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Now back to Brian and Jamie.
Thank you so much for joining us on this Tuesday morning.
You are listening to the Civic Media Network, and I don't think we're going to waste any time.
We're going to jump right into
this.
No, let's get into this.
I know
everybody is super excited to try to win a couple hundred bucks today in that daily giveaway with our break into spring multi-state text to win contest, and also qualify for that big grand prize, a queen mattress set from Verlo, over $1,300 value.
And Brian, without further ado, have your Civic Media app.
ready because I'll let you give out today's word.
W-A-K-E.
please do not add and bake to the end of it.
It is just wake.
W-A-K-E.
Text that on your Civic Media app for your chance to win $200 today.
And your chance to win, as Jamie mentioned, that Verlo mattress set.
Queen size Verlo mattress, the sheets, the...
mattress protector, two active dough pillows, over $1,300 value.
That'll be given away after this.
We're only doing it for the rest of the week, so we've given away $200, the $1,200 we've
given away
Yes.
And yes, we will repeat the word as the as the hour goes on.
Don't panic.
But it's wake.
W-A-K-E.
That's it.
There you go.
There's stuff we need to know.
This big news from yesterday.
I can't believe it.
But why shouldn't I believe it?
Because
It's America.
Mark Wayne Mullen will serve as Donald Trump's next Department of Homeland Security Secretary, elevating the U.S.
Senator, who's never introduced a bill, never done anything, to helm the agency at the center of the president's controversial immigration enforcement effort and an ongoing shutdown.
The Senate confirmed the nomination Monday night, less than three weeks after Mullen was tapped by Trump to take over from the battled Christie Gnome.
Final confirmation vote was 54 to 45 with Geo
Senator Rand Paul voting no and everybody's favorite not really a Democrat Democrat John Fetterman and Martin Heinrich voting yes.
In other news headlines that you need to know today Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Company is laying laying off part of its global workforce.
We can confirm that some employees have been notified today of a reduction in force that is impacting our global workforce.
That is what a company spokesperson said yesterday.
The company did not elaborate on how many employees were impacted.
Harley Davidson reported in February that in 2025, a profit of a total of $339 million, a 26% increase from just the year before.
And in Wisconsin, federal judges ruled in favor of the state and a coalition of 20 other states that challenged a declaration by President Trump's administration to limit access to puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and other care for transgender children and adolescents.
The U.S.
District Court in Oregon issued a ruling on March 19th blocking the declaration made in December by U.S.
Health and Human Services Director Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Call said in a statement,
The federal government should be respecting people's freedoms.
Secretary Kennedy shouldn't be attempting to stop patients from making their own medical decisions, and he certainly shouldn't be overstepping his authority to do so, so federal judge upholding that.
economy was supposed to start the year fueled by an unusually large jump in tax refunds from President Donald Trump's tax cut legislation, yet spiking gas prices are on track to eat up those refunds.
Next spring is projected to be the largest tax refund season of all time, the president said in December.
But that was before the Iran War.
Oil and gas prices have soared since then, and the nationwide average price of gas reaching $3.94 per gallon on Sunday.
that's up more than a dollar from just a month earlier.
Lower and middle income households are likely to be hit particularly hard because they receive lower refunds while spending a greater proportion of their earnings on gas.
And so that leads us to the next question here this morning,
Brian, that
we would love people to chime in and we'd love to hear from you in your particular area of the state.
1-855-752-4842-185575 Civic, what are the prices in your location right now?
And are these rising prices going to change any of your plans?
Because this is where we start to look at, hmm, how do we save some money?
And if you were with us earlier, I mentioned that my Crosstrek filled that up yesterday for the first time in a couple of weeks.
It was $35 when I filled up two weeks ago, over $50 yesterday.
Yeah, and I
are
That would be nice.
35 are saying beach vacations.
Those are the most popular choices.
But we know it's going to be one.
Going to the airport right now seems like a no deal.
That's not happening.
But travel prices are going up everywhere.
Gas prices are averaging $363 here in Wisconsin, more than a dollar higher than a month ago.
National prices nearing $4, I've seen a lot
over
You
So you have to still go, even though everything's going to be a nightmare.
If you were just going to drive up north, you can justify, all right, well, we're going to bring lunch in the car.
Right.
And that'll cover it.
So people will always find a way to do the things they want to do.
They'll just have to make adjustments.
I don't think there's ever a price that we will...
Will stop right because How what are you gonna do just sit at home?
You can't go to work.
You can't right can't go anywhere
I was having a conversation with a good friend the other day and she lives in the Twin Cities and she and her husband work in the same vicinity in the downtown area.
And so they've actually adjusted their schedules a little bit.
This is one of those things that people are doing to change because they were
taking
He would leave at like 8 a.m.
She would leave around 9 9 30.
They'd come home at separate times.
So they've adjusted their schedules to the point.
now just to save just a little bit of gas money because they have about a 25 minute commute and traffic because it's a metro area gets a little tight sometimes so they've adjusted to the point where she now leaves at the same time he does because his schedule is a little gas is a little bit more rigid than hers so she actually goes in when he does she walks a couple of blocks that from their parking ramp now because her parking ramp was closer but she's like now I just walk the couple of blocks and she's like we've made it work that
so we're commuting together.
That
Well, and she said it's not gonna work every day, but she said we're able to do it at least three days a week.
And Minneapolis also has a great train system.
I know other cities do too.
There's a lot of public transit in some of the cities here in Wisconsin.
So I also have friends in some other metro areas of the country that are like, eh, I don't usually do public transit, but I'm gonna do more public transit.
more trains.
I'm going to try to do buses more often just because they're trying to keep down those gas prices just a little bit with some of their own vehicles because it's true.
Yeah.
how quickly it's gone up has been the shock.
Experts are saying, listen, if you're going to change your plans, you've got to plan ahead.
That's the main thing.
If you're going to the airport, we talked about this yesterday.
It bears repeating.
My daughter is coming in tonight with her fiance and they're flying out tomorrow.
And guess who gets to take them to the airport?
That's
right,
It's going to be a nightmare.
It's just, yeah.
And like I said, experts are also saying, I love the experts who speak like we already have.
Bring snacks instead of driving through.
Yes.
You know, limit your spending.
Choose a free...
free activity where you find it free activities I mean you can stop you could go if you're going to a national park once you
We have a couple of things that are on our schedule that we need to travel for.
And we were looking at the price of flights over the weekend.
We love to fly out of Madison because it's always very convenient.
We've been able to do that in the past.
The other day when we were looking for flights for my husband to be able to go a couple of days ahead of me, if this is something we choose to do later in April, he was like, I can't even get a flight out of Madison until like the end of the month.
until the end of April.
We're not even talking like in March.
We were talking the end of April.
He's like, there are absolutely no flights in that direction that I can purchase at this moment in time, flying out of Madison.
So he's- What's going on?
Well, I don't know if it's just the TSA.
I don't know if they've had- Yeah, they're limiting flights, maybe.
Yeah, they're limiting flights, maybe.
I don't know.
Maybe those are just, it was a very popular destination.
He needs to go to Las Vegas for the National Association of the Broadcasters Convention.
So maybe flights to Vegas.
Oh, is that right?
That's why he's going to Vegas?
All right, not to
So that was part of the conversation, but I don't know if he's going to do that or not.
But he was looking at, he's like, I think it might be cheaper if I actually drive to Minneapolis and fly to Las Vegas because the flights out of O'Hare were also incredibly expensive.
And you know, because now we're looking at a point where if you've got one of those trips,
Do you start thinking about is it worth driving?
Is it worth sitting there waiting?
Is it worth paying the gas prices?
Is it worth paying the increase in what the plane tickets are going to be right now because of these prices?
So
Well, and to your point about your husband, maybe driving to
Minneapolis to fly out.
That's why my daughter comes here because they live in Pittsburgh and it's much easier to get a lot of places and cheaper to come to Chicago.
Plus she can drop her dog off and get free boarding.
It's
If you are going to be doing any sort of air travel and you want to look at the smaller regional airports throughout the state of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Madison, Appleton, even during the busiest times, you're looking at about a 30 minute wait time.
That's approximate on average.
Milwaukee and Appleton tend to peak early as far as those wait time lengths at around six to seven in the morning.
Madison's rush hits a little bit later, right around nine
to 10 where you're gonna have a little bit longer wait, so manageable, but pretty typical.
Once you get into the larger hubs though, it's a different story.
At O'Hare, the same nine to 10 a.m.
window can mean closer to a 45 minute or longer wait.
In Minneapolis, the busiest time isn't even during the day, it's late at night around 10 to 11 p.m.
with about an hour wait time to get through TSA right now.
I'm Brian Noonan.
I'm Jamie Martin.
This is Civic Media Network.
Alright swipers say I'm gonna read some pop culture headlines Brian and Jamie are gonna have to decide it whether they want to stay and hear more about it or swipe on to the next one if they can't make up their mind Parker
We'll be the tiebreaker.
Let's move on.
Story number one, a female artist is sued by a production company.
Just for a couple of berries.
What are you visiting?
Yeah, I'm on tour.
What are you doing?
I'm on a world tour.
A
what?
A world tour.
Doing
a lot.
Hard to explain.
A world tour.
I'm Justin Timberlake.
What's your name?
Justin Timberlake.
You are
Yeah.
other side of the news.
You are listening to the Civic Media Network.
If you're listening in Appleton and Oshkosh on WISS or Wausau and WXCO or even in Richland Center and WRCE, thank you so much for joining us.
Hey, Brian, we have to take some more qualifiers because we are still breaking into spring with this multi-state text to win word of the hour until eight o'clock on your Civic Media app.
you can text us the word WAKE.
W-A-K-E WAKE is your word until eight o'clock and that's going to qualify you for some really great stuff.
Yeah you can win $200 today and you can be qualified for the grand prize which is a Verlo Queen size mattress pack including not only the mattress set but
the mattress cover, some sheets, and two active dough pillows, so over a $1,300 value.
So again, about 24 minutes for this word.
The word again is wake, as Jamie said, W-A-K-E, so get those in.
Now, President Trump has said he's working to save the Great Lakes from invasive carp, but his administration is holding up money for a billion-dollar project to keep them at bay.
He posted on True Social last week that he was working with Democrats
Governor Gretchen Whitmer to quote, save the Great Lakes from the rather violent and destructive Asian carp.
He also said he was going to ask governors of Great Lakes States to join the fight.
Well, that all sounds great, but the reality doesn't match the message.
So what is happening with funding and how big an issue are the Asian carp?
We're joined by Titus Seilheimer.
He is the fisheries outreach specialist at Wisconsin Sea Grant, and we're going to find that out.
Titus, thanks for being here.
This is something I hadn't, I haven't heard about these Asian carp in a while.
For a while, they were big news all the time for people out.
outside of your industry.
So for those who aren't familiar, how big an issue are these invasive carp and why are they such a problem?
Yeah, great question.
You know, they are, so they are, you know, one of the many invasive species that were worried about, you know, getting into the Great Lakes and they've been in North America for about 50 years and they were brought in originally to
They were kind of used for aquaculture in the south on fish farms or kind of wastewater treatment, but then they escaped into the Mississippi River system.
And so they have been kind of slowly over that time moving north and approaching the Great Lakes.
So the Illinois River especially, and then through the Chicago area waterway system,
the canals there that connect Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River system.
That's kind of this pinch point that we're mostly talking about.
I mean, it is definitely, I think, you know, in two ways, like it's definitely a big threat.
Like anytime a new invasive species gets into the Great Lakes, like that, you know, basically resets kind of what we know.
And I'm actually in Michigan right now at a Great Lakes meeting, you know, hearing about Lake Michigan all day yesterday and all five Great Lakes.
And so, you know, like we know what we know right now, but if you bring in these new species, which are
you know, the big head carp, the silver carp especially are these filter feeders, so they could, you know, really change the food webs in the Great Lakes, you know, especially places like Green Bay, Saginaw Bay, Lake Urie, where it's, you know, there's a lot of nutrient loading, a lot of food for them, but then even like the harbors and the rivers of the Great Lakes, like that could be a new species that really shifts things and means that we have to kind of figure out
you know, what is going on now?
Like, how do things work?
So keeping them out is definitely, it is, you know, sort of the most effective way to, you know, protect the Great Lakes rather than try to deal with them later.
I'm sure a lot of fishermen are going to laugh at me for asking this, but define, define invasive species.
I know, I know basically it means species that weren't in an environment and then are introduced.
But what what is the damage that invasive species really can cause to, like you said, if they get into the Great Lakes or these harbors where they haven't been before?
Yeah, so I mean, and actually like invasive is like it's there's this continuum of species.
So we have, you know, the the non native species.
So, you know, they came from somewhere else in the Great Lakes.
A lot of those like a lot of our top species that we worry about zebra mussels, quagga mussels, round gobies.
uh they came into the Great Lakes in the ballast water tanks of ships but then there's also you know so they came from uh Europe kind of the Eurasian area in these ballast tanks when the St.
Lawrence Seaway opened up um but you know they're and they can you know so they're non-native
We've got about 190 non-native species in the Great Lakes now.
Not all of them are what we would call invasive or have big noticeable impact.
So even then, you can have a species that's new, but if it doesn't, if you don't see the impacts, it's not always, you might not consider it invasive then.
It's just sort of a non-native species.
He is the fisheries outreach specialist at Wisconsin Sea Grant.
Now, Brian had mentioned that the federal government has paused funding even though that money was already approved.
So what kind of impact is this going to have?
How is this going to delay things, I guess would be the question.
Yeah.
So the funding specifically is for what's called, it's the Brandon Road.
uh lock and dam project
is within the the Illinois or the chicago area waterway system and it's so there's this big you know this is part of a big plan i think the the money we're talking about is like 200 some million out of a like a three stage billion dollar project so it's a it's a big project but
what they're going to do is upgrade this lock and dam so that these are where the barges that can go from the Mississippi River into the Great Lakes that they use and they're going to put a lot of they're going to upgrade them so they have an electrical barrier they're going to have a bubble curtain they're going to have sound they're going to be able to flush out species when the
the barges go through so it's it is really kind of upgrading this system to prevent carp but also other species from moving from the the Mississippi River system into the Great Lakes so you know it's it's been you know this is kind of the main the highest risk point for species moving into the Great Lakes from the Mississippi River so
It's definitely, I think, an important step forward in preventing new species, you know, carp and other species in the future.
And it seems like, like I said, this is a story that's been going on for well over 10 years.
It seems like they're moving kind of slow.
We hear that these carp are invasive.
They really seem to be taking their time.
How long a process is it for them to make their way up
to this choke point.
And then once they get to the choke point, what are they encountering?
Yeah.
So, you know, I think in part of this, you know, maybe we haven't heard about it as much in the last, you know, in the recent years is because they have kind of slowed down.
So they, you know, it was kind of this, you know, this, I don't know, I don't want to use, you know, I guess March, you know, it's this March north from where they started.
And I think Arkansas and their
Yeah, you know moving upstream and you know coming up you know fairly quickly through the Illinois River system and really you know some of the impacts to the rivers are just that they're so abundant now and they kind of you know it's all carp in some of these areas but they've actually kind of paused like they got to a certain point in the Illinois River.
system, which is actually downstream of this Brandon Road lock and dam.
And they've they've kind of, you know, haven't really moved upstream that much in advanced in, you know, it's it's something like 20 years now.
So it has kind of slowed, which I think is a good thing.
It gives us time to, you know, get this project in place.
And, you know, it's kind of nice.
They're cooperating with us and the, you know, the the
time it takes for some of these massive Army Corps of Engineers projects to finish.
Then just upstream of this Brandon Roadlock and dam is the electrical barrier, which you've heard about over the years, and that's been in place for quite a while.
you know, this electrical barrier that keeps the fish from swimming up towards the lake, they get stunned, and then they would just kind of float back downstream.
So it's not like we're totally on, you know, there, there aren't any defenses, but this would add another level to that.
Yeah, you know, I think, you know, carp in the Great Lakes is a...
big question.
Like I think there's a lot of uncertainty there.
You know, if you're, you know, if you're following the other Great Lakes stories, things like the kind of decline of Lake Whitefish, especially in the main part of Lake Michigan, you know, that is being driven by other invasive species like the quagga mussels.
And, you know, kind of the interesting thing about these carp, like they can get to 100 pounds, like they're
fish.
they're just swimming along, you know, filter feeding like they're eating the littlest stuff.
They're eating algae and plankton, but they can get really big.
And, you know, so in one sense, some of their their easiest food isn't, you know, quite available because of the muscles.
But, you know, I think it's definitely the, you know, they they would be feeding and they would be growing.
And if they
you know, would probably, you know, go to places that have more food availability, like Green Bay, the Fox River, Harbors, rivers, you know, on the Wisconsin side, especially, like that's kind of where we have, there's probably a lot more food for them.
So it could really change, you know, I think how people enjoy, you know, rivers in the lakes and but can also shift some of the food web stuff and impact, you know, the desirable fish species that we want to see.
Yeah, I mean like you know interest like in in Asia where they're you know They're actually farmed there.
They're a highly desirable food fish over there and kind of the backbone I guess if they're fish farming in some places and you know here I think you know for us like we hear carp and we're like, oh You know, yeah, like I you know, you hear carp you think common carp you think you know this bottom feeding fish that's full of contaminants and maybe you don't want to eat it but
You know these are because they're filter feeding they actually grow really fast they they have a much like they have low contaminants and I guess the you know as a food like I've had I think silver carp tacos one time and it was you know, you've seen season the meat.
It's really good
And, you know, so people are, you know, there is kind of an interest in marketing them as a food fish.
Copey is the new name, C-O-P-I.
see, yeah,
Copey on the menu, you're eating one of these invasive carp, so.
Fighting the power.
Doing your bit
Yeah, I mean, you know, I think the basic steps that we all do as boaters and anglers, you know, don't move water from one place to another, you know, drain your boat, clean your, you know, even your canoe or your kayak, clean it off because there could be stuff in there.
Uh, you know, don't dump your bait bucket because they've actually found, you know, some of these little carp in with, uh, with bait.
So, yeah.
You're listening to Daybreak.
This is the Civic Media
Network.
This is Wisconsin's Morning Conversation.
with Brian and Jamie.
Thank you for joining us this morning.
I got to read this message that we just got from John over on our YouTube chat.
He says, I appreciate very much these sorts of stories while politics is important, sometimes looking at more tangible stories like these are needed.
Thank you, John.
We appreciate
that
The word is WAKE.
W-A-K-E.
WAKE is your word this hour.
Remember, you have to use your Civic Media app to text us that word.
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If you don't have it and you missed out on this round, it's OK because there's going to be plenty of.
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So make sure, get us that word.
It is.
All right.
Here's something that always bothers me about education.
It's when funding time comes, if there's a shortage, the things that seem to be targeted first are the arts, music programs or art programs, things like that, because some people
believe those to be frivolous endeavors in school and having watched my daughter go through band in not only middle grade school than middle school than high school and seeing some of the band programs at after she graduated at the local schools uh done away with because of money
It's a tragedy.
And if you listen to any educational experts, they will tell you that in order to have a well-rounded student and a well-rounded human being down the road, arts are important.
Yes.
And I know, yes, reading is important.
Studying English is important.
Math is important to some people.
I don't understand why.
But it is.
And
And yeah, some things don't mix.
Biology, I'll never get over the fetal pig dissection and the earthworm.
So...
But arts are important.
That's why when I see this story out of Green Bay, it concerns me and it makes me not only angry but sad.
The Green Bay Public School District says it faces up to a $34 million budget deficit for the 27-28 school year, so the district is looking at cuts to several different programs, as well as benefits to employees to balance the budget.
Some of these programs are, of course, the Fine Arts Institute at East High School and the International Baccalaureate Program at several schools.
The Fine Arts program is exclusive to one high school, to East High School.
There are currently about 60 kids.
Students have to apply to get into the program and the district says it's disproportionately expensive.
than other school programming and the district is conducting a study to see if it's worth the investment.
They offer classes just so you know.
And Jamie this would interest one of your sons who does this stuff for us.
Visual arts, performing arts and dance, it also provides private lessons to students as well as access to professionals in those fields.
And there are a lot of kids who aren't going to go on to college to study business.
They're not going to go on to study
Math or chemistry or history, but they're going to get into these fields and it is beneficial.
Yes.
And you know, the Green Bay associate superintendent said that because of the state funding and some of the budget cuts that are impacting these programs, not just Green Bay, but programs across the state as well, the district has to be more conscious of where it's spending its money.
And of course, parents are saying that these programs are critical for students interested in fine arts.
I mean, for some of these students, this is college prep courses, right?
They're essentially going to go into school.
something in this field, and they need these courses.
Now, the school board did meet earlier this week, and they are expected to rank certain things that could be cut for next year.
This Fine Arts Institute is not something the board is planning to discuss.
Parents and others are still likely to show up, though, and comment.
I mean... And
art still
And I think it's so important for anybody, whether it's students, whether it's adults to be able in some way to express that creativity.
I mean, we homeschooled.
And one of the things that I really appreciated is that I was able to tailor music programs or any of those types of programs to what my kids liked.
They've all, they've both done something in theater.
never on stage, but they worked backstage.
They've
been
part of the props and building sets and all of that kind of stuff, because that's still part of that creative process, even if you're not a painter, you're not an artist, because that's the other thing.
We think of just those things when we say fine arts, but it's digital media.
It's all of that that goes into this.
And I
can keep a
your
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