Pat Kreitlow retires after decades as a Wisconsin broadcaster, state senator, and the voice behind Up North News. In this final interview, he looks back on his career in Wisconsin politics and journalism and tells us what comes next.
Pat takes us from the very beginning: growing up between St. Paul and Eau Claire, a middle school counselor who got him an internship at the Minnesota State Capitol, studying journalism and political science at UW-Eau Claire, and meeting his wife Sharry (an OB-GYN) at a bar on Water Street. He started in small-town radio in Rice Lake and West Bend, became the weeknight anchor at Channel 13 in Eau Claire, then left the anchor desk after the 2004 election to run for the Wisconsin State Senate.
We talk about:
Why he pushed for nonpartisan redistricting years before the fair maps fight
The smoking ban compromise, and what real bipartisanship looked like
His 2012 race against Sean Duffy in Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District
How Newt Gingrich and the politics of obstruction changed Washington
Why he didn’t want comment sections under news stories
The rise of the personal brand in news, newsletters, and podcasts
The best (and worst) fan mail of his career
His plain-English style of explaining politics, taxes, and state government
What's next: beaches, a pontoon on Lake Wissota, and "stay tuned"
CHAPTERS (approximate)
0:00 Intro
1:45 Two hometowns: St. Paul and Eau Claire
3:10 Journalism or political science?
4:20 Nonpartisan redistricting, 2010
6:25 A middle school internship at the Minnesota Capitol
8:40 Meeting Sherry on Water Street
9:10 From Rice Lake radio to the Channel 13 anchor desk
11:20 Leaving the anchor desk after 2004
14:00 Newt Gingrich and the rise of obstruction
20:40 Rookie mistakes
25:00 Comment sections and the publisher vs. platform debate
31:00 Running against Sean Duffy
32:10 The era of the personal brand
37:10 Fan mail and hate mail
40:00 What he's proudest of
43:20 The smoking ban compromise
46:00 Legacy
50:15 How Pat launched Dr. Kristin Lyerly's media career
53:55 What's next
The Dr. Kristin Lyerly Show brings you honest, unfiltered conversations at the intersection of medicine, politics, and the fight to build a healthcare system that actually works. New episodes on YouTube, Substack, and wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe so you never miss one.
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Dr. Kristin Lyerly is an OB-GYN based in northeast Wisconsin and a leading voice on healthcare, politics, and the issues shaping our collective future. As the named physician plaintiff in a landmark Wisconsin abortion decision, she brings a perspective to these conversations that goes beyond politics. New episodes drop every week. Subscribe to stay current on reproductive rights, health politics, all things Wisconsin, and everything else that matters.
Producer: Abraham Lyerly
Music: Nic Tierman
Graphics: Nathaniel Gonzalez