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Blank Superior, the Lake Michigan.
This is Wisconsin's Morning Conversation.
It is 7 0 6 right now.
And looking out the windows here at our studio in Madison, some rain coming down in downtown right now.
And there's going to be good portions of the state that are going to see some heavier rain this morning and then some much warmer temperatures as we go.
In fact, we're talking some record breaking temperatures in portions of the area throughout the weekend.
High sixties, low seventies, which is pretty weird for
Potentially dangerous weather in southeast Wisconsin.
Yeah.
Moving up.
Pretty big swath of potentially dangerous weather.
So everybody will be keeping an eye on that.
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So we got it.
We touched on this at the beginning, the big news out of yesterday.
And it's hard.
Because there's a lot of news.
There is.
But the biggest news had to be the firing of Kristi Noem.
The president announced it yesterday afternoon.
He also said he is going to nominate Senator Mark Wayne Mullen, who is from Oklahoma to lead Homeland Security.
Mullen supposedly will take over at the end of March, pending confirmation by the U.S.
Senate, which is, you know...
It's
I guess that's what we're going to say.
I'm not really sure what Christie Noam's new role is going to be.
We know with this president, he doesn't like to admit when things
have not gone his way or when he's made a bad decision, so instead of just basically saying, hey, you're not with the administration anymore, we now have the shield of the Americas that she is going to lead.
Now, according to reports that we were hearing as of yesterday, late last night, Trump actually informed Noam of the decision during a phone call while she was arriving at an event in Nashville.
She actually had to still get up and give that long speech, even after she'd been told she'd
been sidelined to the Shield of the Americas.
Now, in recent, awkward, right?
Say it again for me, will you?
Just because it makes me laugh every time I hear it.
The Shield of the Americas.
I feel like we need some sort of shirt.
It's like the Avengers merchandise or something.
Oh, there will be.
There
But in recent weeks, we've seen gnome face increasing scrutiny and criticism, not just from the Democrats, but also from the Republicans, including
the Trump's inner circle.
There were questions surrounding the costly DHS advertising campaign, $220 million for that, which probably featured
That's the one thing that I will say is maybe if you're trying to find any human quality of Kristi Noem based on her actions over the last few weeks is that, granted, I know she's talked about shooting dogs and goats, but she really does love horses.
That was a thing.
She has a ranch yet in South Dakota where they do raise horses.
She does love love you don't think she's
Dakota
She looked like a regular woman.
She did.
You know, she just looked like an average mom who was now in politics When did this weird transformation because there's nothing about her when it from a dick She's one of those people and I know we're not supposed to talk about people's looks But it's an it's when you transform that much right and from a distance.
You're like, oh, this is attractive But then the closer the picture gets the more
The face is distorted.
It's a weird
She started coming into the local political circle as we were getting ready to leave.
I've had several friends in South Dakota who still live there, so I've gotten to track her a little bit more than I probably would, you know, just after leaving a state.
It seems like some of the transformation started during...
Trump's first presidency, especially during the first campaign series of the 2020 elections, when he would be in South Dakota regularly courting the Wisconsin voters.
when the metamorphosis of Kristi Noem really started.
She was also governor at the time.
So she had a little bit more prominent role, especially in that campaign.
And that was when we started to see her really change who she was from some of those things, those values that in South Dakota got her voted in the first place.
In
fact, I have a really great friend who as a former journalist and a sexual assault victim actually passed a law.
through South Dakota called Jolene's Law that needed huge help from Kristi Noem.
And Kristi Noem was a great supporter of it, helped pass it, helped get us through the legislature.
And that was maybe only 10 years ago.
So that tells you kind
of
in
There was also allegations about a relationship
with Corey Lewandowski, a top advisor to Trump during the first presidency.
Now, she has denied all of that.
Some Republicans as senators and officials, though, within DHS also started raising some concerns about her leadership skills following some of those congressional hearings that took place earlier this week.
In fact, reports say that it was after those hearings that Trump himself started reaching out to Republicans asking whether or not they thought she was up for the job.
And as you can expect...
Well, I was just going to say, be careful what you wish for.
Never mind.
But a lot of Republicans and Democrats have started weighing in on the removal of Kristi Noem.
And we know that JB Pritzker has not been a fan of this president, this administration, or many of the ICE actions under Kristi Noem.
This is what he had to say yesterday in a recorded message.
This is cut three, please.
Hey, Kristi Noem, don't let the door hit you on the way out.
Here's your legacy, corruption and chaos, parents and children, tear gas, moms and nurses, U.S.
citizens getting shot in the face.
Now that you're gone, don't think you get to just walk away.
I guarantee you, you will still be held accountable.
Today there's report of an ice officer getting his finger.
I'm sorry about
They've been stonewalling us
on the most important issues, and those have to change, and they have to change them.
We have to change them by legislation, because any one person, I don't trust any one person, being in charge of this agency as long as Trump is president, given the policies he espoused, given how ICE has been structured, the rot is deep.
It was not unexpected, but it's always disappointing to see that type of lackluster response from the Democrats, right?
Now, some Republicans weighed in as well.
Senator Joe Kennedy, who question-nomed just this week during those Senate hearings about that $200 million DHS advertising spending, had this to say about the new nominee.
This is cut number five.
The president, when he called me Tuesday night, the night of the hearing, when he was mad as a murder hornet.
Wow.
He asked me what I thought about Mark Wayne and I said, A, I like him.
B, he's very smart.
C, he's a very good businessman.
And D, if I didn't believe the three things I just told you, I'd lie to you because Mark Wayne would whip my ass.
his
list.
Let's
of Mark Wayne in his
But he previously served in the House of Representatives from 2013 to 2023.
He represents Oklahoma's second congressional district.
Then he won the U.S.
Senate seat in 2020.
2022 in a special election.
He is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, became the first tribal citizen to serve in the U.S.
Senate in 20 years.
Before politics, he ran his family's plumbing business.
He took over when his dad got sick.
He also competed as an undefeated professional mixed martial arts fighter with a 5 and 0 record and he went out on top.
So
Today there's report of an ice officer getting his finger bit off and then unfortunately a individual, a deranged individual that came in to have to cause max damage with a loaded pistol with an extra mag that was completely loaded, was shot and killed.
How much more does this got to go on before the Democrat leaders there take responsibility for their words?
That was him right after the killing of Alex Pretty in Minneapolis because some sources say that one of the reasons Kristi Noem was ousted was for her statement.
That was what Mark Wayne had to say about the incident.
But this was also him in June of 2025 on NBC's Meet the Press discussing birthright citizenship.
This is cut seven, please.
Well, here's what we know.
There's a whole industry that stood up to bring people here
in their last month of pregnancy to have a child here, and they come here on a vacation visa, and they have a child, so their child will be able to be US citizens.
It's a whole industry.
You know it, and I know it.
What we're trying to do is end those that are gaming the system, and that's exactly what's happening now.
Should those babies be deported, Senator, with their parents?
Are you saying those babies should be deported with their parents?
They should go where their parents are.
Why wouldn't you send a child with their parents?
I mean, why would you want to separate them?
I wouldn't want to be separated from my kid, and no parent should want to be separated from their kids.
So with their parents are deported, then the child should most definitely go with the parents.
as
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coming in today, there was always, there's always a crew of construction workers as they're doing some work in downtown Madison.
And they were like, they were like, oh, it's going to be raining all day today.
No, not whistling.
No, they're actually very courteous in kind.
They always make sure I get in the door, in fact, in the parking garage.
Yes, they're fantastic.
But I was listening to them bemoan the fact that the weather was going to be awful today and they were preparing for that, getting all their rain gears.
So if you do have to work outside, we're thinking
about you because it really does look miserable right now.
It really does.
My goodness.
But we
have
Yep.
Swipe or stay.
If you haven't heard before, I'm going to read some pop culture headlines.
Brian and Jamie will have to decide whether or not they're going to swipe.
and move on to the next one or stay on it and hear more about it in the event of a tie Parker will be the tiebreaker.
Let's move on to story number one.
A pop star is in DUI trouble.
Who could have saw this coming?
She was pulled over and arrested for a DUI on Wednesday, close to her home in California.
TMZ has learned that she actually fired her sobriety coaches and a couple of security guards weeks ago.
So again, who could have saw this?
Who could have seen this coming?
Everybody.
Also, what are the people?
Do you remember the whole like free, free Britney?
Yes.
Ray Brittany and everybody was on board.
Yes, please do.
Alisa Lou took to Instagram pleading for some privacy amid her rise to fame after taking home two gold medals at the Olympics.
And in Instagram story, the other day, she said,
So I land at the airport and there's a crowd waiting at the exit with cameras and things for me to sign all up in my personal space.
Someone chased me to my car, brah.
She was the first female to win gold in the figure skating singles category since 2002.
Now, I think this is really interesting because when you become an actor or an actress, you or
like a pop star or rock star.
You know what you're getting yourself into, right?
Right.
You admire what they do.
So you have to be respectful.
You have to pull back a little bit.
But on the other hand, yes, Alyssa Lu took time off for her mental health.
I'm glad she's doing better.
I thought she was incredible at the Olympics.
She was fun to watch.
She seems like a nice kid.
Nobody gets to that level of sport, even if it's amateur sport, without knowing what comes with the success.
She's seen enough
Olympians before she knows it.
Get somebody with security.
Yeah.
Get Mark Wayne Mullin.
He'll fight anybody.
Take him with.
local news, community stories, and the conversations that matter most.
Now, more Daybreak with Brian and JB.
Thank you so much for joining us this morning.
If you are in Madison listening on WMDX and WASA on WXCO, or if you're in Hayward on WBZH, we are glad that you're here.
You might be seeing some rain.
Tom pointing out over on our text line, Brian, that this is our first major rainstorm of the year and some areas of the state.
could potentially see some more severe weather like uh... not a tornado not out of the question as far as the other service that goes
the whole swath is coming up through the southeast portion of the state including madison so we'll keep an eye on that uh... when the current legislative session started in january this was strange the senate leaders made an unusual decision they decided they weren't going to create a committee dedicated to election policy now this is the first time that's happened in about twenty years
the choice has had numerous consequences not the least of which is that the senate has taken up a lot fewer election bills than the assembly this time and the measures are now stalled and don't look like they could go forward uh... how is that going to affect wisconsin and wisconsin voters alexander sure is here he joins us now he's a reporter for vote beat wisconsin previously covered politics policy and the fallout of the twenty twenty presidential election for the wisconsin state journal vote beat dot org is their website
Alex, thanks for being here.
We appreciate it.
Yeah, thanks for having me.
So let's start with this.
What's the job of the Election Policy Committee and why is it an important part of the business of the Assembly?
Yes, I mean, generally the committee chair is not only choosing what bills to hold a hearing for and how to pass bills, but they're also coordinating with the many election stakeholders.
you know, clerks, non-profit voting groups, other states.
They're really just the point person if clerks have a concern if, you know, an advocacy group wants a lot of change or if they have a concern about a bill.
In the Assembly, there's one person to go to.
That's Scott.
Well, there's a couple of people to go to at this point, but you go to the chair and you go to the vice chair of the committee.
The current vice chair, Scott Krugas.
unusually active on election bills just because he used to be the chair and has a real passion for it but given the Senate's choice not to have an election committee there there's not a clear point person is what I'm hearing from election stakeholders.
No, I've not exactly except I heard through the grapevine not from you know official Didn't get official word but heard through the grapevine no one wanted to be that that single point person said That's possibly it but again,
this is
sort of conjecture that I've
heard
people put out there, you know, I'm not sure if they know but Yeah, there there's
What I heard in at the beginning of last year was well it could go to this committee this committee or this committee and folks were like well that's not great, but you know as long as it works it works I Think at this point it's an open question whether it works.
So some people just think this dynamic is not
Yeah, so half as many is the answer.
And the session is sorry, the Senate is still in session.
So they write still theoretically could pass more bills.
But the assembly has has passed 18 or at least had a public hearing for 18 bills in the Senate.
It's nine.
And again, those nine are in.
different committees And I think the interesting thing there is There's not a clear like election agenda in the Senate.
It's not You can't look at the bills that pass versus the ones that don't and see like a through line of okay We we get what they're doing here just seems sort of random like some Senate bills Though we're a priority of some members in the Senate like required early in person voting hours
Haven't passed the chamber haven't got passed a public hearing so
Sure.
He's a reporter at votebeat votebeat.org if you want to check out his work So you mentioned the fact that we've established that this is the first time in 20 years that nobody really wanted to be the point person so Where are these election bills going right now?
What is their actual process for moving them through or to actually having any sort of committee on them?
Yeah, so I mean there there's a government operations committee.
That's where some of the bills go.
There's a local government committee.
That's where some of the bills go I mean most of them are just not going anywhere a couple have passed Actually a couple days ago the Senate held an executive session or the committee held an executive session essentially passing the bill from the committee to the floor
On one election bill, but but again, there's just no in the assembly It's clear where a bill is going to be how it's going to pass when it's going to pass and in the Senate it seems more random so I Mean the the other somewhat notable thing that You know Senate couldn't make up some ground for is there they're still in session while the assembly isn't So they could still pass bills the catch is if they amend any of the bills will the the assembly is not there to sign off on that
So, local election clerks say that some of these stall bills could actually make their jobs easier, including proposals to track absentee ballots and improve the voter records.
What are you hearing from clerks about some of that slowdown and how they proceed in what is going to be a very busy election cycle for the state of
Wisconsin?
I think for better or worse, to some extent, they're used to this in some way.
I mean, for all that the assembly has done, I think one of the most notable things about this legislative session is this really high priority bill to allow clerks to begin processing ballots on Monday, called the Monday Count Bill, hasn't even been written this legislative session, much less passed in any chamber.
and pass sessions the same bill has maybe it would pass one house and get stalled in another or it would always appear like somewhat close to passing and you know clerks and some legislators say well you know next session is a session this happens and here it didn't even pass I mean I think in terms of significant bills not passing that's at the top of it and clerks really wanted and you know that this is a dynamic that
They have become used to it.
They've been wanting this bill for many sessions.
But in terms of the current bills that are written and not passing, I think for the most part clerks are extending that philosophy they have about, OK, it is what it is to this.
I mean, they're used to lawsuits dictating how they do their jobs in the legislature, sometimes but not always listening to their needs.
Again, it's just easier to have that point person, someone to coordinate with.
you know, say you talk to all the stakeholders, you agree on the conditions of the bill.
All that happens in the assembly among stakeholders, but it doesn't include the Senate lead on this proposal.
Well, you know, then the Senate could do whatever they want.
It's just easier having everyone in the same room.
But if you don't know who that person is in the Senate, it's just going to trip things up.
Sure.
He is a reporter over at votebeat and if you want to check out more of his work, we would love for you to do that.
It is votebeat.org.
Alex, thank you so much for joining us this morning and explaining some of this important issue on elections here in the state of Wisconsin.
Thank you and have a great weekend.
Brian, we know that voting in Wisconsin has been hard pressed over the years.
Right.
We know that everywhere.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Why why do we want to make it harder in this state?
I mean, not having an elections committee seems silly to me because of the fact that we do need to open up voting rights in this state.
We do have things like gerrymandering.
We have all of these bills that are being passed on the federal level.
And, you know,
In the state of Wisconsin, we talk about the drop boxes all of the time.
And we do have four elections.
One has already passed in this state.
We have three more coming up.
So why are we not passing more bills to open up voting and make it easier?
It's a democratic right.
It's how people voice their decisions and shape their communities, their schools, their taxes, their future.
And instead, we're just bogging it down even more and making it more difficult.
It should be unacceptable to other members of the Senate.
It should be unacceptable to the governor.
You should have to have these committees.
You should have to have them staffed.
Hey, we've all been, we've all been on committees where we have to, you know, you're volunteered to be
to do.
it kind
kind of appear to be the case.
I mean, for years, we've watched lawmakers in this state and all across the country debate rules about who can vote, how absentee valid should be processed, how early voting works, when we should start counting, what identification people have to show.
And instead of actually putting those things to the test, having those discussions, they're just going to not
choose to do their job or have do anything about any of it and then continue to blame the process, not on the fact that they just chose to not do the job this year, which seems too much of a hassle.
I mean, that seems that seems not.
Not that's a
Absolutely.
Dean, over on the text line, listening on WCFW 93.5, the TAP, asking who the reporter was.
That is Alec Schur to answer your question.
He works at VoteBeat.
That is votebeat.org.
So if you want to check out more of his work, he does report on a lot of things like elections, what our elected officials are doing, and how they're actually making the voting process easier for all of us, which in this case seems like...
I mean, I don't want to say it, but it kind of seems like they don't care if they just don't want to do the job, Ryan.
Nobody
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Wisconsin wakes up here.
Back to Daybreak with Brian and JB.
Yeah, clocks are springing forward tomorrow night at Sunday morning.
Put set the clocks before you go to bed Saturday night.
That's the best way to ensure that you're not late for things on Sunday unless you don't have anything to do on Sunday.
Then put the clocks under the bed and get them Sunday night before you go to work on Monday because yes, it starts tomorrow.
That's you know,
Daylight... here's the... let's dispel a myth about daylight saving time because there was something... it's a common misconception that it had to do with farmers.
Everything gets
blamed on the
Does
So supposedly it was so that farmers would have more time to work in the fields.
but it has nothing to do with that.
The agriculture industry is actually fervently opposed, fervently opposed.
That means they really don't like it to daylight saving time.
That according to the Library of Congress, which I'm sure is full of woke books that are full of disinformation, but for now the Library of Congress still has a lot of good information
So it starts, clocks will jump forward about between two and three a.m.
on Sunday morning, meaning that we're gonna have
more light in the evening, less light in the morning, but we ask this every year and you can answer it now.
Should we get rid of daylight saving time?
It's a simple question.
Yes or no.
Let us know at 855-75 Civic.
We'll all be tired on, you know, because you know this, Jamie, sleep experts.
What do they have to say about this?
They don't like it,
Well, no.
And in fact, it actually messes with the body's internal clock, right?
When you're messing with the time like that.
Because the Academy, American Academy of Sleep Medicine said that the United States should eliminate
seasonal time changes in favor of a national fixed year round time, because it disrupts the circadian rhythms of the human body and the abrupt time change has been linked to things like a higher risk of mood disorders and heart diseases, according to the organization.
Because again, just like the Library of Congress, they might be too woke and not actually know anything.
Kidding, of
Well, yeah, but all right, I listen.
You know how I feel about people saying things are woke.
And I don't think this is woke.
I'm just I'm confused.
And this is a me problem.
Not an Academy of American Academy of sleep.
It's an hour.
It's not like jet lag where it's five, six, seven hours.
Right.
It's an hour.
You could.
Couldn't you just remedy this by going to bed an hour earlier Saturday night or sleeping an hour later on Sunday?
You could.
I
I don't get messed up from the time change itself.
I get messed up from the fact that depending on the schedule, which obviously we go to bed a little bit earlier and we get up a lot earlier than a lot of people because of our hours, I get messed up when it's just like the daylight thing.
If there's just a little bit of light, my body's like, nah, I can't.
I can't.
I'm not going to bed right now.
I remember when I worked in TV.
way back in the day, I did the morning shift, which means I went in at 1 a.m.
And so I was trying to go to bed when it was like four in the afternoon.
And
that was one of those
a big
light out later in the night.
the deck.
I want
Now.
Here's the other thing that I found just annoying about the time change Is the fact that?
My dog does not have an internal clock and so her hours are always going to be her hours So that just gets annoying Tiffany and River Falls chiming in listening on 93.5 the taps
says, death to daylight savings, make standard permanent.
Daylight saving all year long means sunrise close to 9 AM in the winter.
Hawaii and most of Arizona, by the way, the only two states that do not observe daylight saving time, they remain on the standard time year round, just in case anybody's wondering.
Tom says that I'm sensitive.
You're right, I am sensitive.
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