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Wisconsin wakes up here.
Back to Daybreak with Brian and Jamie.
It'll all be
Is that what this is?
Is the boredom set in?
And now we need to move on to something different.
Or has he seen his ratings and his poll numbers because of this war?
And all of a sudden, now we need to end it as quickly and be done with it and sweep it under the rug as fast as it started.
That's where
to
We're in our second month.
Here's some headlines from the region.
It doesn't get any better.
Iran is firing more missiles at Israel and Gulf Arab states with a spokesperson for its military insisting Thursday that Tehran maintains hidden stockpiles of arms, munitions, and production facilities.
Oh, that's all.
That's all we need to hear because
And on that note, the death toll from the war has risen to more than 1,900 people in Iran and over 1,300 people in Lebanon, 13 US military members and 10 Israeli soldiers have been killed, 19 civilians have been killed in Israel as well as a number of civilians and soldiers on land and sea in the Gulf region.
Millions of people in Iran and Lebanon have been displaced and it's important to keep throwing those numbers out to show the impact of a unilateral
personal war on real people and the globe itself.
Especially because you're not going to get those numbers from this administration because they would prefer just to not talk about them or have them reported.
And finally Bahrain, a Gulf monarchy that hosts the US Navy's fifth fleet has arrested dozens of people throughout the war for filming strikes and demonstrations expressing support for Iran and on suspicion of spying for it.
What's happening on this side of the ocean?
We have some stuff you need to know.
All right, let's start right here.
University of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman says the Board of Regents is trying to remove him, but he is refusing to resign because no clear reason has been given for the loss of confidence.
He says that the Regents told him
unidentified and unidentified majority.
Oh, that's always tricky.
The unidentified majority.
They no longer support his leadership, but each region may have different concerns and none have been clearly explained to him.
We don't like you.
Why not?
Lots of reasons.
Rothman also questions the process saying the decision appears to have been made without a recent full board meeting or open discussion raising transparency concerns.
He was given three options.
Option numero uno.
Announce a retirement later this year.
Option two, resign with 120 days notice or option three, be fired.
He said leaving now would hurt the university system during a critical time.
He points to his major accomplishments, including one of the largest state funding increases in 20 years, operational changes, directed missions for students and securing private funding for tuition support.
His tenure also included difficult and controversial moves like closing or downsizing multiple branch campuses and negotiating a deal with Republican lawmakers to scale back DEI programs in exchange for funding.
See what happens when you acquiesce to them?
Rothman also handled student protests and political pressure off inciting with law enforcement and working closely with the legislature.
Oh, the pattern is starting to reveal itself, wouldn't you say?
Critics include faculty unions.
They say he's been disconnected from staff, students and campus needs, pointing to disagreements over curriculum and broader systems decision.
Now the board has not publicly explained its concerns yet and they met in closed session, meaning a final decision could come soon and leadership of the universities of Wisconsin may change quickly.
Yeah, it sounds like there are a number of things that could be a reason if you're if you're looking at the UW system.
that people, excuse me, people would say, yeah, it's time to go.
this particular
Well, we'll have it in our stuff we need to know.
We'll keep talking about it.
Speaking of, there are more headlines.
Governor Evers signed two bills yesterday, creating a new state grant program to help nonprofits house and support homeless veterans.
Now, this program includes about $1.9 million in state funding.
It's also designed to match federal dollars, not as a standalone system.
Nonprofits can receive $25 per day per veteran from the state.
on top of about $82 per day through the federal VA per diem program.
To qualify for this, nonprofits have to already be part of the federal VA program, and they also have to provide housing plus wraparound services like counseling, job help, as well as recovery support.
This legislation was introduced after the closure of two state-supported veteran housing sites in Green Bay and Chippewa Falls.
Those two closures left a lot of service gaps in the area, and right now, only four non-
profits statewide qualify and none are located in the impacted regions.
Supporters say this program could expand capacity if more nonprofits apply and become eligible, but there are concerns about limited access as well as geographic gaps, especially in northern and northeastern Wisconsin.
The goal for this is to create a more flexible community-based system rather than relying on a small number of state-run sites.
If you were paying attention to what happened in Green Bay and Chippewa
falls.
It was awful.
And I just want to remind everybody
and point out once again that there was time to act before those two facilities were closed.
The state GOP had a chance to step in and negotiate with the Democrats and come to some sort of resolution.
They did not do that.
And so now this feels why I'm in support of these bills.
It feels like we have to play catch up now based on mistakes that we made in the past that could that we didn't have to make.
They didn't
And it's more egregious because the top of this, the administration, they could not be more in word only pro.
veterans.
But I think they're only pro veterans till you're done fighting.
They seem to love our warfighters.
And then they forget that those warfighters come home.
And we talked about a story the other day with traumatic brain injury being
one of
And the veterans have to hop through so many hoops with the VA where it should be that should be a streamlined process.
It's if you work
any job long term and you have good insurance, you don't have to jump through as many hoops as the veterans do at the VA.
And the old, you know, the joke of, oh, it's the government, you always got away.
That doesn't, that shouldn't work.
That shouldn't be even possible with that.
And now, you know, I'm not saying everything on a golden platter, but treat these men and women with
the
And this is when you go into the military,
That's part of the package.
Just like when you take a job, if you take a job that has benefits, you count on that medical care when you finished.
And if you're not getting it and you really need it and staffing is being cut and facilities are being closed, it is another one of those national shames.
And I don't understand why veteran services...
As far as I'm concerned in every election, right?
In every election cycle, there's always pawns for both parties.
And there's certain groups that both parties glom onto as we're gonna help this group and we need this group's vote and we're the best for this group.
Veterans are part of that, those pawns.
Every
And when we're talking about veterans,
they shouldn't always be the first programs to be cut.
And I'm glad to see the governor sign this bill.
It's something, it's gonna create this new funding stream, but let's be realistic, this is not a complete fix for what needs to happen, not only just in the state, but across the country.
But I'm glad to see that we're at least putting some stock into services for veterans and getting them some of the proper care and services, not only for them, but their families as well.
Those
Pam Bondi, you have been voted off the island.
You are gone.
Yesterday, during stuff you need to know, we talked about the president was maybe he was waffling a little bit.
Well, the hammer dropped yesterday.
The president has ousted Pam Bondi as Attorney General.
The bad news is she is going to be replaced by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
Trump in recent days had talked to allies about the possibility of firing Bondi, which we mentioned yesterday.
He talked with her personally on Wednesday about the.
And then, oh boy, the conversation which one source described as tough, not for Trump, he doesn't care, he just fires people.
He indicated Bondi was not long for her role and he would be replacing her in the near future.
Sources said Bondi was told she would be given a different job later.
Oh, like Christine Ohm's Avengers job.
In their conversation, Trump floated the possibility of appointing her as a judge after her departure from Justice Department.
That's working out well for Jeanine Pirro, isn't it?
Man, she's a good judge.
Trump had been frustrated with Bonnie on multiple fronts.
Sources said in particular he's upset over her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein file.
He also fumed that she has not investigated or prosecuted enough of his political opponents.
That's not the job.
One such matter, Drug Trump's attention is an investigation into whether former CIA director John Brennan made false statements to Congress about a years old intelligence assessment of Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
Bondi's facing subpoena from the House Oversight Committee to testify about the Epstein matter later this month.
Do you notice a pattern, Jamie?
The inept guys get to hang around.
Cash Patel, whiskey Pete.
Yeah.
course
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All right.
we get into swipe or stay, if you're new to the program, this is the segment where I'm going to read some pop culture headlines.
Brian and Jamie are going to have to decide whether to stay and hear more about it or swipe on to the next one.
In the case of a type, producer Parker will be the one to make that decision as we move on.
We have a rock star that is being criticized for delivering a highly political show.
We are here in celebration and defense of our American ideals, democracy, our Constitution and our sacred American promise.
The America that I love, the America that I've written about for 50 years that's been a beacon of hope and liberty around the world is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, racist, reckless, and treasonous administration.
Now,
phone?
Oh, good lord.
one is
According to federal prosecutors, according to the complaint, who arranged a meeting in January with Gucci main to discuss the terms of his contract.
Once he was inside, he and others in the group stormed the room with one of the defendants barricading the door to prevent people from escaping.
Wow.
Wow.
He proceeded to brandish a pistol and demanded that Gucci main release him from his contract.
Federal prosecutors said that victims were robbed of cash and jewelry among other valuable items.
And like clockwork, one person accused was seen posting pictures on social media showing the allegedly stolen items,
The local voices in statewide impact.
It's Daybreak with Brian and Jamie.
I'm Brian Noonan.
On November 3rd, Wisconsinites are going to have the responsibility to elect a new governor to replace Tony Evers.
On the Republican side, the party has circled around Tom Tiffany as their candidate.
The Democrats, though, are another story.
Currently, seven Democrats are still in the race.
And with the primary schedule for August 11th, how is this crowded field going to shake out?
One of those candidates, State Senator Kelle Royce, who represents Senate District 26, is here with us today.
to talk about her campaign and what's going on with the Democrats.
Senator, thank you for being here.
We appreciate your time.
Does it concern you at all that the Republicans have already coalesced around one candidate this early and have the timing advantage of getting their message out behind that one candidate while the Democrats still don't have a front runner?
Of course it does concern me that we've got consolidated Republican support behind an absolute extremist right-wing candidate that we cannot allow to be governor.
Wisconsin would be extremely vulnerable during a Trump presidency if Tom Tiffany were our governor.
But I think primaries can be really healthy.
The problem with a crowded primary, one that's as crowded as what we have,
is that folks will sit on the sideline until the very end, and then we end up with a candidate squeaking by with 20, 21 percent of the vote, a candidate who is very weak in the general election and who puts the governorship at risk.
You know, we can't get cocky in Wisconsin
just
We lost some too.
And the truth is that we've got candidates in this race who
are not yet prepared to be governor because they're either too new in politics.
It doesn't mean they're not great people.
It just means this is a time for an experienced fighter who knows what needs to be done on day one.
And we've got folks running who will put that governorship at risk because they will be weak candidates in the general against Tom Tiffany.
So we've got to make sure we coalesce behind a candidate who's an experienced fighter, can stand up to Trump and help pass a progressive agenda during this once in a generation opportunity.
And most importantly can beat Tom Tiffany.
Senator, you mentioned the voter engagement, and currently polling is showing that a lot of voters are not paying attention to the gubernatorial race, to the Supreme Court race, which we can get into in just a few moments.
But how do you stand out at a time when people really aren't paying attention or the engagement feels so low?
Most voters...
are not paying attention this early in the process.
And keep in mind, we have another election this coming Tuesday, right?
So this isn't even the next election.
Generally, in a primary like this, people are going to start to pay attention in the summer, right?
Not last year or this winter or before the April 7th election.
So I think the most important thing is to continue traveling around the state, talking with folks as much as I can.
And what I've noticed is that top of mind for people is fighting this Trump regime.
People are so angry about what is happening in this country and the way that our rights are being violated.
They want someone who is capable of standing up to what this regime is doing.
who is willing to call out the abuses of the Trump administration without missing words and who has a plan ready to fight the Trump administration.
Secondarily to that, of course, you know, we've had 16 years of Republican gerrymandered rule at the state level.
And now that's going to end.
We're going to have a Democratic State Senate and we're going to have an assembly that's really close one way or the other.
So if we have a governor who knows how to use the levers of power, who has that experience,
of getting things done in tough legislative environments, this could be an incredible opportunity for us to have a more progressive future in Wisconsin.
Again, hinging on whether or not our governor is able and willing to use political power to get it done.
She's a candidate for governor here in Wisconsin Kelder Royce comm is her website I want to go back to something you said in your previous answer senator when you were talking about the Democrats not being able to coalesce around one candidate in reality How does something like that happen?
Does the state party call all seven of you in and?
Everybody has a talk.
We don't
But does it is it?
just like you said where we now just wait and maybe some of these candidates who aren't doing well in the polls and and to be fair you're included in that not doing real well in the polls how do you so democrats just wait i mean that seems to be the problem with democrats in every race not not in just this wisconsin gubernatorial race everybody waits and
I mean, I agree.
It is a risk in a situation like this.
And I wouldn't expect anybody to drop out.
There's no smoke filled back room, right?
Where people are going to be put to the wall and said, you've got to drop out because you're not ready to be governor or you're too weak of a candidate in the general and you put it at risk.
Some people wish for that.
But on the other hand, people hate it when they perceive that
the party
I mean, I would, I think first of all, no, this is a wide open race, right?
No poll matters until people start spending money to actually communicate with voters, which is not going to happen until much later in the summer.
And what the polls reflect now is who has spent a lot of money.
And so I would not give any credence to that.
That's not how people should be making their decisions.
But I do think it's important to look for some of the signals in the race.
See if
Tony Evers is not going to endorse.
Tammy Baldwin is not going to endorse.
But there may be some big endorsements that happen from big institutions like unions or other folks that can help point the way.
And I think as people start to pay attention and as those endorsements roll out, that will hopefully give people a signal about who the candidates are that are viable.
And people should just also be able to use their judgment, right?
We
Wisconsin is a very purple state.
We actually have more Republicans than Democrats.
So we need a candidate who can bring rural, urban, and suburban voters together.
And I think I'm very well positioned to do that, number one, because I grew up in rural Wisconsin.
I'm from north of Highway 29 from rural Taylor County outside of Medford, Wisconsin.
And I now represent Dane County, a big urban area.
which does give me an advantage in the primary.
But more than that, I have a strong bipartisan track record of over 20 years of actually getting things done.
And if you want to be governor in a purple state, it's pretty important to have a track record like that that shows you can work with people.
Because nobody's going to hand us a 15-year illegitimate democratic trifecta to fix all this nonsense.
We got to be prepared to do it in tough political environments.
And that's what I spent my whole career doing.
You mentioned the fact that the majorities in the legislature could tighten up even more.
So what does that look like for Democrats?
I mean, how exciting is that?
And I find it actually absolutely exciting that we could see that much of a power shift happen in the state.
So what does that look like for the Democrats right now?
This is our chance.
I have worked so hard for this ever since 2010, when Republicans came in and swept the state and then gerrymandered it all to heck.
And to be in a position where we are on the cusp of having a Democratic Senate majority, which I firmly believe is going to happen, is really, really exciting.
And the assembly, listen, there's a reason Robin Voss made that deal on the maps.
And it's because those maps were his best chance to hold on to Republican power.
So I want to be realistic.
There's a chance we could get a Democratic assembly, but it's also very likely that we will have a narrowly Republican assembly where we're short by one or two or maybe three seats.
Some of that also will depend on who's at the top of the ticket, right?
If we have a weaker candidate at the top of the ticket coming through the primary,
then we can probably kiss our chances of winning the assembly goodbye because it's going to take so much more resources to try to get a weak candidate across the finish line.
But what that's going to mean for Wisconsin is that we're able to fund our public schools.
If I'm governor, we're going to bring that voucher scheme to a responsible end.
it's going to mean we're able to expand access to health care and invest in the things that people really, really need like childcare.
We're going to be able to bring down utility costs and grocery costs and and make Wisconsin a place where everyone has the freedom to thrive.
That's my vision for the state.
Higher wages, lower costs, more freedoms.
Property taxes are way too high for one main reason, and that's because Republicans have, for 30 of the last 32 years, starved our public schools and our local governments of the resources that they need to function well.
So when you think about property taxes, the reason that they are so high is because our school districts and our local governments have to continually go to referendum to keep the lights on because the legislature has taken funding down so far, especially for public education.
And because we are funding billions of dollars from our local schools into these private voucher schemes, right?
So we're paying property taxes thinking that they're going to our local schools.
But they're not.
They're actually taking a huge chunk of that money and giving it directly to voucher schools.
But those are the big drivers of property taxes.
And if you want to solve it, you've got to actually fund schools and local governments at the state level, which is more equitable.
That'll take the pressure off the property taxes and have a better system that will let our local governments and our schools actually be able to budget long term without having to go to referendum.
She represents Senate District 26.
She's also a candidate for Wisconsin Governor Kelder Roy's.com.
If you want to see more about her platform.
But you know, when we talk about property taxes, we've also heard about the state surplus.
And what are those negotiations looking like right now?
Are Republicans willing to have those conversations about the property tax relief with that surplus?
Or is that just something that they're going to kick the can on and hope that they get a Tom Tiffany in office?
We talk about a surplus, but it's not really a surplus.
When we're spending $3,300 less per child in Wisconsin than we did 15 years ago, we really see that money for what it is, which is money that's been taken away from our children and their educational opportunities.
And the surplus that's being discussed now by the governor and the Republican legislative leaders, all three of whom, by the way, are going to be gone next year, right?
They are not going to be around to deal with the consequences of what they're doing.
It's extremely dangerous.
This is a projected surplus.
This is not money that we've got sitting in the checking account.
This is the $2.5 billion that the fiscal bureau said, well, we anticipate if things continue that we could have this amount of money come next June.
So over a year from now to spend it by essentially lighting a huge bit of it on fire as a
just a straight tax rebate, would be extremely irresponsible.
We have no idea what the fiscal condition of this state is going to be.
We could be in a deep recession.
We have a president that illegally attacked Iran, that has started a wild conflagration in the Middle East.
Energy prices are skyrocketing, right?
Oil could continue going up.
Gas prices are rising.
That's going to have a very negative impact on our economy.
We also have so many years of unmet needs for K-12, for early childhood.
The University of Wisconsin is short a billion dollars and they've closed half a dozen campuses in recent years, right?
So there's things that we need to spend money on.
And just lighting it on fire with a one-time rebate is a terrible use of that money.
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Now back to Brian and Jamie.
Hopefully your day is off to a great start.
I know that large portions of the northern part of the state without power today due to all of those ice storms yesterday.
So hopefully that is not you this morning, but hopefully, hopefully everybody's doing a little cleanup and doing okay up there because I know that that was kind of a brutal weather system that came through for a lot of people yesterday.
You are listening to Daybreak.
My name is Jamie Martenson.
I'm Brian Noonan.
There is nothing better in the culinary world than a good hamburger.
So the question for you this morning is who has the best hamburger in Wisconsin?
There's a reason we're asking, but we want to know from you because I'm always looking for a good burger, 855-75 Civic, 855-752-4842.
Who has the best burger in Wisconsin?
The reason I ask is because the Wisconsin Beef Council is running their best burger contest in relation to March Madness and they are down to the elite eight.
But I want to start, I want to ask everybody here on the show, Jamie, what makes a good burger to you?
out.
Oh,
be
of our
All right, see?
All right.
OK, that's it.
I think that's a young person's game.
Sure.
The pretzel bun.
Perhaps.
Perhaps.
Yourself?
My daughter also loves the pretzel bun.
I go, I'm with you guys on the patty.
It's got to be thicker.
It's got to be, I used to, when I was young, I wanted it cooked so there was no color and no juice.
That was dumb.
Now I like a little juicy cheeseburger.
Little pink.
I like it.
Yeah, a little pink.
Now when it comes to toppings,
it depends on the day.
There's there's a lot of days I'm with Jamie, I go either raw or grilled onions, some lettuce, I like a bread and butter pickle on there, ketchup and mustard.
But then there's days I like to get and Swiss cheese got to be Swiss cheese.
American cheese.
No, on a regular cheeseburger, I want Swiss cheese.
But then there's days I like blue cheese.
There's times I look at a menu and I go, this burger sounds crazy, some bacon, some I was getting into this thing where I was eating it.
We'd go to this place that had a hangover burger and had bacon and a fried egg on it.
Yeah, oh my husband loves a
Anyway, the Elite Aid has been named, and the Beef Council, which is a nonprofit organization, is down to this.
They were selected through a tally of online submissions that we still want to hear from you.
The Best Burger in Wisconsin doesn't have to be on this list.
It could be a little back, because see, sometimes you get the Best Burger
in
Really?
I've had Juicy Lucy's a number of times.
Mostly I go to Matt's when I'm in the Twin Cities to get the Juicy Lucy.
Like most people, the first time I had a Juicy Lucy, I had to go to the burn unit.
Because I was sprayed with molten cheese.
And, you know, that's why I look the way I do.
I used to be very, I used to look like George Clooney.
Then I had a Juicy Lucy.
They're just,
because that
It is going to be great.
Right.
Local press, Adrian Sheboygan, Mims Charcoal Grill in Monashia and Pastimes Pub and Grill in Rippon, Rippon.
So those are your elite eight.
You can go on the Wisconsin Beef Council and vote.
But those now I want to burn.
I actually I actually bought.
two burgers, because I used to just buy the beef and bulk and handshake my own.
But now that it's sometimes just, well, it's just my wife and I, sometimes I'll buy those pub burgers at the store, the half pounders.
Oh man, they make a nice burger.
They do.
to get your
And you can't,
I do, I do, I basically do two thinner patties so that it makes the one thicker patty that the family likes.
And then I make a bit of a pocket to put my cheese in there so it can't just gush out.
But the trick to that is you have to get
your seams perfectly, because when you press it or you put it on a grill, it's just gonna all run out.
So it takes a little bit.
My family's always like, oh, it's just easy, it's just a burger.
No, no, no, no.
Those sound delicious.
All right.
All right.
Well, listen, we're going to come back with the third hour.
If you're on WMDX, you can go listen to Stephanie Miller or you can be smart and just come on the app and listen to us for the rest of the time.
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