Taking Care of The Environment… (Hour 1)

Good morning.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Good morning.

We've talked the whole night through.

Good morning.

Good morning to you.

This is where Wisconsin wakes up.

It's Daybreak with Brian Noonan and Jamie Martinson.

Here are your hosts, Brian and Jamie.

606 right now.

Thank you so much for joining us this morning on the Civic Media Network.

My name is Jamie Martinson.

Oh, and we

are Frank Gargano.

That's right.

We're having some technical

issues with

Brian's setup in Illinois today.

So we're going to keep working on that.

Frank's going to join me here for just a few minutes.

Why Parker and Brian try to get through these technical issues.

How was your weekend?

How was my weekend?

It's a really loaded question.

It

was fine.

It's

good to

see you're back in your space.

It feels so incredibly good to be back in my space, which is weird to say because where I was last week was the home I grew up in.

Sure, sure.

That makes

sense.

I've gotten to the point in adulthood where that's

doesn't feel like my space.

No, is it that weird?

Like I when I go back to my mom's house, I'll say to her, can I use a cup?

Right because it's not it's not her house, right?

It's not my

house

anymore It's her

house

and I feel like I need permission to use the things in her house when I go there because it's actually not mine You know, she does the same thing when she comes to our house.

She'll be like can I grab a cup?

Can I can I grab a spoon or kind of whatever she might be doing?

But it is very much a weird dynamic when it's not your space anymore even though it you

to be your space.

Right.

It's.

Yeah, it just feels really good to be back home and in my own space like Friday after the show, I packed up my stuff.

I was like, all right, we need to get home.

Can't do this anymore.

I'm out.

I'm out.

I don't want any part of this anymore.

I'm completely out.

I got to go back.

Did you ever

get in a

pool time?

I have to ask

one day.

Oh,

and it was freezing.

Oh,

that's not fun.

That's

not fun at

all.

I got some sun.

It was fine.

But the funny thing is my parents got home and I was like.

Hey guys, welcome back.

I don't know if you've seen the forecast now, but now

it's gonna be like 95 and lots of sunshine

humidity

I don't know.

I see thunderstorms every

day.

It's supposed to get a little dicey over the next few days, especially here in Wisconsin.

We're actually going to talk about that with Mace Michael, Severe Studios meteorologist later on this morning.

He's going to give us kind of a rundown of what we can expect over the next few days.

We're talking really warm temperatures.

We're talking chances of isolated storms, potentially even tornadoes mixed in there, maybe even a little bit more flooding.

So we're going to

get the low down on exactly what we can expect across the state.

So it looks like maybe sounds like you're in the same boat as us here in Wisconsin.

Yeah.

I mean, my parents live closer to the border, so it kind of makes sense how they're looking.

Sure.

Here.

It's weird because every day it says storms, but if you actually look into the day, it's like

it's

some rain at.

two in the morning, and then it's sunny all day, so.

Right?

Do we have Brian?

Brian, can you hear us?

I

don't

know.

Do

you have me?

Yay, you're back.

No, but I, I can't, it's, something's going on.

I need

an audio guy.

All I'm getting is static through the headphones.

Oh no.

So I

can't, like, I can't hear myself and I can barely,

barely hear you.

That's a bummer.

All right.

Well, we can and

as you can tell the camera my usual camera isn't working nothing is I Think I might just go back to bed today is not today's not a day for me

like the curse of Monday mornings You want to keep working on that?

We can handle the conversation or you want to know?

Let's see if we let's see

if we

can

go through.

I don't

know I I have been Working on this for the last half hour, and I don't know what's going

on.

Well, you still look good this morning So that's that's the important part on a Monday

Oh, yeah.

I'm a ray of sunshine.

That's...

Okay.

We got to talk about the big Chicago bear in the room this morning.

Because I've got to know the Illinois... What are you guys in Illinois?

The Illinoisans?

How do I say that?

Like, we're the Wisconsinites.

What are you guys in Illinois?

We're Chicagoans.

Chicagoans.

Okay.

Illinois basically is a whole different state as far as...

This

is cute.

Really, if you look at it.

So we have to know what your take is.

It was announced on Friday, and we had had this conversation on Friday if you joined us.

We had talked about the Chicago Bears, hopefully doing the right thing, the city, the state, the McCaskey family coming together to keep the Bears in Chicago.

Doesn't sound like that's going to happen.

Sounds like their new home is Hammond, Indiana.

How are you feeling about that bears fans?

I have cooled off since Friday.

OK, I still stand by how I feel about it.

And I'm going to focus on the thing that pissed me off the most.

Let me read directly from the statement.

OK,

please.

At the very end, the last line.

it will bring Chicago land together and deliver new opportunities to its residents and businesses.

But it's gonna be in Hammond, Indiana.

But it's gonna be in Hammond, Indiana.

Frank

just asked the

Giants and the Jets.

That works out for them.

They're the New York Giants

and the New York Jets.

It's such a different situation though.

I know.

I know, I know how I love how everybody's trying to spin it to go.

Well, listen, everybody's still going to stay in Chicago.

They're still going to get all the businesses at the restaurants and hotels, blah, blah, blah.

There is really nowhere to stay in Hammond, Frank.

I don't know if you've been down that way in a while.

Not

a lot

of, I think there's an Econolodge and there might be a couple hot sheet hotels in that area.

But

other than that, there's not, there's not some high roller luxury

things.

Red roof in somewhere in the vicinity.

To

be honest, I mean, I, I hate the idea.

I think the McCasky's need to get rid of the team.

I also am not a fan of taxpayers having to pay for billionaires' stadiums.

So I can't be mad.

I'm mad at Chicago, at the mayor for not working it out.

I'm mad at, but I'm not mad that we don't have to pay for it, you know?

I

think if you look at mile to mile,

It's closer than Arlington Heights from the old spot.

But yeah, it is Indiana.

And I don't want to be in Indiana.

Nobody does.

And I think your

people in Indiana don't want to be in India.

Let's be honest.

Go ahead.

That's

why the Jackson five left

this way.

This is true.

This would essentially be like if the Green Bay Packers couldn't come to a deal with Green Bay and they moved them across the border to Menominee, Michigan.

Correct.

It would be,

it's

the exact same thing.

If you're thinking about it, if you're a Packers fan and you're relishing in this moment with the bears, think about it in that respect that it would essentially be like having the Menominee Packers is what it would essentially be.

I mean, I think this is,

Okay, I know that you probably think as a Packers fan, I'm going to pick on the two of you.

And yes, this is crazy to me.

You should.

But this is really bad for the brand of the Bears.

It's really bad for anybody who supports this team.

And I think this is just a bad look all the way around for the state, the city.

I mean, it is just a bad look all the way around.

And maybe there's a little gloating that's going to happen.

Parker, what do you say on this?

I... boys.

Boys.

Love ya.

Hate your bears, though.

I think it is the funniest thing ever that you may end up in Hammond, Indiana.

I think it is embarrassing that they are going to end up in Hammond, Indiana.

That said, I don't want them in Hammond, Indiana.

Right.

It sucks.

They should be in Chicago.

Right.

I mean,

it's

really hard to call them the Chicago Bears, knowing that the home is now Indiana.

Now, has it been worked out or like their training facilities will be yet?

I mean, is that all going to also be in Indiana?

Those are

going to be in Iowa.

They're going to have, they're going to have training camp in Iowa.

They're going to play in Hammond, Indiana.

They'll drive through.

Caleb Williams will stop at some pizza place that he came out the other day on a podcast and said was the best pizza you ever had in Chicago.

It's Zarela's.

It was, it's really good.

Well, so he will go there.

But other than that.

Nah, it's... I'm as mad about this as I am about them going to Arlington Heights.

I don't want them to go to Arlington Heights either.

They should have stayed in the city.

The mayor should have worked harder on it.

They should have been able to take over.

They don't even use that Eastern part of McCormick Place anymore.

Tear it down, build a world-class stadium there, host not only the Bears, but then concerts and perhaps...

somewhere down the line of Super Bowl, which has never been able to come here.

It's there.

There's so many plays, but I, you know, the Republicans in Illinois are seizing at it.

Oh, look at this is the governor that lost the Bears.

He didn't lose the Bears.

The Bears wanted to go.

They've been trying to figure it out, right?

And the Bears were trying to get something for nothing.

They wanted a stadium

that

was paid for by the people.

And we listen.

People are already paying a ton to go

to the games.

They're paying a ton for all the merch.

They're supporting the team nonstop.

We're still paying for the renovation of Soldier Field.

Yes.

Yes, they still... That was all taxpayer funded.

Right.

And the bears still owe so much money on the lease.

Perhaps they didn't want the same situation that played out in the Twin Cities because when they built the new stadium for the Vikings, we were living there at the time.

Everybody was told that it was going to be completely self-funded.

Your taxpayers weren't going to go, tax money wasn't going to go into it.

Guess what happened at the end?

I turned out that it was taxpayer funded and a lot of people who lived in the vicinity saw their taxes go way up along with

the businesses, the homeowners, anybody who had property in the area.

And I mean, and that's just the thing.

it's weird to me that nobody could come to a table and actually negotiate this out.

I mean, for the amount of money, okay, and here's the other thing too, the Bears are a much better team than they were even two years ago.

There is hype behind them and more people actually want to come in and watch them, right?

I remember a few years ago, sometimes the stands were almost empty because the Bears were not that good.

That is not the case anymore.

You would think that they would want to capitalize on that and bring more money into Chicago as a whole and, you know,

the businesses, the motels, all of the great restaurants instead of send everybody to Hammond, Indiana.

Everybody's

at the horseshoe casino in Gary.

Basically,

that's going to be the thing.

Let

me read something.

Yeah, please.

I got a text from somebody who works in media in the state of Indiana.

I'm just so baffled by this whole situation.

I've now done three.

I've been to Hammond, Indiana three times since December and I can genuinely say with no exaggeration that that place smells like if someone farted in a microwave.

Well, yes, because you know why they also haven't done any of investigating to see if the toxic if the land is toxic because they think it could be.

So all of this could be for naught.

You know, we're not while the bears have in fact in the past been a nuclear waste site.

I don't think they want to build a new stadium

on

a waste site.

Wow.

I mean, this is fascinating to watch play out.

And I mean, I think if you're in Wisconsin, this is exactly what people thought was potentially going to happen with the Brewers if they wouldn't have come to some sort of deal last year between the city, the state, and the organization as a whole.

But they did the right thing.

They kept them in Milwaukee.

For any bearish fan's sake, I wish I could say the same for what's happening there, honestly, because this is...

Fascinating, I guess, is the only word I have as an outsider.

Frank, do you think this is just another last-minute ploy?

Because they didn't say they were definitely moving.

They were going to move ahead with conversations.

But it's not going to matter if the land they can't build on, if they're still trying to get a better deal for tax breaks from Arlington Heights, or if they're trying to get the state to just say, all right, you know what?

We don't want you to leave.

We'll build you a stadium anyway.

We'll see.

We will see.

We'll move it on.

All right, listen, we gotta move on.

Would you rather the government focus on...

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.

It is 22 minutes after six on the Civic Media Network.

We hope that your day is off to a great start.

My name is Jamie Martenson.

Yeah, I hope your day is off to a great start.

That would be, that would be a change.

uh yeah it okay hey uh i'm brian newton 85575 civic 8557524842 if you want to get involved in the program we would love to have you uh so

are you tired of the government focusing on coal when it comes to energy and maybe we maybe we do something else maybe we focus on i don't know wind or solar or something else well a coal plant in south central wisconsin is expected to receive 19 million dollars in federal funding for a modernization project after the plant was originally scheduled to retire almost two years ago

now the current administration announced plans this week to provide up to five hundred million dollars in funding to coal-fired power plants in ten states that along with an export terminal in california the funding will come from a defense

Production Act, a Cold War era law that gives the president power over national security related industries.

He has been fixated on coal since day one.

I don't think he's ever worked in a coal mine.

I doubt he's ever gotten his hands dirty at all.

But man, he loves coal.

So Columbia Energy Center is a coal-fired plant co-owned by Allian Energy, Madison Gas and Electric and Wisconsin Public Service.

It's one of the plants expected to receive the funding.

The environmental groups criticize this move saying coal is the most expensive source of energy and contributes to climate change and toxic air pollution, which we all know.

I thought coal was gone.

not gone but reduced.

Yeah and interestingly enough when I was doing a little research into the story I did not realize that in Wisconsin coal still generates about 35 percent of the state's electricity.

So I mean I guess essentially it is in some parts of the states kind of like keeping the lights on maintaining the reliability but obviously there is the environmental concern.

We understand that it is expensive to to use coal which is why

so many of these companies have started moving away from coal.

And then, I mean, as you rightly pointed out, Brian, let's not even go into the environmental impacts that coal has.

I mean, but it is fascinating that we are 35% reliant on coal in Wisconsin.

I didn't actually think that that

was still a thing.

That was surprising.

Yeah, absolutely.

And obviously, coal's role in Wisconsin has been shrinking over over the past couple of decades.

It's been cut roughly in half over the past 20 years, because obviously our utilities in this state are turning to more natural gas, solar wind and nuclear power.

But many of those coal plants were already scheduled to retire because they were aging and they're often more expensive to operate.

So I mean, I don't understand the fascination.

with coal, because the president also said in the Oval Office last week that as part of this Defense Production Act, it would be used to save coal plants not only in Wisconsin, but also in West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Indiana, Tennessee, Arizona.

I didn't know they had coal plants even there.

Yeah, I didn't think so

either.

Arkansas, Oklahoma, and North Dakota.

So obviously, this is an outreach kind of mission.

If you notice, it's in a lot of the states where the president needs to continue.

his support and where he would probably like to bolster support like the state of Wisconsin and Arizona, which happened to be swing states, if you're keeping tabs of how people vote across the country.

So

it's again, I don't know what his other than I can only assume there's a lot of money coming in from the coal industry to to lobby him.

But it's his

not only his fixation with coal but his adamant denial of wind power

and

solar power and all of the other things that that seem to be well one we know they're cleaner right two they seem to work right but then it's we'd have to you know we'd need money for infrastructure we would need to make some changes that way and he

He's never come out really other than it's killing the birds.

We know

we know wind is

killing the birds Jamie.

I see the wind blowing them into my house nonstop, so I know I know the wind is killing them What's his what's his end goal?

I don't know.

Is it to basically placate the donors who have made their millions in coal and still donate to not only this president, but also the Republican Party?

That's, I guess, always where my mind goes first and foremost.

I mean, this isn't a small amount of money either that the government is giving

out.

They're going to spend roughly $700 million to bolster the coal industry.

And that includes plans to support

42 coal mines and build two new coal plants, the dollars will be matched, the federal dollars will be matched by $1.7 billion.

Here it is in private investment.

Now,

the U.S.,

yes, yes, see, this is where it starts getting, this is where it goes back to placating just a little bit.

The U.S.

Department of Energy listed Columbia Energy Center in Columbia County as one of those beneficiaries.

As you mentioned, it's expected to receive $19 million from the government to help fund 48 and a half million

and upgrades.

See, this is where I start questioning, why aren't we then taking that money and putting it into more resources like the solar, like the wind, like the natural gases, if we're gonna spend this type of money on coal, which we know has been dying for the last 20 years or so, why aren't we putting that into other resources?

Is it the small amount of coal miner workers that, you know, that

maybe...

Trying to get to the

heart of the working

class trying to get to those the people who have been left behind because the car industry closed down.

I mean that doesn't seem

That seems like it, it's his died in the wool supporters anyway.

Right.

So why then, why then this?

And it's, it always will come back to the money.

I think, and I think that's exactly what it is.

I think it's going to come down to who is investing, who these private investors actually are, and who is willing to give the biggest sum of money, not only to the GOP, but perhaps to Donald Trump and his campaign in itself.

Yeah.

Oh, well, hey, guess what?

When we come back, the cuts continue the forestry department.

How important is it to Wisconsin and the nation?

And why should we keep researching?

I don't know.

I'm Brian Noon, and this is Daybreak.

I'm Jamie Martinson.

It is 629 right now, and you are listening to the Civic Media Network.

All facts, no fiction.

It's Daybreak with Brian and Jamie.

It's 6.35 right now.

Thank you so much for joining us this morning.

A little over a half.

far away or so before you'll have more chances to qualify for another week of prizes in our Accelerator Summer statewide multi-state, I should say, text to win contest.

So get your Civic Media app ready if you don't already have it and be listening for another word coming your way after seven o'clock this morning, Brian.

Very exciting stuff.

We're going to give away more cash.

It is

exciting, you son.

so much better eight five five seven five civic eight five five seven five two four eight four two is how you get involved in the program do you think that research for the forestry department is important and if you don't why not well the reason we are bringing this up is because we talked about you know the president wanting coal well the president also wants to cut down the

funding for the U.S.

Forest Service.

It's considering the service closing more than 100 research facilities nationwide as part of a major reorganization and proposed budget cuts.

The 2027 budget proposal from the administration would eliminate Forest Service research funding entirely, reducing it from about 309 million this year to zero.

So not even reducing it, just cutting it completely.

Well, we know he doesn't think we need national parks.

He doesn't think we need forests.

No, he wants to privatize those and sell the land to the highest bidder.

That is

sell them out and then drill baby drill and all the rest of it.

And, you know, that's the reason for wildfires because we don't rake the forests.

And why if we're not going to keep it, if you can't keep your things nice, why even have them?

So we're going to have to just get rid of them.

uh it's it's ridiculous the research centers if you don't know they study wildfire prevention forest health invasive species urban forestry long-term environmental changes which he discounts that help guide management of nearly 200 million acres of national forests and grasslands which

in Wisconsin, you know, is the backbone of the state.

If you go anywhere, you love to see the net.

If you've been to national parks, if you've driven around this country, you know how important that is.

According to researchers, many of the facilities cost very little to operate.

Now, I'm going to fund two today,

right?

Because one in Hawaii operates under a 65 year lease that costs the federal government a one time payment of just $1.

Wow.

That's right.

A dollar.

So

put me down.

I got that one covered.

Michigan facility also operates under a long term lease that required only a one time one dollar payment.

Another Michigan office rents for about $600 a month, which is less than any apartment you can

find

in Madison, unless you're living with eight other people.

So it's it's another sign that this

administration puts no value on anything that they can't make money from.

Right.

And that's not the job of the government.

The job of the government is not to make money.

No.

No.

But his priorities are screwed up.

But at the end of the day, that's what this administration is literally banking on.

I mean, we know that this president has made somewhere close to four billion dollars since he

became president for the second time.

So that's essentially what this administration is banking on.

And they are basically selling out portions of the government to the highest bidder.

It's what they're doing.

I mean, we're just a ray of sunshine with the environment this morning, aren't we?

Listen, it's raining.

We're getting,

yeah,

we're getting everything.

Coal, forestry, all of it this morning.

But what I worry about most is in Wisconsin, the economic impact and also the people that are

going to lose jobs, because if you want to look at this on a more finite scale, this reorganization is going to affect about 250 employees and also close several offices and research facilities across this state.

In fact, the agency is shutting down its eastern region headquarters in Milwaukee.

That's one of the nine regional offices nationwide that slated for closure.

And a lot of those operations will be consolidated into this new service center in Madison.

Two Wisconsin research stations, one in Wisconsin Rapids and one in Prairie de Shane, are scheduled to also close.

Major facilities in Rhinelander and also the Forest Products Laboratory in Madison are not right now on the closure list.

Now, the Forest Service workforce has already dropped from about 645 employees to 539 here in Wisconsin.

That's a reduction of about 100 positions because of the budget cuts, there's been retirements, there's been buyouts, there's been restructuring.

If you're wondering what these people do on a daily basis, right?

And you love the outdoors, or you're worried about the environment.

They are essentially the people.

You mean they're

not just sitting on a lawn chair out there

looking at trees?

They are not.

They are managing the public lands.

They oversee timber sales.

They monitor forest health.

They fight wildfires.

They conduct prescribed burns.

They maintain trails.

They maintain the campgrounds that we all love.

And they also assist private landowners with forest management plans.

That is what they are essentially doing.

And by cutting these positions, you are eliminating the prospect of those things continuing to happen in the state of Wisconsin.

57,000 jobs bring what's happening in the forest products industry in Wisconsin.

57,000 jobs, billions of dollars in economic activity every year just for this state alone.

So forest research, wildfire prevention and sustainable land management.

our huge parts of this state's economy and we well we're gonna lose some we're not gonna lose it all but around the country boy when you hear like a budget cut okay it they hurt but when you're when your entire budget is cut

yes

zero

and it's not

what are we supposed to do

And it's not only affecting, and that's the thing, when you talk about those 57,000 jobs and the billions of dollars, it's not just through the federal agencies.

We are talking about other industries, including logging, paper production.

Hello, we have lots of those plants and those mills all along the lakes in this state.

Manufacturing construction materials and outdoor recreation.

So we are talking about all sorts of different parts of our economic, of the

economy being impacted by these particular cuts.

And let's also be clear about something.

The Forest Service helps businesses make informed decisions, right?

If you're worried about the environment, if you're worried about what's going to happen, we talk a lot about PFAS in this state.

We talk about runoff and we talk about agriculture and we talk about manufacturing.

Scientists actually studied the forest health.

They study the invasive species.

They study the timber growth, the wildlife habitat, the wildfire prevention.

And they also study how forests are adapting to changing environmental conditions.

So they essentially can help develop new wood products and technologies that in turn then support Wisconsin manufacturers and mills.

So you are talking about not only just shutting down research and shutting down federal jobs, you are essentially affecting

many, many industries and thousands and thousands of people who make their living using the natural resources.

But we have seen, first, his distaste for science is well known.

He doesn't believe in science.

He all the time talks about how...

global warming and climate change is not real.

He has no respect for anything like I said earlier that doesn't make him money.

And so, yes, all those points you made are very good.

They're perfect points.

But he doesn't care about that.

He doesn't care about emerging technology.

He wants to make money off the technology that's already there.

The old school people who are giving him money right now are

the ones

he's paying attention to.

And

He has shown, even on such a small level as the rose garden or the front lawn or the White House, he does not care about preserving anything with natural beauty.

It's, I'm going to slap concrete over it, I'm going to put gold leaf on it, and I'm going to make it just gorgeous.

And all that, look at all that wasted land where we could be building developments instead of, why do we need Yosemite?

We don't need that.

What do you need the Smoky Mountains for?

We could get in there and think of the resorts we could build, Jamie.

We don't need any of those things.

So it's one more step.

That's essentially what they want to do with the national land.

I mean, how many times have the Republicans tried to basically privatize our national parks and sell it off to the highest bidder, where to the point they've even made hunting species of animals that are basically extinct, something that you can

buy a license now and do because it benefits the people with the biggest pocket books, right?

Because those people then can say that they were able to do this and that's what it all comes down to at the end of the day.

We are arguing about facilities that literally have been operating for decades that the federal government paid a dollar for.

Yeah.

A dollar.

Yeah,

I don't even need to send my dollar.

That dollar was paid a long time ago.

Right.

And I know, when I say that some people get upset about, oh, doesn't he want the military?

Of course I want the military.

But I'm

saying, look at what we spend on the military.

Look at what we spend on other things.

And you're going to tell me that protecting the natural lands in this country, which is what makes, one of the things that makes this country great, how many of us, if you travel and you're in other cities, and they may be beautiful,

But you always look for that green space, whether you're always looking for the big park or something that has natural beauty.

You can admire the architecture and the hustle and bustle of a city, but you always want that land.

And this country is built on that wilderness mentality, and it's preserving that.

And you thank Teddy Roosevelt, because if it were up today,

We wouldn't have any national parks

under

this group.

We'd

have nothing.

And if you want to chime into the conversation this morning because you want to tell us why or why not, you think the research done at forestry departments is important, please do so.

1-855-752-4842, 1-855-755 Civic.

The other thing about this is the federal government isn't even taking into consideration the people that still work there, right?

I mean, because they're saying that this is intended to improve efficiency, reduce costs, move employees closer to the lands that they manage.

So it would essentially relocate some of these researchers to Colorado and then move the agency headquarters to Utah.

A lot of researchers are saying they would rather leave the agency than relocate.

And basically, you're going to lose that

knowledge, then, if they choose not to move with where the headquarters is going to be.

And labor unions who are representing Forest Service employees say that this reorganization may actually violate, big surprise here, federal rules requiring congressional review before major agency restructuring takes place.

I mean, that would just be another feather in the cap of this administration and skirting around the rules of the Congress, not that I think they'll actually do anything to stop it anyway.

If you're wondering... No,

we don't need you.

There's nothing that is supposed to get congressional approval, gets congressional approval.

Because when you believe that you are above the law, and no one has given you any reason to think that you're not, you don't need to follow the rules.

And that's where we've been for a long time.

You know, especially the second term, but we were even seeing it more in the first term toward the end.

He'll do what he wants.

And then we'll all have a huge fuss over it.

You and I will discuss it.

People will sound off.

And then a couple of months down the road, the courts will go, you can't do that.

Right.

And

it'll be stopped.

But it'll be too late.

Yeah.

You know, just like the East Wing.

He demolished it before he had any

OK.

And then they were like,

you can't do that.

Oh, guess what?

Already did

it.

Already did it.

Big hole, big ballroom, best hole.

And did you see the reflective pool, by the way?

Looks fantastic.

Doesn't reflect anymore, but it looks great.

If you've ever been to a Motel 6, that color pool, that's what we got.

Oh, it's fantastic.

I mean, it is sad when we live in a world where Congress is essentially obsolete and we have no value in the resources that we have and no

no want in keeping them or making sure that we are doing something else to make sure that we have those resources for a very long time and I think that is what is so troubling about all of this because at the end of the day it comes down to the highest bidder with this administration every single time.

You've got to pay to play that's how it goes in trees don't have any money.

When we come back, hey, this is a little bit of good news.

Close to home.

We will get to that and so much more.

I'm Brian Noonan.

This is Daybreak.

I'm Jamie Martinson, 648 right now.

Thank you for joining us today.

This is the Civic Media Network.

Local news, community stories, and the conversations that matter most.

Now, more Daybreak with Brian and Jamie.

652 right now, thank you for joining us this morning.

If you're listening in Madison on WMDX or in Wausau on WXCO or in La Crosse on WLCX, we are glad that you decided to join us this morning.

I am Jamie Martinson.

And good morning.

I'm Brian Noonan.

If you want to get involved in the program, 8-5-5-7-5-7-8-5-5-7-5-2-4-8-4-2.

In just a few minutes, after seven o'clock, we're going to give you the first word.

Jamie, the accelerator

summer

multi-state text to win contest is back five more days of big prizes and your chance to qualify for the grand prize.

So be listening for that after seven.

I have to confess that in all my years in Milwaukee, I never went to the domes.

I drove past the domes.

I saw the domes many times.

I heard debate about the domes.

What do we do at the domes?

Do we get rid of the domes?

Do we fix the domes?

Well, guess what?

The domes...

made news over the weekend.

They're now listed on Wisconsin's State Historic Register.

The iconic Mitchell Park domes have officially been added to the State Register of Historic Places, recognizing their architectural and historical significance.

The domes were designed by architect Donald Graeb and considered a notable example of mid-century modern design, featuring innovative views of concrete, aluminum, and glass.

Oh,

the President was ahead of his time.

Yes.

Oh, yeah.

All the things

we don't.

There's nothing.

There's nothing real in there.

They're just just glass and concrete

and

gold paint.

The designation comes after years of uncertainty about the future.

Yes.

Oh my goodness.

We we've been debating demolishing the domes for years and years.

I I'm

I'm hoping you can tell me you've been to the domes, Jimmy, so you can

explain.

You know what?

I have not been to the domes.

My kid has been to the domes.

No Parker

hasn't.

My kid has been to the domes.

I haven't even heard of the domes.

You've never heard of the domes?

You've

never heard of the domes?

Are you even from Wisconsin?

Tell the truth.

It's OK.

I don't know if you had to be from Wisconsin to get the job.

Obviously not.

No.

In some instances.

But you don't seem to have seen anything outside of the Madison area,

except whitewater.

There's a lot to do here.

There's

a lot to do here.

Well, Jamie, that is no shade on

Madison.

There is a lot to do.

I'm a sheltered

man, Brian.

But it is a huge state with lots

of other things to do.

We're going to get you out.

We're going to get you exploring Parker.

I'm not asking him to go across the country.

I'm asking him to go to Milwaukee.

You

were just there for

a baseball game

yesterday.

Maybe I've seen them and I didn't know it.

I don't know.

Well, if you went to Amphim, you had to see them.

They're not far.

Okay, I've seen them.

What do they look like then?

Domes.

But that's the thing.

They're just, that's the other thing too.

If you don't actually know what you're looking for, you don't know what they actually are because they are just basically, if you're looking on the horizon, just three bumps on the horizon

and

essentially what they are.

But they're part of the conservatory there.

And it actually has, they're three unique domes.

One is a tropical dome, another is a forest dome, and another is a show dome that basically has rotating exhibits and seasonal displays.

Now my kid has been over there when he was going,

to Milwaukee area technical college.

He actually did a full piece on the domes and was inside of them because there was a

special

show going on and then was in the other three.

He says they're very cool.

Now I don't tend to go to anything that's a conservatory just because I have allergies.

Then you put me in an

enclosed

place with flowers and plants and you might as well put me in like just give me like some sort of allergy medicine drip because I'm essentially just not in a good spot.

after that.

Now, I love them.

I think they're beautiful.

I just have to be very selective.

So I have not been to these particular domes, but I mean, the fact that we're going to preserve these after years of discussion, because Parker, even I know the years of discussion, and I've only been here for eight, nine years now.

The fact that we are preserving these is kind of cool, right?

Like it's kind of cool that they're going to preserve them as a historical

landmark.

That's the greatest thing about these historical landmarks.

I don't like them.

I like to destroy and rebuild.

But the fact that you can now they're there and you know, okay, we're not going to get rid of them.

So we're going to just continue to maintain them and maybe do some improvements on them.

But you can't change the basic structure.

You can't change the appearance.

I think it's one of those things that there's been a lot of discussion, like we said, but it does.

It makes Milwaukee unique.

It's

one of those

things that you don't want to lose in your town.

If

you have it, you want to keep it, you want it to thrive, and maybe...

bring putting it on the national historic list of historic

places

in Wisconsin is going to draw some more people.

So the revenue is going to go up to help with the upkeep and all of that.

I mean, yeah, these these essentially support tourism.

They provide educational opportunities for students and families, all contributing to the economy.

And there are planned upgrades.

They want to put some sort of cafe.

Now that they are the domes are on the historical or historical landmark, they want to have some sort of cafe, maybe even a children's garden.

which could actually bring in more people and

even

more appeal year round.

So I'm always for when we can take something that is old, that is serving its purpose, but maybe needs a little bit more work and we can preserve that in some way because obviously something built in the 1960s has a little history too.

And

I

feel like we try to get rid of so much history all of the time.

I love when we can preserve it in places like the Mitchell Park Dome.

Yeah, it's not going the way of old old downtown Milwaukee.

What did they call that that exhibit that they tore

out?

Yeah, I

last week.

Yeah, I don't remember.

I know what you're talking about.

I don't remember the name of it.

Remember the exact name either.

But now, if you want to go to the showdome between now and September 7th, Glass Under Glass features stained glass and hand-painted artwork.

So that might be

fine.

Very nice.

Very nice.

We're

big fans of stained glass

here.

I do love unique artwork.

So I'm always about seeing unique artwork.

And apparently, I've got to get to Milwaukee.

The kid called me this week.

And he's like, are you ever going to come visit me in Milwaukee again?

It's far

away.

Ask Parker.

It's far.

You don't want to get

to Milwaukee.

It's a very long walk, Jamie.

What

do you got to get?

A quarter of a tank

of gas?

I

do.

I do.

That's crazy.

No, you can't go.

The walk is the

other side of the

earth.

Gassed out to 389 in places in Madison right now.

We could really do some traveling now.

Yeah, that's it, Parker.

Maybe you get all the way out to Depeer, Parker.

That'd be

great.

Oh, I know.

We're getting crazy now.

I know.

Rain it in.

Get crazy.

Go to New Galeris.

All right, when we come back.

Oh, it's your first word of the text

to

win contest.

So be ready.

I'm Brian Noon, and this is Daybreak.

I'm Jamie Martinson, 6.59 right now.

I want the Civic Media Network.

Wisconsin wakes up here.

Back to daybreak with Brian and Jamie

706 right now.

Thank you so much for joining us this morning.

We do appreciate it.

We hope your Monday is off to a great start.

My name is Jamie Martinson.

And good morning.

I'm Brian Noonan.

It is time, not just for stuff you need to know, but it is time for the first word in our Accelerate Your Summer Text-to-Win Multistate Contest.

Five more days giving you a chance to win $100 in a Wisconsin Dells Prize Pack multiple times a day.

Plus, every time you enter, you are in the drawing for the grand prize of $250 in gas and $250 in groceries.

Great prizes, you only have to do one thing, Jamie.

Yes, it's super simple.

All you have to do is text us using your Civic Media app.

If you haven't already gotten that, please do so by going to your Google or your Apple Store, download it for free.

You're going to have until eight o'clock to get us this word and then multiple chances throughout the day to also qualify for all of the prizes that Brian laid out there quite nicely.

So without further ado, this hour's key word is light.

L-I-G-H-T, light is the word that you need to text us right now before eight o'clock using your Civic Media app so that you can qualify for cash and prizes.

Light, L-I-G-H-T is the word that we need before eight o'clock this morning.

So good luck to everybody.

Yes, and we will repeat that throughout the hour and there are more words throughout the day, so continue listening to Civic Media and your Civic Media app.

All right, that's what you needed to know to get some prizes, but what else do you need to know?

It's a wake-up call in more ways than one.

Time for some shit you need to know.

Yeah, that's true.

Hey, here's something you need to know.

La Crosse gets $2.4 million for affordable housing projects.

La Crosse received that $2.4 million in state and federal funding to help build two affordable housing projects.

that will create nearly 100 new housing units.

One project will transform the former Lincoln Middle School into the heritage lofts at Lincoln, creating 51 affordable apartments and community space after the school closed in 2023.

The second project, 7th Street Residences, will add 45 affordable units near the Green Island ice arena and provide housing options for working families and residents with moderate incomes.

City officials say the projects will help

address lacrosse is growing housing shortage and sport workforce housing needs as employees struggle to find enough affordable places for workers to live.

A recent housing study found lacrosse County.

needs nearly 4900 additional housing units, including more than 2000 apartments affordable to lower wage workers.

Construction on the Lincoln School redevelopment is expected to begin in early 2027 with both projects scheduled to be completed in 2028.

We're hearing more and more about these affordable housing developments.

And that's great because just those numbers alone in La Crosse County.

are terrifying.

And then you magnify that by the rest of the state not having affordable housing.

And this is a problem that's not going away, but a little bit.

Little start.

That's how you got to get the first steps in.

So good for the cross.

Absolutely.

In other stuff you need to know this morning, President Trump abruptly ended a roughly 50-minute interview with NBC's Kristen Welker during his visit to Wisconsin, saying he had, quote, had enough and criticizing NBC as a one-sided crooked network.

The exchange became tense after Welker challenged Trump's claims about California primary elections, leading the president to remove his microphone and walk away from the interview.

Now this interview was conducted during rainy conditions in Chippewa Falls with both Trump and Welker later acknowledging whether an audio issues complicated the conversation.

Trump referenced the interview during his Wisconsin event telling the crowd he quote got a little bit angry with NBC but said they ultimately had a good time.

Welker later said she and Trump spoke the following day and agreed to do another interview in the future.

range of topics, including the economy, the Iran conflict, and federal spending.

And NBC later published a fact check of several claims discussed during the conversation.

There's been video of that that circulated all over this weekend.

It's been shown several times across many, many news, across many, many news agencies.

If you weren't able to see the full thing, just go to

your favorite news source.

Well, I'm going to be honest.

I sat down with a cup of coffee.

And, you know, at 9.30, the local news is over and then mass comes on.

So I flipped over to meet the press and I started to see, I started to watch the interview and I was like, I can't.

It's too early on a Sunday.

I can't listen to this.

I missed it.

I had it on and I missed it.

I missed his petulant little outburst when he, oh, and come on, I, I.

been critical of Kristen Walker privately well just to my wife on Sunday mornings yelling why doesn't she ask the harder quite why doesn't she follow up what she did and then he said she was stupid again he loves to call ladies stupid I don't ladies why do you still support this guy but anyway uh yes so he had a little temper tantrum and he stormed off the interview because finally somebody called him out yeah finally she was like there's no proof of of

you know, the election in California being fake.

There's no proof of this.

There's no, oh, he doesn't like that.

And he especially doesn't like it from women.

Yeah.

Man, oh man, I, this guy.

hate strong women

he does

nasty women

he does and

Brian they should know their place they should keep their mouth shut

and later this morning we're gonna actually do have a fun game of factor fiction based on the president's appearance in Chippewa Falls

on

Friday so

we'll

get into a little bit of that later this hour so join

us for

that as well

well

I read this whole story.

I was trying to figure out how to fit this into the show because it's fascinating.

A

new, new private property signs and a rope barrier along Lake Michigan near Lyons Den Gorge, nature preserve in Ozaki County are sparking debate over public access to Wisconsin shoreline.

Go and follow up on this story and read more, and we'll probably talk about it more.

Nearby property owners say the signs were installed because of ongoing problems with litter, dog waste, trespassing, and people climbing unstable bluffs near their home.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is investigating and plans to determine the site's official ordinary high watermark, which helps determine where the public can legally walk along the shoreline, and that's a very important part of this story.

The Ozaki County Sheriff's Office says people generally have the right to walk along the beach below the ordinary high water mark and advises visitors to stay on wet sand or in the water to avoid trespassing concerns.

The dispute comes as separate Lake Michigan Beach Access, as a separate Lake Michigan Beach Access case in Shorewood, moves through the courts and could eventually reach the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

I started reading this and I immediately thought, oh, these spoiled people who live on the lake.

What?

Oh, they don't want people walking along like.

Then I thought these people who leave their dog waste and drop garbage and stuff, I hate them too.

Then I read more and I said, oh, okay, there is a law that says if you have a house on a bluff, your property does extend down to the natural high water mark.

So

People could still theoretically down the road still walk along the water's edge get your feet wet enjoy the walk, but you couldn't go past a certain point, right?

Which makes sense because the other thing was some of the residents were saying yeah people are climbing these bluffs We're afraid somebody's gonna get hurt It's a liability issue because it technically is our property and we don't want to have to cover somebody falling off a bluff because they didn't

obey the no trespassing signs.

So it is a complicated thing.

But I just I came to the conclusion that these property owners have that right.

And it would not it would not as I thought initially completely shut down that stretch of beach.

It would still be accessible.

You just have to you know, apply your trade elsewhere and do me a favor.

I don't care where you are outside.

I don't care if you're in the parking structure next to the station.

Pick up your garbage right pigs

I don't know why

we still

have to teach people to do this.

Because people are dumb and they only think of themselves.

That's what it is.

Yes.

We want to get into this story as well because this

is going to affect a lot of people.

This is our

big story.

If you or somebody you know uses the WIC benefits, you're going to want to pay attention to this because the US House has approved a new federal spending bill that would actually reduce funding

for the WIC program by about $200 million.

Now, of course, if you're not familiar, WIC provides food assistance and nutrition support to pregnant women, new mothers, infants, and children up to the age of five.

This particular proposal, Brian, would actually reduce monthly fruit and vegetable benefits for participants.

Benefits for breastfeeding mothers could drop from about $52 per month to $13, while benefits for young children could fall from $26 to $10 per month.

About 5.4 million people across the country actually receive WIC benefits, and it helps people purchase healthy foods like fruits and vegetables, milk, eggs, cereal, infant formula, kind of important if you have an infant in

the house,

whole grains and other approved items.

I mean, before you go on, can I clarify something?

The House run by Republicans, they are the party that's telling people we need to have more kids, right?

And that even have kids you can't afford, which they're trying to make more possible because they're cutting funds.

So these are the people, they care and correct me again.

They care about people if they're unborn, they care about children.

But once you're born, you don't need to eat healthy.

and you don't need to get meals in school.

So it's only until you actually are outside your mother's body that you're important.

Once you hit the streets, you're a burden.