Teacher and Van Orden video

Third Congressional District Democratic Party chair William Garcia stopped by the WIZM studio Friday to discuss Wisconsin politics.

We covered everything from a state Legislature that is already done working for the rest of 2026 to the new Marquette University Law School poll on gubernatorial candidates — which suggests nobody knows who they’re voting for just yet.

We also broke down the “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.

The video has a few bizarre exchanges, from the Congressman handing Havlicek his helmet before entering the bathroom to Van Orden oddly bumping into the longtime educator.

That contact was a notable echo of an incident at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where Van Orden claimed a “bump” from a protester was “political violence” — an accusation that that woman jailed for 14 hours before bodycam footage eventually cleared her and showed no evidence of an assault.

The video concludes with the Republican claiming the Spanish teacher is a “paid plant” sent to D.C. by George Soros.

Havlicek has been teaching Spanish at Central for over 30 years and is the former La Crosse Education Association president. Van Orden has been in Congress for two terms and is up for reelection this fall.

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)

Third Congressional District Democratic Party chair William Garcia stopped by the WIZM studio Friday to discuss Wisconsin politics.
We covered everything from a state Legislature that is already done working for the rest of 2026 to the new Marquette University Law School poll on gubernatorial candidates &mdash; which suggests nobody knows who they&rsquo;re voting for just yet.
We also broke down the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/reel/903187185689060">&ldquo;La Crosse viral&rdquo; video</a>&nbsp;of Central High School&rsquo;s John Havlicek asking US House Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Prairie du Chien) what he can do to bring costs down.
The video has a few bizarre exchanges, from the Congressman handing Havlicek his helmet before entering the bathroom to Van Orden oddly bumping into the longtime educator.
That contact was a notable echo of an incident at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where Van Orden claimed a &ldquo;bump&rdquo; from a protester was &ldquo;political violence&rdquo; &mdash; an accusation that that woman jailed for 14 hours before&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wisn.com/article/wisconsin-body-camera-congressman-van-orden-political-violence/61779690">bodycam footage eventually cleared her</a>&nbsp;and showed no evidence of an assault.
The video concludes with the Republican claiming the Spanish teacher is a &ldquo;paid plant&rdquo; sent to D.C. by George Soros.
Havlicek has been teaching Spanish at Central for over 30 years and is the former La Crosse Education Association president. Van Orden has been in Congress&nbsp;for two terms and is up for reelection this fall.
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Listen live weekdays at 5:06 p.m. Find the pod on&nbsp;<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/1k1QCGhGrFA5KH9Rxh6fIO">Spotify</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/la-crosse-talk-pm-wizm/id1445077021">Apple Podcast</a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wizmnews.com/la-crosse-talk-pm-with-rick-solem/">here</a>. Tune in on the WIZM app or on air at 92.3 FM / 1410 AM / 106.7 FM (north of Onalaska)

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