You're listening to Civic Media.
You can tune in to any of our live shows on any radio station across the state with the Civic Media app.
Find us in your phone's app store and listen anytime,
I'm Brian Noonan.
Good to be with you again.
Another big show with a lot to talk about.
U.S.
Representative Gwen Moore will join us in this second hour.
And we're going to talk a little puppy bowl.
We got a lot to get to.
And oh man, if you're...
child is on the UW campus guess what so are the measles so we'll get to all of that but we like to start with some stories that you might admit they're important but in this storm of stupidity that seems to be coming at us non-stop some stories get missed and that is our job to dig them out and by our job I mean Jamie always digs deep and finds find some things that we
30 seconds, that's how easy it is, actually.
So the move actually follows renewed scrutiny on immigration enforcement tactics after the shooting of Alex Pretty in late January and also Renee Good just a couple weeks before that.
Investigators reviewed footage for more than 30 body cameras to piece together what happened.
Weirdly.
Have you seen that footage?
I
haven't seen it.
No, I
So, okay.
So advocates, of course, have been pushing for DHS officers, including ICE and Customs and Border Protection, to wear these body cameras, noting that officers have sometimes relied on personal cell phones to record encounters.
We actually saw that with the Renee Good shooting.
President Trump said he left the decision to gnome calling body cameras generally beneficial, generally beneficial for law enforcement.
The announcement comes as Congress debates a short-term extension of DHS funding.
Democrats are pressing for limits on ICE operations.
Some Republicans, including Wisconsin's own Ron Johnson, are signaling support for body-worn cameras, even as broader immigration disputes remain unresolved, I should say.
And
He just wants them to have a piece of paper with anybody, you know, you write up your own warrant.
I'll be honest, I agree.
with body cams for all law enforcement not just federal and it is it is and we chuckled a little it is for protection of not only the citizens but it is for the protection of the officers too so because eyewitness testimony not reliable at all
agreed and in this particular case though I'll be honest I'm a little skeptical because the question believe there's no the question isn't whether DHS officers wear the cameras I mean Obviously we joked a little bit about that.
It's whether the administration can be trusted to release the footage We just talked about that as well, right?
Right.
There's footage that's apparently been pieced together that I haven't seen you haven't seen and
Probably a good majority of our listeners have no idea what that is either.
And there's also, you know, there's also going to be another incident involving ICE agents.
Let's
We know that with the fact that they continue to push these ICE agents into these cities, there's going to be another incident and really the transparency is only going to matter if the public actually gets to see the evidence.
If it's not being locked away or selectively disclosed for just certain eyes to see it.
To me, it's gonna be bogus.
Yeah, and I, you know, I sound more and more pessimistic and skeptical every day, but I don't trust that this administration, even if there is footage, would not edit it.
I mean, they're really big at redacting stuff.
Right?
So, I don't foresee it coming out and, you know...
Just rolling just roll it just roll the footage.
This is also fairly politically convenient for this administration because as we mentioned Let's be honest.
They're trying to get the government back open Donald Trump would like the Republicans will talk about this in just a little bit would like the Republicans to actually negotiate with the Democrats to open things back up but you know that spending bill is basically hung up because of protections for four citizens and
less funding for ICE and DHS.
And so this feels a little politically, you know, motivated and
maybe
It's so weird how that works.
What I appreciated is House Oversight Chair James Comer says that the offer that the Clintons have made still lacks clarity, including firm dates, and he's not yet said whether he's going to accept it.
Democrats on the committee argue that Clinton, Democrats on the committee are arguing that Clintons have agreed to all pre-
previously requested terms and expect the depositions to move forward.
The offer was sent during a committee meeting as Republicans were preparing contempt proceedings after months of stall negotiations.
Comer had rejected earlier proposals for voluntary interviews instead of sworn depositions, if accepted.
This agreement could avert a full House vote on contempt, which could carry legal consequences for the former president and the former secretary of state.
No, in fact, there's many parts of our Constitution on the national level and in our state level That would imply just that that you know these rules should basically, you know be applied to everyone You know, here's what I would say though about this if Kober thinks that the Clintons offer lack some clarity Maybe that's because they also see this is a bit of a sham now.
I wouldn't
dream
on MacGazy,
We know what we see we know what other people see and and Everyone knows what they see it's it's if you choose to see it or if you choose to ignore it right or excuse it and that's because in the end We're all seeing the exact same thing.
It's how it is being interpreted by
each individual mind.
Yes, and for the Republicans, that's a completely different level of truth than the rest of us have as to what's actually happening on multiple different layers.
Not only Epstein files, but when you look at what's happening in Minneapolis with the shootings, there's multiple levels of truth, and it doesn't seem like they're maybe existing in the real level, and they have
But they're alternate universes.
That's what it feels like sometimes when you read the news headlines.
And
it comes from the top if you have to create an alternate reality because every time an election, everything, everything is not real.
There's always an excuse.
There's always, oh, whatever, whatever here happened in the real world, that's not, you know, I'm closing the Kennedy Center for renovation.
Oh, you're not closing it because no tickets are being sold
and
They realized when she didn't show up for church on Sunday, now they're very adamant that I think her mom is 88.
84.
84.
Oh, there it is, 84.
they keep pushing that, you know, she's not, there's no cognitive issues.
This is not a woman who's confused and just wandered off.
It is so strange.
And I actually watched Savannah Guthrie's plea on the Today Show yesterday of her talking about this and, you know, asking for help and finding her mom.
And you just really, anytime you have anybody in your world that's missing or, you know, who you just don't have answers to, it's hard.
And so I just really felt
Savannah Guthrie and the Pima County Sheriff because this is taking place in Arizona, that's where her mom lives, has described the scene at the house as very concerning and homicide detectives have actually been called in.
There was blood found at the house and so they are thinking that there is something that happened in this particular case and that this woman
did not leave her house by her own will, which is even stranger.
Well, yeah, because
And now they are saying there's no threat to the public in the area.
But obviously, at this point in time, the Pima County Sheriff's Department is urging anybody who has information to come forward because Nancy Guthrie is missing.
And so it's just, it's one of those stories that, you know, at first seemed a little under the radar.
And
then as
Yeah, because that's the other thing.
As you mentioned, everything was there, including the vehicle.
Everything is still there.
So it's going to be interesting, but hopefully they find her safe and sound because that's all you really want in these types of stories or these cases.
At 84, I think the natural instinct for everybody was like, oh, she's a little bit older.
She needs some medicine too.
So they're worried about the health conditions with the whole thing.
So hopefully it works out.
It is 6.19 right now.
You're listening to Civic Media Mornings.
My name is Jamie Martenson.
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.
We hope that your morning is going well so far.
If you're listening in Oshkosh or Appleton on WISS, thank you so much for joining us this morning.
And if you're in the La Crosse area, you're probably listening on WLCX.
We also welcome you to the show.
This is Civic Media Mornings on the Civic Media Radio Network.
I am Jamie Martenson.
Good morning.
We mentioned it earlier, but we're going to delve a little deeper.
The president and other top Republicans really
want to.
Talk to Democrats and stop the conservative revolt that is happening over this funding bill.
They want I Revolt may be a little strong, but I think you know
exactly so we got a rear because the government is closed I don't know if you've noticed it's only been it was closed over the weekend government's usually closed over the weekend at least government offices We don't pay that much attention.
How many how many of us really in years decades past?
you know.
Knew what that meant if the government closed on you like well the post
answer that
But it is interesting because when it comes to Mike Johnson, he's scrambling a little bit right now to secure the votes in what is he...
pretty divided GOP as Senate Republican leaders urge House members to pass this budget deal without adding any new demands.
And the president himself is making personal calls, because he usually does.
I don't know why this is surprising
to
Right, to House Republicans pressing them to support the bill with no changes in order to avoid a prolonged shutdown.
Now, there's some conservative hardliners involved in this though, led by Florida
Republican Anna Paulina Luna.
They're pushing to attach a strict voter ID requirement, a move that would actually derail a key procedural vote and stall this bill entirely.
Johnson has rejected that idea.
Those two don't always see eye to eye.
So it's interesting when those two go head to head.
But he is warning that adding this measure would jeopardize reopening the government.
And this proposed deal includes a short-term extension of DHS funding.
It's paired with a broad
Yeah, broader full-year spending package creating space for negotiations over democratic demands to rein in ICE practices.
Democrats also remain a bit divided.
You got party leadership who doesn't really want to help the Republicans advance this bill.
Progressives are firmly opposed to any additional funding for ICE and then you have some senior Democrats who have signaled some support.
And let's remember, the GOP has a razor thin majority.
Johnson can't lose anybody in this particular...
if he wants this bill to actually succeed, which is also going to make it very, very interesting over the next few days.
Well, I shouldn't say that.
I was good.
I was good.
I can't see it passing with no changes.
I think there are a couple of Republicans who are going to say, no, we've got to pump the brakes on ICE and DHS.
They have money to operate right now.
Pull that out.
Again, I'm going to fix everything in 30 seconds.
Take that part out take that funding bill out or that that funding out of the bill everybody seems to unless your Hardliner on the right want to have more discussion regarding DHS and ice funding take it out Let them vote on the rest of it and then take the two weeks friends.
Oh, it's two weeks Everything's two weeks with these guys, but it doesn't it it's not gonna pass with no changes.
No, there's got to be enough
somebody on the Republican side of that house has to have the sense to look at this country and listen, they read the polls as well as we do.
And while we don't put 100% stock in those, they know what their constituents are saying.
They're getting the calls to their office.
Their staffers are going, oh my God, we are being inundated with angry constituents.
to
So it feels like if you're trying to repeat that strategy, especially in a midterm election, that's only going to risk further damage to their standing with the public.
And we mentioned that razor thin majority.
Now I want to remind everybody that Democrats just want a special election in Texas over the weekend.
Speaker Mike Johnson says that that new member is most likely going to be sworn in this week.
No, I think that's fascinating because the last time there was a special election and there was a new member who needed to be sworn in, by the way, we were waiting for the Epstein files and they needed that final signature, they wouldn't swear her in.
Do we all remember how that played out?
Weeks and weeks, the poor woman had to wait.
And we were told it was because there was a government shutdown and that we couldn't possibly do it during a shutdown, but just the Epstein files are now been released.
It's fine.
We can move along procedurally now.
It's fine.
Essentially is simple, and I get nothing in government as simple, but when it comes to funding the government, we can't even manage to do that correctly right now, right?
Like we can't even manage to do that correctly.
We can't get it done for the people who are without jobs.
We just sit and wait, that's what we're gonna keep doing.
So
And
Good morning.
We've all been watching, with great interest, the protests, the demonstrations in Minneapolis after the murder of Alex Pretty.
And it's amazing to me, and we've just said this before, how many people are showing up?
And it's grassroots movements that are doing this.
I'm always amazed how those movements come together, how these protests get the word out, how they get people here.
One of the groups that's been very instrumental in these protests is the Indigenous Protector Movement.
Rachel Dion Thunder is the co-founder and vice president of IPM.
She's also a community organizer and environmental scientist and an advocate for Indigenous sovereignty and justice.
And she joins us now.
Rachel, thanks for being with us today.
I appreciate your time.
Yeah, thanks for having me.
I'll just say taunce, get an eskimo, get an eskimo, get an epsis, and a hioak, epsis, Rachel D on thunder.
So I just greeted everybody listening and thanked everybody in my language.
I'm Plains Cree, Nihio, Nihioak, Big Stone Cree Nation, Treaty 8.
So yeah, thanks for having me on.
So our people are still on our original lands.
A lot of it is in Alberta and Saskatchewan and Canada.
So yeah, my tribe is in northern Alberta.
Yeah.
IPM is a, you know, we started grassroots and really all of us that are co-founders are second generation American Indian movement or AIM.
And so for folks that don't know what AIM is, AIM was a Native American civil rights movement that started in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1968.
So my dad was a part of AIM, one of our executive director, Crow Bell Court.
He's the son of Clyde Bell Court, which was one of the co-founders of the American Indian Movement.
And the American Indian Movement was originally founded to protect our people from police brutality in Minneapolis.
What we have done with the Indigenous Protector Movement is really just continued on that work of the original American Indian movement in Minneapolis.
A lot of the work that we do is combating police brutality, standing up for Indigenous rights, a lot of environmental injustices.
So that's the kind of work that we do.
And so we already had some patrols in place, like AIM Patrol and many shields.
We're just some community safety patrols in South Minneapolis.
We've been running those for years.
And so when Metro surge started in Minneapolis, we already had those structures in place to be able to respond rapidly.
And I know there's a lot of folks listening, you know, like in Wisconsin right now, and now's the time to start building those structures in your own community, because that's how we were able to deploy legal observers and patrols on our streets during this occupation by the federal government in Minneapolis.
So having that system in place, having those collaborations already in place with other grassroots groups and organizations that do the same work,
establishing those networks is really powerful people that now is the time for people to be proactive in their communities where ICE activity is not there currently.
So how do these communities that might be listening today and saying, you know what, she makes a good point, we do need to start getting ready?
What's the steps?
How do you go about getting those organizations?
You said you guys started with community safety patrols.
Walk us through getting things to a point where then you can network with other groups.
Right.
So it really it really just starts with being a good neighbor and being a kind person, being a loving person, wanting to help your community.
And so every community is different.
So look at what's going on in your community.
Look at where there's niches or needs currently being unmet and see how you can fill those gaps.
And so a lot of that here in Minneapolis started with environmental justice work that we were doing and then tapping in with other groups that were doing the same work.
And social media is such a powerful tool that older generations didn't have.
And so now you can do a quick Google search.
You can search on Facebook.
You can search on Instagram and find really quickly other groups of individuals, grassroots groups, and organizations that
or have the same interest as you.
And so it's really easy to tap into those networks and, you know, like a big part of what we're doing right now is like mutual aid work.
So like we're taking a lot of donations like food, PPE, you know, safety equipment.
gas cards, all of those things, and then distributing them out to community because there's a lot of families that are scared right now, right?
Like there's a lot of families that are scared to go to work, that are scared to send their kids to school, that are scared to go to the grocery store.
you know being able to fill those gaps to make you know our neighbors our most vulnerable feel safe those people that have those needs and how do we meet those needs and so you know it's different for every community um and we just looked at the needs that were not being met in Minneapolis and we started organizing that's all it takes you know that's the hardest step a lot of times
you know, when you look at this work, you're like, okay, well, all these families need food and, you know, I've got 520 families that are reaching out saying that they need food.
That seems overwhelming.
The hardest thing
is
to get started.
And so once you get started, there's just a momentum to it.
There's a spirit to it.
People want to do good.
People want to help each other.
And if you can create the system that people can plug into to help each other, the people show up.
That's the beautiful thing about what's going on right now is just how community is showing up for one another every single day.
You know, Peggy Flanagan yesterday, we had a ceremony at Pow Wow Grounds, which is a native coffee shop on Franklin Avenue, the Native American Cultural Corridor in Minneapolis.
And, you know, she said, you know, I'm exhausted, but I'm not tired.
And so that's the general feeling here, like we're all home.
dog bone exhausted, but our spirits aren't tired.
She is the co founder of indigenous protector movement out of Minneapolis.
This is a she's a community organizer and environmental scientist and an advocate for indigenous sovereignty and justice.
No, Rachel, I do want to ask you
How do movements like what we saw in Minneapolis with ICE out, build out solidarity across different groups?
Because not only was your group involved in this through the indigenous community, but there are faith communities who were involved in this sort of organization, labor organizers and others.
So how are you building that type of solidarity among those different groups?
So, I mean, it kind of goes back to what I was saying before.
You know, people are seeing these injustices and activating in their groups that they already had.
So like, you know, obviously labor unions have existed for a long time.
And so they were able to activate quickly and draw a lot of folks in to their network.
A lot of us that do this work kind of just know each other from other causes or other injustices.
And that's where a lot of the collaboration happens.
But it also doesn't, you know, just because you don't know somebody doesn't mean that you don't show up.
And
that's, that's a big part of it is just showing up, you know, look at who's doing food banks, look at who is planning a march, look at who is doing mutual aid deliveries.
to folks in your community and just reach out just show up just say hey I want to volunteer and then that's how you start you know just get to know everybody get to know their names and just see how you can plug in and there's lots of different ways for people to plug in you know movements are not just protests or actions it takes
All of our gifts, all of our skills, like even you guys, right?
Like look at the platform that you have here on this radio show.
Like that is your tool.
That is your gift is sharing the story and sharing this information out to people.
You know, we need grant writers.
We need people who can do communications and write press releases.
We need people who can run dispatches from their houses.
We need people that
can deliver food.
We don't necessarily need everybody on the front lines.
There's lots of ways for people to plug in and to be a part of a movement, and that's what makes a movement beautiful.
and
Oh, absolutely.
A lot of people that have never done front-line work
are now
on the front lines.
And we're running a hub out of...
Powergrounds coffee shop and all my relations gallery right there on Franklin Avenue and We have so many folks just showing up like hey, I'm here.
I'm not working today How can I help and that's what it takes?
That's how we build these movements?
And we do have a lot of folks, you know, it's a lot of
It's not necessarily like front line younger people.
Like we got grandmas, we've got grandpas, we've got moms, dads come in, you know, in after work and after school is out, you know, showing up with the kids.
And that's really what community is.
You know, we're building these connections, these real connections, not through a phone, not through social media, but face to face, you know, just out of kindness and love for each other and for our city and for our neighbors.
Rachel, what message would you like people outside of Minnesota and, you know, anybody listening today here in Wisconsin or maybe on our app or through our streaming platforms to understand about why these movements and what is happening in this groundwork in Minneapolis is so important and why it matters so much, especially in these moments?
You know, if we think about strategically
what this administration is trying to do.
You know, they're testing how far they can push communities.
Because they came to Minnesota with a strategy, right?
They came to Minnesota to try and see how far they can push the line.
And I think it's important right now to support Minnesota.
you know, to also prepare your own community.
Sorry, I'm getting an oil change.
I have to keep my truck ready to go on patrol.
Hold on.
Yeah, if you could just check my tire pressure.
Okay, thank you.
Sorry guys.
Oh, no worries.
No worries.
Yeah.
You know, they came to Minnesota to try to prove a point.
They came to a democratic state.
They came to a state where the governor was running on the presidential platform with Kuala Harris.
They came to a state that has never voted for Trump.
And they came here heavily militarized and violent.
And I believe that they came here to see how far they can push people, see how far they can push communities, see
How far they can get away with things and also see how far they can press our elected and our democracy, you know, because right now it's like what can our elected do to actually get ice out of Minnesota and not only ice out of Minnesota, but defund ice and dismantle ice, you know, because we don't want ice anywhere in the
your time today.
Keep
can go to
You're listening to Civic Media.
Find the latest news, information, and archives of all your favorite shows on the Civic Media website,
You caught me in mid-yawn.
Good morning.
I'm sorry.
No, that's all right.
Listen, that happens to everybody.
Everybody who's... Listen, I'm awake.
I'm caffeinated.
I'm ready to roll.
I'm nervous because another measles case has popped up in Wisconsin.
This right down the street, Jamie, on the UW Madison campus, a student has contracted measles.
That was according to an email that was sent out to the school community.
Yesterday, second case of measles in Wisconsin this year, not promising.
Now this particular student we do know lives off campus and is recovering after receiving medical care.
The student did visit several locations on an
campus though, while infectious.
And so if you're in the Madison area, take note because those locations include the Cudoba on Park Street, Psychology Building, the Wiseman Center, and the Genetics and Biotechnology Center, as well as Union South.
Measles, by the way, is highly contagious, just in case anybody's wondering.
This is all coming from the official email from UW Madison.
You should watch yourself if you were in any of these places in the last week or so.
Look for symptoms like a high fever, cough, runny nose, and red watery eyes, which sounds like every morning for me.
But if you have not been vaccinated.
And you were in these places, and I don't think this will matter what we tell you.
You're supposed to quarantine for 21 days after the date of exposure.
But if you're not getting vaccinated, you're probably not going to quarantine either, because your concern for public health is probably pretty low, I'm guessing.
And that's just me talking.
and
They really, really, truly are.
So I always go to my educator friends
what it comes to, whether or not people should vaccinate.
I'm not gonna tell you what you need to do with your own family.
I get that.
People've gotta make their own choices.
But at the same time, it's...
It's a it's a matter of public health.
And when you're talking about educators and people trying to have your children in classrooms, you know, like I have plenty of friends who who've been in your shoes still do what you used to do.
And I know every year they just kind of brace for that moment when the first kid sneezes.
The
I've been I've had pink eye outbreaks, headlice outbreaks, flu, all of it.
And
I understand we don't want to tell people what to do, but in some cases people need to be told what to do.
There's a reason that measles was almost gone.
There's a reason that these vaccines are 97% effective because we get them and we are protected.
And yes.
Maybe the government is telling you what to do, but you know what?
That same government is also telling somebody else what to do to protect your kids.
So if you have any self-awareness, any concept of living in a society, it makes sense that you wouldn't want your children getting sick and you wouldn't want to make other children sick.
And guess what?
There's a good chance that you were vaccinated by your parents and you didn't get sick.
So, while you're very magnanimous to not tell people what to do, sometimes I want to grab collars,
But you break up a really good point.
It's the self-awareness, right?
And how many people, and I would say this might be a generality and I don't mean to generalize, but at the same time, how many people do you see walking around in this world right now who have no absolute care or self-awareness for anybody else anywhere?
Please.
Just like a
similar as
They're
The national news cycle never stops, but it can be hard to find news about your local community.
Civic Media is dedicated to providing quality local and state news coverage across Wisconsin.
With the Civic Media app, you can get notifications about local stories that matter to you and your community.
Find the free Civic Media app in your phone's app store and choose notifications from the menu to tell us what kind of news you want to hear about.