News broke right before the show, Kobe King quit the Badgers. Luckily, Badger Project managing editor Peter Cameron was on, to help break down his departure. Also talked with Cameron about his story on the BadgerProject.org about how Wisconsin is gerrymandered and now we need to depend on Republicans to do the right thing. Ha.

News broke right before the show, Kobe King quit the Badgers. Luckily, Badger Project managing editor Peter Cameron was on, to help break down his departure. Also talked with Cameron about his story on the BadgerProject.org about how Wisconsin is gerrymandered and now we need to depend on Republicans to do the right thing. Ha.

Listener conversations about the days events in and around the La Crosse area.  Weekdays from 5-6pm on WIZM 1410AM and 92.3FM

La Crosse Talk PM WIZM

Rick Solem talks about the days events in and around the La Crosse area. Weekdays from 5:07-6pm on 1410 WIZM

Rick Solem talks about the days events in and around the La Crosse area. Weekdays from 5:07-6pm on 1410 WIZM

WIZM - La Crosse

Goodbye Kobe King, goodbye gerrymandering?

No wrecking ball on the old Kmart in La Crosse yet, but Jeremy Novak from Three-Sixty Real Estate Solutions stopped in studio to talk about when that could finally happen, what's next for the $64 million Copper Rocks development and why the project has taken more than five years to get to this point.

Novak, Three-Sixty's vice president of development, also talks about the housing shortage in La Crosse, why the old Kmart site isn't being turned into single-family homes, and how a major state loan helped move the project forward.

And we have some fun brainstorming ways to take down the old Kmart, which closed in 2018.

Episode Highlights:


Demolition timeline: Heavy equipment won't be on-site this week, but when could the building finally come down?


$64M scope shift: What happened to the original plans for Copper Rocks — and what does the project look like now?


La Crosse housing demand: How did the 2008 housing crash help create today's shortage — and why haven't we caught up?


The single-family debate: Why isn't the old Kmart site being used for traditional houses — and what would those homes cost?


State funding boost: How a major state loan helped move the project forward.


Site layout & future tenants: What will the five-building development look like — and what kinds of businesses could end up there?


The mystery tenant: Three-Sixty already has a signed commercial tenant. So who is it?

No wrecking ball on the old Kmart in La Crosse yet, but Jeremy Novak from Three-Sixty Real Estate Solutions stopped in studio to talk about when that could finally happen, what's next for the $64 million Copper Rocks development and why the project has taken more than five years to get to this point.
Novak, Three-Sixty's vice president of development, also talks about the housing shortage in La Crosse, why the old Kmart site isn't being turned into single-family homes, and how a major state loan helped move the project forward.
And we have some fun brainstorming ways to take down the old Kmart, which closed in 2018.
Episode Highlights:
<ul>
<li>
Demolition timeline: Heavy equipment won't be on-site this week, but when could the building finally come down?
</li>
<li>
$64M scope shift: What happened to the original plans for Copper Rocks &mdash; and what does the project look like now?
</li>
<li>
La Crosse housing demand: How did the 2008 housing crash help create today's shortage &mdash; and why haven't we caught up?
</li>
<li>
The single-family debate: Why isn't the old Kmart site being used for traditional houses &mdash; and what would those homes cost?
</li>
<li>
State funding boost: How a major state loan helped move the project forward.
</li>
<li>
Site layout &amp; future tenants: What will the five-building development look like &mdash; and what kinds of businesses could end up there?
</li>
<li>
The mystery tenant: Three-Sixty already has a signed commercial tenant. So who is it?
</li>
</ul>

Inside the $64 million plan for La Crosse’s old Kmart site — and who swings the wrecking ball

A discussion about rural health care on The Rick Solem Show ahead of two days of health and public health programs hosted by UW-La Crosse this week.

Two educators joined, looking at different pieces of the rural health puzzle — Dr. Caitlin Carroll of the University of Minnesota and UW-La Crosse’s Dr. Gary Gilmore.

Carroll is a health economist, whose work focuses on rural hospitals, mergers and closures, while Gilmore is a UW-L public health professor and director of community health programs.

Carroll is also previewing her free virtual UW-L talk Tuesday on rural hospital consolidation — what’s driving the closures and mergers, and what happens to access, prices and quality of care when they do.The conversation also gets into rural OB care, prevention and whether there’s a better way to keep essential rural health services available.

Carroll’s UWL talk: Causes & Consequences of Consolidation in Rural Hospital Markets — 12:50–1:50 p.m. Tuesday. Free and virtual; registration is required. Register for the free UWL presentation.

Gilmore’s Wisconsin Education Network program: The 40th annual program runs 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Wednesday focusing on public health outreach and quality assurance. Both programs are virtual and open to participants beyond the La Crosse area.

Episode Highlights:
Your bill could rise: A rural hospital closes — and the consequences can show up in your health care costs, even if you never went there.
The OB crisis: Rural hospitals are staying open while shutting down obstetric units. Why is delivering babies becoming so difficult to sustain?
Why rural clinics are merging: Fewer patients, lower reimbursement and financial pressure are pushing rural health care providers toward consolidation.
The monopoly question: What happens to prices when one hospital disappears and there are fewer places left to go?
More than a closure: When a rural hospital shuts down, you can lose doctors and primary care access along with it.
A different model: What if keeping a rural hospital open didn’t depend entirely on how many patients walked through the door?
Health beyond hospitals: Could sidewalks, bike paths and the way a community is built actually be part of the health care equation?

A discussion about rural health care on The Rick Solem Show ahead of two days of health and public health programs hosted by UW-La Crosse this week.
Two educators joined, looking at different pieces of the rural health puzzle &mdash; Dr. Caitlin Carroll of the University of Minnesota and UW-La Crosse&rsquo;s Dr. Gary Gilmore.
Carroll is a health economist, whose work focuses on rural hospitals, mergers and closures, while Gilmore is a UW-L public health professor and director of community health programs.
Carroll is also previewing her free virtual UW-L talk Tuesday on rural hospital consolidation &mdash; what&rsquo;s driving the closures and mergers, and what happens to access, prices and quality of care when they do.The conversation also gets into rural OB care, prevention and whether there&rsquo;s a better way to keep essential rural health services available.
Carroll&rsquo;s UWL talk: Causes &amp; Consequences of Consolidation in Rural Hospital Markets &mdash; 12:50&ndash;1:50 p.m. Tuesday.&nbsp;Free and virtual; registration is required. <a href="https://www.uwlax.edu/gel/ppd/meet/free-public-event/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">Register for the free UWL presentation</a>.
Gilmore&rsquo;s Wisconsin Education Network program: The 40th annual program runs 9 a.m.&ndash;4:30 p.m. Wednesday focusing on&nbsp;public health outreach and quality assurance. Both programs are virtual and open to participants beyond the La Crosse area.
Episode Highlights:
<ul data-spread="false">
<li>Your bill could rise: A rural hospital closes &mdash; and the consequences can show up in your health care costs, even if you never went there.</li>
<li>The OB crisis: Rural hospitals are staying open while shutting down obstetric units. Why is delivering babies becoming so difficult to sustain?</li>
<li>Why rural clinics are merging: Fewer patients, lower reimbursement and financial pressure are pushing rural health care providers toward consolidation.</li>
<li>The monopoly question: What happens to prices when one hospital disappears and there are fewer places left to go?</li>
<li>More than a closure: When a rural hospital shuts down, you can lose doctors and primary care access along with it.</li>
<li>A different model: What if keeping a rural hospital open didn&rsquo;t depend entirely on how many patients walked through the door?</li>
<li>Health beyond hospitals: Could sidewalks, bike paths and the way a community is built actually be part of the health care equation?</li>
</ul>

Why rural hospital closures could raise your health care costs

Three Wisconsin billionaires have essentially bankrolled Tom Tiffany’s side of the governor’s race — nearly $24 million of the $26 million he raised in the latest reporting period.

And yet the latest Marquette poll has Tiffany and David Crowley separated by just three points, and 25% of voters still can't say whether they like or dislike Crowley.

UW-La Crosse political science professor Dr. Anthony Chergosky in studio breaks down how a candidate can be leading a statewide poll while a quarter of voters still aren't sure what to make of him.

Plus Chergosky gets into whether Tiffany's massive money advantage can actually decide a race this close — or does it do him more harm than good — and what happens when one campaign can afford to flood the state with ads.

We also throw Chergosky a wild theory: Maybe Crowley should drop out again.

Conversation Highlights:
Drop out again? Crowley’s lack of name recognition worked once, so we throw Chergosky the slightly insane theory: Do it again.
Follow the money: The three Wisconsin billionaires bankrolling Tiffany’s campaign lead to a bigger conversation about how much power big donors and political parties should have in a governor’s race. 
Who likes Crowley? A 49%-46% lead is pretty good — unless a quarter of voters still can't say whether they even like the guy.
Money overload: Tiffany has enough cash to flood Wisconsin with ads — but could seeing him everywhere actually work against him? 
The weird numbers: Tiffany and Crowley are nearly identical on unfavorables, but Tiffany has an eight-point edge in favorability. So why is the race still this close? 
Just vote R: Chergosky gets into why more voters are simply picking their party and calling it a day.
Data center whiplash: Seventy-four percent say the costs outweigh the benefits, but only 36% say they've heard a lot about them — so what exactly are voters reacting to?

Three Wisconsin billionaires have essentially bankrolled Tom Tiffany&rsquo;s side of the governor&rsquo;s race &mdash; nearly $24 million of the $26 million he raised in the latest reporting period.
And yet the latest Marquette poll has Tiffany and David Crowley separated by just three points, and 25% of voters still can't say whether they like or dislike Crowley.
UW-La Crosse political science professor Dr. Anthony Chergosky in studio breaks down how a candidate can be leading a statewide poll while a quarter of voters still aren't sure what to make of him.
Plus Chergosky gets into whether Tiffany's massive money advantage can actually decide a race this close &mdash; or does it do him more harm than good &mdash; and what happens when one campaign can afford to flood the state with ads.
We also throw Chergosky a wild theory: Maybe Crowley should drop out again.
Conversation Highlights:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Drop out again? Crowley&rsquo;s lack of name recognition worked once, so we throw Chergosky the slightly insane theory: Do it again.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Follow the money: The three Wisconsin billionaires bankrolling Tiffany&rsquo;s campaign lead to a bigger conversation about how much power big donors and political parties should have in a governor&rsquo;s race.&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1">Who likes Crowley? A 49%-46% lead is pretty good &mdash; unless a quarter of voters still can't say whether they even like the guy.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Money overload: Tiffany has enough cash to flood Wisconsin with ads &mdash; but could seeing him everywhere actually work against him?&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1">The weird numbers: Tiffany and Crowley are nearly identical on unfavorables, but Tiffany has an eight-point edge in favorability. So why is the race still this close?&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1">Just vote R: Chergosky gets into why more voters are simply picking their party and calling it a day.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Data center whiplash: Seventy-four percent say the costs outweigh the benefits, but only 36% say they've heard a lot about them &mdash; so what exactly are voters reacting to?</li>
</ul>

Goodbye Kobe King, goodbye gerrymandering?

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