Shows›Civic Media Mid-Mornings›Maps and Mandates (Hour 1)›Transcript

Transcript

Maps and Mandates (Hour 1)

Civic Media Mid-Mornings · Fri Feb 13, 2026

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We have a wonderful show ahead for you today.

After the 930 News, we are going to be playing an interview that we

had with Congressman Mark Pokan.

He is a Congressman of the Second District here in Wisconsin.

We talk about a bevy of things from congressional maps to ICE in Wisconsin to what we're hearing from the constituents in his district and beyond because he's a man who goes to events whether it's in his district or not.

That's going to be Mark Pokan in the second half of this hour after the 930 News.

And then in the second hour, very, very excited, the return

of the prodigal friend.

He is Mr. Dan Schaefer.

He is the political editor of, of civic media.

He is also the founder of the Reconbobulation area.

He will be here in the 10 o'clock hour to talk all things, you know, local politics.

I'm definitely going to be talking about the election this year because, you know, he's.

He, as well as I, as many people think this is a consequential election, not just for America, but really for Wisconsin.

We'll talk more about that with him, as well as the governor's race and some other things going on, but really important and happy that he's here in the 10 o'clock hour.

And really quick before we get going, I want to say good morning to Dom up in Madison.

How are you today?

Doing pretty good.

Another nice day in Madison.

And I'm excited for the show.

All right, excellent.

Well, I want to start this show at the top with a I would have to say Tucker Tucker Tucker is our senior producer listening right now, but Dom is with me right now on this on the live stream with a pretty big announcement.

I want everyone to listen up because I you know this is important.

I want to let everyone know that as of today mid mornings is coming to an end.

But here is the important part.

My time on civic media is not ending.

I'll be taking a few days off getting ready for a new role.

Somewhere in the civic media network.

I can't share those details yet, but I promise you'll be hearing my voice again very soon So stay tuned and I can't wait to see what's next with all of y'all because that's very important to me sharing my time with you you sharing your time with me again Civic media mid mornings coming to an end as of today, but I'm not going anywhere as far as the network But we'll tell you more as we as we can

keep it locked here for more information on that, and we can keep having great, great discussions.

And I wanted to, before we kicked off into the show, I wanted to read something.

If you're watching the livestream, I have it here on piece of paper.

It's all on paper.

That's how I do it, baby.

I don't like, I don't like typing.

I just don't.

I like, like, if I go to somewhere, I have a pad and pen, because that's how I like, I like the tactile feel.

So I wanted to read something.

I have,

My lawyers have prepared an opening statement.

Just kidding.

I wrote it myself.

I just wanted to say this.

So if you're watching the stream, I apologize for the lack of eye contact, but this is what I'm feeling from my heart.

What we've done for these few months, and really since I've walked through the door nearly three years ago, is to inform you about what is going on in the world.

Whether across the globe or across the street, we've talked about stories that have an impact.

And just as important as informing you, we hope that we've connected you.

Because if we are an informed citizenry, we can grow the skills to empathize and fight for one another, which makes us an informed family.

I will not cry.

Dom, I will not cry.

And I'm not going anywhere.

That's the thing, too.

It sounds so dramatic.

We're fine.

But you can

cry if you want to.

You

can.

Thank you very much.

My hope is that during the tenure of this program and whether it was as goes Wisconsin, Matt Nairnair, or what we have been doing here on Civic Media mid mornings is that you've learned as much as I have.

You've taken that information and had great conversations with others, especially those on which you disagree, because I think that is very important to talk to people with whom you disagree.

I want to thank Kristen Brie.

the creator of Vasco's Wisconsin who brought me into this whole thing by just saying, Hey, do you want to come on this show on Wednesdays and just have some fun?

And I said, of course, it's a microphone who doesn't love the sound of their own voice for bringing me in on it.

I want to thank Jane McNair for giving me essentially a masterclass in radio teaching me how to not only be

clear and concise with what I say, but also be entertaining, be informative and just have a professionalism to what I do here on the radio and it really comes down to the intros and the outros and giving you the radio experience that you're used to because there's a very different world between what we do here and what you hear in a podcast and what she gave me and continues to give me through mentorship and friendship is invaluable.

So I say thank you to Jane Mattenair and I want to thank

every single person at Civic Media who took a shot on me because I wasn't a guy who was in radio.

I work with incredibly talented people who have tens of decades of lots of time in radio and they allowed me to have these airwaves.

And again, not going anywhere.

I know that's what it sounds like.

Just this show as of today, mid mornings is coming to an end, but I have this opportunity to talk to you all and I want to do that.

But they have given me the opportunity to sit down at a mic, learn about important topics, talk about them with my friends, talk about them with great guests, learn, and then hopefully you all take that information and do something great with it.

Before this experience, I didn't have a lot of pride in being from Wisconsin, not because I didn't like it, because I just didn't care.

And through conversations with workers, farmers, small business owners, politicians,

regular folks, people who are doing fun events throughout the state, I have learned to have such a deep regard and pride in being from this state.

I won't cry.

Until now, maybe.

This place has also given me a new sense of the word patriotism.

I never liked that word before.

I thought it was very divisive.

I thought it was very weaponized.

I thought it was used to other

To others people to put people in other classes saying you do this therefore your patriot you do this therefore you're not and for me I never liked that word and it wasn't until I started working here that I found a Positive fewer definition of what patriotism is and I feel like that's what we do here on this on this network So I want to thank everyone who has been a part of that and who have given me the opportunity Page two

Thank you, Dom, for laughing.

I appreciate that.

When I walked through the doors of civic media, I thought I was the court jester, here to be the funny.

And for those still waiting for me to be funny, I apologize.

It will happen someday.

But what went from a part-time gig, unpaid part-time gig, became a job, which became a career, which has become my passion.

And I look forward to the next chapter here with Civic Media and with all of you out there listening.

Again, I thank you for your time.

I thank you for sharing your time with me.

I am very much looking forward to what's next.

Again, mid mornings is coming to an end, but that's not the end of my story, our story, more to come as we can tell you.

And as always, I just want to tell you, don't forget to download the free Civic Media app.

It's absolutely free.

Speech

over.

What do you think about that one, Dom?

Great way to end it.

Great way to download the civic media app.

You know, great way to end it.

You know, honestly, when it comes down to it, I'm all about, you know, plug in the product and maybe my, maybe I'm the product.

Maybe you're the product.

I have no idea.

But I just, you know, I want to, I want to, I wanted to say that out loud because I think it's important to share the time.

Again, if you just tuned in right this very moment, civic media, mid mornings is coming to an end.

But that doesn't mean the end for me here on the the network you will find out more in the coming days and I appreciate and ask for you to have patience and Come along for the ride because we're gonna continue to have fun we could continue to have great conversations And we can't do that without you whether you're calling or texting getting on the live stream again You want to be part of the conversation?

Tell me about your favorite moments about what we've been doing here.

How long have you known me here?

Is it going back as far back as with Kristen Jane?

conversations we've had.

Let me know 855-752-484-2855-757.

You can leave a comment on the live stream.

We are streaming on Facebook, YouTube, and the platform.

We still call Twitter.

I'm very much looking forward to it, Dom.

I think we're going to have...

It's always going to be a good time because it's always great to work with people you care about and enjoy and respect.

So it's going to be cool.

And it's the same thing with you.

I appreciate working with you, Greg.

And you know, you're a great guy.

I haven't worked with you a lot, but I really do appreciate it.

do.

I appreciate you as well.

If you're just joining us again, we got a great show for you today.

We've got a conversation with Congressman Mark Pokan coming up after the 930 news.

We're going to be talking about all the things happening in his world, specifically having to do with the congressional maps redraw the redrawing of the congressional maps, which is currently being decided.

by the Wisconsin State Supreme Court.

We are also going to be talking about ICE in Wisconsin and as well as, you know, what he's hearing from the people out there in and out of his district.

So that's coming up.

And then a fantastic conversation with Dan Schaefer.

He is Civic Media's political editor as well as the founder of the Recombobulation Area talking about elections here in Wisconsin.

Very, very important election.

And

I'll be talking about this later on in the show during my tips, but I just want to reiterate the fact that what we have done here on this show was always with the goal of informing people whether you liked it or not.

And we heard from many, many people throughout the years who did not like us and told us what we could do with our information.

But it never deterred the mission of what we did on the show and what we do here at the network.

is to make people, to entertain people, give them good, solid, reliable information and take that information out in the world and have great conversations with others because that is very important.

We are at a very, very important time in our existence as a country, as a world.

And this year specifically, 2026, I think is going to be the turning point for what can be a major, major, I don't want to say revolution.

But what I want to say is a push towards democracy, back to where we are.

When you think about it in context to everything, I'm old enough to remember when politicians just fought on the floor of the Congress and then went and had a drink.

But now we're at a different place.

And every day becomes a little bit scarier and scarier.

And I think that 2026 is the year where we see things turn around.

But we could only do that.

that's going to happen.

It's going to happen by having these conversations, and it's going to happen when we have conversations with people we did disagree with.

It's going to happen when we push our comfort level to get out there, whether you're protesting in the streets for no Kings or you're going to events, rallies are going to town halls and asking tough questions.

Politicians holding their feet to the fire.

I hope that what we have done over the past few years has given you the tools to.

make you better at that, make you stronger at that, make you stand up because a lot of folks think me against the government, impossible.

Not impossible.

We still have a voice.

We can still make it be heard.

And that's what we're going to keep talking about here beyond this show and what we do next.

But stay tuned for that information as it comes fit.

We will be talking to you in a moment.

When we come back, we're going to be talking about a story in the Wisconsin Public Radio about transgender bills that were passed.

talking about this information, talking about the fact that this isn't what Wisconsinites are asking our leaders to do.

But more about that when we come back on the other side of the break, you're listening to Civic Media mid mornings.

My name is Greg Bach.

I am your friend and I love you for being here.

Don't go anywhere.

Stay tuned.

Stay informed.

Stay close.

You're listening to Civic Media.

Stay up to date on the latest news and information for your local community and Wisconsin by signing up for our free email newsletter.

Visit civicmedia.us slash email to get

started.

Your guy here for one more show, that is right.

Civic media mid mornings as of today is coming to an end, but, and this is just to kind of address a text here.

Nothing is changing as far as the mission.

We are continuing this mission.

I will not be going anywhere.

I'm not leaving, but I will just be doing something different.

You will find out more as we can release that information to you.

Listen here, keep it locked in.

I promise you we're gonna have a great time together and keep having the conversations we've been doing.

for the past few years, but that's happening as of today.

And as always, I want to thank everyone for sharing their time, whether it was today or days in the past, couldn't do without you.

After the 930 news, we are going to be listening to a conversation I had with Congressman Mark Pocan regarding congressional maps as well as ICE in Wisconsin and just what he is hearing from his constituents.

and beyond his constituents in and out of his district because he travels all over and talks to people.

But that'll be coming up in a little bit.

If you want to be part of the conversation, 855-752-4842-855-755, civic leave a comment on that live stream.

We are currently streaming on Facebook, YouTube platform.

You call Twitter.

If you're asking questions about what happened or what's happening next, I can't answer those right now.

We are going to be releasing...

We're going to be releasing information on what's going on for the future in the next few days.

But if you want to share your memories or just tell me what you're thinking about the world at large or what you thought about my speech, it was really nice speech.

I wrote it myself, all those words.

But you can do that by calling or texting or putting a comment on the live stream.

Before we rock into the guest today, I just wanted to talk about this.

story that came out in Wisconsin Public Radio.

Rich Kremmer has the byline Wisconsin Senate passes bills restricting transgender athletes banning gender transition surgeries for minors.

And the thing that I found very interesting about this article is one specific sentence.

It's

in the

second paragraph.

It says the legislation furthers an ongoing cultural or issue for GOP lawmakers.

I don't think people are interested in the culture war now at this point.

I don't think the majority of Americans are Wisconsinites because when you ask Wisconsinites what they are concerned with, they are going to talk about affordability.

They're going to talk about education.

They are going to talk about healthcare.

They are going to talk about just quality of life.

Those are the things they want to talk about.

Those are the things that they agree upon.

Those are the things that really affect us and we need lawmakers who are going to put forth legislation that is going to at least move us towards

that those problems being answered or being solved, no, but being worked upon.

Yes, this, in my opinion, is not it.

This is time and energy and money that they are spending to pass five bills, which were all voted on party lines, blocking healthcare providers from performing gender transition surgeries on minors.

and would allow people to sue hospitals for quote, physical, psychological, emotional, or physiological injury caused by such operations, which I'll get to in a moment.

Other bills would force K through 12 schools and colleges to create policies blocking transgender students from playing on sports teams that don't correspond with the gender on the birth certificate prohibit male students from using female locker rooms, which

I didn't know was a thing at this point and create new avenues for female college students to sue campuses that don't allow those policies.

Again, tell me what any of those things have to do with health care for all, have to do with affordability, have to do with education, have to do with any of those things that people talk about that we have been talking about this show for years.

This is nothing but chess puffery and absolute bunk, as my dad would say.

This is pure bunk.

Because first of all, I looked it up.

I looked up the information right now when we're talking, they want to push this narrative that young kids and the president said it on the, on the, on the podium during the, the election in 2024, he said, kid goes to school on Monday as a boy comes home as a girl.

No, that's, and, and I know that a lot of you know that's ridiculous, but it's said by the now president, then former president and very popular game show host.

He says those things and people might go, oh, that's true.

That is not true.

When it comes to gender affirming surgeries for transgender, non-binary, or gender diverse minors, it's rare.

0.02% to 0.04% among surveyed.

This is coming from pediatricians and advocacy groups.

When they want to talk about harming your kids, what's harming our kids is their lack of education, funding, investment, things like that.

these types of bills, which by the way, are going to go to Tony Evers desk and he's going to veto them as he has said they are going to do in the past.

But that is the thing that we need to push back against when people want to talk about protecting our kids, the transgender agenda, there's no transgender agenda, and these kinds of bills, as it says in this story from Mr. Kremmer,

is pushing a culture war instead of pushing a conversation about the things we are truly concerned about here in this country and this state.

I find these things to be a waste of time and absolutely shameful.

Mark Spreitzer, who is a Democrat from Beloit, accused Republicans from trying to legislate trans kids out of existence.

They're trying to legislate trans people out of existence too.

And by punishing hospitals, which is what the government did, the federal government did, or, yeah, they will do, if you

provide this kind of care to kids, they will cut your Medicare and Medicaid funding, leading to two hospitals, cutting their gender-affirming care programs, because they cannot lose Medicare and Medicaid.

And they want to push it as they care about the kids.

If they cared about the kids, they create schools that actually did something.

Let me rephrase that.

If they cared about the kids, they'd invest so that schools could actually get something done.

The teachers could teach, get paid better,

and the kids would learn.

But that's not what we're doing.

We're pushing this junk right here.

And that's what I want you to know about.

During this legislative year here in Madison, it's a short year for them.

They're almost done.

After this, they go home.

They get paid.

They get insurance.

They get per diem.

And we get to sit here with five bills that put our kids at risk, our kids.

I don't have any kids, but they're my kids too.

And that puts them at risk.

All in the name of a culture war,

that they don't really care about in the first place.

They just want to get reelected.

I'm getting fiery on my Friday here, Dom.

And to cool it down, we're going to be talking to Mark Pokan, a man who's never had fire in his belly at all.

But Mark Pokan, our conversation with him coming up after the 9 30 news, don't go anywhere.

You were listening to civic media mid mornings here on the civic media radio network.

Stay tuned, stay informed, stay fiery and stay close.

Welcome, welcome back to civic media.

Mid

mornings here

on the civic media network.

My name is Greg Bach, your host, your buddy, your pal, the guy who will begrudgingly help you move even though, man, you're of an age, get movers seriously.

My back hurts, but I'll help you move.

I know things are tough, but you're here with us today on the show.

We are sharing time with us.

If you want to be part of the conversation, eight, five, five, seven, five, two, four, eight, four, two, eight, five, five, seven, five, seven.