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From Lake Superior to Lake Michigan, this is Wisconsin's Morning Conversation.
Daybreak with Brian and Jamie.
I'm still trying to learn what time it is.
It's it is 8 0 6.
I'm Brian Newton.
This is daybreak.
Jamie is out for the week doing some business in on the East Coast.
So she'll be back with us next Monday.
You know what it means.
It's the top of the hour.
So we've got some you need to know.
It's a wake up call in more ways than one.
Time for some you need to know.
All right, well we're starting with some local news because former Republican Governor Tommy Thompson is backing Tom Tiffany in this year's race for governor.
This is a coveted endorsement for Tiffany and it ends months of speculation about whether Tommy Thompson would join the race himself.
Boy, I would hope not.
Tommy Thompson is 84 years old and based on the conversation we had the other day.
That is too old.
Listen, that's no shade on people in their 80s.
What it is shade on is politicians who think they can still govern effectively and represent the widest number of people at that advanced age.
Tommy Thompson not running again.
Tom Tiffany is running.
He just got endorsed by Tommy Thompson.
Tiffany heads into the state GOP convention next week with endorsements from Thompson and President Trump, two key supporters in a Wisconsin Republican campaign for governor.
Trump's endorsement prompted Tiffany's only major competitor in the GOP field, Washington County executive Josh Schoeman to drop out of the race, which made Tom Tiffany the defacto.
Republican nominee which he remains now you may remember unless you're new to Wisconsin Tommy Thompson was governor between 1987 and 2001 he had said in October that he was quote seriously considering joining the Republican primary for governor and as recently as April told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he saw encouraging polling on a potential return but Thompson who I mentioned before
is 84.
He decided against a run.
He said I've spent my entire career fighting for my neighbors, my country and my state.
I love Wisconsin and growing up in Elroy instilled in me the values that shaped my time as governor.
That was a statement that he shared that was shared by the Tiffany campaign.
And he says Tom Tiffany comes from those same Wisconsin roots.
Thompson has said said the state has to keep performing and moving forward.
That is what
Tommy said about Tom Tiffany.
He, uh, Thompson was elected governor four times and served as President George W. Bush's health secretary.
So there you go, Tom Tiffany.
And we know the, the August primary for the Democrats is coming up.
Still no movement.
We still have seven candidates running and we've talked to most of them.
We are actually going to talk, um, on.
Friday to Francesca Honk, correct?
Yes, Friday Francesca will be on the program.
So we will talk to her and we have reached out to Tom Tiffany as well to try to get him to join the program and talk about his run for governor.
So far we have not had any response from the Tiffany campaign, but that doesn't mean we're not trying and we would welcome.
I would love to hear from Tom Tiffany, so we're not just relying rather.
On news reports and statements from other people, we'd love to hear from Tom Tiffany himself and let him come on and make his case to be your next governor.
All right, we mentioned this before, but the Honto virus is here.
Passengers on the cruise ship hit with the deadly virus were disembarking yesterday in Spain's Canary Islands.
Now this was, if you watch this, it was a very carefully coordinated repatriation, which is just bringing people back on the land.
And monitoring mission, it includes
several evacuations over the next couple days.
The first plane bound bound for Madrid departed carrying Spanish nationals who will be treated at the military hospital.
We talked to you before and I will tell you about it again, that there are a French woman and two Americans did test positive or showed symptoms of the hantavirus yet this today as nations around the world scrambled to repatriate their passengers.
One of the 17 American passengers evacuated from the ship.
and flown to Nebraska also tested positive for the virus, not showing any symptoms.
Another one had mild symptoms according to U.S.
health officials.
The flight landed in the early hours of this morning in Nebraska.
They were taken, the patients to the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
That's where they have the federally funded quarantine facility.
Pardon me.
quarantine facilities always make me have some sort of viral reaction.
It's like somebody yells out Marco I say polo.
So I talk about quarantine facilities I start to cough.
So the director of the World Health Organization has stressed and we will stress this too so that you're not going to panic.
Do not be worried about the outbreak.
According to the WHO quote this is not another COVID and the risk to the public is low.
So they shouldn't the public should not be scared.
They should not panic.
end quote so try not to panic and try not to worry too much about it even though i'm sure we are all a little bit worried about it especially when yesterday an official from the administration was on saying well it's impossible it's impossible to get uh hunt the virus from person to person contact and i'm like no that's literally how they got it on the boat person to person contact so listen to the world health organization uh maybe
Take whatever you hear from the administration with a grain of salt.
FIFA matches.
You know, the World Cup's coming.
Parker, you're not a soccer fan despite wearing a soccer jersey today.
As they say on Ted Lasso, football is life.
But the World Cup matches set to be held across the U.S.
have now are now facing fighting heightened terrorism risks with experts warning that vulnerabilities are being amplified by the U.S.
Israeli conflict with Iran and a depletion of counterterrorism expertise within federal law enforcement.
G why is that?
Oh yeah, they laid all those people off.
The biggest threat.
Stems from homegrown violent extremists, often lone actors, that may have become radicalized online by extreme political views or jihadists, such as the Islamic State, which is ISIS, said four counter-terror experts that were interviewed for this story, we need to protect not only
each venue, but all the other links in the chain that get to the point of the game, said Javed Ali, associate professor of the University of Michigan, who previously served with the FBI Department of Homeland Security and as a National Security Council senior director for counterterrorism.
Now in March, the FBI held large residential training exercises on domestic threats, bringing together agents from across the country who work in domestic terrorism ahead of major national security, such as the World Cup.
The U.S.
experience, as we know, it's securing large-scale stadium events such as the Super Bowl, but the sheer number of World Cup matches will require an unprecedented level of coordination.
The Department of Homeland Security has announced that the only the final match, which will be at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, will be designated as, quote, a national special security event.
It makes sense that all of these
which are going to draw huge crowds, even though there have been there has been some worry about ticket prices.
So I don't know, I'm sure that they're still going to sell out.
But right now, people are still, you know, especially in New York at MetLife, there's no they're they've taken all the parking lots away.
They've decided they were going to jack up the train tickets.
So now what's usually like a $15 $20 train ticket to get from New York out to New Jersey is now going to be over $100.
just to take the train, and then you have to walk almost a mile from the train to get to the stadium.
So I'm going to pass on World Cup soccer.
But I can see, I can see where the concern comes from.
You've got to figure it.
And quite frankly, we've been very fortunate in the U.S.
that all these big events, whether it's the Super Bowl, whether it's the Final Four, whether we've all, you know, or any, any sporting event.
We've been lucky or We've been lucky that we haven't heard about it as the public because I don't think we need to hear about every Potential attack that is stopped.
That's what the authorities are for and that's I trust they're going to do their job But something like this where you're bringing in a global audience is something that Should be of concern and is of concern and we will monitor this as it goes forward.
I don't know why only the final would be
designated as a national special security event, but as long as they're looking at everything, that's fine.
And finally, the remains of a U.S.
soldier who went missing during military exercises in Morocco a week ago were recovered in the Atlantic Ocean, the Army said yesterday.
Military teams are still searching for a second missing soldier.
The remains were those of 1st Lieutenant Kendrick Lamont Key Jr., a 14A Air Defense artillery officer who was one of two U.S.
soldiers who fell off a cliff during a recreational hike in Morocco while off duty he was 27 years old.
The two were reported missing May 2nd after participating in African Lion, an annual multinational military exercise held in Morocco.
According to U.S.
Army, Europe and Africa, U.S.
Army spokespeople in Europe and Africa, they said a Moroccan military search team found the soldier in the water along the shoreline at approximately 8.55 a.m.
local time May 9th within roughly one mile of where both soldiers reportedly entered the ocean.
The two went missing around 9 p.m.
near the Cape Draw training area outside Tantan, a terrain characterized by mountains, desert, and semi-desert planes, according to the Moroccan military.
Search efforts will continue for the missing second soldier, according to a U.S.
defense official talking to the Associated Press.
Well, the official said a US contingent remained in Morocco after the war games ended Friday to provide command and control and to continue search for the rescue operations.
So thank goodness at least those first remains were found and they can family can get a little bit of closure.
We'll see.
Hopefully we get the the remains of that second soldier.
Are you worried about this going back to the Hunter virus for a while for a minute, Parker?
Are you worried about this this virus at all?
You know, it's really hard to say because everything tells me that we should have learned our lesson from the first time from COVID and how to quarantine and actually cut off a virus like this.
So part of me is optimistic that that will have happened.
I've also watched what's been happening for the last couple years, so I'm not too sure, Brian.
I have
worries based on the CDC and the gutting we have done at the CDC and the administration's basic disregard for science.
And we saw that during during COVID.
Now again, I am going to stress that right now the World Health Organization, which a lot of people, not a lot of people, but some of the same anti science skeptics and the administration have discounted the World Health Organization.
And that's why we're not as involved as a country anymore as we used to be with the WHO.
But I think they're watching this one because no
nobody in their right mind wants another pandemic.
We do know we I don't think I don't think we would survive it not from a health standpoint, but just from a country standpoint, because of how divided people got last time because people could not grasp the fact that advice was changing because the science was changing.
And so everybody kept falling back at what you told us this why are we having to do this?
Not realizing that as you investigate,
a new virus things change how you treat it changes what it can do changes if it's airborne or not changes so I don't think I'm I'm I'm praying that it's just what the the WHO is saying we don't have anything to worry about it's
monitoring it and I trust them because man another another outbreak here would truly lead to a lot of bad results health being the
Really the least of it.
I think going forward.
All right.
Well, listen when I hear the music now I'm like a dog I know the music means we've got other things to do and we actually do so when we come back I want to know how you feel about the religious messaging coming from the administration There's a new pullout so your opinion may or may not match the rest.
I'm Brian newton.
This is daybreak and this is the city
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All facts, no fiction.
It's Daybreak with Brian and Jamie.
8-5-5-7-5-CIVIC is how you get ahold of us here on Daybreak.
I'm Brian Noonan.
Jamie is out this week, but she will be back.
8-5-5-7-5-CIVIC, 8-5-5-7-5-2-4-8-4-2.
I've made my opinions clear on this before, but I want to know how you feel about the in-your-face religious messaging from the administration.
You hear Pete Hegseth sometimes using fake Bible quotes to
get his message across, you hear Donald Trump making all these Christian comments, and then yet you see him literally building an idol to himself, a golden statue that religious leaders were praying over yesterday, which if you are any type of Christian or have any idea about the Bible, you know that goes against, I'm going to go with the first couple commandments.
basically, you know, building a golden idol to yourself and then having people praise that idol.
And let's not look a scant.
The fact that his statue looks amazingly like statues of other dictators and authoritarian leaders around the world.
But that's not why we're here.
We're here to talk about Americans being deeply uncomfortable with the recent religion
related statements by President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a striking rebuke in a closely divided country that according to a brand new Washington Post ABC News Ipsos poll, I am also appalled by this one because I don't believe religion has any part in governing this country.
We are not a theocracy.
We are supposedly a democracy.
We're more like a Democratic Republic.
Now I don't know what we are, to be quite honest.
We seem to vacillate day by day to things that are not as pleasant as a Democratic Republic toward authoritarian rule and stuff like that.
But again, no matter what you think of that, we are not a theocracy.
We are not to be
governed by religion, despite the best efforts of white Christian nationalists who are trying their level best to make sure that if you are not a white Christian, you are being marginalized in this country.
Well, the poll finds positive ratings for the Pope.
You know the Pope, the leader of the Catholic Church, the Holy Father, as Catholics call him.
Now, he's criticized U.S.
actions on immigration and in Iran.
That's drawn criticism from
the president, and we've talked about that, that the president is at war with the pope, which is probably, I can only think of a few other people, it would be as bad to get into a war with Gandhi, other religious, big religious leaders.
You don't take, why are you taking on the pope?
Because, well, he heard Donald Trump's ego, that's why.
So,
87% of Americans have a negative view of Trump's social media post appearing to depict himself as Jesus.
Remember that one, where he thought he was a doctor?
You know, a doctor who can part the Red Sea and turn loaves into fishes and heal lepers?
That kind of doctor?
Yeah, the Jesus doctor.
That's the doctor we're talking about.
69% dislike Hegseth praying at the Pentagon for overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy.
Yeah, again They're conflating whatever they think Christianity is with what it really is and it's They're completely opposite So both expressions drew criticism even from Republicans and Trump voters Unusual at a time of deep political tribalism now 80
percent of the 2024 Trump voters had a negative reaction to Trump's Jesus post, thank goodness, as did 79% of Republicans on Hegset's prayer, more than 40% of both groups reacted negatively.
I don't know why this bothers me so much, but it really, really does, because it is like when Donald Trump came out and hugged the flag.
This to me is people
in a blatant attempt to curry favor with certain voting blocks, wrapping themselves in the flag of religion that they do not follow.
If they believe it, it's in a very cursory way.
They are trying to make their religion, whatever they deem that religion to be, the religion that you and I have to follow.
Not taking into account whether you follow a different religion than them.
whether you are Catholic or Muslim or Jewish or Baptist or Lutheran or agnostic or an atheist.
None of that should matter to the leadership of this country because above all we are American.
Our religion doesn't matter when it comes to how we run this country.
Religion doesn't matter as to what departments we fund and what departments we don't.
It doesn't
matter but it does to them or at least they want you to think it does to them and based on their actions I'm not going to tell you how to decide if they are who they say they are but I think if you're a logical thinking human being you can look at the evidence and say these guys are all full of BS.
9 in 10 white evangelical Protestants, the most pro-Trump religious bloc of America's, have a negative view of Trump posting the Jesus image.
A vast majority of that group, about 70%, still approved of his overall performance as president, which, alright, but that is still a drop of 10 points from his approval rating among white evangelicals.
Now Trump won the white Catholic vote by more than 20% margin in the last election.
His approval rating with that group is down at 49% compared with 63 in February of 2025.
His approval rate stands at 38% for all Catholics, a 10-point drop.
This is not a guy who exhibits any of the signs of Christianity.
I have never understood these evangelicals backing a guy who's had
multiple affairs, multiple wives, sexual convictions, all of the things who mocks the homeless, who mocks the handicap.
He treats children and immigrants like the complete opposite of what Jesus told you to do.
Anyway, when we come back, we'll talk to Trevor Young.
He's running for state senate and he'll talk about the Wisconsin, uh, affordable agenda.
Now back to more of Daybreak with Brian and Jamie.
And so we're going to keep going.
Senate Democrats announced their affordable Wisconsin legislative packages.
Now these collections of bills have been renamed the health and housing legislative package and the family's first legislative package.
And what they do, they're made up of pieces of legislation that Democratic lawmakers have written and proposed earlier, but those bills were killed by the Republican control legislature.
To tell us about those bills is Trevor Young.
He's director of Ride Racine and a candidate for Wisconsin State Senate.
Trevor, thanks for being here.
Let's start with this, because as I'm looking at this, first, I think, oh, this is a great idea.
But what's the thought process of bundling bills together that have already been killed?
Is that a strategy thinking, well, some of these can maybe in negotiations be sacrificed?
How does this work?
Well, you know, affordability isn't a one issue problem.
Something like this has to be addressed comprehensively.
And as the state Senate Democratic caucus is working together, you know, we're looking at health care utility bills, grocery bills, you know, the cost of housing and rent.
And so all of these things don't live in silos.
And so I think that
You know, Senate Democrats are focused on the issue of affordability and packaging them together shows the electorate that we're serious about solving the issue that's on top of everybody's mind, which is making life more affordable for folks.
So the health and housing package is largely around badger care, making sure that we expand access to badger care so that folks, you know, if they're struggling paycheck to paycheck have access to healthcare.
And so making sure that, you know, that is, you know, central to the program.
Secondly, we have caps on insulin and asthma medication.
You've got a $35 cap on that program and making sure that your basic prescription drugs are affordable for folks.
So whether it be access to your primary doctor or making sure that you have subsidies for going into your appointments or making sure that your prescriptions are
You know available to you regardless of you know a You know high bills other places.
That's what the focus is for legislative Democrats
All of these bills on their own sound Pretty common sense pretty much like they should have they should have passed the first time other than partisanship what were the arguments against keeping the cost of insulin down or keeping asthma medications cost down it sounds like that would
really do what politicians are supposed to do serve their constituents
i think you hit the nail on the head uh... you know one of the challenges right now is money in politics and so you know when you have entrenched interests that are trying to uh... prevent uh...
the elected officials from advocating for their constituents.
I think that's where the source of this is because it really should be a nonpartisan issue.
I mean, whether you're in the reddest districts in the state or the bluest districts in the state, I think everybody is struggling right now to, you know, for the basics.
And so as you're elected officials, you really need to step up, step in and solve these issues for folks if you've got the ability to do so.
So I can't answer why folks on the other side of the aisle haven't moved on these, but I know that legislative Democrats are
are ready on day one.
Well, the question always comes down to, and you mentioned money in politics, it's not just money coming in from lobbyists and things, it's how are we going to pay for this?
So when the when the discussion turns to this, and again, I think all the bills under this affordable health care package make perfect sense.
They're, you know,
Where, how do we pay for this?
How do we, how do Senate Democrats propose that we're going to institute those caps on medications or get rid of the tax on over-the-counter medications?
Yeah, Brian, that's a really good question.
And I think to start off, this is also about a regulatory framework.
So there are things that aren't necessarily going to cost the state anything.
It's just about creating rules of the road to make sure that private companies aren't taking advantage of consumers.
And so protecting consumers through a regulatory framework that makes sense isn't a cost to the state of Wisconsin.
That's something that we can work on at no cost for taxpayers while also reducing
the day-to-day lives for folks.
And so in terms of costs, we have a multi-billion dollar surplus.
And so this is about priorities.
And the Democratic platform is making life more affordable for folks and making sure that we use the purse to achieve that mission.
And so this is about making sure that affordability is top priority.
Well, this is something that I'm particularly passionate about because in local government, we see this all the time.
you know, making sure that housing is accessible to folks.
And I think number one, something that I particularly would like to work on if I get to Madison, is making it easier for development and making sure that there's more housing out there so that you've got a more competitive market in terms of rent, in terms of purchasing your home.
You know, access to home ownership is a gateway to the middle class.
And so having a legislative focus on making sure that first-time home buyers have access to capital and a down payment assistance program is going to be a major part of what legislative Democrats and I particularly would like to work on.
And there also needs to be, again, a regulatory framework against these multinational corporations that are buying up rental properties and gouging consumers.
Price gouging and making sure that
these corporations aren't taking advantage of regular folks is going to be certainly top of mind for the newly elected state legislature.
And so whether it's incentivizing new development or making sure that these corporations aren't collecting up houses and then jacking up rents, this is common sense stuff like you said earlier, Brian, and you just need to have folks who are active, engaged, and getting past the gridlock.
He is currently the director of Ride Racine, and he is a state Senate candidate.
You can learn all about Trevor at trevoryoung.com.
That's trevorjug.com.
All right, let's let's move to another part of the family's first.
All we're hearing about lately is
data centers with the and the biggest argument is how is it going to affect Wisconsinites energy bills what what is covered in the package about energy bills because we can't stop thinking about it because we all have to pay them
yeah absolutely you know having a cutout in a separate tariff schedule for these massive
entities is certainly going to be the first priority for legislative Democrats.
There has to be some rules of the road.
I think that whether you are passionate about the environment or whether you're in the skilled trades and you see this as an opportunity to support yourself and your family, I think that there is a
a way that we can accomplish both.
And, you know, Jody Habers-Sinneken, who's a leader in the Wisconsin State Senate, representing the Ozaki County area, has drafted legislation already.
Again, not taken up by Senate Republicans.
But the moment that Democrats get the majority, we're going to consider, how do we make sure that we stand with our brothers and sisters in labor?
How do we make sure we're protecting our environment?
And how do we make sure that those who are paying their utility bills don't see a
massive increase at the end of the month at the end of the year after these types of projects go online.
And so having a carve out, separate tariff schedule, a regulatory reform for these big developments is going to be one of the things we do in our first 100 days.
Two other issues that fall under this family's first package are things that the first one everybody has to deal with.
The second one
A lot of people have to deal with that's grocery prices and childcare.
So I know affordable Wisconsin's agenda is is and the the programs are focusing on those two.
In what ways?
Let's start with the grocery prices because we all know those are tied to so many different factors.
How can we get food access and groceries down?
Well, I think, you know, grocery prices impact everybody, but especially if you have families and so and young children.
And so making sure that, you know, lunch and breakfast is available at school for your kids, I think is step one in reducing the impact of that.
And so again, legislative Democrats have a solution.
There are bills that are drafted.
We are ready to pass them with a majority vote and send it to a Democratic governor.
And it makes no sense to me that this is controversial.
Feeding kids, making sure that everybody has access to food is not something that I thought we would have to debate.
terms of the childcare, it is more expensive now to send your kids to childcare than it is a university education in the state of Wisconsin.
So making the child tax credit refundable so that you can use that money that's put back in your pocket to spend on childcare while parents are going to work, that's also something that we want to work on in pass.
He is the director of Ride Racine and he is running for state Senate.
TrevorYoungJUNG.com is the website.
Let's talk about you a little bit because in the Racine area, everybody knows you because Ride Racine is the is the mass transit program down there, but we're on all over the state.
So give us the elevator pitch.
Who is Trevor Young?
Because you have an interesting story.
Who are you?
Why do you want to be a state senator?
Oh,
thanks, Brian.
Well, I would say the reason I'm running for state Senate is because I owe everything to my hometown.
I was born halfway across the world and picked out of an orphanage from Russia at the age of two and raised in the heart of the city of Vercing, product of my public schools, product of my neighborhood.
And so growing up, I had this real sense of gratitude.
for my teachers, for my community.
And so I went off to school for urban studies and urban planning, because I still believe that problems are solved at the local level, at the neighborhood level.
And government that's closest to its people is the most accountable.
And so after college, went off back home to run for city council, served two terms on the Racine City Council, and then now in the role as transit director,
And in these roles, I've seen the state, instead of being an ally for local governments, being adversarial and making it harder to make sure that we've got police and fire the resources that they need, you know, keeping our libraries and our schools fully funded, you know, making sure that basic public services at the local level are maintained so that people choose to live in the state of Wisconsin and where businesses choose to open.
So I'm running for state Senate because I think that everybody here in our neck of the woods
serves better, and I think we can deliver
Well, I hope so.
I mean, one of the things that is most important now is because we have fair legislative maps, you know, it's a battle of ideas and making sure that the best idea wins the day.
And so whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, I think a lot of people will hear a message from voters now that we have these 50-50 districts like ours, knowing that affordability is the number one issue that people are thinking about.
And I think the
voters will send that message loud and clear, and that will result, hopefully, in some bipartisan action on these important issues.
Oh, good.
I
Most hated sports franchise.
This is going to be a deep cut, but the cardinals, the same.
Wow.
All right, why the Cardinals?
Well, I remember watching the Brewers growing up and the Cardinals in that era were always...
like the best team, they were, you know, and so watching the Cardinals beat the Brewers was always painful.
And so I would say my most hated sports franchise are the St.
Louis Cardinals.
Well, thank you so much for that answer.
And thank you for all the information.
Trevor Young, he is running for state Senate.
You can go to trevoryoung.com.
That's T-R-E-V-O-R-J-U-N-G dot com.
T-R-E-V-O-R-J-U-N-G dot com.
Trevor, have a great day.
Thank you for your time today.
We appreciate it.
Thanks,
This is
You're listening to Civic Media.
Find the latest news, information and archives of all your favorite shows on the Civic Media website, civicmedia.us.
Now back to more of Daybreak with Brian and Jamie.
I had to let some of the lyrics pop in so that people would know what that song is.
That is a theme from WKRP in Cincinnati.
Good morning.
I'm Brian Newton.
This is Daybreak, not on WKRP, but on stations on the Civic Media Network.
And welcome to everybody who's listening up and down the network, whether it's Appleton and Oshkosh, Hayward, Eau Claire, Madison, if you've decided to jump over and are listening on the app, we're glad you're there.
So this is my question for you, though, and I'll tie it all in.
Don't worry, I always have a plan.
It's a circuitous route to some of the goals, but I always get there.
What inspired you to go into your chosen profession?
855-75 Civic, 855-752-4842.
What made you decide to do what you're doing now?
Maybe it was just pure money.
I know people who I went in, one guy who graduated from high school with me, went into law just because he knew he could make money.
He didn't really care about the law at first, but I'm sure he does now.
He's been doing it for forever.
But that's why.
Part of the reason I got into radio was because it was always on in our house, always on in the car.
My mom and dad listened to talk radio endlessly.
It was the radio was on top of the refrigerator in the kitchen.
And that's how we learned about school closings, what the weather was going to be.
It was
constant fixture and I just loved it.
I loved the connection and then as I got to be a teenager and I listened to the radio I Loved feeling like I knew who these whether it was a music DJ or a talk personality like I knew them and they were part of the fan and I so I loved radio and then WKRP in Cincinnati came on TV
Parker, you're too young for WKRP because it aired from 1978 to 1982 on CBS.
It starred, among others, Lonnie Anderson, Howard Hessman, who played Dr. Johnny Fever, Tim Reed, who played Venus Flytrap, Richard Sanders, who was Les Nessman, the newsman.
He always wanted, he wanted more news and less, or more music and less Nessman.
That's what they wanted.
No more news.
But they left out, they left out Jan Smithers, who played Bailey Quarters.
And there was a, you've heard the debate about Gilligan's Island, are you a ginger or a Marianne?
With WKRP, is it where you were a Jennifer, who was Lonnie Anderson, or you're Bailey, who was Jan Smithers?
We can discuss that in a moment.
But the reason I bring all this up, is that WKRP in Cincinnati, while it was a fictional radio station, back during the show,
It is not dead.
As of today, WKRP is actually on the air in Cincinnati.
He's tired of packing and unpacking town to town up and down the dial, Parker.
The call letters from the fictional radio station were adopted by a trio of real adult hit stations in time for this morning's morning drive and co-owner Jeff Zeisman described listeners as stoked.
That's a radio guy.
They weren't excited.
They weren't anticipating it with great glee.
They were stoked, man.
Our phones have been mobbed this morning, as I'm sure you can imagine.
Three stations in Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, and Dayton, Ohio simulcast the station's programming, and listeners are now hearing all of them identified as WKRP.
They will continue to follow the format, music from the 60s to the 80s.
Oh, more music and less nestment.
With an emphasis on the 70s, that was what they had.
They were originally branded, or they used to be, the Oasis.
Oh, you know I would want to work overnights.
So every day I would start the show with Midnight at the Oasis.
I would send my camels to bed.
There's an oldie song Parker.
You got to look it up.
You got to stay.
You got to keep up because things are moving.
things are moving here.
I got a lot of really bad references.
So the owners got the call letters by making a donation to a North Carolina nonprofit whose low power radio station had them since 2014.
Zeisman said a full power station like his can use the same call letters because WKRP-LP in Raleigh is considered a separate class of radio station under federal regulations.
So now WKRP if you're ever in the Cincinnati Dayton Northern Kentucky area and who wouldn't want to be because nothing says oh man a Paradise like that, but I've been in I've been in all of those cities So
So it's pretty cool and that did that did kind of cement it because it made radio look fun and these were in the days when radio stations were not
Corporately owned, really.
There wasn't a lot of syndication.
Really the only syndicated shows were like American Top 40 that your local station would buy or the Dr. Demento show that was syndicated and stations would buy and air them at different times.
But these were when radio stations were just small, independent places.
And there was something about Dr. Johnny fever that I really enjoyed.
I love the mood that Tim Reed said is Venus flytrap.
Gary Sand played Andy, the station manager.
Gordon jump was the owner.
And it was it was a fun show.
And it was a basic sitcom.
But Parker, I know you've heard this around Thanksgiving.
Then you, if you watch them or you learn, like if people talk about their office just being taped, having a taped outline that was Les Nessman always wanted, always wanted an office.
He never had one, so we would tape the walls and he would make people walk through the fake door and then Herb Tarlick, the sleazy salesperson.
We don't have any sleazy salespeople here.
We have nice above board salespeople at Civic Media.
So that's an upgrade.
over the WKRP days.
But man, to have a receptionist like Lonnie Anderson, blah, blah, blah.
But all right, for me, if the argument came down to pick, Jennifer, Jennifer Marlowe, who was Lonnie Anderson's character or Bailey Quarters, I was a Bailey Quarters guy all the way just like I'm a Marianne guy over ginger all the way.
I like those nice, accessible ladies who look
look like they don't need any makeup.
They're just gorgeous.
But anyway, that's what inspired me to get into radio.
For better or worse, you're stuck with me and I'm stuck with radio because what else am I going to do?
Juggle?
That's not going to happen.
Not a big call for jugglers either, Parker.
All right, I'm done.
We're out.
We're finished today.
Thank you very much for being with us.
We'll talk to you again tomorrow.
Appreciate you being here.
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