Mornings with Pat Kreitlow

Wall Street finance and compliance expert Sean O’Malley gives us his Wisconsin common sense take on the latest economic news—raw numbers that suggest things aren’t as bad as people feared they might be, but there’s no clear path out of the current sluggishness. And it goes without saying, the sluggishness wasn’t inevitable, since we were […]

Guests: Joe Zepecki, Sean O’Malley

Thu Jul 31, 2025

44:02

For people who follow the news regularly, there’s no surprise in what billboards are saying about the Trump megabill. But there are still plenty of people in Wisconsin and elsewhere who aren’t aware that the massive cuts in vital programs aren’t saving them a dime—it’s all going to pay for tax cuts for billionaires and […]

Guest: Faiz Shakir

Thu Jul 31, 2025

44:02

Well, that didn’t take long. The 2026 race for Wisconsin governor already has its first smear campaign—and it was as predictable as it is tiring. Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez met her husband at a salsa dancing class and they’ve been married nearly 20 years. He’s an IT network engineer, a naturalized citizen, and they’re raising […]

Guest: Cherita Booker

Thu Jul 31, 2025

44:02

Is Big Oil about to go the way of Big Tobacco and face an overdue courtroom reckoning for its role in putting our climate and human health in danger? If so, there’s no shortage of courtrooms where that might happen. Former US Attorney Jim Santelle joins Melissa Baldauff in this week’s Climate Check to discuss […]

Guests: Earl Ingram, Jim Santelle, Melissa Baldauff

Wed Jul 30, 2025

44:02

We’ll talk to a guest from Chippewa Falls, the school district business manager, about the problems being faced in communities with declining school enrollment. Whether because of demographics or (increasingly) the threat from taxpayer-funded private school vouchers, each kid who leaves means state aid goes down a little. But expenses don’t. The lights still go […]

Guest: Chad Trowbridge

Wed Jul 30, 2025

44:02

Today Medicare and Medicaid turn 60 years old. It should be a cause for celebration, for the untold number of lives made better through healthcare security for the retired, the disabled, and other at-risk populations. Instead, those recipients are being called lazy, told to “get off the couch,” and being lumped in with a miniscule […]

Wed Jul 30, 2025

44:02

Now that Gov. Evers has made his retirement official, we’ll ask Dan Shafer from The Recombobulation Area and the way Democratic dominoes could start to line up—with incumbents considering a run for new seats, which opens up other seats for newcomers. We’ll also get an update on Wausau headlines with Chad Holmes from 98.9 WXCO […]

Guest: Dan Shafer

Tue Jul 29, 2025

44:02

Lincoln County dairy farmer Hans Breitenmoser and Sheila Everhart of the Wisconsin Agricultural Tourism Association will fill us in on upcoming fairs, festivals, and farm shows—and they’ll take on the more serious issues of how laws need to be changed to assist farmers who want to diversify their businesses to welcome more visitors and events. […]

Guests: Angela Stroud, Hans Breitenmoser, Sheila Everhart

Tue Jul 29, 2025

44:02

Once upon a time, it was rare for someone to run for a higher office with no experience serving in some other capacity. Chief executive is a heck of a place for on-the-job training, whether it’s at a factory or running a state — or a country, right? In a two-and-a-half minute interview segment, a […]

Tue Jul 29, 2025

44:02

Author Laura Bird has some book recommendations that celebrate and promote a connection to nature—covering different genres and ages through books written by Wisconsinites and other Midwesterners. We’ll also check in with Civic Media friends John & Gordy, and Jane Matenaer. Laura Bird recommends fiction novels by Andrew J. Graff “Raft of Stars” and “True […]

Guest: Laura Bird

Mon Jul 28, 2025

44:02