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From Lake Superior to Lake Michigan, this is Wisconsin's Morning Conversation.
Daybreak with Brian and Jamie.
Thank you so much for joining us this morning.
Hopefully you are having a great Wednesday if you're in Appleton and Oshkosh listening on WISS.
If you're in Wausau listening on WXCO or in Hayward on WBZH or even Wisconsin Rapids on WFHR.
Thank you so much for joining us.
We always appreciate it.
I am Jamie Martenson.
I'm Brian Noonan.
So happy that you're here.
If you want to talk to us and get involved in the program, do so at 855-75-CIVIC.
That's 855-752-4842.
Certain age groups do not look kindly on benefits from the state.
They don't want to take them unless they really, really need them.
Well, that's one of the reasons that more than 200,000 adults, 65 and older in Wisconsin,
are eligible for funding from SNAP, but they aren't getting anything.
They are among the nine million seniors nationwide that don't enroll in government programs that can help pay for food, medicine, and other daily expenses.
That's according to the National Council on Aging's Benefits Participation Map, which was updated in May.
So the president of the coalition of Wisconsin aging and health groups said he was surprised how much money is being left on the table by seniors missing out on their benefits.
So if you are a senior, are you taking advantage of these benefits or are you thinking I'll just leave them for someone else 855-75 Civic 855-7524842 because to quote the president and CEO of the
coalition of Wisconsin aging and health groups, older generations don't want to take anything unless they absolutely need it.
I can get by with what I've got, that sort of attitude.
He said, we don't want people to just get by, we want people to thrive.
So if you're not using these, is it because you don't know about them, which is a problem, and we'll give you a number in a little bit too, that you can find out about it, but is it that you don't know, or that you're
too proud for whatever.
Those are for other people.
People much more
and I have with my mother
constantly.
constantly.
We're like, why don't you try that?
This is a person you can talk to.
We'll have the conversation with you.
We'll help you.
I don't need that.
I don't need that.
That's for people who don't make as much money as me.
I don't need that.
Well, let me tell you.
You live on about $1,300 a month on a fixed income.
You rent right around probably about 900.
You need it.
You're absolutely one of these people who needs these programs.
And it's interesting though, because when she does go and apply, because of what she does make from my dad's social security, depending on the program, she's sometimes at a fringe where she doesn't
actually get
much of a benefit.
Right?
So like with Snap, she does have Snap.
Now, will she actually use it?
No, that's a whole another conversation.
Oh, really?
She will use it for staples, but really at the end of the day, and I'm not saying that seniors shouldn't do this because I think these are great programs that they should definitely look into, but at the end of the day, if you're getting $24, it's because they tell you that you're kind of priced out or because
because you're right at that threshold, I get it, it makes it hard.
And then when there's a pride issue on top of it, it makes it even more difficult to convince them that these are programs that they- What if
And I'm like, well, and my mom is so funny because my grandpa-
was a very stoic human being, very, very prideful human being.
And he passed away about 10 years ago now, lived well, well into his 80s.
And she'll say to me, and please don't think I'm crass, but she'll say to me, well, what would grandpa think?
I don't know, he's dead.
He's not gonna think anything.
I don't know, who cares what he thinks, he's not here.
He's thinking somebody wants to help you out, take the
only because this is an ongoing conversation that we have had in our own family.
This has been an ongoing conversation about what's out there, the benefits, why they're actually there, why you should probably try to be using some of these benefits.
We've been having it for years.
The conversation has not changed over the course of those years.
I'll just be honest.
It's
And as someone who is getting older, it is hard to change people's minds.
you get set in your ways, and it's hard.
But so the gaps are that people just don't want to use the programs.
They don't know about the programs.
They don't know how to apply.
There's also that population that won't that, like we said, does not want benefits unless they think they truly believe it.
So if you are a senior or you know a senior who was in this camp,
benefitscheckup.org is a website that you can go to benefitscheckup.org or call the National Council on Aging's Helpline.
That's 800-794-6559.
800-794-6559.
And that's it.
Now, counties with the lowest share of eligible people using this or the share of eligible people who are using it, the lowest
Ozaki and Washington County is only 13%.
Waukesha County, only 15.7%.
Milwaukee County had the highest participation at 43%, according to the National Council on Aging.
Buffalo County, Jackson, Pepin, Pierce, and Trempelow counties 17.
Now the lowest share of eligible people enrolled in supplemental security income, SSI, Green Lake Marquette, Wapaka, and Washara.
Dodge and Jefferson counties, Waukesha and then Milwaukee County again had the highest participation.
There's a couple of things that come to mind when we talk about this though especially with seniors.
One is
We didn't do certain age groups, any favors in this world, by thinking that they had to do everything themselves, right?
Like, I get it, there's certain things in this world.
But that's how it was.
I know, I
know.
Yes, and I get that, and it was very much a generational cultural thing, I get that, but at the same time now, it didn't do them any favors, right?
Because they
The other thing that comes to mind for me on this is the fact that isn't this part of the problem with the system though itself because you know when there were so many changes to these programs this was a major concern when this administration came in and started making changes because it felt like it was being designed to be purposely difficult.
The applications are long.
They're confusing.
They're difficult to navigate.
Some of them now you can only get online.
You can't actually call and get anybody to help you fill this out or answer your questions.
It's very, very automated.
And for a lot of individuals, especially of certain age groups, that's going to create a lot of challenges
and
they're going to need a lot of help to navigate the system.
And when, when those changes came down from this administration, I think that was one of my largest fears is.
how are certain sections of the population going to navigate this?
And I understand there's a pride issue at stake here, but I think there's also a confusion issue at stake purposely set up to be confusing and difficult so that people don't want to access this.
And I get these calls from my mom all the time because she knows these are things that I talk about.
They're in my wheelhouse.
I'm constantly paying attention to these things.
When all of the changes came down from this administration,
She was panicked and she's like, well, I have to check my benefits because they said we're going to lose
Okay.
All right.
So I have all of her passwords and things.
So I would go through it with her while I was on the phone and be like, look, okay, it says that you are still good.
It says that you still have these benefits.
Not every older adult has that option or that person to actually help them navigate through like that though.
If you start getting frustrated, you're just going to throw in the towel.
And especially if you're older and you're not you're not tech savvy, you've got maybe it's harder for you to read and these contracts and policies and every and applications are small print.
And where do I write my name?
What box?
It is it is a nightmare.
Yes.
But that way, you know what that way?
We don't have to spend all that money because, you know, we trick them.
We
Well, that's why people can always, if you know somebody or it's you, benefitscheckup.org or the National Council on Aging Helpline at 1-800-794-6559.
Don't leave the money.
They want to give you the money.
It's there for you.
And here's the other thing.
We've, if you've made it to a certain age,
You've been paying into these systems your whole life.
It's your money.
You're not taking a handout.
You're just going into your pocket because that's basically what the government money and you've paid it.
I've paid it.
We've all paid it.
Use it.
You and dad worked really, really hard for these benefits.
This is what we have to constantly remind her.
But when seniors start skipping out on these programs, you think about what they do and the difficult choices that they make so that they can get by from check to check.
And if they are living on a fixed income, and I see this with my mom.
Some of them are skipping meals completely.
They're not
doctor visits and when you get to a certain age or if you have health complications, you know, you shouldn't be delaying those doctor visits.
My mom does this all the time and she's got congestive heart failure.
Others keep their heat lower in the winter or they put off on any home repairs if they're still living in their own homes.
which then creates a little bit more of a danger for them.
So it's this never ending circle that they're not only not getting what they need, but then they're making decisions so that they can get by.
And I am truly somebody who believes that when you get to a certain place in life, and I know that this is not the reality because of where we are as a population and as a country, but I firmly believe that there is some dignity with getting older and you have given a lot.
Right in some cases to this country even if you just went in and you did an eight nine to five job every day Yes,
you
mentioned you've paid in and there's
some sort of
there's some sort of dignity that should be involved in that and we don't we don't give that to our seniors like we should
We're just campaign over it.
Where all these people are older, you know, it's rough and the older you get, the more you realize it.
And then if you have older parents, you'll really, you really start to understand it and say, oh, man, yeah, it's tough.
We, when people, and we talked about work-life balance and everything before, when people seem to the system to have outlived their usefulness,
we put them on the side.
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started.
I'm Brian Noonan.
Glad you're here.
Big news out of Wisconsin Rapids.
Construction is soon going to be happening at the Southwood County Airport.
Plants to modernize and renovate the terminal at Alexander Field are going to proceed thanks to an FAA grant.
Well, here to share the details of that grant and of the project is Melissa K. She's news director for WFHR and WIRI in Wisconsin Rapids.
Melissa, thanks for being here.
We appreciate it.
So give us a little background.
How did this grant come about?
Well, thank you for having me, Brian and Jamie.
I'm glad to be here.
So this grant came about because of the airport staff and the airport commission here in Wisconsin Rapids.
Jeremy Sickler is the airport manager and they have been pursuing this grant for quite some time.
In fact, this kind of came out of COVID relief funds and they've been going after these funds for a while because of the growth of Sand Valley.
here in Wisconsin Rapids area.
It's actually located in Rome, about a half an hour from Wisconsin Rapids.
But I'm sure you've heard of the Sand Valley Gulf Resort.
It's well known here in the state and even in DC.
And the funding has been coming through for improvements since the growth began in 2017 after the course opened.
Jeremy shared with me that the airport has seen a nearly 600% increase in jet activity since that.
open.
So it's well worth it for them to make these improvements.
And they've been making improvements throughout the years here.
But the last thing they need to fix is their the 50 year old terminal building.
The structure is solid.
It's just a little dated.
You know, I mean, and well, old things are wonderful.
And we want to to to celebrate our older things, and especially the older things that hold up, which this building is.
But I don't know about you, but paneling
I saw the pictures and I
No, no.
Cinderblock building could definitely use a facelift.
But it's not just that.
It gives the, it's, you know, it's the welcoming impression that it gives to so many of these private jets that are flying in.
And then that brings business to the area.
And maybe that'll attract more businesses, they say.
Oh, this is great.
We've got this beautiful terminal.
We've got an observation deck.
Why don't I move here and start a business?
Well, it's basically just updates.
When this building was built, there's not a lot of outlets.
So when people come in with and they need to charge their phones and their tablets and they're all fighting over one wall plug.
that doesn't leave the greatest customer service representation.
So they want to add more outlets.
They want to update the lounge that's down in the basement.
They have to add an elevator because currently they don't have one.
There's just one staircase.
And then if they can raise additional funds, they would like to add an observation deck on the top.
maybe add some like picnic tables and an outdoor area for people to watch and observe the planes landing and take, you know, taking off and landing.
She's news director for WFHR and WIRI in Wisconsin Rapids.
So for those of us who haven't been to the Southwood County Airport or Alexander Field, is it is it mostly private jets?
What give us a little background on the airport and what I mean you
You were told 600% increase.
Must be nice to have that kind of dough if all these private jets are flying in.
I agree with that, Brian.
That must be nice.
It is a lot of private jets, but there's also, you know, small charter planes.
There's small, I don't know, plane models.
I had this conversation with Jeremy Sickler, the airport manager, too, like, what kind of planes could land?
They could actually land a 737.
Boeing jet at that airport.
won't.
They won't because there's no call for it.
But they could.
The airport's capable of it.
But mostly it's the largest that they see on a regular basis is like the 50 to 60 seat executive jet lines.
So those are the biggest
that land on a regular basis, but small two-seater Cessnas, probably even ultralights.
I see those in the air sometimes around here.
So, you know, local people who have their pilot's license fly in and out of there.
There's a plenty of hangar space.
Jeremy really hoped somebody would want to build another big giant hangar there.
That would be handy.
But at least that's what he told me.
is what they're hoping.
They're hoping to raise some private funds to be able to make these additional increases and then make it more welcoming to the community.
that look?
The goal is $6 million.
Right now, they've only secured that $2.7 million.
hoping to use that to leverage private funding, state and federal funds more if possible, but the private funding would have to come through for that six million.
Well, that's the thing, Brian.
When a lot of these planes fly in, the people that own the planes or have chartered the planes are then going out to Sand Valley for one week, two weeks, a month, however long they're here.
Well, the pilots and the staff from those airlines are now staying in the community.
They're at hotels in the area.
They're visiting restaurants.
They're going shopping.
So it is a
very much a boon for the area.
We have an opportunity to hopefully increase our public transportation here in Wisconsin Rapids, which is sadly very minimal, and we could definitely hope for that.
And then also, like I said, maybe somebody would say, hey, this is a great community.
They have a beautiful terminal.
Let's start a business here.
Producer.
All of it.
It's all me, bro.
Sorry,
Network.
Now back to more of Daybreak with Brian and Jamie.
I'm Brian Noonan.
We'd love to hear from you at 855-75 Civic, 855-752-4842.
Feel free to jump in whenever you can.
Good news for the homeless situation in Wisconsin and across the country.
There were fewer homeless people in the United States on a single night in January 2025 than in January 2024, but homelessness
did increase in 28 states according to the latest federal count.
Now, year over year there have been declines.
The U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development counted 745,652 homeless people in the latest point in time estimate.
That's down 3% from the year before.
Account was conducted before the Trump administration late last year announced a shift away from long term housing in favor of funding transitional housing with work and addiction treatment and requirements.
So we're going to put people in halfway houses instead of long
There's never, never an answer what you're going to do.
Just looking, somebody asked about the elections last night.
There was a, there's a mayoral election in Los Angeles and one of the candidates looks like, looks like he's going to be one of the two in the general election is Spencer Pratt, who was a reality star.
He's just.
You know he he made it see his house burned down in the fires last year So he's all angry about that then it made it look like he was living in a trailer But that trailer was parked outside the Beverly Hills Hilton where he was really living The point of why I bring him up is they asked him about the homeless problem in Los Angeles because it is Really really rampant out
He is a Republican.
I'll just put that out there his response
They're not homeless or drug addicts.
We're going to get rid of them all.
And I think that's kind of where a lot of people look.
It's not drug addicts.
We know there's a lot of people with mental problems.
We know there are alcoholics, drug addicts.
There are also people who are working minimum wage jobs and who lose their homes.
We know that there's families living in their cars.
We know that
a country that has espoused being the richest country on earth also has the most people living on the streets.
But where do we go?
That's the question, right?
We always come back to, okay, what do we do?
Because if you talk to experts, they say there's a lot of these people who have the mental disorders and stuff.
They don't want to go into shelters.
They don't want to go in
two places.
There's people who've had bad experiences in shelters.
They'd rather take their chances out on the streets.
So you're never going to eradicate homelessness?
No.
But what do we do for the people who do want to go somewhere else?
What I think is interesting is the president's response and his administration's response to homelessness, right?
Because this administration, as we talk about places that have increased and some that have decreased,
Their response is to say that a lot of the policies that cities and states have implemented since 2013, this is all just proof that they're not actually doing anything.
That's not helpful.
That's not helpful.
And I mean, and obviously- It helps
Exactly.
About 22, this is across the country.
About 22 of every 10,000 people are homeless on any given night.
And one of the big improvements that we've seen since 2024 was a decline in the number of unhoused families with children.
That's actually down about 11%.
So that's all, that's very good news.
But at the same time, you're right, is this is essentially affecting everyone.
And even if you've never experienced homelessness yourself, employer struggle to find workers when housing is unavailable, schools then face greater challenges when students don't have stable homes, hospitals, law enforcement, local governments, they all often end up responding to problems that could have been prevented just because somebody
need, could have had a home, right?
Or somewhere to at least go.
And I think it's interesting that here in Wisconsin, we've seen several in some communities
we've actually seen uh you know housing facilities close because they they didn't they didn't have the grant money or they didn't have the aid anymore to keep those facilities open and granted when you're talking about some of these communities and some of these facilities were only you know could maybe only house uh 10 to maybe 20 people and maybe in some cases even less it doesn't feel like a great number
but think of the people that that impacted on a given night, that weren't
They're saying there's a little progress, but yeah, overall homelessness in Milwaukee is up.
A few years ago, Milwaukee's, the Common Council and everything, they said they were on track to end family homelessness, but the number of people who are homeless has grown.
So they were, maybe there's less families living on the, or who are homeless, but individuals, there's more.
Milwaukee is no different than any major city.
If
under viaducts and everywhere.
It's tough.
Organizations there are working on the issues.
They say Milwaukee has great, has quietly rather become an example of how coordinated prevention efforts can work during a larger national crisis.
So the data collected by the Milwaukee Coalition on Housing and Homelessness shows more people are entering Milwaukee's homeless service programs than exiting it.
So that's good.
765 people entered the service.
since 2025.
That was when it was without stable those people are without stable housing for an average of 88 days, 77% 77% homeless for the very first time.
And that that should scare.
Yeah, I'm scared.
If you're not in that position, but it should just scare you as a person in who's part of this society.
We all have heard the numbers that
A lot of families are one major accident or something away from that.
One car repair, one missed mortgage payment, missed rent payment.
One day that they get sick and they don't have insurance and so they have to pay out of their pocket or they have to miss work and then they get fired and now it's...
And I was doing, when I was looking at these two stories back to back last night and I wanted, I was kind of like, well, if we know that there's rule, how is like facilities closing in rural areas of the state, how is the rural portion of the state doing in Wisconsin based on this national trend?
And it turns out that Milwaukee is not the only part of the state that is bucking this nationwide trend.
In fact, more than 3,200 people are experiencing homelessness in Milwaukee in Wisconsin.
rural counties.
That's a 9% increase from just last year.
And across the state, homelessness has climbed above 5,200 people.
That's the highest level here in Wisconsin in nearly a decade.
And at the same time that we're talking about that, more than 20,000 Wisconsin students are experiencing homelessness right now.
That's the highest number since 2019.
And
What makes it, I think, so much different than when we're talking about urban areas like Milwaukee and Madison, right, in this state, or even your areas near Green Bay, Oshkosh, it's a little bit more invisible when you get into those rural communities.
Yeah.
Right.
You don't
Yes.
And you think about the fact that, you know, some of that means maybe sleeping in a car.
Sometimes it means staying temporarily with a relative.
Maybe they're doing a couch surfing type
of
thing where they're just going from house to house.
And because it becomes less invisible in those rural communities, I think for a lot of us, it's easier to, I don't ignore probably isn't the right word, but not realize.
that
When it's not in your face all the time, you don't really know that it's happening.
You don't think about it.
As you're driving through rural communities, you're not thinking about homelessness.
As you're driving in downtown Milwaukee or walking down State Street in Madison, the homeless people are right in front of you.
So they're top of mind.
You're like, oh my god, what do we do?
How do we stop this?
If I'm driving through the country, I'm not
Um, and I think if you're, if you're listening to this today and you, you're, you're kind of appalled by these numbers as you should be.
I think one of the numbers that stood out to me the most as I was going through this was the student homelessness numbers
because
that is, I mean, we're already dealing with school districts, right?
That are, are, have diminishing numbers.
Uh, you know, just a few weeks ago we watched, uh, a lot of these towns have referendum votes.
So we were already talking about diminishing.
services and student populations.
And now we're talking about children who literally don't have a place to go on some nights.
And when a child doesn't know where they're going to sleep, if you've been a parent, stability is a really big thing for kids.
It's crazy how they like to know exactly what's happening in their world.
Learning for them though is going to become much harder.
And then those are the types of challenges that are going to follow them.
for basically most of their lives.
Talk about being anxious.
The fact that you don't have a place to live or like you said with the self couch surfing, you don't know whose house you're living in today.
Maybe you're with grandma, but maybe grandma wants you to leave.
exposure to kids who are living that way.
And it is very difficult.
And then there's nowhere to really study.
There's nobody, your parents are trying to figure out how to get you a roof over your head.
They're not spending a lot of time helping you with your schoolwork.
And it just it everything is connected to everything else.
Yeah, because
All right.
Yeah, it's oh, it's just homelessness.
Well, who's homeless?
Well, the family with the kids in the school.
Where do the kids go to school?
Well, that's an issue because we got to find somebody who let us use their address so that we're in the district.
And well, don't you have a job?
Well, I did and I got laid off and that's why I am homeless.
But I can't get a job because I don't have an address because they're going to check and I'm not paying rent.
So I don't have a credit.
thing.
So now I can't get a job.
My kid can't go to school.
I got to live with somebody else.
I got to park the car somewhere.
And we all live out of that.
Or maybe we we can I could do some day work, get a little cash, we're staying at a cheap hotel.
And that's not good either.
Everything
you know and in kudos to Cities like Milwaukee and I know other more urban areas that have some resources But I think that's one of the underlying issues when you look at the the rural areas, right?
They have fewer resources roughly 60% of Wisconsin's homeless population lives in rural communities those areas only have about 23% of the state's supportive housing units that they have in places like Milwaukee and Madison
There's not enough resources to go around.
We are just pointing more out and it's a little disheartening.
You know what else is disheartening?
When ideas are stolen.
I'm looking at you, world pup.
We'll talk about that and more.
It is Daybreak.
I'm Brian Noon and she's Jamie Martins and this is the Civic Media
Network.
You're listening to Civic Media.
Find the latest news, information, and archives of all your favorite shows on the Civic Media website,
Can we really truly in this world, and I get that this is a downright just stealing of ideas, but really in this particular moment in time, I think I'm okay with this one because I think we all need a little bit more puppy in our life.
I'm okay with this one.
I'm okay with this one.
Well on June 10th LG channels is going to launch world pup and This is going to put rescue puppies rescue puppies on the football field so that they can raise adoption
field
so that they can raise awareness for adoption and These baby dogs are going to play soccer
Right?
So
if
you're thinking that this is a lot like the puppy bowl, yes, you are exactly right.
You are exactly 100% right that this is exactly like the puppy bowl.
And yes, it's the exact same producers that produces the
World Cup veteran and CBS sports host Jimmy Conrad is going to serve as the tournament's official referee.
And I'm very excited about this.
LG channels has partnered with 12 shelters and rescue organizations across the country so that they can spotlight rescue animals in need of a home.
It's gonna
Oh, it's going to be, it's going to be so good.
And this is why in this particular case, because I love the puppy bowl.
Every year before the Super Bowl, it's one of my favorite traditions.
They've added the kitten bowl to it.
And I am
I'm always glued, glued to the puppy bowl.
And it's my favorite part of Super Bowl weekend.
And so if I can get four part series of this now, before the World Cup, yes, I steal all the ideas.
Are we
us
Okay, and because he knows her very very well and she does very very well until she realizes they're not leaving
And then she gets a little territorial.
And he's actually worked with her on it, and we have too.
And I'm just afraid it would not be a good situation.
And I don't want to ever put Aspen in that situation or another dog in that
Oh, Debbie loved this dog.
She was going to bring her home because one of our dogs had passed away.
And I didn't like this dog from the jump.
And I said, All right, but you know what?
I'll bring will bring below that dog went to attack our dog
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