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WIZM - La Crosse Talk Interviews

WIZM News Staff

WIZM"s LaCrosse Talk. News and talk about the issues of the day for Western Wisconsin.

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9:22

Meet the horses of HorseSense at their biggest...

WIZM - La Crosse Talk Interviews ·

2025/10/02

HorseSense, an organization dedicated to enriching the lives of individuals with and without disabilities through horseback riding and unmounted horsemanship program, has its biggest fundraiser of the year Saturday — the Fall Harvest Festival. Ashley Adams and Sam Harding from the nonprofit stopped in studio to tell us what HorseSense is all about and what to expect at Saturday’s fundraiser out near Coon Valley. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for kids and $30 for families. The highlight

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31:36

Archivist Scott Brouwer on library’s award-winning...

WIZM - La Crosse Talk Interviews ·

2025/10/02

Revealing the seedy underbelly of La Crosse has been Scott Brouwer’s mission for over a decade. The La Crosse Public Library archivist stopped in the WIZM studio for La Crosse Talk to discuss the history of their series, Dark La Crosse Stories — ahead of a state award it’s receiving Monday from the Wisconsin Historical Society. We also tease the newest installment in the now YouTube-based series, called Still Trouble— about moonshine operations and bootlegging during

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28:00

La Crosse DA Gruenke on rise in gun crimes and...

WIZM - La Crosse Talk Interviews ·

2025/10/02

La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke in studio discussing the rise in shootings and gun incidents, his upcoming Citizen Prosecution Academy — an interactive program giving residents a closer look at the criminal justice system — plus a look at felonies and drug crimes here. We began the show discussing gun-related activity in La Crosse County, including several road rage incidents and how there’s a rise in situations with teens — that were simply fights in the past

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26:52

UW’s Steve Ackerman on the Edmund Fitzgerald tragedy,...

WIZM - La Crosse Talk Interviews ·

2025/10/01

As the 50th anniversary of the Edmund Fitzgerald’s sinking approaches, UW-Madison Professor Emeritus of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Dr. Steve Ackerman joined to preview his upcoming Badger Talk in La Crosse on the mysterious tragedy and the song behind it. Ackerman, a longtime weather and climate researcher and former director of the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies, will speak at 10 a.m. Monday at the Main Street Library. On the show, we discuss some of the

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27:13

La Crosse County Dem chair Garcia on 2026 elections,...

WIZM - La Crosse Talk Interviews ·

2025/10/01

William Garcia, La Crosse County Democratic Party co-chair, in studio discussing the 2026 election season, including the Democratic primary for the U.S. House and campaign fundraising challenges. We also took a break from politics to rant about the new Tron movie. Started the show discussing the recent dropout of Democratic candidate Laura Benjamin from the 3rd District U.S. House race, the hurdles non-incumbent candidates face raising money, and why he opposes party endorsements in primary

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25:22

County Board Chair Tryggestad on $10M opioid...

WIZM - La Crosse Talk Interviews ·

2025/09/30

La Crosse County Board chair Tina Tryggestad in studio reviewing the September meeting, including $1 marijuana possession fines, $10 million opioid settlement funds, selling the 111 acres of county farmland, and road funding. We started the show discussing the 2026 budget before moving into the marijuana ordinance change process. The county board will review the change over two meetings and is likely to vote on the $1 fine for 25 grams or less in October. Regarding the opioid settlement money,

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12:23

La Crosse Schools superintendent Engel on $2.3...

WIZM - La Crosse Talk Interviews ·

2025/09/29

La Crosse School superintendent, Dr. Aaron Engel joined to discuss how the district’s $2.3 million budget deficit, school funding and how it gets involved in the Wisconsin governor’s race. Began the show, though, highlighting the district’s marching bands that took part in the Oktoberfest parades last week — four in the Maple Leaf and another three in the Torchlight. After that, we also discussed how teachers’ roles have expanded the past few decades with their

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25:58

UW-L's Chergosky on when La Crosse wanted to change...

WIZM - La Crosse Talk Interviews ·

2025/09/26

The year the city of La Crosse wanted to change the drinking age for a weekend. That was one of three topics discussed with UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky. We also hit on taxpayer money for state lawmaker home and personal security — a reaction from the Charlie Kirk assassination. Lastly, we talked about how huge La Crosse’s Maple Leaf Parade is, compared to the rest of the U.S. But first, the year 1966 and a rowdy Oktoberfest weekend — that

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12:43

La Crosse Education Association president Schams on...

WIZM - La Crosse Talk Interviews ·

2025/09/26

La Crosse Education Association president — the teachers’ union president — Jill Schams joined Monday, as we discussed the expanding role of the teacher and the marching bands playing in a parade of 120,000. Began the show, though, talking quick about kids having to walk or wait for the bus in the pouring rain and we hit on “The Ark” game, between Logan and Central — the 98th time the teams have met to win the “Ark of Victory.See omnystudio.com/listener for

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22:54

Rep. Doyle talks contentious local elections,...

WIZM - La Crosse Talk Interviews ·

2025/09/26

Wisconsin state Assembly Rep. Steve Doyle in studio discussing rigging election maps, the governor’s race, data centers, and a pair of bills he’s working to pass. Doyle also serves on the La Crosse County Board, in which we talked about the contention of those elections, road funding and the proposal to set $1 fines for marijuana possession. We began the show with the Wisconsin governor’s race, which now has five Democratic candidates — though not the biggest name —

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26:47

La Crosse Mayor Washington-Spivey on $3M budget...

WIZM - La Crosse Talk Interviews ·

2025/09/25

La Crosse Mayor Shaundel Washington-Spivey joined us in studio discussing efforts to close a $3 million gap in the city’s 2026 budget, the recent closure of two parks due to drug activity and violence, and his upcoming “15 Minutes with the Mayor” sessions. We began with the public engagement sessions, as Washington-Spivey noted that 16 resident interviews are scheduled for Oct. 8, covering a range of community concerns. A second session is tentatively planned for November, though

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8:12

We introduce Oktoberfest Royalty to La Crosse led by...

WIZM - La Crosse Talk Interviews ·

2025/09/25

The Oktoberfest La Crosse royalty stopped in the WIZM studio to kick off the weekend. We asked Festmaster Brent Smith and Mrs. O, Michelle Skemp, about how they were told of their positions and the ability to keep that a secret for half a year. We also talked about their history in Oktoberfest and what they're looking forward to for the weekend and over the next year.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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28:25

Republican Josh Schoemann talks priorities in bid for...

WIZM - La Crosse Talk Interviews ·

2025/09/24

We got to know Republican Josh Schoemann, as he continues his bid to be Wisconsin’s next governor. Schoemann has been Washington County executive since 2020, after serving six years as the county administrator and manager. We started the conversation talking about his work as county exec, plus his time serving in the Army National Guard and being deployed to Iraq. On the political side, we asked what his top three priorities would be as governor, which included a lot of discussion about

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22:10

UW-La Crosse biology professor Dr. Sierra Colavito...

WIZM - La Crosse Talk Interviews ·

2025/09/24

She’s a biology professor who, in her spare time, just does breast cancer research on the UW-La Crosse campus. Dr. Sierra Colavito joined to discuss her work at the UW-L breast cancer research lab, focusing on a somewhat rare and aggressive form of the disease called triple-negative. From the discussion, it was apparent that Colavito is not only dedicated to this type of research but also fosters an environment that inspires her students to get involved in the lab. Colavito, who explained that

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24:56

Coats for kids campaign and a shelter update from the...

WIZM - La Crosse Talk Interviews ·

2025/09/24

An update on the shelter and an ongoing campaign called Coats for Kids with the Salvation Army’s Jeff Russell A Coats for Kids campaign taught us there are 27 Kwik Trips in La Crosse County, as Major Jeff Russell from the Salvation Army of La Crosse joins. We talked about that, plus an update on the shelter on Wednesday’s La Crosse Talk. Russell explains some of the things they do at the shelter, but also how they’re trying to expand for the next 18 months as part of the Pathways

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23:02

La Crosse city budget talks, committees and the...

WIZM - La Crosse Talk Interviews ·

2025/09/23

Mac Kiel in studio for La Crosse Talk discussing some of the different things going on with city government, including the ongoing zoning changes occurring, looking at next week’s committee meetings, and what the school district is doing with 4-K. The city is also having a meeting today over the budget, where it looks like there needs to be about $1.5 million in cuts. La Crosse Mayor Shaundel Washington-Spivey will be on later this week to help break that down more than we went over on the

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23:04

Previewing Oktoberfest and giving Hannah Amundson...

WIZM - La Crosse Talk Interviews ·

2025/09/23

Oktoberfest La Crosse executive director, Hannah Amundson, joins to preview this year’s event, which includes voting for the best “act” in the two parades — called the People’s Choice awards. We also discuss her job and promoting Oktoberfest year long, plus one good and one bad idea to bring to fest. Amundson, who has been the executive director for four years, breaks down all of the different aspects of fest that she said has something for everyone. We also propose her

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26:22

From paratrooper to Viterbo president: Dr. Trietley...

WIZM - La Crosse Talk Interviews ·

2025/09/22

Viterbo University President, Dr. Rick Trietley, joined us in studio to discuss the challenges and opportunities of running a private university, his 22 years of military service — including jumping out of airplanes — and the importance he places on building community. Trietley has served as Viterbo’s president since 2022 and has been with the university since 2017. He is a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who served for 22 years, including deployments to Afghanistan, and was a

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27:21

Brad Quarberg on when Oktoberfest La Crosse featured...

WIZM - La Crosse Talk Interviews ·

2025/09/22

Just a few days before Oktoberfest and Brad Quarberg, an expert historian on the event, in studio telling some interesting stories from years passed, including the year they raced the big paddle wheelers down the Mississippi River or when the medallion was held hostage. Quarberg, who was the 2016 Maple Leaf Parade Marshall and the 2001 Oktoberfest president, was also a co-author of the book, The Fest of Times — a history of La Crosse’s Oktoberfest from 1961-2009. Some other topics we

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13:07

The impact of Oktoberfest, NFL draft and negotiating...

WIZM - La Crosse Talk Interviews ·

2025/09/19

Covered a lot of the event scene with AJ Frels, executive director of Explore La Crosse, from the impact of having 150,000 people attend an Oktoberfest parade to keeping the WIAA state track meet at UW-L. Frels explains a little bit of Explore La Crosse's role in tourism and events in the area, and discusses how things like Oktoberfest and the NFL draft in Green Bay impacted the area. UW-L has hosted state track since 1990 and the newest contract expires after this season. Frels discusses Explore La

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WIZM - La Crosse Talk Interviews

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