Third Congressional District Democratic Party chair, William Garcia, joins to discuss Wisconsin politics.

We cover everything from the state Legislature already done working for the rest of 2026 to the new Marquette University Law School poll on the governor candidates — apparently nobody knows who they're voting for.

We also look at a "La Crosse viral" video of Central High School's John Havlicek asking US House Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Prairie du Chien) what he can do to bring costs down, and the Congressman oddly bumping into Havlicek — similar to when he was bumped into and called it "political violence" putting a woman in jail for 14 hours before bodycam footage showed otherwise — before claiming the teacher was a George Soros paid Havlicek to fly to DC.

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La Crosse lost another legend on Friday.

Duane Moore — a Korean War veteran, one of the founders of Rotary Lights, the 1997 Festmaster for La Crosse’s Oktoberfest and a pillar of the community — passed away peacefully with family by his side at the age of 93.

Moore’s impact was a family affair — he, his wife Jan, and their son Chuck were known as a “quintessential fest family” who “just ate, lived and breathed Oktoberfest,” Terry Cowgill, the 2019 Festmaster said.

Chuck Moore, the 2015 Maple Leaf Parade Marshal, helped us remember his dad Friday, telling stories that included how he was a giant extrovert.

“Events would happen where they couldn’t find him to go home, because he’s down the road talking to people he didn’t know and the rest of the group is in a little circle talking amongst themselves,” Chuck Moore said. “And where’s Duane? He’s off down some place nobody knows talking to some guy he’d never met before.”

Other times, Duane would be off talking but everyone knew where he was — because it was during a parade with thousands in attendance.

“And then he said, ‘Why do I have to ride on the float? I want to march out front.’ So he goes jumping off the float and he’s running down the parade route and meeting people,” Chuck recalled. “Because Duane is a very much a people person. He doesn’t want to sit on a float and wave at people, he wants to run out and say ‘Hi, how you doing?’ and shake your hand.”

Duane had a passion for community.

“He was a champion for volunteerism,” Chuck said of his dad’s philosophy in life. “And if you just go to work and go home and watch TV, you’re wasting your life. You’ve got to go out and meet people and get involved.”

Other ways Duane got involved was preserving history. While Chuck mentioned he may have wanted to get rid of Oktoberfest’s unofficial mascot, King Gambrinus, he also wanted people to know the history of the event. Duane Moore authored the book, The Fest of Times: An Ein Prosit to the 50th Anniversary of Oktoberfest U.S.A.

“He emphasized that the book is a tribute to volunteers,” Brad Quarberg, the 2016 Maple Leaf Parade Marshal and the book’s editor, said. “And he said that in a lot of communities, a lot of people do things behind the scenes, and he wanted to make sure that volunteers were recognized. And he mentioned a few, but then talked about all the volunteers he was able to work with, not only through Oktoberfest, but through a number of other kinds of community events that he was active with.”

“It shows the power of what one single person can bring to this community,” Terry Cowgill, the 2019 Festmaster, added.

Duane Moore was also one of the founders of La Crosse’s legendary Rotary Lights, which has been a pillar of the community since 1994. His passing comes just weeks after another cherished La Crosse community member, Pat Stephens, passed away.

“They were titans of our community for sure,” Cowgill said.

“It’s a sad day, another sad day, that we’re losing another community icon who was instrumental in making the La Crosse area not only beautiful at Christmas, but also the things that was with helping feed the needy in the community,” Quarberg added. “And so, just two great, great leaders for our community who will be missed greatly.”

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He’s one of multiple candidates for Wisconsin governor, and he made his second trip to the WIZM studios this past week.

Joel Brennan joined to discuss why he wants the top job in the state and how he plans to set himself apart from the other six Democratic candidates vying to take on Republican Tom Tiffany.

Brennan had stopped at La Crosse’s Parenting Place earlier in the day, so we spent a good portion of the show discussing the childcare crisis. Brennan specifically called for Wisconsin to set a "marker" similar to New Mexico's universal free childcare plan to support working families.

We also talked more of “the hits” — the core issues of healthcare, housing, affordability and education that most candidates have policy positions on.

In regards to housing, Brennan noted that Wisconsin is currently “underbuilt by about 70,000 homes,” which he says has pushed the "American dream" further away for young families.

Outside “the hits,” we discussed protecting the 2026 election and the rhetoric that ICE might be sent to intimidate at the polls. Brennan addressed those concerns, proposing an “accountability commission” to allow citizens to document and upload video of any interference at the polls.

To wrap up, we looked at Brennan's background. He recently took a leave of absence from his role as president of the Greater Milwaukee Committee to run for governor, and he leaned heavily on his executive resume.

Brennan previously served as the Secretary of the Department of Administration under Governor Tony Evers — notably during the COVID-19 pandemic — and spent 11 years as the CEO of Milwaukee’s Discovery World.

“What I have done over the last 25 years of my career is I have had executive positions where the job was about problem solving,” Brennan said, arguing that his time in the Evers cabinet prepared him to lead on “day one.”

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Laura Godden, an archivist at the UW-La Crosse Murphy Library and a member of the Historic Preservation Commission for the city, stopped in studio to talk about Emerson Elementary School possibly getting a historic designation.

The conversation comes just days after La Crosse School Superintendent expressed frustration with a second building that recently closed within the district possibly getting the historic label.

Godden talks about that process, the role of the commission and listens to Engel talk about possible reforms to the designation process.

This conversation happened just an hour before the commission met Thursday evening to discuss the Emerson designation, which was put off for 30 days. The commission did look at historic status on other buildings, as well.

Listen live weekdays at 5:06 p.m. Find the pod on Spotify, Apple Podcast or here. Tune in on the WIZM app or on air at 92.3 FM / 1410 AM / 106.7 FM (north of Onalaska)

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When you think of what Wisconsin's best known for, the list usually starts with beer, cheese and the Packers.

According to Dr. Jim Lattis, however, there is a "Top 5" contender we often overlook: astronomy.

Lattis, the recently retired director of UW Space Place, joined to discuss why the Badger State has been a global leader in space research for over 150 years.

The conversation is a bit of a preview to an event Lattis will lead next week in Onalaska. The talk is part of the Badger Talk series at the La Crosse County Library, based on the book Chasing the Stars.

During this interview, not only does Lattis lay out why Wisconsin has led and continues to lead in astronomy, but how it all started with someone from La Crosse. UW-Madison's historic Washburn Observatory was built by La Crosse’s own Cadwallader Washburn. Lattis explains how that 19th-century foundation led to Wisconsin building one of the five original instruments for the Hubble Space Telescope.

We also discuss the "Wisconsin Idea" in action at the observatory. While the building has been technically obsolete for research since the 1950s, it remains a vital piece of public outreach, maintaining a continuous tradition of public stargazing nights that dates back to 1881.

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Kmart is back — on the La Crosse city council agenda.

Mac Kiel stops in the WIZM studio to help break down committee week in the city of La Crosse and that includes the Copper Rocks development — which may or may not be, at this point, better known as the old Kmart lot.

Along with rezoning, we also talk about the city selling beer and some consolidation of positions.

The Judiciary and Administrative Committee meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday (agenda here), while the Finance and Personnel Committee meets at 6 p.m. next week Thursday (agenda here).

Kiel is a former La Crosse City Council member, who is an advocate for providing the public with what is happening with city government. She also serves on multiple city boards and works with the unsheltered population.

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It passed 193 bills over the past week, and now Wisconsin’s state Legislature is essentially done for the rest of 2026.

State Assembly Rep. Steve Doyle (D-Onalaska) stopped in studio Monday to help wrap our heads around what it was like in Madison during that final push, why severe migraines caused him to miss some votes, and what the retirement of Speaker Robin Vos means for the future of the state.

Doyle, who noted that he currently ranks as the most bipartisan member of the Assembly, also pulled back the curtain on the "brutal" Republican caucus infighting that finally led to the passage of Gail’s Law and postpartum Medicaid expansion. These two bills received all but one vote from the entire Assembly, yet they had been "bottled up" for a decade. He described a scene where Democrats essentially ground the session to a halt with amendments until the GOP leadership finally relented on the proposals, which boast 95% public support.

The conversation shifted to the state’s $2.5 billion budget surplus. Doyle argued that if the state is sitting on that much cash, it has simply overtaxed the public—though he admitted the "devil is in the details" when it comes to returning that money while still properly funding schools and local municipalities.

One of the more "head-scratching" pieces of legislation we hit on was the push to ban "junk food" from SNAP benefits. While the state is already looking at nearly $70 million in new administrative costs just to keep the program running under new federal rules, this bill would tack on another $6 million to build and maintain a "candy and soda database." It’s a complicated mess that creates some wild contradictions; as Doyle pointed out, the database could potentially ban a bottle of sparkling water while still allowing a dairy-filled milkshake, simply because we’re the dairy state.

Looking ahead to a post-Vos era, Doyle expressed a sense of relief. He's hopeful that the "zero-sum game" of the last ten years might finally be replaced by a more pragmatic, "get-things-done" tone under new leadership.

We wrapped up the show by tackling the ethics of "mugshot pages" on social media. Most people have seen these Facebook groups dedicated to reposting police photos, often creating a digital scarlet letter before a case even reaches court. We asked Doyle—as both a lawmaker and a lawyer—if there is a way to curb this practice, especially when it results in the public vilification of people who may be innocent or whose low-level offenses don't warrant a lifetime of social media harassment.

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La Crosse School Superintendent, Dr. Aaron Engel, in studio to discuss the possibility of another closing school building receiving a historic designation, the prospect of building an indoor competitive pool, and he explains what the governor’s “400-year veto” means for La Crosse property taxes.

We also discussed Engel taking a new role in the National Guard as Senior Army Medical Department Branch Advisor at the Joint Force Headquarters in Madison. In that regard, we discussed what a potential deployment would look like if the U.S. went to war, and the Guard's history of helping with elections.

In terms of school district issues, Engel provided an update on last fall’s $53.5 million referendum, noting that the district will break ground on the new elementary school Monday. We also spent time on the proposal to build an indoor pool on the north side, including a working group exploring how the district and city could collaborate on the project.

In the second half of the show, we discussed Emerson Elementary School being nominated for a historic designation. The school is scheduled to close at the end of the 2026-27 school year, and the district is currently exploring future uses for the site. Engel expressed frustration with the timing of the nomination, citing the Lincoln Middle School sale as a warning for how historic status can limit developer interest. He also floated the idea that the city could come up with a more predictable process for designating buildings as historic..

Lastly, Engel explained how the “400-year veto” works after the La Crosse School Board accepted the $325 increase in per-pupil spending. He calculated the move costs district households roughly $5 a year in property taxes for a $200,000 home.

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