La Crosse Talk PM WIZM

The city of La Crosse has a lot going on right now — from transforming the now-closed library and tearing down the Kmart, to rezoning for housing by the old Shopko at Bridgeview Plaza and establishing new TIDs on the causeway and by Black River Beach. To help explain all that, Mac Kiel joins, as we break down the process for what comes next with the old north library and recap her mayor district forum from Monday night — a district that contains both the old Kmart and new elementary school. To help explain all of it, Mac Kiel stops in studio, as we break down the process for what comes next with the old north side library and recap the mayor district forum from Monday night — a district that contains both the old Kmart and the new elementary school. Kiel, who is on the Library Board, also walks us through the choices they had that led to the north side library closing. The building has now gone through the RFEI (Request for Expression of Interest) process, and we talk about the formal and informal proposals that were reported by WIZM on Monday. Plus, Kiel explains the next steps — the RFP (Request for Proposal) process — which happen Wednesday at the Economic and Community Development Commission (ECDC).  We walk through some of the six-page document on the ECDC agenda that lays out what the city might want from those submitting RFPs. Before we got to that, though, Kiel went to the mayor’s District 7 forum, which was also led by city council member Gary Padesky. She talked about what the 30 or so attendees brought up, including the old Kmart coming down— possibly this summer — and the new elementary school going up. Lastly, we ended with next week’s Finance and Personnel Committee meeting discussing TIDs (Tax Incremental Districts) — one in the Gundersen area, plus others in the Black River Beach area and on the pike headed to La Crescent. Kiel does her best — again — to help explain a TID.  We began the show, though, sulking over Giannis Antetokounmpo getting traded. 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 some city boards and works with the unsheltered population.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

La Crosse County Democratic Party chair Wyatt Molling was in studio last week for the Rick Solem Show discussing the friction between the state and local party over reaching rural voters. We recapped the state convention and why everyday voters don't look like convention diehards, plus the split over Gov. Tony Evers' budget surplus deal. And, we closed with some rapid-fire over everything from data centers to Trump and the World Cup. We start though talking about Molling getting into politics and taking over role as chair in January. After, we dive into the three Assembly seats defining La Crosse County, looking closely at the different rural landscapes facing Steve Doyle, Jill Billings and Tara Johnson. Molling airs some frustration with the state party on reaching voters in these districts that have all been redrawn. From there, we discuss the state Democratic convention. Molling is asked about the WisPolitics governor's race straw poll that had heads turning. He explains the mindset of convention-goers versus regular voters in regards to the poll and we get into the resolutions the party comes up with at the convention. We also hit the optics surrounding Evers’ multi-billion-dollar budget surplus package and why local Democrats split on the final vote. To wrap up, we put Molling through a lightning-round of national and local headlines, including data center moratoriums — which the La Crosse County Board has passed — as well as the controversial $300 billion Iran memorandum, gas prices and why Donald Trump hoisting the FIFA World Cup trophy could get incredibly awkward.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 centers, as multiple counties in Pfaff’s district debate moratoriums and study committees to address the issue. Democrats and Republicans had data center proposals, but neither passed the Legislature, which has now been out of session since March. Pfaff also talked about voting against the budget surplus deal that was negotiated in private between Gov. Tony Evers and Republican legislators, Robin Vos and Devin LeMahieu. The deal included no tax on tips/overtime, $300 checks and one year of special education funding and property tax relief. It was introduced to the public Monday and the Legislature voted on it two days later. After that, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau came out with a report that the deal would have put Wisconsin in a structural budget deficit.  Before the data center conversation, we did talk about the Tank Creek Bridge that an arsonist burned down last year — part of the Great River Trail in La Crosse County. We had some fun to begin the show, first asking what Pfaff was doing the last time Alabama came to the La Crosse Center in 1984. He revealed his first-ever concert was at the La Crosse Center but a year later — Huey Lewis and the News.  With Alabama in town Sept. 10 — tickets just went on sale — and Megadeth at the Oktobefest Grounds on July 31, Pfaff also discussed whether the state needs to look into third-party ticket sellers and if there needs to be some laws created to protect concert goers. Viterbo University brought this issue up in the past, where these third-parties rip people off on ticket prices.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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) attack” against the North Side regarding the pool and library closures — with the Northside Neighborhood Center expressing its frustration on the library sale. We then shifted to why the city council stripped Emerson Elementary School of its historic designation. We ended the show, circling back to what the mayor would like to see get done, which included bringing a public market to La Crosse — and what that would look like for him. The hour also highlighted Washington-Spivey's excitement for celebrating Juneteenth on Saturday in Riverside Park.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.