Free-for-all Friday -- Bugs, La Crosse Center ...

Free-for-all Friday -- Bugs, La Crosse Center ...

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

Mike Maier hosts

Media bias

Kwik Trip-Culvers #CurdWar

Political stances / La Crosse city admin

Odd Trump-Zelenskyy meeting

Airport bus service ends before begins

More Zelenskyy-Trump

GOP Town Halls

Claim of paid actors protesting town halls

Protests similar to Tea Party during Obama 

Nobody goes to town halls happy

What should Democrats be doing?

What happened Skype? 

UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, in studio discussing optics of the Trump-Zelenskyy Oval Office meeting, media bias and why Republicans are now shying away from public town halls. 

Plus, Chergosky reignites the #CurdWar between Kwik Trip and Culvers, and we chatted quick about the end of Skype, when the video service should be ruling the world.

We began the show by delving into media bias, highlighting billionaire Jeff Bezos's recent overhaul of The Washington Post's opinion section to prioritize "personal liberties" and "free markets," which led to the resignation of opinion editor David Shipley. This move has sparked significant debate about media handling of the Trump administration.

Our conversation then shifted to the peculiar televised meeting between Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President Donald Trump, VP JD Vance, and the media. We analyzed the unusual dynamics of the event, including whether anyone emerged favorably from the encounter including the journalist who blew his question asking Zelenskyy about not wearing a suit).

This led us to examine why Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, are retreating from holding public town halls, claiming paid actors are attending to voice complaints. Chergosky noted that Democrats held a similar stance around 2009 during Obama's tenure and the Tea Party movement.

We wrapped up the show saying farewell to Skype and wondering how it managed to fumble what should have been an easy win as the pandemic moved everyone to video calls. Once the only name in that realm, Skype somehow let Zoom take over — when, really, it should have been ruling the world of virtual meetings.

UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, in studio discussing optics of the Trump-Zelenskyy Oval Office meeting, media bias and why Republicans are now shying away from public town halls.&nbsp;
Plus, Chergosky reignites the #CurdWar between Kwik Trip and Culvers, and we chatted quick about the end of Skype, when the video service should be ruling the world.
We began the show by delving into media bias, highlighting billionaire Jeff Bezos's recent overhaul of The Washington Post's opinion section to prioritize "personal liberties" and "free markets," which led to the resignation of opinion editor David Shipley. This move has sparked significant debate about media handling of the Trump administration.
Our conversation then shifted to the peculiar televised meeting between Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President Donald Trump, VP JD Vance, and the media. We analyzed the unusual dynamics of the event, including whether anyone emerged favorably from the encounter including the journalist who blew his question asking Zelenskyy about not wearing a suit).
This led us to examine why Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, are retreating from holding public town halls, claiming paid actors are attending to voice complaints. Chergosky noted that Democrats held a similar stance around 2009 during Obama's tenure and the Tea Party movement.
We wrapped up the show saying farewell to Skype and wondering how it managed to fumble what should have been an easy win as the pandemic moved everyone to video calls. Once the only name in that realm, Skype somehow let Zoom take over &mdash; when, really, it should have been ruling the world of virtual meetings.

UW-La Crosse political scientist Chergosky on Trump-Zelenskyy meeting, GOP's town hall retreat, reviving Kwik Trip-Culvers #CurdWar

Kwik Trip-Culvers cheese curds war

Topic rundown

Local businesses on Forbes Top 100 list

La Crosse school board race

La Crosse mayor race

What's on ballot for La Crosse mayor

Mayor candidate stance on city admin

Everything's partisan, even cursive

No political leanings in city admin

MORE: Should mayor take stance on city admin

Yes-no issue for mayor candidates

Mayor's stance on #CurdWar

More on mayor race

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers budget address

Is this Evers' legacy or reelection budget?

UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, may have just sparked Wisconsin’s fiercest food fight — the Great Curds War between Kwik Trip and Culver’s.

We kicked off Friday's show with this critical debate and circled back often. Chergosky took a firm stance on who has the best cheese curds based on some changes in the Kwik Trip kitchens. 

In the spirit of ranking Wisconsin favorites, we also discussed La Crosse-area businesses that made Forbes Top 100 list for customer service, including Kwik Trip, Chick-fil-A, Barnes & Noble, The UPS Store, Five Below, Texas Roadhouse, and the soon-to-arrive Raising Cane’s.

From there, we tackled the La Crosse mayor race between Shaundel Washington-Spivey and Chris Kahlow.



A big chunk of the conversation centered on the city administrator position, which was a continuation of Thursday's conversation with Dr. John Kovari. 

Chergosky discussed whether the position could bring out single-issue voters, how the candidates have (or haven’t) taken a firm stance on city administrator, and why it doesn’t really have political ideologies — unlike everything else these days (even cursive in Wisconsin, for some reason).

We also briefly covered the La Crosse School Board race, featuring six candidates, and broke down Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ state budget address. Is it a legacy budget? A reelection budget?

UW-La Crosse political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, may have just sparked Wisconsin&rsquo;s fiercest food fight &mdash; the Great Curds War between Kwik Trip and Culver&rsquo;s.
We kicked off Friday's show with this critical debate and circled back often. Chergosky took a firm stance on who has the best cheese curds based on some changes in the Kwik Trip kitchens.&nbsp;
In the spirit of ranking Wisconsin favorites, we also discussed La Crosse-area businesses that made <a href="https://www.wizmnews.com/2025/02/19/kwik-trip-makes-forbes-top-100-list/">Forbes Top 100 list for customer service</a>, including Kwik Trip, Chick-fil-A, Barnes &amp; Noble, The UPS Store, Five Below, Texas Roadhouse, and the <a href="https://www.wizmnews.com/2024/10/30/raising-canes-begins-seeking-workers-for-la-crosse-restaurant/">soon-to-arrive Raising Cane&rsquo;s</a>.
From there, we tackled the <a href="https://www.wizmnews.com/2025-spring-election/">La Crosse mayor race</a> between Shaundel Washington-Spivey and Chris Kahlow.

A big chunk of the conversation centered on the city administrator position, which was a continuation of <a href="https://www.wizmnews.com/2025/02/22/city-admin-taxes-and-tifs-its-all-on-the-spring-ballot-and-uw-ls-kovari-breaks-it-down/">Thursday's conversation with Dr. John Kovari</a>.&nbsp;
Chergosky discussed whether the position could bring out single-issue voters, how the candidates have (or haven&rsquo;t) taken a firm stance on city administrator, and why it doesn&rsquo;t really have political ideologies &mdash; unlike everything else these days (<a href="https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/education/2024/02/22/wisconsin-assembly-to-vobill-requiring-cursive-in-wisconsin-schools-to-be-voted-on-by-state-assembly/72657534007/">even cursive in Wisconsin</a>, for some reason).
We also briefly covered the La Crosse School Board race, featuring six candidates, and broke down Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers&rsquo; state budget address. Is it a legacy budget? A reelection budget?

Starting the #CurdsWar: Kwik Trip vs. Culver's, with UW-La Crosse’s Chergosky

Kovari's TIF book

TIF Talk

From Oompa Loompas to the Charmant TIF example

Bakalars sausage TIF example

City administrator on TIFs

Politicians hate TIFs

Schools on TIFs

Does Amazon need TIFs

City administrator

Does $200k city admin pay for itself?

What city admin brings to table

Will city admin lower La Crosse taxes?

Regionalizing assets like La Crosse Center

How to fix La Crosse high taxes

UW-L political science and public administration professor, Dr. John Kovari, joins in-studio to dissect everything from the city administrator's role in lowering La Crosse taxes to working Oompa Loompas into a conversation about TIFs — which might explain why his TIF book is orange.

Kovari breaks down TIF (Tax Increment Financing) districts, how La Crosse uses them, and why they're on the spring ballot for both mayor and city council.

Oh, and speaking of TIFs, Kovari literally wrote the book on them — Tax Increment Financing: A Practical Guide for Analyzing TIF Risks, Benefits, and Outcomes (available here). He is yet to set up a Pearl Street Books signing.

Beyond TIFs, we dig into the pros and cons of La Crosse potentially hiring a city administrator, which is also on the ballot. Part of that conversation included whether the position could help lower taxes.

Finally, we discuss regionalizing assets, like the La Crosse Center and the La Crosse Regional Airport and how that, too, could reduce the burden on city taxpayers.

Basically, the whole show toyed with the one big question: How do we lower taxes in La Crosse so people actually want to move here?

UW-L political science and public administration professor, Dr. John Kovari, joins in-studio to dissect everything from the city administrator's role in lowering La Crosse taxes to working Oompa Loompas into a conversation about TIFs &mdash; which might explain why his TIF book is orange.
Kovari breaks down TIF (Tax Increment Financing) districts, how La Crosse uses them, and why they're on the spring ballot for both mayor and city council.
Oh, and speaking of TIFs, Kovari literally wrote the book on them &mdash; Tax Increment Financing: A Practical Guide for Analyzing TIF Risks, Benefits, and Outcomes (<a href="https://bookstore.icma.org/tax-increment-financing-a-practical-guide-for-analyzing-tif-risks-benefits-and-outcomes-p109.aspx">available here</a>). He is yet to set up a Pearl Street Books signing.
Beyond TIFs, we dig into the pros and cons of La Crosse potentially hiring a city administrator, which is also on the ballot. Part of that conversation included whether the position could help lower taxes.
Finally, we discuss regionalizing assets, like the La Crosse Center and the La Crosse Regional Airport and how that, too, could reduce the burden on city taxpayers.
Basically, the whole show toyed with the one big question:&nbsp;How do we lower taxes in La Crosse so people actually want to move here?

City admin, taxes and TIFs — it's all on the spring ballot and UW-L's Kovari breaks it down

Mike Maier hosts

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