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This is Where Wisconsin Wakes Up.
It's Daybreak with Brian Noonan and Jamie Martinson.
Here are your hosts, Brian and
The sun is shining.
It's going to be another gorgeous day.
Hopefully get to be outside with the puppers again some more.
We do a lot of hiking this time of year.
This is how we spend our days with her head buried in grass.
and tree stumps and all sorts of things, weeds.
Of course, she carries all that home.
It's fine.
Sure,
That's right.
This is how we spend our days now.
Outside, enjoying the weather.
She doesn't care if I'm sweating.
She's perfectly fine.
She's got her bottle of water.
She's ready to roll.
So that's how you usually find us if you're at our house on any given day this time of year.
How about you?
exciting happening in your world?
Yes, but
It really, really does.
But it's like people, right?
We had a dog at one point.
She was part doxin.
And so she was always hurting her back.
Didn't matter.
She could go downstairs.
You know, she could trip over like a line in the hardwood.
All of a sudden she'd throw her back out.
And so we took her to
and they did the same thing.
And I love vets for so many reasons, but it's just like people.
They started throwing lots of painkillers at her.
And then I said to our vet one day, I said, well, I have a really bad back.
And when my back goes out, nothing really helps until I get to the chiropractor or like a masseuse or whatever.
And she looked at me and she goes, well, you know, there are dog chiropractors.
I said, well, no, but two weeks ago, I guess if you would have told me this, we could have maybe made.
of progress.
Well,
And I'm not picking up prescriptions every other day for the dog.
And so it's just like doctors.
I get it.
And not a lot of people have pet insurance.
So I also get that.
So we went to the puppy chiropractor and it has become a staple for our dogs.
And for especially our one before Aspen, she had to go pretty regularly, like every other week.
Now, Aspen only goes about once every four months or so.
And that's mostly
because
She likes to run headfirst into things.
She likes to skip stairs every now and then.
She likes to try to rock climb like a mountain goat when we go on said hikes.
So about every three to four months, we go to the puppy chiropractor.
She puts her all back into alignment, fixes the neck, fixes the hips.
Aspen and so that's that's what we do and it sounds
Oh
bunny because he gets fed every day.
Yeah, he doesn't have
Yes.
Because my mom...
I love this woman.
She lives in an apartment and she has a dryer vent outside of her apartment.
And for the last two years, every year around the same time, this little tiny sparrow comes and builds its nest in this dryer vent.
And it eventually has the baby birds and you can hear them peeping outside.
I have her tails of this
bird for the last two years, including the day that one of them fell out of the nest and died on her patio and the mama bird
sat and
of dead.
Less
That's
Except she can't dry her clothes or use her dryer because she's afraid she's going to burn up the babies and the mama bird.
And then of course the dryer vent is essentially clogged for a good portion of the year because there's an entire bird nest in there.
But it's fine.
It's okay.
But she really does truly love her little mama bird who comes back each and every year.
I kind of get the bunny thing.
We haven't gone as far as getting like a bird feeder or anything yet, because I don't think she can actually have one on her apartment patio.
But at the same time, yeah, I do.
Well,
And I texted my dad and I said, am I supposed to feed this guy?
He's like, of course he's waiting for his food.
And I was like, oh my God, I'm watching Snow White's cottage.
So then yesterday he wasn't there and I was like, oh my God.
What if a
I think he's been doing it for like a year.
Wow.
Because I'd be like, we'd get home.
I think one day we got home from like dinner or something.
So I was staying out here for the weekend and I, he's like, went into the garage or something.
I said, where are you going?
It's like, I got to feed the bunny.
They said, what?
He's like, yeah, the bunny.
Come here.
I'll show you.
You know.
And then I went out there and he was.
He was sitting at his picnic table.
Fatty, what do you have?
It's a well fed rabbit.
After this, this is Daybreak, and it is the Civic Media.
Local voices and statewide impact.
It's Daybreak with Brian and Jamie.
If you want to get involved, 8-5-5-7-5, Civic 8-5-5-7-5-2-4-8-4-2.
This is Pride Month.
We were talking about so many other things yesterday.
We neglected to say that Pride Month, of course, starts in June.
And how does Wisconsin deal with it?
Now, I know Madison, a very progressive town.
Milwaukee, very progressive.
You wonder where does Wisconsin fall as...
far as safety goes for the LGBTQ plus community.
And it's kind of sad that we still have to talk about that, that that's still an issue that we have to think about.
Oh, how safe is it?
It should be safe all the time.
And it shouldn't be a big deal.
And I know I know why it is.
I know it because of years and years of oppression and having to live.
That's why it's a big deal.
But someday maybe we'll get to a point where we can still have Pride Month, but it's not as like
and we don't have to worry about the safety part of it.
That people can just exist.
Like everybody else.
Well, good news though for Wisconsin.
We have slowly become more inclusive for the LGBTQ plus community.
A lot of states, they're trending the other way though.
So good.
Out leadership.
Ranked Wisconsin is the 22nd safest state in its 2026 LGBTQ plus state business climate index.
It's a report intended for company leaders who seek to incorporate the community in businesses.
20 seconds good, right?
But that's still middle of the pack.
a
to actually raise Wisconsin's...
ranking, we'll call it.
But I mean, yeah, there's always room for improvement.
And I mean, nearly 6% of Wisconsin residents identify as LGBTQ, at least according to a couple of years ago, and the UCLA's Williams Institute.
But there's always room for improvement.
Even if you're the number
one
on
That's what we do in this country.
We take a month, or we take a day, or we take a part of history, or we take somebody's life, or livelihood, or whatever it might be, and we turn it into something that we can profit off of, because we like to do that in this country for numerous things.
You
LGBTQ plus community is no different.
So companies have grabbed onto that.
They use that as a way to sell merchandise to make themselves look better.
I mean, it's unfortunate that we do that because.
these people are, any group is just trying to live their life, right?
They're trying to raise their families, have jobs, and you know, there's other companies and other people that want
Anyway, but we digress.
Where did Wisconsin score the lowest?
Well, in legal and non-discrimination protections, it's one of the two categories in which the report says the state declined.
They said Wisconsin, the out-leadership study, said Wisconsin lacked some legal protections, including anti-bullying laws for LGBTQ plus youth.
The report also noted Wisconsin had legal punishments for hate crimes against people based on sexual orientation, but not gender identity.
So, I mean, it's a big difference.
I don't know why we would have one and not the other.
We'll see.
They also docked Wisconsin some points for the attempts by Wisconsin lawmakers to pass several bills targeting gender identity in public schools and sports.
Most were vetoed by Governor Evers.
The Wisconsin Inner Scholastic Athletic Association, however, did uphold a band on transgender athletes playing in high school girls sports.
And Wisconsin also declined in health access and safety.
The state only fell by a single point.
Thankfully, largely from major
listening.
But we do celebrate Pride Month.
Yeah,
Across the state of Wisconsin, a break with Brian and Jamie is back.
Thank you so much for joining us this morning.
We do appreciate it.
Just over a half hour away until you have another chance to win with our multi-state text-to-win contest.
Be listening for the word of the hour and have your Civic Media app ready.
Hey, if you were listening yesterday, you know that we ran into a few technical glitches.
Those have all been fixed.
So no worries today.
Everything's taken care of.
Yes, and Parker, you were actually right.
You were actually correct as to why there were good issues.
because start is a prompt and it broke the system yesterday so there you go all the tech
never have thought of that
what actually happened.
And this is, now, we want your opinion on this.
Do you think?
like Congress does, that the control of the Congress is going to run through Iowa.
8-5-5-7-5-CIVIC, 8-5-5-5-7-5-2-4-8-4-2.
So they're saying, both Republicans and Democrats, that Iowa is going to be one of the key states.
But before we get into that, Ms.
Jamie wants to give a history lesson.
Both
states were built on really strong traditions of farmer-led and working class populism, with movements that pushed back against the corporations and advocated for everyday people, essentially the middle class.
Wisconsin, though, became more known for its progressive
reforms, the strong unions, public education, and the legacy of the Wisconsin idea.
And we also can thank Bob LaFollette for implementing some of that throughout the state of Wisconsin.
Iowa, though, their populism is rooted a little bit more heavily in agriculture and the rural communities.
And it was during the 1980s, during the farm crisis that Iowa became a center for progressive pro-farmer politics.
Wisconsin, though, stayed a little bit more balanced with the strong labor
and the progressive movements while growing a lot of the conservative influence across the state.
Over the last decade though, the two states have obviously taken very dramatic paths.
I mean, the last time that Iowa voted for a Democratic president was for Barack Obama twice.
We have not seen them vote quote unquote blue since then.
They've shifted firmly Republican.
Wisconsin obviously has stayed a little bit more of a swing state mostly because of research and analysts.
smarter than me because of the fact that Wisconsin has two urban areas to kind of buoy them into the purple.
If Iowa had more than just Des Moines and a couple of pockets, a very small blue voting area, they might be a little bit more of a swing state.
But because they don't have the sort of population areas that Wisconsin does, they've firmly tilted red at this point.
But both states actually still embrace populist politics.
It just looks a little bit differently from state to state based on, you know, the population of rural versus more urban.
And it is actually fascinating that for a very long time, if you look at how Wisconsin voted, Iowa usually followed suit.
It hasn't been until within the last probably 10 to 20 years when you've seen Iowa take this sharp right turn essentially into politics.
I got it.
the
There we go.
All the things we'll make it very, very Jamie-centric.
There we go.
But yeah.
Chuck Grassley has been there forever.
He came with the corn, so I don't know where Iowa made that flip and what it is.
Well, you mentioned it.
It's Milwaukee, Madison, and Green Bay, the big urban areas that have kept the balance, because I've always been fascinated by the fact that the Republican Party started here
win.
I also find it interesting that Iowa Republicans are really leaning heavily on their loyalty to the president.
Now, he remains, I will say this, as you look at the polling that comes out on his popularity, keep in mind that on a national level, he is down to around 34%.
But he still has firm Republican support.
It is still very high at this stage, where he is losing drastic support is with the independence.
You are going to need those independents to essentially win any sort of election.
But Republicans in general, it wavers, pole to pole, based on the economy.
Yeah, and it's still not great.
now
because of the tariffs and the war and everything else This is not a farmer friendly economy Just viewing it as an outsider but talking to Pam Yankee and other people it but the
And I'm also surprised that a lot of these Republicans, especially ones who aren't as entrenched, are still hitching their wagon to Donald Trump when, as you mentioned, they're trying to court the independents.
The independents
are the ones
Well, if the polling numbers and everything else indicates that those independents are drifting further and further away, it would seem
Just on a very simplistic basis a bad move to hit your wagon to the star Especially and now we see things starting to unravel for him and right are not you know He doesn't have the power that he has and he did not win this war.
He he took us into a quagmire and there's so many
So many things that you should be cautious of, I would think.
And Democrats are hitching their wagon to the point you just made.
That's essentially their point when it comes to Iowa.
Because what both parties say is that the Senate, especially with Joni Ernst deciding not to run again, and that seat being open, is essentially what is going to shift the power in the Senate.
So Iowa is where everybody
is really focused on, which I find fascinating because it has been so solidly read.
So obviously, knowing these parties, they have a lot of information that the rest of us aren't privy to.
So they know a little something.
They're seeing that there's something there that can be shifted.
And I would say that the one district that everybody is watching closely, if you're somebody who loves politics, I know we aren't gonna be electing senators in this state.
We've got enough of an election on our own between the governor and everything.
else.
But if you're interested in following how Congress could shift, Iowa is really going to be the race.
And it's the second district.
They have four districts.
The second district of Iowa is really where the focus is for a majority of these parties.
But Democrats are bringing it home essentially to the kitchen table issues.
They're talking about the inflation, the health care costs, the housing affordability tariffs.
And to your point, what is challenging the farmers?
They are really going out
and
So
you
and
if
Well, and Kim Reynolds has been a governor who has a lot like what has happened in other states.
She has that party together all the time.
Agree with her, disagree with her.
There is no defectors in a Kim Reynolds government.
And so I think it's going to be really fascinating to see because it's essentially, you know, we talk about Wisconsin being a test and ground for a lot of the things.
that we see happening in the country now.
Iowa is now starting to kind of emerge into that a little bit, at least this election cycle.
And I know it ebbs, I know it flows, there's always new areas, but it, you know,
It is going to be a fascinating race, especially over the next few months.
And I know that right now there are several people buying for that Senate seat for both parties.
There's a lot of competition right there.
But I think...
It's going to be who resonates the message the best, right?
Can you afford things?
How was your grocery bill?
How was your gas bill?
And I think whoever can get that message out and convince the voters that those policies are actually affecting them it's going to to come down to who
is effectively the best messenger.
And it reminds me a little bit of 2018, here in Wisconsin, right?
When Scott Walker was running and you had Tony Evers kind of swoop in, people were ready for a change, that's what it's reminding me of just a little bit as we watch the similarities play out.
stays as strong as it is, or if people start to, if things continue to go badly, they go, you know what, maybe it's time to pull back.
Well, Jamie, I know a lot of people have been emailing in, Brian, you and Jamie never talk about polar bears mating.
Why is that?
Well, we'll fix
it after this.
It's Daybreak on the Civic Media Network.
Local news, community stories, and the conversations that matter most.
Now, more Daybreak with Brian and Jamie.
I'm Brian Noonan, Parker playing a little romantic, a bear mating music for this next story.
Bears are my spirit animal because they're big and lumbering and they look very approachable and cuddly and then they will rip your throat out with one swipe of their hand.
Yeah, it's just don't underestimate a bear.
That's the thing.
So I love bears of all sorts, grizzly, brown, polar.
And that brings us to the zoo here in Madison now.
I haven't been to is it the Henry Villas zoo or vias?
Vilas.
No, they brought in Nora.
Nora.
She's a female polar bear.
And they wanted to know if she'd vibe with Seiko, who was their 16-year-old male polar bear.
He came to Madison from Linkin Park Zoo in Chicago in October.
Well, in February, I guess, reports are, and this is creepy, they spent three days mating.
Parker, can you imagine?
Can you imagine?
on.
I didn't mean when you're a polar bear.
are banging on the glass and looking at you.
What are the polar bears doing, mom?
like dad.
So they're trying to, because Sika was brought to the zoo and so was Nora to procreate.
They needed more bears because there's not a lot of polar bears and the Vila Zoo has been working with the Polar Bear Population Alliance, which is terrific.
I didn't realize there's only 35 polar bears at facilities accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in America now because the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago has a couple polar bears.
We know now you've got three up in Madison.
So, that's five right there.
on the work computer.
I am not
to be looking that.
Just in case.
No.
There's
around
I feel like these are conversations we're gonna definitely have to have with the zoo and I do find this fascinating.
I would really love to know more about the fact that they have this reproduction effort at the V-Law Zoo because this is really cool.
But one of the things that's the best about this is now we're tracking Nora's every move, Brian, because now after mating for three days straight, now we're trying to determine whether or not Nora may be pregnant.
And they aren't going to know the answer to that question until December around the time when she would give birth.
So nobody has any idea if this polar bear is walking around pregnant or not.
Polar bears, we're gonna get a little sciency here, thanks to the story, but polar bears experience delayed implantation, meaning their pregnancy is relatively short at less than two months.
And by the time Nora actually gives birth, she would weigh close to 800 pounds.
Now, by the time I gave birth, I felt like I weighed close to 800 pounds.
I was gonna say, at
If we find
There's a lot of blubber around here.
So you could go and you could go and find some easily.
All right, when we come back, oh, it's the first word of our Accelerate Your Summer text to win.
So be listening for that and all the stuff you need to know.
It's coming up after the news.
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