal with Citizen Action of Wisconsin's Robert Kraig. 

It's hard to pick any one thing when it comes to the Trump administration, but we narrowed it down to these things:

• Trump's $1.778 billion (what we call) "slush fund"
• The $1 billion in taxpayer dollars for a ballroom 
• The MMA fight on the White House la...

Will Kmart come down, an indoor pool go up and what’s the north side library worth?

Those are a few things we talked about with Mac Kiel in studio, helping preview committee week in La Crosse. 

The Copper Rocks project is again going before committees. That’s the plan to tear down the old Kmart and create both a business and residential area on that lot. Will Kmart come down this summer?

We also discuss selling the...

No Fazoli’s, no drink refill station at McDonald’s, is ranch dressing and cheese curds a Wisconsin thing — just some of the things we utilized UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky for on the Rick Solem Show on Friday.

We did also talk some politics with some new revelations about the $1.8 billion budget surplus deal falling through. Chergosky called it “Democrat Drama,” with ...

A discussion about Flock cameras, the role he played in shutting down the Ridgland Farms beagle breeding facility and La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke's thoughts after his office put away Josie Dikeman for the death of a 6-year-old.

Those were the topics we covered Wednesday on the Rick Solem Show with Gruenke, who we learned has a beagle himself.

But we started with the scope of the Dikeman trial in La Crosse County,...

Wisconsin Assembly Rep. Jill Billings could have made some big money betting on the prediction markets over the $1.8 billion budget surplus deal that fell through last week.

Now, though, that's illegal, after a Gov. Tony Evers executive order banning state employees and their families from making those types of bets.

We get into all of it with Billings (D-La...

The two Democratic candidates competing to face Republican incumbent Derrick Van Orden this fall brought their campaigns to La Crosse on Tuesday night.

Emily Berge and Rebecca Cooke answered 22 questions during a fast-paced forum that lasted about an hour and a half. 

The event, driven by questions submitted by Democrats across Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, covered a wide array of topics, ranging from protectin...

US House candidate Emily Berge in studio, discussing the issues she’s hearing from the people around Wisconsin’s 3rd District — healthcare, money in politics, the price of gas, and healthcare (again).

We started the show, though, discussing party “infighting” — this trigger word political parties use to call out the other side, and how maybe this “infighting” isn’t such a terrib...