From pro wrestling and sing offs to the volunteers, Brad Pitel helps preview La Crosse's Riverfest

Great Rivers United Way's Mary Kay Wolf on household survival budget

La Crosse’s household survival budget. The bare minimum it takes for a person, a family, to get by. It’s called the ALICE report [https://www.unitedforalice.org/county-reports/wisconsin]. It was just released by the Great Rivers United Way and executive director Mary Kay Wolf stopped in the WIZM studio for the Rick Solem Show to discuss it. ALICE stands for (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed). It comes out every two years and looks at households that earn more than the Federal Poverty Level, but less than the basic cost of living for the county.  Wolf talks about the report, where La Crosse stands and how we can improve our situation — whether that’s through talking with elected representatives, helping groups in the area that work in these fields or donating.  ---------------------------------------- Listen live weekdays at 5:06 p.m. Find the pod on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/1k1QCGhGrFA5KH9Rxh6fIO], Apple Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/la-crosse-talk-pm-wizm/id1445077021] or here [https://www.wizmnews.com/la-crosse-talk-pm-with-rick-solem/]. Tune in on the WIZM app or on air at 92.3 FM / 1410 AM / 106.7 FM (north of Onalaska) See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

How much would it take for you to move to Fond du Lac?

How much would it take for you to move to Fond du Lac? That's one of the many topics discussed with Adam Murphy on Friday's The Rick Solem Show. Murphy is a small business owner, economist and — as we learn — handyman. Before we get into moving to Fond du Lac and the political landscape of Wisconsin's governor's race — and whether they should just run on an anti-AI data center platform — we talk about Murphy remodeling his cottage and how that lost handyman art needs to be passed down to the next generation. That segwayed nicely to Fond du Lac County trying to pay people to move there. Murphy basically said there's not enough money in the world, but he did point out the dilemma for the area and the state in general with an aging and declining population, cities need more residents to stay alive. But is Fond du Lac County's incentive package worth it? We also looked at the governor's race, why Mandela Barnes gets unfair flak for his past Senate run, and what a lieutenant governor actually does all day. Finally, we dig into the infrastructure drain of AI data centers and how it should be used in campaigns. Murphy uses his IT background to explain why these massive hubs redline the power grid while providing almost zero long-term local jobs, leading into a debate on why universal childcare is a much smarter economic investment for the state's aging population. Murphy is the owner of a small business in Milwaukee called Big Bang LLC [https://bigbangllc.com/], he also ran for US Senate for the Democrats in Wisconsin, and holds degrees in economics and political science from UW-Milwaukee. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

From pro wrestling and sing offs to the volunteers, Brad Pitel helps preview La Crosse's Riverfest

Brad Pitel in studio helping us preview the four-day July 4 celebration at Riverside Park. Riverfest kicks off Thursday afternoon and ends with a firework show on the 4th of July. Pitel, who is on the Riverfest board, talks about the wide array of acts from national country star Mitchell Tenpenny to the RCCW pro wrestling events, where they bring a ring to Riverside. Pitel also talks about how Misty Lown's reign the Riverfest Commodore [https://www.wizmnews.com/2026/05/13/misty-lown-named-2026-riverfest-commodore/]. Lown, owner of Misty's Dance Unlimited [https://mistysdance.com/] in Onalaska, is the first woman Commodore ever since Riverfest began in 1983. Check out the full schedule for each day of Riverfest here [https://www.riverfestlacrosse.com/eventschedule]. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Why are we so obsessed with algae in a D.C. wading pool?

Why are we so obsessed with algae in a D.C. wading pool, or a U.S. Senate candidate’s scandals in Maine of all places over what’s happening in our own backyard? As we fixate on national sideshows like those, UW-Madison professor Dr. Mike Wagner joins to decipher why our focus shifts away from critical local decisions — like an upcoming La Crosse city budget public hearing [https://cityoflacrosse.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1416988&GUID=898AA6D6-8A85-47F6-8046-1EA8B02F2DE8&Options=info%7C&Search=]. Wagner talks about how our media consumption is so backwards and why local news is the a place people can trust to keep us grounded.   We look at the strategic “flood the zone” tactics used by Donald Trump, and similarities between the president’s defenders and those backing Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner — how there’s an excuse to every scandal. We also dive into how social media algorithms manipulate our feeds, and why bad news is always what gets the clicks. Lastly, Wagner breaks down why shows like this one — that intentionally focus on local stories, leaders and decisions shaping the La Crosse area — are exactly what’s needed to fight back against that national cycle. ---------------------------------------- About the guest: * Dr. Michael W. Wagner is the William T. Evjue Distinguished Chair for the Wisconsin Idea and Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication at UW-Madison. * He serves as the Director of the Center for Communication and Civic Renewal [https://cccr.wisc.edu/] (CCCR). * He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Indiana University and is a past winner of the Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award. Before entering academia, he spent years behind the mic working as an AM radio news reporter and anchor ---------------------------------------- Listen live weekdays at 5:06 p.m. Find the pod on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/1k1QCGhGrFA5KH9Rxh6fIO], Apple Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/la-crosse-talk-pm-wizm/id1445077021] or here [https://www.wizmnews.com/la-crosse-talk-pm-with-rick-solem/]. Tune in on the WIZM app or on air at 92.3 FM / 1410 AM / 106.7 FM (north of Onalaska) See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

UW's Dr. Carson on 18 years of mapping the Driftless, ahead of Sparta visit

If you've spent any time in local coffee shops or boutiques, you know that naming your business after "The Driftless" carries a certain amount of outdoorsy eco-prestige.  But, according to UW-Madison geologist Dr. Eric Carson, if that business is across the river in Minnesota or Iowa — they are living a lie. For the past 18 years, Dr. Carson has been mapping The Driftless. He joins ahead of his Badger Talk at 5:30 p.m. Thursday [https://www.facebook.com/events/4249011402077215] at the Sparta Free Library to tell us just exactly what that means and why it's taken two decades.  Carson talks about going county-by-county — a job we assume involves a leather notebook, a magnifying glass, and a horse with no name. Carson humors us on the tech front (turns out they use airplanes with lasers called LiDAR and drill 100-foot soil cores instead), but he breaks down the mind-blowing reality of our backyard — why the ice sheets missed us, why Lake Superior is actually a giant billion-year-old tear in the earth, and how a local river used to flow east, toward Canada, instead of west into the Mississippi River. Plus, we look at why the U.S. is facing a massive shortage of rock-nerds and why geology is actually a high-security, high-demand career. Check out the preview, and bring your questions for Carson Thursday at the Sparta Library. Any school, group or organization that would like to host a Badger Talk, either in person or online, email here [http://Badgertalks%20@uwmad.wisc.edu/] or request a speaker online at badgertalks.wisc.edu [http://badgertalks.wisc.edu/]. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.