
Good morning.
Good morning.
Good morning.
Good morning.
We've talked the whole night through.
Good morning.
Good morning to you.
This is where Wisconsin wakes up.
It's Daybreak with Brian Noonan and Jamie Martinson.
Here are your hosts, Brian and Jamie.
Thank you so much for joining us this morning.
It is six minutes after six now.
You are listening to the Civic Media Network.
What is going to be another beautiful day?
My name is Jamie Martenson.
And good morning.
I'm Brian Noonan.
We'd love to hear from you today.
855-755-CIVIC.
855-755-24842.
And don't forget, after seven o'clock, we will have another brand new word on the break into spring multi-state text to win contest.
Your chance to win $200 every day and a giant mattress package worth
over
$1,300.
So the new word comes after seven o'clock.
Jamie,
Every time I think maybe we'll have a day
where
everything's gonna be fine.
You
mean
normal?
Yeah, normal is normal is good.
What would normal look like in 2026?
Hopefully gas prices
are down a little
bit because I went yesterday and filled up
and it
was...
40 cents a gallon more than it was exactly a week ago.
So that's I got some major sticker shock yesterday.
I have a Subaru Crosstrek who I hadn't put gas in since the price price is increased.
So two weeks ago when I put gas in, it was literally $35 yesterday.
It was $51 and 22 cents.
The exact same mileage, exact
same gas station.
It was I was like, wow, okay, well that
pretty much socks on a Monday.
If your day wasn't bad enough on a Monday, don't go to the gas pumps on a Monday.
Don't go to the gas station anytime soon.
If we could go back to pioneer days,
if you have a
kind of Stoga wagon
parked
behind your house
and a horse, that may
be the way to go.
Oxen might be a good choice right now, too.
Oxen
would be good.
That's going really old school.
It is.
Well, Parker's got the Amish beard, so he would love to have horse-drawn
carts
running down the street.
to just start living in the studio.
I'll be honest, I don't think there's any need for me to really go home.
We've got a kitchen here.
We do.
And a couple couches.
Yeah.
Not a
lot
of
traffic
there.
After the afternoon, you'd have the whole evening to yourself.
This is true.
I
think this could be fun.
Get some entertainment during nightlife from five to seven while Dom is here producing.
There you go.
There's TVs here.
They
rent out an office for an Airbnb.
There you go.
Pick up
a little extra scratch on the side.
There you go.
Oh, Brian.
Man, now we're thinking this could be
lucrative.
I'm here to help a brother out.
That's all.
Well, should we start looking overseas to Iran and see what the latest is
over
there?
Why not?
Here's some headlines coming out of that region.
Iranian attacks on Tel Aviv.
Tuesday left buildings damaged and vehicles burning as seen on video that was obtained by CNN.
Israeli authorities said Iran launched seven waves of missiles since midnight.
Meanwhile, Israel is also continuing to strike Iran.
President Donald Trump told CNN that there are, sorry, my laptop just decided to shut down, told CNN that there are 15 points of agreement between the U.S.
and Iran after talks this weekend.
He announced that he will hold off strikes against Iranian energy sites for five days after earlier threatening an attack if Tehran did not let the Strait of Hormuz fully reopen.
The goalposts on this keep moving, Brian, as far as the Strait of Hormuz.
long yesterday it was 48 hours and then by the time this show ended it was a week and then there were talks that Iran says never actually happened so I'm not sure really where to where the truth lies right now.
Well, it's scary that Iran is becoming more trusted source
than
our own administration.
And as you mentioned, another headline Iran's foreign ministry said there was, quote, no dialogue between Tehran and Washington, that according to state-affiliated media, separately, the semi-official FAR's news agency, citing what it described as informed Iranian sources, said plans are being prepared for potential actions targeting Tel Aviv and some regional allies.
of the US and Israel.
So it doesn't sound, um, this sounds like another, I got a call from a former president.
I'm not at liberty to say which one.
And, uh, they said, sir, you're doing, I wish I had the courage to do what you did.
Uh, and then every living president went, no, we, no, that didn't, maybe he had a dream where he talked to, uh, perhaps Herbert Hoover, but, uh, we didn't talk to him.
I mean at some point though this is what should be concerning is we keep getting told right that this war is what were we told short-term excursion just
last week that's that's what
we were told we were told that the US was definitely winning this war this does not feel like winning if you're watching this from afar if you're watching our news media if you're watching what's happening if you're listening or reading anything that's coming in from overseas as far as you know the
or even Al Jazeera, whatever your source is, this does not feel like something that the U.S.
is winning.
This feels a little bit like the U.S.
is in some sort of quagmire, and there is really no end in sight, which is what the big fear going into this always
was.
alone.
We we wanted isolationism and we've got it.
We don't have we don't have allies anymore because he has alienated them.
We don't have anybody helping here because he didn't talk to anybody before he did this.
And within within an hour, he'll he'll say the straits are open.
Yep, then 30 minutes later, we need help to open the straits.
Iran has been decimated.
No, we have to keep going in there and destroy them.
There's no there's no consistency of message.
There's no fact based message.
It's whatever this old man decides pops into his head.
He he is for all intentions, a doddering grandfather who's just sitting there spouting off whatever pops into his head.
And unfortunately, this doddering grandfather has the most powerful position
in the
world.
And so we are all at his mercy.
And it doesn't look like this is going to end anytime soon, because if you listen to what is being floated as the offer to Iran, it's what President Obama had already worked out with them.
It's the same deal.
But now, once you start bombing a place, they're a lot less likely to sit down and talk to you.
Unless you bomb them into submission, which
Iran doesn't seem submissive.
No,
and they haven't submitted yet.
So
no, absolutely.
And I think that was the biggest miscalculation.
I mean, there were several miscalculations going into Iran.
Let's be clear.
But I think that was the biggest, especially from this administration, as you see the news roll out that they thought they were going to go in there.
They were going to bomb Iran.
They were going to take out the Ayatollah.
The leadership was going to be in chaos, which it wasn't.
They already had made plans seven regime deep.
order if something
happened to
the Ayatollah.
And it seems like that was one of the biggest miscalculations that they were just going to roll over and say, oh, you bombed us.
The Ayatollah is dead.
Do whatever you want at this point.
Have
mercy on us great American
leaders.
And that's not what's happened at all.
In other headlines from Iran, oil prices dropped following the president's statement.
And Asia markets rallied early Tuesday this morning, looking over at breaking news this morning.
get oil prices back over $100 a barrel as of right now within just the last few minutes as the overseas markets start to open, that is.
And Cindy texts in, you can too at 855-755-CIVIC, 855-752-4842.
She says simply, the man is nuts.
Well stated, Cindy.
Let's talk about some other stuff you need to know.
The Pentagon has announced it will relocate journalists from their longtime workspace inside the building to a separate annex on Pentagon grounds, citing security concerns.
Yeah, because the press has been the one that has caused all kinds of... I could see that.
be that we just don't want to see him around.
The move comes just days after a federal judge ruled that the Defense Department's media policy violated press freedom and due process rights.
The department says it will comply with the ruling but strongly disagrees in plans to appeal.
Under the changes, the historic correspondence corridor is closed and journalists will need escorts to enter most areas of the Pentagon outside scheduled briefings.
Many reporters and media organizations dispute the security justification.
arguing the policy changes are intended to restrict access and punish journalists seeking information.
That seems about right.
That's what they've been trying to do since the beginning.
I mean, this is what all of the rules, all the regulations, going back months to that very first Pete Higseth memo that came out basically saying, these
are
all the steps you're going to have to take in order to get your press credentials, which is why now in the Pentagon, we don't actually have any reputable news sources.
It's all very right-leaning, very conservative, maybe verging on propaganda type.
services that are in in the Pentagon right now because if you remember back to that memo that's when all of the the credible press and maybe the mainstream if you want to call it basically turned over their credentials and was like fine if we have to go through all of this just to get access to what should be public knowledge we're done
which yeah and the info is going to get out one another Pete
Pistol Pete he boy he does not want he does not want anybody asking him questions because here's the thing when when you know nothing and you're in over your head
yes
the last thing you want is somebody asking you a question to reveal how much you are in over your head and you know yesterday the president actually turned on somebody he did his usual thing a reporter asked him a question he didn't like well who are you with
Oh, this time it was Newsmax though.
That makes it complicated.
You're not doing a really good
job.
That makes it very complicated.
And for Pete Hakeseth, I think it's interesting that this is a man who is trying to avoid the press at all costs when we know how much he loves a camera.
I mean, it is fact that he has had makeup booths installed in most
offices,
but this is a man who loves the camera.
So the fact that he's trying to avoid the press so much tells you that he probably doesn't want to answer the questions that they're actually asking.
In other news that you need to know, immigration officer.
were deployed to 14 airports across the United States yesterday as part of that effort by the Trump administration to help alleviate long lines and severe delays caused by understaffing at security checkpoints.
By yesterday afternoon, it was unclear how much of an impact ICE's presence was having.
Wait times at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport reached four and a half hours over the course of the day as the airport closed all but two of its security checkpoints.
In Atlanta, where waits reportedly stretched
to as long as six hours over the weekend.
Airport management advised travelers to allow at least four extra hours to account for delays at security.
There has been little evidence of any progress towards a deal to end the standoff over reopening DHS.
Trump rejected a potential bipartisan compromise that would have allowed all non-immigration agencies within DHS, including the TSA, to resume normal operations.
In fact, there have been five.
five proposals put in front of the Republicans, which a lot of the Republicans have agreed to, to get people back to work to alleviate these delays.
It's actually the president who has said, no, do not make a deal with the Democrats.
And we know this because the Republicans are actually coming out now and saying the president does not want us to make a deal.
This is what they are saying at this point.
When John Kennedy from Louisiana comes out and he is the foghorn leghorn
of legislators,
he is the most southern fried yahoo I have ever run across.
He actually said the words, this is Trump's shut down.
Yes.
it's like oh oh Johnny you're gonna be you're getting called to the woodshed brother man all right real quick before we have to take a break the supreme court's conservative majority appeared dubious of the state laws that allow the counting of mail-in ballots that arrive at election officers after election day justice has heard oral arguments in a challenge to mississippi's five-day grace period for mail ballots justice is raised an assortment of reasons why they saw those policies as problem
seemingly embracing Republicans' arguments that state laws run afoul of statutes passed by Congress establishing Election Day in November for federal offices.
So stay tuned, that is not a done deal just yet.
When we come back, Washington County is suing.
What are they suing over?
We'll find out after this.
619, right now you are listening to Daybreak on the Civic Media Network.
We
hope that your morning is going well.
Thank you so much for waking up and spending it with us.
We do appreciate it.
My name is Jamie Martenson.
And I'm Brian Noonan.
Listen, we've got a lot of texts coming in.
Roger wants to, and Steven's point, wants to know if we're going to talk about the billion dollars not to build windmills.
It's on the list.
If we don't get to it today, we'll get to it tomorrow.
But yes, we are doing that.
Also, I would urge you, and I know everybody's morning schedule is different, but one day if you have time to stream and watch...
get the show behind the show where at some point I just want Parker to just turn the mics on because
the
show we're always in the middle of something right ten five just just open the mic so we'll just it'll
just
be
a continuous stream of consciousness show it'll
be fine
don't be confusing
at all
for those
Well, listen, then I don't know what to tell you.
You've got to listen everywhere.
There's a lot to talk about, and we talk about a lot of it.
It's the show behind the show.
It continues.
It does.
So if you have the opportunity, please join us on the stream.
And hey, while we're mentioning it, if you're online, give us a like over on our new Facebook page, also on Instagram.
Just do a search for Daybreak with Brian and Jamie.
We would love for you to follow along with everything we're doing here.
and you know, be a part of it.
Comment and only if it's nice though.
Avoid the rush.
You know, soon everybody's going to want to be
part of it.
You could be in on the ground floor.
This is kind of odd.
An education foundation has sued Washington County over its plans to sell the former University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Washington County campus to a private Christian school.
The Washington County Charitable Foundation sued March 6 asking a judge to block the county sale to Ozaki Christian school.
For decades, the foundation supported local students studying at the Washington County campus, including a $1.1 million gift for the renovation and construction, but there was a condition and that condition was.
the purpose had to be for public education.
And now they're saying,
hmm, yeah,
private private Christian school is not public education.
So stop.
Yeah, in fact, I did a little investigating into what the organization is that filed this complaint.
And literally, they give money to students who are trying to from lower income families.
They're very diversified.
They like to make sure that the money goes to students of all
different backgrounds, and it's really just to give them a leg up with, as you stated, with the public education.
And so the complaint that they filed says that those funds donated by the foundation with the specific charitable purpose of benefiting public education dramatically increased the value of the property, the sale of which will result in an unjust windfall to the county and city.
Now, if you don't know, UW Milwaukee closed that Washington County campus back in June of 2024 because of decline.
numbers of Wisconsin high school students and also financial pressures so the two-year branch campus was jointly owned by Washington County and the city of West Bend and so the closure as you can imagine left the government with this
80 acre property and 200,000 square foot building that costs at least $300,000 annually to maintain the city transferred the ownership interest to the county in February of this year according to the complaint in terms of that transfer have not been publicly released as of yet
Yeah, and there was there was they decided they were gonna sell it to the county was gonna sell it to Ozarki Christian school But then they were afraid they were gonna get three million bucks
But then people were criticizing it because they didn't do open bidding.
And they say that the offer that they were going to take from the Christian school was well below the appraised value, which was at $5 million.
So yeah, that's a big difference.
between three and five.
And it comes to millions.
And the state legislature actually passed a law that gives up to $2 million in grants to counties or cities with a closed UW campus so that they can aid in the redevelopment.
The money must be used to enhance the community's economy though in some way like facilitating some job creation, more housing, improving public infrastructure or contributing to workforce development.
Washington County had previously set aside money to repair the building's electric
system, which would have used that $2 million grant before they decided to sell it to Ozaki Christian, Brian.
All right.
And they're still negotiating.
It's still in the process of the sale.
But Washington County spokeswoman Fran McLaughlin said that she had no update on the status of the WEDC grant.
I don't know.
I'm not a lawyer.
That's the thing.
Anytime I look at some lawsuit
I
look at it from kind of a basic common sense thing Well, this was the deal you don't it has to be used for public education You're selling you're trying to sell it to somebody else who is not in private education You're allegedly selling it at a price lower than it needs to be sold at just to get a quick cash grab it looks like from the outside so Should be open and shut but
Well, law and never is open and shut.
No, it never is.
But I think what's interesting about this particular case that we're talking about, story, whatever you want to call it, there are multiple UW branch campuses that have closed across the state.
So what happens here, is this going to set a precedent for those other communities?
I mean, we came from Baraboo where that campus also closed.
They've got a beautiful facility sitting there, not being used in any sort of way.
So I think this is interesting for a lot of these communities is this
a decision that could influence how some of these similar properties are handled across the state, who's going to get them, how much are they going to be sold for, whether it's going to benefit the public or not, whether it's going to be used for private education when it was essentially set up for public education, which also goes back to a conversation we had yesterday about the privatizing of education in this country and in this particular state as well.
And there has been a huge push, as a lot of us are aware, of more of that private education voucher type education.
system where we're doing away with more public education, especially across the state of Wisconsin.
We've seen that play out time and time again.
And I think this is just another example of a growth and a push towards that.
Well, nobody wants a large swath of land just sitting there unused.
That's unsightly for
a
community.
It's dangerous.
If you can sell it, you need to at least try to get
as much as you need.
That's just basic economics.
Don't take two million less if you can get the appraised value.
When we come back, the Supreme Court very puzzling because every time we think they're backing things, they don't.
And every time we think they won't, they do.
I'll explain it.
We'll explain it at Civic Media Network.
from Lake Superior to Lake Michigan.
This is Wisconsin's Morning Conversation.
A break with Brian and Jamie.
Good morning and thank you so much for joining us today on the Civic Media Network.
It is 635 right now.
My name is Jamie Martinson.
And I'm Brian Nuna.
We're glad you're with us.
If you want to get into the show, you want to join us.
8-5-5-7-5-CITIC 8-5-5-7-5-2-4-8-4-2.
A new word for our break into spring multi-state text-to-win contest coming up after seven o'clock.
I can't get a handle on this Supreme Court.
they're sometimes I think they're in the pocket of the administration other times they go oh they're actually looking at
law and doing their thing well they did their thing yesterday and it was a good news for the press the US Supreme Court declined to take up a case challenging a Texas law that make it a felony for journalists to request non-public information from government officials leaving lower court rulings in place now Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented she argued the case threatens a core function of journalism
asking government sources for information and called the arrest at the center of the case a clear First Amendment violation.
So good for the Supreme Court yesterday, this case.
And they're doing everything they can to try to shut down the press.
And thankfully the court.
Sometimes makes the right call
they really really are and you know, it's weird because you're right the Supreme Court will do something that is Feels completely out of character for a Supreme Court and then all of a sudden they actually uphold the the law of the land and Sometimes you feel like you're being set up though, don't you and and I hate being like that But you we live in a time where you feel like you're being set up where we're gonna give you a couple of wins and then ooh
Nope, we're gonna definitely side with the administration.
So, I mean...
Yeah, I'm waiting for them to say, yeah, you can run for a third term.
Wait, what?
Right, exactly.
But we gave you the freedom, but we gave you the press case.
Remember that?
Right.
Yeah, and we said the tariffs were illegal.
Remember that?
Yeah.
But now we've decided, yeah, you can
run.
Yeah, I mean, I know that's probably not what's happening.
I try not to
think in
those terms, but sometimes
I was going to say, who are you?
Me all of a sudden?
Sometimes it feels like that, right?
This particular case, it was, it was interesting because it involved a Texas journalist who was arrested back in 2017 after she published stories about a border agent's public suicide and a car crash.
She was arrested because she fact-checked
her stories with information that was voluntarily provided by a police officer.
This
law
had never been used before her case and makes it a felony to solicit from public officials information that has not previously been publicly disclosed.
It's a felony to ask a question
Is that that's basically what that law
says?
Basically, if the public doesn't know about it and you obtain that information, it is a felony according to this particular law in Texas, right?
I was going to say Woodward and Bernstein are probably, thank God they didn't live in Texas.
Right, because they had multiple sources that
never went
public.
Exactly.
A lower court initially ruled that the law was too vague and unconstitutional and a federal
appeals panel agreed that the journalists' rights were violated.
Now, the full Fifth Circuit later ruled that police and prosecutors were protected by qualified immunity.
And let's be realistic for just a moment when we're talking about the Fifth Circuit, which covers Texas.
This is seen as the most conservative appeals court in the country.
It often issues decisions that push the law in a very right-leaning direction, especially on issues involving, here we go, government power.
and individual rights.
So it was not surprising that that was how the Fifth Circuit actually leaned in this particular case.
But the appeals court said officials could reasonably, reasonably, reasonably, we'll get it out yet, believe that they were enforcing the law, even if it was unconstitutional, meaning that this journalist could not sue them.
And
By declining this particular case, the Supreme Court allows that decision to stand, raising concerns that journalists could face arrest for routine reporting practices if officials rely on unclear or untested laws.
Now, here's a question.
Is this just a Texas thing, or is this essentially what we're trying to do to journalists all across the
country?
This Texas law is a test case for a bigger move.
We see it all the time and it is alarming.
People tend to be downplaying this, which surprises me because so many of us have been inundated with this lie of fake news that now the distrust for journalists across the board is very widespread.
I've never heard of something like this until I read this story and and heard about this case that you can be you could be jailed with a felony Count mm-hmm for asking a question that wasn't public information Well, that's how all information and you pointed it out it bears repeating that that's how reporters journalists get their stories There's all if you waited just for the public that's what
I'm jumping around a little but that's what the administration wants us to do.
Wait for them to give us the story and that's the news.
Whereas to get to the truth you have to get somebody who is willing to talk to you
off the record or as an anonymous source or whatever it is to give you stuff that is not public because if you rely only on the message given to you by the government, you will never get the truth.
You will only get propaganda.
You'll get whitewash stories and you'll get things like they're trying to do now.
Why don't you and we've heard it.
Why don't you just report the positive parts of the war?
Really, there's not much positive about war.
No, it's war.
There's, um, I'm contractually obligated.
For those of you who are like, why does he do that?
It's in my contract.
I have to do it.
Or else I get fined.
And I could go to jail for it with a felony.
But they're already, they're trying it everywhere.
So to answer your question, yes, this is the plan.
Silence any sort of...
Descent whether it's from the people protesting whether it's from journalists trying to get to the truth whoever it is The story the truth comes from us.
Yeah,
don't you don't have to ask it work it.
Why would we lie to you?
We are giving you the truth
You know, I think about this case mostly because in a former life, I was a journalist.
And even in my current role, I have a lot of conversations that are off the record, where I'm curating stories and I'm looking at things for us to talk about here and give sources to our news department.
And so I think about that in this particular case.
It's frightening to know that those types of conversations by some people are essentially seen as shouldn't be happening, are illegal.
It is how you source information and you find out what's happening where you have to have a little bit of that inside edge or you have to be able to get your facts straight.
And sometimes that's exactly what it is.
Some of my conversations on a daily basis or with people who I can be like, this is what I've seen reported.
Is this accurate?
Is this the direction it's headed?
Is this what I'm thinking it is kind of thing?
And sometimes it's just, I just need a simple yes or no.
But according to what we're hearing here,
that would be illegal in the eyes of this particular law, which
is insane.
It's happening in other places.
We mentioned last week something about Kerry Lake with The Voice of America.
Well, journalists from The Voice of America are suing the federal government, claiming officials interfered with their newsroom, and violated laws meant to protect editorial independence.
The lawsuit alleges censorship of coverage, especially related to a ramp.
Baby, oh, did they not report that everything was hunky-dory?
Probably not.
Oh, boy.
There claims some content was turned into pro-Trump propaganda rather than objective news.
Sound familiar?
Sound scary?
Both answers should be yes to that question.
And this is because Carrie Lake, remember her?
She was trying to be the governor of Arizona.
Yeah, that didn't work out.
She's another, she's another failed news person.
She is.
No,
just like Pistol Pete.
She is absolutely.
And then because there wasn't really the deal with Kerry Lake and the way I understand it, how she even got any part of this administration is that she wanted a much bigger role.
And she wanted to be Kristi Noem.
Right.
And because of, you know, the past news headlines around her.
the administration, there was somebody in the Trump administration who was like, no, she's too far for us.
She's too far gone for us.
And yet Kristi Noem shot her dog and she was elevated to the highest heights.
Right.
So Carrie Lake eventually got placed into this role overseeing Voice of America, just because I think the administration just didn't really want to deal with the tantrum that was about to ensue from her if she didn't get a place.
So they put her in charge and that's a sense.
how she got there.
She was an anchor in Arizona for
quite
some time.
Not a super popular anchor in Arizona.
She thought her popularity would propel her to all these multiple offices.
Let me just be
clear.
But she's a lunatic.
She didn't just lose these races that she entered.
She
was
demolished in all
of these
races that she entered.
And so with this, the judge ruled that VOA's parent agency was
being run unlawfully and ordered over a thousand employees back to work.
The journalists argue that the damage to credibility and independence has already been done.
Now, if you're not familiar with Voice of America, this was created to do exactly that.
This was created to deliver factual nonpartisan news and stand up to propaganda and to authoritarian countries.
For decades, this has literally been a symbol
of telling the truth.
Right?
It's been the symbol of telling the truth where others couldn't.
And what's striking is that people working there probably never thought that they were going to have to fight for the same principles that they've been reporting on for years and years.
Now, some of their specific claims include political appointees influencing the coverage, banning certain topics or guests, and even punishing journalists who pushed back against that sort of censorship.
Well, it is becoming a government mouthpiece.
That's what they're claiming.
That's what they want.
That's what they say.
That's what the government wants.
That's not what the voice of American journalists want.
This should be a big deal to everybody.
It should.
And this is not alarmist.
But just look at history for a little bit.
Look at countries where the press became limited.
And I don't have to run down the list for you.
You can do it yourself.
A lot of you probably are drawing those parallels anyway.
But once you cannot expose the truth, you are in a lot of trouble.
And when the message only comes from one place, you're in a lot of trouble.
It goes all the way back to when we were kids and we read the story of the emperor with new has no clothes It's it's a basic message.
We all learned and anybody who's gone into journalism You know and I'm not talking about you know Bloggers and content creators.
I'm talking old-school journalists you fact-check you fact-check you get to the bottom of the story your whole goal is the truth and maybe
when you get to the truth it's not what you thought it was going to be when you started that story but it is the truth and the facts are out there and then the public gets a chance to judge because how can you make a decision if you don't have the facts if you're if you're looking anything in your home anything in your daily life before you make a big decision right you're comparing this product to this product or this neighborhood to this neighborhood or a school district you you do that in every other aspect of your life
But we're not afraid to give that up for the sake of the country.
It doesn't make sense to me.
As somebody who's been in journalism for a really long time, if journalists are not able to do their jobs freely, we don't get the full story.
And if that information is being filtered or it's being shaped by people in power, that becomes harder to hold everybody accountable.
And that's essentially what it is.
And this administration fears accountability more than cats fear dogs.
It is 648 right
now.
That was not
a
good analogy, but it was the last one I had.
It's all I had.
It's 648 right now.
This is Daybreak.
I'm Jamie Martinson.
And I'm Brian Noonan.
Have you ever admired someone and then let you down?
All facts, no fiction.
It's Daybreak with Brian and Jamie.
652 right now.
Thank you so much for joining us this morning.
If you want to join in the conversation, remember you can always do so by calling or texting 1-855-752-4842.
That's 1-855-755-CIVIC.
And Brian, we are getting ready for another day of a chance to win some cash and maybe
a really great
grand prize.
Our break into spring multi-state text to win contest.
Another word coming up after 7 AM.
So have your civic media.
And hey, because we like to give things away around here on Thursday, we have something a little extra special since it's Brewer's opening day.
Yes, we are going to be giving away two pairs of Brewer's tickets to an upcoming game.
We'll tell you what game that is, but it's
a
good one.
So be listening.
On Thursday, we're going to play a game.
We have Frank has come up with a brand new game and we'll give you a chance to win.
tickets to go see a Brewer's game this season.
And good seats.
So that will be fun.
They're like the they're like our club level seats.
Oh, wow.
Yeah.
So you're gonna you're gonna get the club level seats.
You're gonna get a pair of them for you and a friend or you know significant other take a friend.
They usually are gonna have more fun with you anyway.
And
Skating Entitement of Jamie's Marriage
right
there.
That's, wow, that's fun.
Listen,
you
take whoever you
want.
What would be the boss
here?
Sometimes he has to shush me.
Wow.
All right.
Well, listen, whatever happens in your home, that's on you.
That's up to you guys.
We're not here to, we're not here to investigate.
We're not here to disappoint, which is the question.
Have you ever admired somebody and they turned out to be a huge disappointment?
Maybe you had a run in with
an athlete or a celebrity that you reelect or you met, you believed wholeheartedly in a politician and they completely let you down.
As a kid, I was
Fixated and fascinated and loved Bill Cosby albums.
I mean
that Parker albums are black vinyl discs that you would play on a turntable
There
are four legs on the table and you put wheels on the bottom of you have to spin it
Well, it depends if you have a giant console record player like my grandma did which was the size of a Buick Then yes, it's got legs on it.
It's it weighs about 700 pounds But yes records are how?
people used to consume music and a lot of comedy.
And so I had all these Bill Cosby albums.
And I love them.
He was a great storyteller.
And that's kind of how I patterned my stand up.
I tell stories rather than jokes.
But yes, well, we all know what happened to Bill Cosby.
And now
A woman who accused Bill Cosby of sexually abusing her for more than five decades ago, rather, was awarded $19.2 million by a Southern California civil jury on Monday, an attorney for the plaintiff.
released that information.
Punitive damages are still pending in the 2023 lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court in Santa Monica by Donna Motsiger, who accused him of sexual battery alleging that he abused a server whom he met at a Northern California restaurant in 1972.
Now,
as you can imagine, like he has been doing throughout the entire dramatic
story of how this is all played out.
Yeah.
Cosby, who is now 88, has denied any of these allegations.
And in fact, in a statement, a former representative for him said that Cosby was deeply saddened by the verdict, which he said sets a dangerous precedent to, quote, allow decade old allegations presented without evidence or proof to stand.
No, I don't think that's how it works.
No, I think there's usually evidence and or proof
after this many years and this many stories of
how he victimized these women time and time again in the same exact way.
There's proof.
There's proof.
You just have to believe the women.
This kind of goes back to what we've been talking about during the whole Epstein files, which, by the way, those have been swept under the rug now with everything else.
Yeah,
they're still out there, folks.
Don't get
quiet about those.
Well, here's the thing.
This was a civil case.
So
that
means usually a civil case comes after a criminal case.
We already know he's been convicted criminally of this.
So it's hard.
Here's a question for you, Jamie.
Can you...
separate the art from the artist, because I think back, as I was preparing to talk about this, I was thinking back to having the bits and the stories and how much I loved them.
And they'd still, like, I can't separate it now.
I can't
go and
listen to those those comedy bits because they were by a guy I didn't know was a monster.
Right.
And I think that I think that's the tricky part, because if you really do enjoy the
the comedy of Bill Cosby you have to, but I think with everything.
Or what about the
music of Michael Jackson?
Well, there is that.
You know, and we have that conversation in our house all the time.
My kid is a huge Conway Kanye West fan as far as the music goes, right?
That's what you're
going to say, Conway Twain.
I almost did.
I almost did.
Kanye West.
He's a huge fan as far as his artistry and his music.
He thinks Kanye West is a horrible human being.
But
he's
like, I can appreciate what he does musically and what he puts in.
into his music, his writing, because he said at that level, for what he does, he's a genius, but he's like, he's an awful person.
However- Maybe
comedy and music are different though.
Perhaps.
Comedy is a
much, comedy I think is more personal because the person is representing this as their real self.
Right.
Yes.
Whereas music, you can hide behind whatever.
Yeah.
So
maybe it's maybe it's a different story there.
Yeah.
And I don't I don't know.
But I remember like I grew up with Bill Cosby, right?
America's dad, the Cosby show.
You know, you go back to even Fat Albert and the gang.
And it was one of my favorites.
I watched that as a kid.
I watched like all of the Cosby show
episodes.
I spy.
He was the first
black
actor to anchor a major network show.
And and now we have we have a man who is, you know, who has been
convicted of several separate cases.
And remember, he's had cases overturned as far back as 2021 after a state Supreme Court vacated sentences, finding that he was denied protection against self-incrimination.
So I think that's what he keeps falling back on is, well, there wasn't proof.
Well, yes, there was.
These women, multiple women, have said the same thing about you over and over.
And it makes you...
Not a great human.
Makes you actually pretty disgusting and abysmal, but you know, here we are.
Laugh it up.
It's 6.59 right now.
You are listening to Daybreak.
I'm Jamie Martinson.
And I'm Brian Noon in the new text to win word coming up after seven o'clock right here on the Civic Media Network.
Want to join in on the conversation?
Call or text 855-75 Civic.
Now back to Brian and Jamie.
706 right now.
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
media apps ready because I'll let you give out today's word.
That's very nice of you to bequeath me that honor.
The word for this hour is WAKE.
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 dope 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 so far, and today we'll make it another $200.
You could be that winner if you text the word WAKE, W-A-K-E.
using your civic media app.
Don't send it over the phone.
Use your app.
It's all technology.
You know how that works.
Absolutely.
You have until eight o'clock to get us that word.
At
eight
o'clock.
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 GOP 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, 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,
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.
And finally, the U.S.
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.
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 was up 40 cents from a week ago.
It is rough, and it is spring break season.
Yes.
According to
to some new studies about 23% of Wisconsinites plan to travel for spring break.
Good for you.
They're gonna, 37 are gonna take road trips.
That would be nice.
35 are saying beach vacations.
Those are the most popular choices.
But we know it's gonna 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 $4.
Airfares also expected to increase due to higher fuel costs.
That and, like I said, add in that thing.
Now you had the question, how high do prices have to go before you can change your plans?
For day-to-day, I don't think there is it.
I mean people have to get to work.
That's the that's the problem.
Yeah for discretionary travel it might change, but if you've Let's just say for example you made reservations to go to Disney World kids over spring break I don't know where you got the money good for you.
You've been saving up since they were born
You can't get that money back.
You sunk that cost, 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, 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 think it's interesting.
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 in the downtown area and so they've 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 separate cars in he would leave at like 8 a.m.
She would leave around 9 9 30 they 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 is a compromise I would hate to make.
And she said it's not going
to 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 going to do more public transit.
more trains I'm gonna 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
is true
yeah
and you see
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, Dan.
But I may have to take them.
Their flight's not till tomorrow night.
I may have to take them right after the show tomorrow.
Yes.
I'm sorry.
You need to get to the airport 12 hours ahead of time.
That might give you just
enough time to get through TSA at this point.
Yes.
You go through TSA, get yourself a sandwich and get right on the plane.
It's going to be a nightmare.
It's just, uh, yeah.
And like I said, experts are also saying, and I love the experts who speak.
like we already have.
Bring snacks instead of driving through.
Bring, you know, limit your spending.
Choose a free, free activity.
Where do you find it?
Free activities.
I mean, you can stop.
You could go if you're going to a national park once you get in.
You can hike around.
You can see all that for nothing.
Of course.
But I also think about some things.
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 the
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,
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 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...
Oh, is that right?
That's why he's going to Vegas?
Yes, so maybe Vegas is really... Not to see Backstreet Boys at the Spear?
No, no, not this
time around.
He did
want to go... I finally said something Parker recognized.
What?
He
did contemplate getting tickets
to
see the Wizard of Oz at the Sphere though.
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
at this point, to be honest, I would drive pretty much anywhere in the continental United States rather than fly.
Yeah.
The thought of the thought of having you stand in line.
What word do we say?
Was it Atlanta that was four and a half hours to stand in line?
Are you out of your mind?
No, there's not a chance I could.
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
a perk.
It
is a perk.
I did a little investigating.
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 going to have a little bit longer wait.
So manageable, but pretty, 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.
People are trying to flee.
I
guess, I guess.
Gotta get out of
Minnesota.
airports, road travel.
I mean, I think everybody's gonna have to kind of, you're not gonna probably cancel trips altogether, but I think people are going to really start thinking what makes more sense now with these gas prices.
719.
Well, if you're hitting the road, drive, drive, drive carefully.
Don't just sit in the left lane and play on your phone.
But that's a whole other conversation.
I was gonna say
carefully.
Okay.
No, no, Jamie, come on.
Quickly, quickly, keep it moving.
Swiper Stay coming up next.
This is Daybreak.
I'm Brian Noonan.
I'm Jamie Martinson.
This is the Civic Media Network.
Let's break out of the bubble and see what's happening out there in pop culture.
It's Swiper Stay on Daybreak.
722, right now, we hope that you are having a great start to your Tuesday morning.
Thank you so much for joining us on the Civic Media Network.
It is time to talk about something that has nothing to do with gas prices or President Trump or anything.
We're going to dive into pop culture with our senior producer, Frank.
How are you today?
I'm good.
We've got some.
Decent stories one.
I've been looking forward to just decent one.
I've been looking forward to a couple of months.
Normally you show much more
enthusiasm for these stories.
So I have stories.
All
right.
Let's hit it.
All right.
Swipers say I'm going to read some pop culture headlines.
Brian and Jamie are going to have to decide 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 will be the tiebreaker.
Let's move on.
Story number one, a female artist is sued by a production company.
I'm going to swipe.
Also, yeah, I don't care.
Swipe.
Okay.
I just get sued all the time.
They do.
Fans are not happy.
It
looks very
upset.
It's fine.
They just put it first.
It's totally fine.
Hey, it's your guys show.
I'm just here.
Okay.
Fans are not happy.
I feel really bad
right
now.
Can't even read a headline.
Sorry, go ahead.
Fans are not happy with new Disney movie trailer.
Stay.
You guys are just trying to make me feel
better.
Yeah.
Probably.
No, I'm kidding.
The trailer for the live action version of the movie Moana was released yesterday and fans are not particularly happy with it.
Did you guys see it by chance?
No,
I
saw that it
was released, but I didn't watch it.
I'm tired of these live action remakes of great animation.
Let the animation stand.
John Favreau, we don't need a jungle book, my favorite.
Anyway.
I'm
pretty sure he did the Lion King one, too.
He did the
Lion King.
I didn't see that one either.
But a lot of people hold that same sentiment, Brian.
So the two main the two main critiques of the trailer are the heavy use of CGI and the fact that the popular character of Maui is literally just Dwayne the Rock Johnson with long hair.
OK.
Now the rock voice Maui in the original animated movie.
So there's familiarity, but it's at least you can act or you to go check it out.
I don't.
All right, I'll go
see.
I like the rock.
Listen, I'm all I'm all about the rock.
The people's eyebrow.
I go way back.
But I still am down on these live action remakes.
Yeah, I'm not a
big.
A couple people on Twitter mentioned bullying the creators of the movie, so they change it like what happened with the sonic movie.
Do you remember when that trailer was really with the.
Yes.
Yeah, I had a weird.
Yes, he did have weird people bullied.
It's so the creators so much that they change it back.
to a more cartoony animation.
So that's been thrown out a couple of times.
Go on Twitter.
Are we
proud?
We're pro bullying now is out the stance we take.
You know, I think bullying some has its place.
Nope, I'm not going there.
You almost got me there, Mr. Newman.
You almost got me.
We're moving over a rapper is taking over Times Square.
It's
like in a hostile takeover.
I guess I have to find out.
I'll stay.
50 Cent is partnering up with Planet Hollywood.
Oh, no.
What?
Planet Hollywood
and 50 Cent are a thing again.
I
was going to say Planet Hollywood's
still
around.
OK,
all right.
In a $100 million deal to build a celebrity packed mega venue where fans can party.
catch surprise performances and rub elbows with A-listers all in one night.
So
it's going to be Climb Square.
And 57 won't be invited because he's not really an A-lister
anymore.
PH Live is designed to be a full blown celebrity magnet, hosting everything from pop-up concerts and movie premieres to high end private parties and major cultural events.
So my question to you guys is, is there any chance that this actually works and is successful?
Because like you said, it's very, very early 2000s.
Right.
And New Yorkers don't go to Times Square.
No.
Tourists go to Times Square.
It's very touristy in Jive.
And yeah, this is the original plan in Hollywood.
I think I went once or twice in different locations.
I
mean, if you have... It's just another one of those chain restaurants that comes and goes.
Yeah.
And the people will be there for the big opening, and that's it.
Yeah.
And if you have to call it PHLive, you're trying too hard to make it cool again.
Right.
That was my same thought.
They're also trying to open up the next one in Louisiana, Brian.
Yeah, good luck with that.
All right.
The one we've been waiting for, not to grease the wheels here or anything, but celebrity arrest footage was finally released.
I know this story.
We'll stay.
All right.
Oh, yes.
I think I know this one too.
I'll stay.
The Justin Timberlake body cam footage is officially here, everybody.
Yes.
What
tour is he going
on, Frank?
Just for a couple of days.
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 Justin Timberlake?
Yeah.
It's so good.
I like the next one.
You left the last slide out where the cop goes, do you have an ID that proves
that?
The fact that he was drunk in the car.
having to explain to the cop what he does for a living just made me so happy.
The fact that he couldn't describe what a world tour
was.
Well, when you've had as much to drink as he obviously did in that video, words are hard.
I get it.
That whole thing.
Give yours.
And should we laugh at somebody's misfortune?
Yeah, probably in this case, because everybody's everybody's OK.
Look, man, if the worst you get for DUI is a little public embarrassment, I think you're doing all right.
Yeah, boy.
Like, he was trying to be charming, and the cop was having none of his charm.
None of it.
No.
What do you mean, the world tour?
The world tour?
It's so very
good.
Is this the normal way you guys do it?
Like handcuffing
people?
No.
That's swipe or stay.
Thanks, Frank.
Always a pleasure.
It's 7.29 right now.
Ah, this is daybreak.
I'm Jamie Martinson.
And I'm Brian Noonan, Asian Carp.
Our back, we'll talk about it on the other side of the news.
Across the state of Wisconsin, your neighbor, with Brian and Jamie, is back.
Good morning and thank you so much for joining us this morning.
You are listening to the Civic Media Network.
If you're listening in Appleton and Oshkosh on WISS or Wasson 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 dope pillows, so over $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 Democratic Michigan 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 haven't, I haven't heard about these Asian carp in a while.
for a while, they were big news all the time for people 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.
They are one of the many invasive species that we're worried about getting into the Great Lakes and they've been in North America for about
50 years and they were brought in originally to uh 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 the Mississippi River system, that's kind of this pinch point that we're mostly talking about.
So you're saying you said that they're approaching the Great Lakes and the system right now, but how serious is this current threat that we're seeing from the invasive carp?
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 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 that 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 They came into the Great Lakes in the ballast water tanks of ships, but then there's also you know, so they came from
Europe kind of the Eurasian area in these ballast tanks when the St.
Lawrence Seaway opened up But you know there and they can you know, so they're non-native Not necessarily, you know, we got about 190 non-native species in the Great Lakes now not all of them are
you know, 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, you know, if you don't see the impacts, it's it's not always not, you might not consider it invasive, then it's just sort of a non native species.
We're joined by Titus Seilheimer.
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
so this
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 money we're talking about is like 200 some million out of like a three stage billion dollar project So it's a it's a big project, but what they're gonna do is upgrade this lock and dam So that these are where the the barges that can go from the Mississippi River into the Great Lakes That they use and they're gonna put a lot of they're gonna upgrade them so they have an electrical barrier They're gonna have a bubble curtain.
They're gonna have sound they're gonna be able to flush out species when the
the barges go through so it's it is really kind of upgrading the 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.
How do those barriers work?
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.
But 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, you know, there aren't any defenses, but this would add another level to that.
Cytosileheimer is our guest.
He's the fisheries outreach specialist at Wisconsin Sea Grant.
If invasive carp do actually make it into the Great Lakes Titus, what does that essentially mean for Wisconsin fishing, the industry around it, and maybe even the economy?
Yeah, you know, I think, you know, carp in the Great Lakes is a, it's 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
big
fish.
But they're
just, 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 and 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.
Are they good for anything else?
Like if I can they be harvested?
I remember one time having a carp sandwich, but I don't think it's a kind of food that most fish that most food are going for Do they serve any other purpose?
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 a carp and we're like
You know, like, 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 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 the 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.
Kopi is the new name, C-O-P-I.
Yeah,
if you see
Kobe on the menu, you're eating one of these invasive carp.
Interesting, interesting.
Fighting the power, doing
your
bit
to save ecology.
That's right.
We've got about a minute left Titus.
For people who boat or maybe fish, is there anything that they should or shouldn't do to help maybe prevent the spread of the invasive carp?
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, drain your boat, clean your, even your canoe or your kayak, clean it off because there could be stuff in there.
Don't dump your bait bucket because they've actually found some of these little carp in with bait.
So yeah.
All right, well Titus Seilheimer is Fisheries Outreach Specialist at Wisconsin Sea Grant, seagrant.wisc.edu is the website.
You can go check it out.
Enjoy your conference Titus.
We enjoyed having you here.
Thanks very much.
Yeah, thanks for having me.
It's 748 right now.
You're listening to Daybreak.
This is the Civic.
This is Wisconsin's morning conversation.
Daybreak with Brian and Jamie.
752 right now.
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
comment this morning.
We agree, which is why Titus was such a great guest talking about the invasive carp.
And let's be real, we have a great outdoor recreation lifestyle here in the state of Wisconsin.
support, we know these things, I think,
anyway.
Joe, come off at the source.
I don't know as they begin their march, march from the south.
Sounds very
dramatic.
It's fair.
I love it.
I love the whole that these Asian carp are organizing.
They're coming up in battalions.
They're trying to get through and we've got bubble gates and electric.
Let's be
real.
You like to
sound.
Let's be real.
You like to watch them hit people.
It's fine.
Come on.
If you don't find those videos funny, you're dead inside.
They're hilarious.
People are just out of boat.
They're having a good day.
They're on the river and then
smack.
Big fish for it in the face.
Hey, friends, you only have about six and a half minutes to get your entry in for the big break into spring multi-state text to win contest here on Civic Media.
We have a new word, Jamie, and it's only good for another six and a half
minutes.
We do.
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.
You can download that if you don't have it and you missed out on the.
this round, it's okay because there's going to be plenty more rounds starting again at nine o'clock this morning.
This is
your chance to qualify for a daily $200 cash prize or for our grand prize, which is a mattress set from Verlo, queen mattress set, I should say, almost, I'm going to say almost $1400 value because it
comes
in at about $1360.
Once you add in the sheets and the mattress pad protector, the mattress itself and all the pillows.
So
make sure
you get us that word.
Yes, big to your point.
I remember not much about math, but always after five, you always around.
That's right.
That's right.
It's almost $1400.
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 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 you know, that's fine.
My future son-in-law is a chemist.
All I remember from chemistry is the Bunsen burner and like three pneumatic devices from the periodic table.
And don't mix some
things.
Some things shouldn't mix.
That's what I remember.
Right.
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.
Now, 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.
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, do some...
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 there was no update this morning because I was looking to see if they- There was no update.
Yeah, yeah, nothing yet.
But you're right.
I mean, the arts are, it uses that part of that brain that even if you're a very anal-
political human being, right?
The
art still
uses that part of your brain that we don't get to use on a daily basis.
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 have watched kids who struggle in other areas in the classroom go into music class and...
Suddenly they can focus and they're involved and they can keep a rhythm and they sing the songs or in art class they could draw because then you don't have to follow rules.
You can just let your creativity come out and I've seen kids who just are brilliant artists and under their regular studies, nothing.
When we come back, it's hour three.
You've got about 15 seconds to get your word in.
It's Wake on the Civic Medium.
across the state of Wisconsin.
Daybreak with Brian and Jamie is back.
It's 806 right now.
Thank you so much for joining us this morning on the Civic Media Network.
If you're in La Crosse listening on WLCX or in Wisconsin Rapids on WFHR or even up in Hayward in the Northwoods on WBZH.
Thank you so much for having us on.
My name is Jamie Martinson.
And I'm Brian Noonan.
If you want to get involved, get ahold of us.
85575 Civic 8557524842.
Don't forget you will get another word next hour for the multi-state
text
to win.
But until then, we have things that you need to know.
You know, TSA.
still working without pay while the president was presented Sunday with a potential off ramp to the more than month-long Department of Homeland Security shutdown they were going to the
The potential was to fund every part of the department except enforcement operations by ICE.
Two sources familiar with the conversation told CNN about this.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune spoke with Trump right after staff presented the idea to the president, but Trump rejected the idea rather as he took to true social to attack Democrats for not backing the Save America Act of federal
elections overhaul bill you know that faces near impossible odds in the Senate.
This was the president's true social post.
I don't think we should make any deal with the crazy country destroying radical left Democrats unless and until they vote with Republicans to pass the Save America Act.
So again, no editorializing here.
The president had an option to pay TSA, fund the Coast Guard, fund everybody else except for ICE, and he turned it down.
Absolutely.
And he has multiple times, according to Republican Congress members.
And this
was the first time Republicans took him the...
Yes Kim the plan and said hey
yes and and the Republicans let's be clear they want this to end as well so they're trying to come up with some sort of plan that negotiates with the Democrats and there have been a couple of these plans that they have been okay with and we're ready to move on until the president said nope we're not making the deal.
In other news headlines Mark Wayne Mullen will serve as Donald Trump's next Department of Homeland Security Secretary elevating the U.S.
Senator to helm
agency at the center of the president's controversial immigration enforcement effort and an ongoing shutdown.
The Senate confirmed the nomination last night, less than three weeks after the president tapped Mullen to take over from the embattled Secretary Kristi Noem.
The final confirmation vote was 54 to 45, with GOP Senator Rand Paul voting no, and Democratic Senators John Federman and Martin Heinrich voting yes.
And from the Supreme Court, the conservative majority appeared dubious of state laws that allow the counting of mail-in ballots that arrive at election officers after Election Day, as justices heard our oral arguments in a challenge to Mississippi's five-day grace period for mail-in ballots.
Justices raised an assortment of reasons why they saw those policies as problematic, seemingly embracing Republicans' arguments that the state laws run afoul of statutes passed by
Congress establishing election day in November for federal offices.
The lawsuit against Mississippi's practice was brought by the Republican National Committee in 2024 and puts into jeopardy the mail ballot deadlines of several other states.
Thirteen other states and the District of Columbia also set mail ballot receipt dates.
Receipt dates.
deadlines rather after Election Day and 29 states plus DC count ballots that arrive after Election Day that are cast by military families and citizens living overseas in certain circumstances.
That's according to the National Conference of State Legislature.
So we will see what the Supreme Court says and how that will affect mail-in balloting here in Wisconsin as we move forward with so many elections before the end of the year.
Yes, so many elections and taking a look at
some of the news also happening this morning.
We now have some new numbers coming out of the Middle East.
The death toll from the war has risen to more than 1,500 people in Iran, over 1,000 people in Lebanon, 15 in Israel, and 13 U.S.
military members, as well as a number of civilians on land and sea in the Gulf region.
Millions of people in Lebanon and Iran have been displaced, and U.N.
peacekeepers in southern Lebanon report intense gunfire and explosions is Israeli ground forces fight.
Hezbollah militants this morning.
Well, just gets good.
And oil is back over $100 a barrel, despite Trump's comments on ending the war.
So guess we'll keep being expensive.
They
rose after a fresh fighting today.
Brent Crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed almost 1.8% to $101.70 a barrel.
And WTI, the US benchmark, rose 2.8% to 90.6 a barrel, so.
It's
not getting better.
No.
It's not getting
better.
But we're winning.
That's what we're told.
That's what we're told.
And see, there's what we were talking about before, and sometimes we have to bring it back.
When you're only getting the message from one source, that's the message you get.
We're winning.
Well,
listen.
Are we?
are we would be the question that I would ask this morning?
That is.
Now, we've been talking a lot about the DHS shutdown and who pays who and, you know, FEMA, TSA, those are those and the Coast Guard, those aren't getting paid all because ICE funding is being held up.
Well, who actually pays TSA?
That's that's the big question.
So about
61,000 TSA workers are required to keep working during the government shutdown.
But we know, just like you and I, you don't want to work when you're not getting paid.
So a
lot of quit or calling in sick.
They're considered essential workers, but they're not receiving paychecks.
Their next pay period would be this Friday.
TSA is funded in part by a fee that travelers pay when they buy airline tickets, the September 11 security fee.
See, now I've heard of that.
And I
guess I don't fly that often.
So I don't pay much attention to it.
But reading it, I go, oh, yeah, September 11 security fee.
It brings in more than $4 billion each year.
So we've all we've all still been all those people standing in line.
They're technically paying
TSA.
Yes,
absolutely.
So
Every hour you stand in that line You're you're paying for the people who the government is not giving them
I was just gonna say you're paying for people who you're not actually paying for I mean, that's like going out to dinner and ordering my dessert never getting it, right?
I mean like literally that's it, you know But still getting charged for it at the end.
I
yeah, you're still getting charged, but the
They're not paying.
This is,
well... Yeah.
I mean, and a lot of people assume that that fee just goes directly to TSA workers and airport security, but most of it actually goes into the federal government's general fund, not directly to TSA.
There's only a small portion of that money, about $250 million that's set aside for TSA use.
The rest is controlled by Congress through their normal budget process, because we know they're so good at doing that.
About one-third of the total fee...
total fee revenue, roughly one and a half to $1.6 billion a year is diverted to reduce the federal deficit instead of being used for aviation security.
And I think this is really important to understand how this breaks down in the midst of this battle that we're seeing between essentially the president and the Democrats who want to continue, we'll say it again, who have proposed funding TSA, some of these, and FEMA, some of these.
these very important services while they still negotiate the money that ICE is going to directly get through the DHS funding.
This is to me the problem with these general funds.
If the September 11 security fee is being paid to the tune of $4 billion as
we
reported, that should be enough to fund TSA.
So why isn't that fee being put right in to the TSA fund?
Don't give me this general fund where we can pick a little for here.
We could throw some here and then suddenly some money is not there.
That's how general funds work everywhere.
It's not a great plan.
We're having people pay.
We should not be in this crisis because the money for TSA is there.
They're just not going to release it because of a petulant child who wants to stop people from voting.
And so he's going to get people upset and try to convince them the reason they're standing in line for four hours at the airport is because the Democrats are not giving them money.
So why would you vote for people who ruined?
They took spring break from your children, Jamie.
Why would you put them in office?
They have ruined your kids lives.
They have made you stand on your flat feet with your bunions and blisters for four hours at the airport.
You are in agony.
You are in misery.
The money's there,
this doesn't have to happen.
The money is there.
And here is the other thing.
The TSA funding is actually considered discretionary.
It has to be approved by Congress each year.
So the agency can't even access even the money generated by the fees during this shutdown.
So that's why TSA workers right now are going unpaid during why this funding is in this lapsed situation, even though travelers are still paying all of those security fees every single day.
The situation has contributed
as we all know, to the staffing shortages, workers are calling in sick, which is then also leading to longer lines and delays, because if you're not getting paid, why would you show up?
But you still need your job at the end of it, right?
Because eventually there has to be some sort of breaking point, or at least we hope.
Now, some policymakers have proposed allowing TSA to directly access these fees, similar to how gas tax is fund highways, which would keep workers paid and operations running during things like, you know,
a shutdown.
Travel industry groups argue, though, that the current system is misleading and unfair, saying that passengers are essentially paying for security, but not seeing that money used as intended.
Well, no, because it's going to the general fund, and it still gets held up in Congress, right?
Here's what I don't understand, and I can't be the only one.
If you deem someone an essential worker, they should never go without pay.
There is, we've already said it, the money's there.
But if you are an essential worker, if you are TSA age, and if you are in the military, if you are anybody, there's got to be, there shouldn't be, that money shouldn't be at the whim of Congress or a president.
And it doesn't matter who watch Congress or who is president.
If you're essential, you're essential.
And essential also means those people have to live.
And outside of work, you got to have money.
Sorry.
Yeah.
You've got to get paid.
I mean, if nothing else, it shouldn't be up to what a president has deemed is not in his best interest, right?
Why people are standing in line and these delays are getting worse and there's uncertainty at airports and TSA workers who are still showing up are missing paychecks.
It shouldn't be at the behest of a president who's just like...
I need political wins right now.
I'm not going to pay you at least at least make it that proof right as far as how these people are getting paid and I think what
frustrates me the most about this is even why DHS is shut down and TSA workers are going without pay and you're seeing these massively long lines and ICE agents now in airports.
DHS let's be clear in the parts that are important to the president are still being funded.
ICE is still getting its money.
Those
guys aren't there for free.
No.
Those TSA agents are getting
paid and they're also getting a huge bonus every year for four years.
Yes.
So there's plenty of money for ICE.
ICE is funded.
And that's again what people lose from the propaganda that's being
thrown at them.
Ice has money.
The reason DHS hasn't been funded is because they want to set some restrictions and some reviews on ice.
That's all.
But again, as we talked about at the beginning of this segment, Donald Trump had the chance
to pay this.
Republicans and Democrats finally agreed on something.
They brought a plan that said we're going to fund FEMA.
We're going to fund the TSA.
We're going to fund the Coast Guards.
We're going to fund everything in DHS except give you more money for ICE.
And he said no.
No.
He has said no over and over.
Seven standalone bills to fund TSA.
10 bills that could have funded TSA, Coast Guard, and FEMA.
He has said no to every single one of them.
Keep that in mind.
819, right now, you are listening to Daybreak.
I am Jamie Martenson.
And I'm Brian Noon.
And what concerns you more, property taxes or school funding, we'll talk about that after this on the Civic Media Network.
It's pretty solid, better than expected.
It's Daybreak with Brian and Jamie.
Thank you so much for joining us this morning on the Civic Media Network.
It is 822.
My name is Jamie Martinson.
And I'm Brian Noonan.
Tell us at 855-75-CIVIC-855-7524842.
What concerns you more?
property taxes in wisconsin or school funding and why uh the reason we ask you that is because according to a february poll by the marquette university law school wisconsin voters attitudes toward property taxes in public schools public school funding
are shifting with most saying they're more concerned about reducing their property tax bills than sending money to local schools when given the choice.
This concern is the highest recorded in more than a decade.
And it makes sense because once you get to a certain point in your life, if you don't have kids in school anymore, or you've never had children, or whatever the reason,
but you see you have a home you're lucky enough to own your house and your taxes keep going up and up that's your main concern and it is not selfish for people to say hey I you know I'm all for kids getting an education but man my taxes are killing me
I mean, and we've pointed this out on the program too.
It affects homeowners, obviously, but it also affects anybody who rents because somebody owns those properties and, uh,
you
know, their property taxes are going to go up and they're going to have to offset that at some point.
So it's not just homeowners.
Uh, it's, it's also, if you're a renter, you're also going to end up paying more, which is why we start seeing some of these astronomical rental, uh, prices throughout the state of Wisconsin, right?
Um, but it's interesting.
because in the same poll, 57% of people said that they would be inclined to vote against a referendum to increase taxes for local schools.
43% said they would vote to pass a referendum.
This is gonna be interesting because coming up on this April 7th election, and by the way, early voting starts today if you wanna cast your vote for that April 7th election.
But there are...
Oh, there are, I believe, and I've got to check my facts on this, but off the top of my head, I believe there are 70 schools this year in the state of Wisconsin and this election that are going to have referendums on the ballot in some way, shape, or form so that they can have proper funding for whether it's their operational costs or whether it's for maintenance of the school or adding things that they need to the facility itself.
this concern over property tax levels comes at a time when people are being hammered right now, right?
I mean,
we're
talking inflation.
We've got the tariffs, the higher home values, now the rising gas prices, the uncertainty with all goods as they have to travel from parts of the country through a war-torn area and a strait that isn't opening no matter what the president says.
So, I mean, this comes, I think, at a very tumultuous time for a lot of people when
people are already being forced to really decide, is it worth even owning a home?
Can I even own a home?
Well, it's not that it's worth it, but can they?
We talked about it the other day that the average home ownership has gone up from 30 years old for the first time buyer to 40 years old for a first time buyer.
So it's tougher and tougher to do that.
And while...
In theory, everybody, I think, is for education being funded.
The problem does become a very personal one.
And if I'm faced with the choice, you know, my daughter is not a school.
She's grown.
And while we went to public school and we chose to live in a place that had very high property taxes so that she could go to good public schools, the minute she was done, we left.
we we left to move and move to a place that did not we didn't have to pay those exorbitant taxes and I would be I would be hard pressed now to move back to a place where my taxes kept going up to fun schools not because I don't value it but because my bottom line has gone has changed so drastically and I think that's what a lot of people they come to that point and it's almost
the lesser of two evils.
Right.
Well, am I going to am I gonna not am I will I vote against this referendum and know that something is going to suffer at schools and I know we were just talking about Green Bay having to cut possibly some fine arts programs knowing that or saying well then I'd have to move because I can't afford my taxes here.
I mean, and let's be realistic.
Most people, even if you live in a community, even if you don't have kids in the school district, you want kids to have good schools, right?
Sure.
You do.
But property taxes in Wisconsin are already among the highest in the country.
In fact, we're in the top 15 for how much we play in property taxes throughout the state.
So for a lot of families and for a lot of individuals, it's just not feasible.
And I think that's where those tough choices literally come in because...
We know that the schools have to rely heavily on those property taxes because of how the system set up.
So when that state funding is falling short or isn't predictable, the districts are forced to go to voters who just can't fathom doing this anymore or seeing those increases in their monthly bill.
And let's
also be
realistic.
This legislature had the opportunity to do something before they gaveled out.
And I know the negotiations are still ongoing between the Republicans and the Democrats on how to use that surplus.
They had the opportunity to alleviate some of this, and they chose to gavel out instead of making it easier for homeowners or giving them some sort of relief on their property tax bill.
And we talk about shrinking populations here in Wisconsin all the time.
You can't keep going back to the same well.
And sooner or later, people will start to...
Start to leave then the people who are here are going to have to bear even more of a burden There has to be a better way you mentioned it the legislature is not doing what they're supposed to do we've got all of this extra money some of it needs to go to tax relief because people are getting tired and Once people get tired enough
they decide they're going to go somewhere else where they're not going to be so put upon tax wise.
I saw it when I lived in California.
People were fleeing California by the millions to get to, they would go to Nevada because there was no tax.
The taxes are lower.
that's going to happen in Wisconsin soon, and you're not going to like the results.
And by the way, in that same Marquette poll, voters picked property tax levels as their chief concern when given the choice since 2022.
And that number just keeps growing over time.
It tells you that we have a serious problem in this state.
And right now, I don't see anybody really do a much to alleviate it for anybody, either side of the aisle.
It's 829 right now.
You are listening to Daybreak.
My name is Jamie Martenson.
And I'm Brian Noon in some weird mail.
coming to Germantown.
We'll tell you all about it on the Civic Media Network.
local news, community stories, and the conversations that matter most.
Now, more Daybreak with Brian and Jamie.
It's 835 right now.
Thank you so much for joining us this morning on the Civic Media Network.
Some clouds overhead right now, but all in all.
Not bad for temperatures.
In fact, we're going to be warming things up over the next few days.
So it's like that half spring, half winter, even though it's officially spring kind of weather that we get here in Wisconsin.
And hey, very exciting because we know that summer is officially upon us when it's opening day of baseball.
And we're going to be celebrating in a big
way on Thursday.
This is exciting.
We have two pairs of tickets to an upcoming Brewer's game.
I won't tell you they're opponent, but trust me.
will tell you on opening day when we do this.
So two pairs on Thursday, we're going to play a game that Frank has designed.
And you will get a chance to win a pair of tickets to an upcoming brewers game.
This is really exciting.
We're very, we're very happy that and these are not Jamie, I I don't know the company seats you do.
These are not these are not sitting obstructed view.
Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, these are these are
going to get your club level seating, which means that if you have your ML
And by the way, make sure you have that because you're going to need those if you're the winner on Thursday, because that's
how we're going to
transfer the tickets.
But these are the, you know, like sit down in your seat, order your brat or your hot dog to come right to your seat.
And, you know, you get a beautiful view of the entire stadium.
You are overhead watching the sausage races.
You can see, you can see it all.
You can, you can see Bernie's.
a little dugout over there and see him up on his slide.
They are fantastic seats and I promise that you will not regret a trip to AMFAM if you were the winner of one of these pairs of tickets on Thursday.
Now, just to clarify, you still have to pay for your food and stuff.
They'll just bring it to you.
Yes, yes.
But
you get to sit in your seat though.
You have to pay for it.
You don't have to leave if you don't want to.
They're great.
seats and
the seats themselves yeah yeah the club seating is
fantastic you definitely you you will have a good time let me be clear but yes have
the
MLB app so you can win on Thursday
Yes.
So Thursday is the day will so be listening.
We'll tell you what time but not now we're not going to watch here Thursday.
What's right?
So that's going to be that's a lot of fun.
I know we're going to be talking to the brewers prior to opening day and giving you an update on all the fan experiences.
So it's it's fun.
It's exciting.
Excited.
Now Thursday, I know you and Parker will probably be in your brewers gear.
And I said this many times.
I have no animosity toward the Brewers except for a couple games a year.
And unfortunately this year it is on opening day for the Brewers as a White Sox fan.
But because of my complete disdain for the Chicago Cubs and their fan base, I support the Brewers.
every other game.
So like 156 games, I'm down.
I'm down with the Brewers.
But I'm sorry, on Thursday, this opening series, I know it will be a futile gesture, but I will still be rooting for the
White Sox.
I would expect you to root for the White Sox.
And I'm surprised that Frank didn't jump in when you were saying so much negative things about the Cubs.
Listen, don't at me if it's true.
It's, you know, I I used I I come by this naturally because as a child, to be honest, it will get to what we were going to talk about in a minute.
But as a child, growing up, I watched Cubs games because they were the only thing on WGN TV.
They they went after they went they
preempted bozo a lot of the times bozo came on at noon well because the Cubs were at WGN I was forced as a child at gunpoint to watch the Cubs because bozo was not on and so I actually I went to Cubs games Frank here's one for you Joe Pepitone was one of my favorite players used to play first base for the Cubs I don't know why I like Joe Pepitone he had a swagger he had he was swarthy I enjoyed him but um
then as I grew up and I was exposed to more Cub fans it started to bother me and I worked at a station that was the Cubs flagship and I did a sports show which oh my goodness.
Oh that had to be
painful.
It was not fun because while I never I I supported and I interviewed all the Cubs players and I supported the team uh the fans.
Oh
the fans were.
Oh insufferable.
Yes.
So
So all that being to say, hey, go Brewers, except for this weekend.
Frank saying over in our show chat that he's going to let you have your fun for now.
It's just just for now.
Well, here's the thing, Jamie.
I know what he's going to come up with.
Both teams went home at the same time last year.
So it doesn't matter the record because both teams went home at the same time.
Yeah.
Yeah.
No.
And the Brewer's.
I mean, the
Brewer's didn't do much better.
Let's be realistic, Parker.
It was a rough season, rough, rough end
of the year.
It was rough finish.
Yeah.
And I was disappointing.
It was very disappointing for the Brewers.
It was absolutely.
All right.
Let's turn our attention to political mail.
which are the bane of my mailbox.
Jamie, you've worked on campaigns.
I worked on a couple campaigns with my brother.
I always felt bad having to send them out.
I always felt
bad
having to send
them out.
Because they are there.
The equivalent of those news teases is your washer trying to kill you.
Oh my god, those are the mailers.
The mailers come and they've got
words splashed across them, blood, it looks like, oh, mailers are horrible.
People look so angry, they're mean, they're vicious on the cover, they're horrible, they're
awful.
Well, imagine if you're in Germantown and you start getting these mailers for a school board election, which school boards didn't used to be political.
School boards were just about, well, of course not, but there has been a switch, a tonal switch.
Well now, here's the thing.
German town residents are getting these mailers for a candidate, a very conservative candidate.
He's an incumbent.
His name is Eric Brown.
He's on the school board now.
Here's the issue.
Eric Brown's not running for school board this time.
He filed papers in December saying that he was not running again.
And so talk about, oh alarmist, this big, big headline splashed across this mail.
Don't Minnesota my Wisconsin.
I don't know what that means.
but then there's a woman who looks very angry and she looks like she's screaming and pointing fingers and she's got a warning get out and vote or the liberal activists will
And she's
my favorite part
is she's very angry wearing her Statue of Liberty t-shirt And she's she's obviously yelling at us on this mailer.
It is it's crazy I kind of wish somebody from Germantown would chime in on the text line
this
morning If you've got one of these mailers one eight five five seven five two four eight four two one eight five five seven five Civic if you're from the area and you've got one of these, please Let us know exactly what it looks like.
I've only seen the photos
say that they were paid for, this is where it gets weird.
By
the
1776 Project PAC, this is a conservative Virginia-based political action committee, heavily funded by another group called the Restoration PAC.
Now, Restoration has some ties to Wisconsin because
it's largely
funded by the Republican mega donor, Richard Uline, who owns, of course, the packaging giant Uline with his wife, Elizabeth.
Now,
This story is crazy because when asked by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about these mailers, the founder of the 1776 Project PAC said the group had supported Brown in the past and there was, quote, an internal mistake.
We're suspending all future expenditures for him and we'll make sure that it's remedied on our behalf to no longer campaign for Brown.
He filed his paperwork in December.
Perhaps
your
database isn't...
up to date, I'm not sure, but
you should be
on top of this.
Are they just not on top of it?
Or is it to so confusion in the election?
Of course, because this is here.
Here's a little background on this 1776 project pack.
It was launched in 2021.
It supports candidates who vow to overturn any teaching of critical race theory or use of the 1619 project, which is a New York Times magazine piece with curriculum by the Pulitzer Center about the history of slavery.
And we talked about the.
the title change when it came to school boards and a lot of this started happening with these with mothers groups and they were all about oh we can't teach critical race theory we can't teach about slavery.
Yes we need to whitewash the curriculum because God forbid our gentle and tiny children who are so impressionable learn the true history of this country and are able to make decisions and
form their own opinions about, yes, this is a great country that has a really sorted history.
But we want to get rid of that sort of history.
And so these groups started popping up and they started they started the local level.
That's why they're going for your local school board because they get a foothold there.
Then they move into your city council.
Then they move into your mayor's race.
Then it goes statewide.
It's all it's a plan process.
It all is a plan.
It's a plan.
And there has been research after research and article after article written about how
this has been, I don't want to say infiltration because that's probably too harsh of a word, but
it is an infiltration.
What a Virginia-based political action committee is trying to sway
the Germantown School Board, it is infiltration.
Right.
I mean, and with those mailers still landing in people's mailboxes just days before an election and the fact that early voting starts today, what kind of impact is this going to have on the voters?
Are we so immune in this state that we're going to look at it and be like, eh, or are we going to be like,
What in the world, right?
Like, are we going to put any stock into those when they actually hit our mailboxes, especially for a guy that's not running?
It's
just so
confusion.
This story, this involvement by 1776 Project Pack wouldn't have come to light if they hadn't screwed up in Germantown because these mailers for other communities, for their school boards, they're getting those flyers with people who are running.
So nobody's going to say.
Even if you don't you're gonna look at it and go oh But we wouldn't we wouldn't have known who these people were sending it out But they screwed up and once you now everybody's looking going wait a minute.
Mm-hmm Who are you and why are you backing these people and what do these candidates really stand for?
because again school boards were not set up to be political Right companies or political boards.
They were set up to just
better the education and oversee your schools.
That's it.
Yeah.
Not anymore.
And I mean, I think it gets into a bigger conversation too, because you're right.
This is about swaying a school board election.
But I think at the same time, it goes back to the conversation we've had on the show before.
this money in politics.
When these mailers weren't local, they were funded by these out-of-state groups.
They obviously had their own agendas.
You've got ties to Republican mega donors here in Wisconsin.
So this is what we're starting to see more and more, especially in a swing state like Wisconsin, where we get this national attention and it's constant and everybody feels like it matters beyond the community itself because
This is the game plan.
They want to basically sow this chaos.
They want to influence the outcome of the election because it's all about a specific agenda that we want to pass starting with our schools going all the way up.
And this also leads to a bigger discussion then about this is why there's so much, we want to privatize education in this country, right?
Because it's a little harder to sway people in a public education sphere than it is in a private education sphere.
And it's also harder to sway people only from the top.
So it's much easier to see what's happening on the federal level and rail against it when it's more insidious when it starts slower and it starts closer to home and it's, oh, it's just the school board.
Oh, it's just the mayor.
It's just the city council.
And then so now you've got it coming from both directions and pretty soon everybody else starts to get squeezed out.
It is something to be diligent about.
And Lizzie, you can vote for whoever you want for the school board.
realize why you're doing it and hold your local offices to the same level you would when we were all critiquing and criticizing Elon Musk for pumping all that money in.
It's the same thing, but it hits closer to home.
The National
Security.
It's about kids, classrooms, and communities, so make sure you have all of the information before you head to the ballots.
It is 848 right now.
You are listening to Daybreak.
I'm Jamie Martenson.
And I'm Brian Noonan.
Have you ever been fooled by a social media post that turned out to be AI?
Oh, this is a civic media note.
Now back to more of Daybreak with Brian and
Jamie.
It's 8.52 right now.
Thank you so much for joining us this morning.
This is the Civic Media Network.
I'm Jamie Martinson.
And I'm Brian Noonan.
Have you ever been fooled by AI
of social
media posts you saw and you were like, oh, this is beautiful.
8-5-5-7-5-CIVIC.
8-5-5-7-5-2-4-8-4-2.
This because...
I saw one of these.
This one I was not fooled by from the very
first
post.
There's a beautiful woman.
Her name is Jessica Foster.
She's in the army.
Or is she?
She's posed with an F-22 Raptor.
She's done camouflage in the desert.
She's been with President Trump on the tarmac.
Her Instagram account exploded.
She's got more than a million followers in just four months.
The problem is, Jessica Foster does not exist.
She's a
complete illusion.
Love
it, Parker.
Thank
you.
Complete illusion.
She's fake,
in
fact.
She's completely fake.
All fake.
And you know how you know?
Because the first time I saw her, she was... She had seven
fingers?
No, but she was sitting at a desk in her uniform with her nylons on her feet up on the desk, and I was like this is not Protocol no army.
I don't think she would and I was like this is no AI and Indeed it was
I thought maybe she had in a couple extra fingers or a couple extra feet.
I looked yesterday I looked yesterday, and I could not find any any
abnormalities in her physique.
Oh, so what they've done is they've pulled out all the stops to create this woman in AI.
They've
made sure that they've, you know, paid the extra fees to create this woman out
of AI.
I
love that.
They did a nice job with
her.
There is absolutely no public record of her military service or the account.
Despite not being labeled AI, it's packed with indicators that she is absolutely fake.
Between many of her pro-Trump posts, she's also prominently displays her feet.
Now, her viral takeoff highlights this, really this strategy that we're seeing online.
And there's so many people that are...
There's so many people even celebrities that are now going to AI to these retouched photos or to create the illusion of things that aren't actually true and I get it for a lot of people.
It's hard to spot It's
really hard to spot but then and it's they're doing a lot of this with MAGA They're they're creating a lot of these MAGA AI posts Somebody posted something.
It's and it's not just here
Somebody posted in a rainy a female Iranian soldier You know cheering and all of that but the problem is Iran bans women from combat so Not really happening right but edit so it's it goes to this
back to a conversation we had about who you who and what you can trust in the media because even something as simple as my wife the other day showed me a picture punch the monkey you know monkey in Japan well now punch was with giving a kiss to
the little doll he had, but now this doll was bigger than him and my wife's like, is this AI?
And I'm like, yeah, this animal is 18 feet tall.
Of course it's AI.
I look at my pictures ago, is that AI?
Well, you took it.
Well, I don't know.
Maybe it's very confusing.
But it's amazing.
And this whole thing, I don't know if it's...
MAGA incels who are just so captivated by a military woman who believes... Or maybe a
woman in general because
I
think it's interesting because most of the things that they generate through AI are usually women who support the president and they're usually posing with soldiers or truckers or police officers and they have this surging audience on platforms like TikTok and Instagram and even X
Thousands of commenters have offered responses suggesting they believe
these
women are real.
And obviously we've seen versions of this strategy play out multiple times.
But Foster is...
what MAGA essentially fantasizes about, right?
All packed into like one human being.
What are you looking at on Instagram?
It's just MAGA.
Look at this woman.
She loves the president.
She's a soldier.
Right.
Don't you wish you were?
Will you dress up like a soldier?
It's my birthday.
Yeah.
Just, I don't know.
Anything that comes across social media, just unless we post it on
which we have pages we could post things on.
Look at that story.
We could.
We could.
You could do that.
We have a new Facebook page, Daybreak with Brian and Jamie.
On Instagram it's the same thing, so we will not post AI.
No.
Or
if we do, we'll make sure you know it's AI.
Yes.
It'll be like that stuff the president posts.
I'll post my head on some gigantic
you know, body or soaring with an eagle and Jamie will be, you know, like Wonder Woman with a lasso of truth.
Then you'll know.
If I can get into Wonder
Woman's uniform, I'm all for it.
If somebody can make me fit into that through AI, I am all about it.
Well, AI could make us, we would look fantastic to do it.
It'd just be crazy.
We could all have Amish Beards like Parker.
It'd be nice.
I don't know if you want an Amish beard.
I'd
probably be good without the Amish beard.
Alicia chiming in over on our YouTube chat this morning.
She is a veteran.
She says she never fooled me.
The uniform gave it away immediately.
So
I would imagine so because I don't, I would.
I would think that the metals and all the accoutrements that go on the uniform are not legit.
No, probably not.
I'm assuming that they probably, whoever created this version of AI, probably got a majority of the main things legit, like, you know, not seven fingers and the right amount of feet
and
all of that kind of stuff.
But I'm going to guess that there probably wasn't a lot of thought put into where metals are actually placed, what
the coloring
is or any of that.
They just kind of, you know, it's like a paint by number at that point.
Well,
let's let's face facts.
If you're there looking at that Jessica Foster, you don't care if she actually got the
artillery metal
for the marksman metal or where it goes like I don't care about what
she
is
a lovely AI generated woman.
Let's put it like that.
Listen, Jamie, those AI women don't they don't talk back.
They just sit there and they do what they could be exactly what you want them to be.
So for
for the narrow-minded magas and the trad wife admirers.
They're perfect.
They are.
We're done.
We
are.
We did it.
We did another one.
Yay, Oz.
It's 8.59 right now.
You are listening to Daybreak.
I am Jamie Martinson.
I'm Brian Noonan.
Thanks for joining us.
We will talk to you again tomorrow at 6 a.m.