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It's a special Halloween edition of Mornings with Pat Crichtlow.
Powered by Up North News.
Live from the haunted Lake Wissota studio.
Here's your ghost host at Bright Low.
Yeah, I got my last minute costume baseball cap on.
I am ready to roll.
Dr. Kristen Lyrely joining us.
Parker Olson producing things as well.
On a Halloween Friday, Dr. Lyrely not with us on Monday because somebody was at the Packer Steelers game and wore out her voice.
Let's see if it's any better today.
Dr. Lyrely, good morning.
Good morning.
It was worth it because I personally felt responsible, as did all of the Packer fans around me, for the Go Pack Go Cheers.
So you're welcome.
Well, it worked.
You know, Aaron Rodgers talked about how he had to use a silent count for the first time and, you know, at a home game for him.
So that was that was cool.
Good work out of
you.
It was so cool.
And when we got to the beginning of the fourth quarter and the Steelers fans who were awesome, by the way, the people in Pittsburgh were amazing.
But they started just streaming out of the stadium.
And we stayed and stayed and oh my gosh, we just had so much fun.
Oh, that's so great.
Let's see from.
Good morning from Tiger 10 writes Rob on YouTube.
It's cloudy and 37 on a Halloween Friday.
Yesterday was a great day working outside mowing leaves, doing paperwork for the the mowing season.
He says two years ago we had
a white Halloween with six inches of snow.
Let's see, had a white Halloween and Christmas.
It was 51 degrees.
Oh yeah, that's right.
It was a white Halloween two years ago and he had a brown Christmas when it was 51 degrees.
So, yeah, that's that's how this works.
Let's see.
Oh, Rob also writes, my mom helped start the Tigerton community cupboard, a community food bank by the Tigerton area churches and businesses.
I used to help my mom distribute food for the community cupboard for many years.
He writes, please help out your community food banks.
And
we're
going to be we're going to be talking later to legislative candidate Emily Cephos, who will get into this more with her.
But you said Emily is is getting noticed.
for her work to help support all these food banks.
Alicia writes on YouTube, Emily was out there last night in the dark, picking up food that woman is an icon.
She is a true leader.
She has little kids too.
So her kids are with her in the car driving all over the Fox Valley, picking up food, delivering it, making sure people do not go hungry.
This is personal for Emily.
And I'm sure we're going to get into it.
Absolutely, we will.
So this week, of course, well, let's start with that.
The food banks are needing help, you know, because of the snap benefits.
that are being cut.
And I mean, on a day to day basis, Kristen, you talk to patients who and going through their daily struggles, I don't know that they've ever felt more like political pawns than right now.
I think they're really starting to get it, but we're talking about one in eight Americans who receive SNAP benefits, who depend on SNAP benefits, and these are children, elderly folks, folks with disabilities, their most vulnerable population, and we have the money.
We have the contingency funds there.
All they have to do is release it to make sure that these people can continue to get access to food.
What is going on with our government?
A government that is for the people, that is meant to be that foundation for us.
Instead, they're using these people as pawns and we're doing everything that we can to do what Emily Cephos is doing to run around and fill the food banks and volunteer and help out as much as we are able to.
But this is a government deal and they need to step up.
Well, there has to be the willingness to.
you know, and right now they, they almost seem to revel in, you know, the, we only say that line, the cruelty is the point.
And it really seems to be having an impact with them.
And I'm, I'm still struck by this feeling like if they just say, Democrat shutdown and Schumer shutdown, if they just say it enough that people will believe it, and don't get me wrong, the Marquette poll shows that people are angry at both parties.
But they do know this is not a chicken and egg situation.
They do know this had a clear start with somebody.
Can I just float an idea that I've been tossing around in my head that we have not talked about?
Go for it.
This thought, so I live in northeastern Wisconsin where people tend to vote for Republicans, but they're actually pretty independent.
But the Democratic label is kind of toxic here.
People love to say, I don't know, I'm not a party.
I'm not
a party.
I vote for the person not the party.
I'm in the middle.
I hear a lot of people saying I'm in the middle.
And you know, there really isn't a middle.
I mean, the middle of what?
If at this stage in this country where our government is literally starving vulnerable people.
Where's the middle for that?
You have to pick a side when it comes to these issues.
So I think that it's really important for us as neighbors and friends and community members not to talk about this in terms of politics, but to talk about it in terms of what is right.
And saying I'm in the middle does not solve this problem, but stepping up and
talking to your representative and saying, you need to do that.
You need to go back to work.
You need to release these funds.
That's what we need from our representatives, from our neighbors right now.
Yeah, it's like our caller earlier, Ali from the Northwoods, who said it is just time to get on the phone.
Call the White House Switch Board, call your congressional representative.
Whichever side they're on, let them hear from you that this is a real concern.
And now we're seeing head starts in Wisconsin are going to start closing their doors.
That's going to put some parents into high anxiety, not just for their kids, but for their work.
Do they have to stay home from work?
Will they lose their job as a result?
This is getting real for a lot of folks starting this weekend.
It is.
And I know that it feels uncomfortable to have to take a side, but you have to take a side right now.
You have to step up for what's right.
And you don't have to declare it, but you definitely have to stand for what you believe in.
Yeah.
And so
A lot of this, of course, is centered on the skyrocketing cost of health insurance, going back to the bad old days pre Obamacare, which is what Republicans want.
And so starting tomorrow, open enrollment season for policies in the Affordable Care marketplace, we've given some of the specific numbers throughout the course of the week here around Wisconsin, Kristen, but you're the one who's actually talked to people who
come with some trepidation because they don't have health insurance or you didn't, they should have come to you a lot earlier, but of course they didn't have health insurance and we're just going back to some bad old days here with these kinds of price hikes.
I'm so worried about this.
Health insurance, our healthcare system is already so fundamentally broken.
But when people can't afford to go to the doctor and they know you know when you have a problem you know when you should get it checked out and you're weighing in your head like is it worth it do I really want to spend this money as it gets more expensive.
It's harder to put that money out there to actually do that thing to take care of yourself but you know having diagnosed advanced cancers.
And cardiovascular disease, which is the heart disease, is the number one killer of all of us.
There are things that we can do.
There are steps that we can take to control your blood pressure and your cholesterol and to advise you on how to live a healthier life so that you'll live longer and better.
There are things we can do if you can get to the doctor.
But if you can't, that's a problem.
And if you have to wait and you end up in the emergency department, it's expensive.
They often can't do anything for you.
That's not healthcare.
That's putting out fires.
They can treat your stroke or your heart attack, but they can't help you manage your blood pressure or your diabetes long term.
And if you can't afford it and you end up in the emergency department, you end up with medical debt, the hospital ends up having to write it off, and the entire community ends up paying for it.
It is a lose, lose on all levels when people can't access healthcare.
Yeah, one part of it is being attacked by the Secretary for Health and Human Services, Robert Kennedy Jr.
On our website right now is the article RFK Jr.
is ignoring
100 studies or more to push his abortion pill ban.
This is the myth of pristone explainer you need.
And so that article is on our website.
So for folks who can't get to it, maybe you can talk a bit more.
I know you put something on your Facebook this week about medication abortion.
And yet the Trump administration is still making moves to make it no longer available.
the Miphupristone explainer that you need.
I can talk about it.
Miphupristone is one of the medications that we use in medication abortion, also for managing miscarriages.
It's used in most abortions in this country, actually the majority these days.
It is safe.
It is effective.
We've been using it for decades.
We've got tons of evidence that shows that it works and it is a good thing and it is actually life-saving for so many people.
Again, because of politics, the FDA has agreed to review this medication, and we all know where this is going to end up.
They're going to end up putting restrictions on it, or maybe even pulling it entirely, making it inaccessible for people.
And this is how Donald Trump enacts his backdoor abortion ban.
He can't do it through the front door.
We've had referendum after referendum all across this country that show that people support the right to choose to make your own personal health care decisions.
But Donald Trump doesn't, and his administration doesn't, and this is their trick to force us to do what they want us to do.
We're talking to Dr. Kristen Lyrely, who also hosts the Dr. Kristen Lyrely Show Saturdays at noon across the Civic Media Radio Network.
And you can also follow on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, what you got going on this weekend.
I think we're Saturday and Sunday at noon now.
Yes.
Isn't that
exciting?
Yes.
Yeah, we're talking to Fran Hong, representative Fran Hong, candidate for Wisconsin Governor Fran Hong.
You're going to want to listen to this one.
So we're doing a series talking with all of the candidates for governor on the Democratic side.
I'll invite the Republicans too.
I just have a gut feeling they're not going to show up.
But
Fran is spicy and she's got some great, really well thought out ideas.
And I'll tell you one thing.
Fran is for the people.
She's been a dishwasher.
She's owned a restaurant.
She understands what working people are going through and you're going to hear
that loud and clear this weekend.
Yeah, without a doubt.
So listen to that coming up this weekend.
Let's see from Alicia on YouTube.
We've got active duty military classified as leave without pay.
She says that's basically AWOL, which means there's a potential of not getting back pay if you're on leave without pay.
That's insane.
Rob from Tigerton followed up with it with a comment.
It's sad that we treat our military personnel on duty 24-7 protecting this country and don't get paid.
Many are very close to harm's way.
But the other point with that is the Trump administration is saying, well, we're going to find a way to pay them.
Well, again, that's fine.
But that is you playing favorites because there are still so many essential workers across the federal government who aren't going to get paid.
And you can't just hide behind the military and say, well, we're paying them so everything's OK.
That's not OK at all.
Why are you holding back anybody's pay?
Why aren't you just operating a functional federal government?
Here's the easy way to do it.
Negotiate, reopen the government.
Put everything back in place.
It's all right there.
Everybody gets paid.
Everybody's happy.
Seems simple to me.
When I was coming back from Pittsburgh, I saw a TSA agent, a lot of them actually.
And you know, I'm from Wisconsin, so I'm friendly.
So I asked how they were doing.
And this person just looked at me and said, some of us are going to food banks.
The government should be embarrassed.
Those are his exact words.
I was shocked.
Like usually they're so stoic and they don't say anything, but he was clearly suffering.
And you know, I just I put my hand on his shoulder.
I know you're not supposed to do that, but I just couldn't help it because he was just like so angry.
This is so fundamentally unfair and so.
fixable if we actually had a government that was for the people, if the Republicans would just go back to Washington DC where the Democrats are waiting and doing the work and just negotiate, just negotiate.
Oh, that would that would mean ending their paid vacation where they're trying so hard to spin this.
But again, call your Congressperson's office and give that very simple message, go back to DC, go back and do the job that we are paying you to do.
Quick look at sports at 820 and then Kristen and I will be joined by Emily Seffos as well.
The Milwaukee Bucks, Ryan Reynolds, Ryan Reynolds, Ryan Rollins, would it be something to
throw?
That would be for the Milwaukee
Bucks.
That, that would be something.
Ryan Rollins set a personal scoring high, 32 points helping the Bucks beat the Golden State Warriors, 120 to 110, even without Giannis who missed the game due to a sore left knee.
Miles Turner added 17 points for the Bucks.
The Badger Hockey team defeated the Minnesota Gophers.
and they will play again on Saturday, the women's hockey team taking on the gophers tonight and tomorrow in Madison as well.
Thanks for joining us live from the lake.
I'm Pat Critewell from Up North News, and this is the Civic Media Radio Network.
You're listening to Civic Media.
Stay up to date on the latest news and information for your local community and Wisconsin by signing up for our free email newsletter.
Visit civicmedia.us slash email to get
started.
I don't know how I feel about that comparison, but I didn't get a vote in that.
So welcome back.
It is just about 823.
Dr. Kristen Lyrely is here, and we are joined by State Senate candidate Emily Cephos as well.
Emily, good morning.
Good morning.
Good morning.
Happy to be with you both on this Halloween.
Yes.
And what a busy person you have been.
We mentioned earlier.
that we got a note from our listener, Alicia, who says, Emily was out there last night in the dark picking up food.
The woman is an icon.
She is a true leader.
She clearly heard you during the commercial break because she added, what do I always tell you, Emily?
I'll sleep when I'm dead.
She does say that, yes.
She's also a heroine.
Yeah, there are a lot of heroes out there, more than we should need at this point.
You've been especially active well first off it was active enough just to decide to run for state Senate in again a tough district But now you're doing all this extra work to make sure the food banks are prepared for the cutoff and snap benefits So let's get to the first one first.
I know you've talked about it in several different social media posts But I'd like you to tell our audience, you know, you know, this is an uphill climb and you know how hard the last campaign was You're back for more anyway for a good reason
Yeah, I think it's just at the end of the day things are falling away and people deserve better than they're getting right now They deserve somebody that knows their community and they're the district well and that is gonna show up and be accountable and fight for them like hell because we really need to make sure that We're protecting the most vulnerable of us.
We're investing in our communities and we're strengthening Strengthening things for all of us.
So I'm excited.
It's a mountain, but we're tripping away at it
It's about showing up, like you said.
Rob and Tigerton adds Emily as a true hero, putting that on YouTube for you as well.
But again, being there because we've had multiple instances of legislators who it's questionable if they even live in their district, much less represented.
And then there's the ones who
don't show up in Madison or like all these members of Congress on the Republican side who aren't showing up in Washington DC.
I mean showing up is such a big part of the job both officially and unofficially with what you're doing helping out with with food banks and food pantries.
I guess you're just really showing people the first key is get out of the house.
Yeah, for sure.
I mean and the fact that like we should this is what every elected in my opinion should be doing right now is I mean this is we are at a precipice aren't we and so I think that we really need strong leadership right now and I don't care what side I'm telling people with this food drive I don't care what your politics are people need to be fed like food is a Human right and if we're gonna treat people with dignity like let's make sure they have food on the table that kids have food in their bellies And it's really just about that
for me first and foremost is meeting that urgent need.
But we should be seeing everyone doing this regardless of your party affiliation at this point.
Kristen?
Emily, this is not a campaign thing for you.
I mean, you are out there doing the work because you care and it's personal for you, isn't it?
Yeah.
My youngest son is adopted and he experienced chronic malnutrition before we adopted him at three and a half.
And so like the hunger
piece of it is something that is a part of our family all the time because what he experienced will never, it'll always be with him.
And so a special part of my heart is like every parent wants their kid to be fed.
Every human being wants a child or a person to not experience like hunger pains, like people crying themselves to sleep and things like that.
And while his situation was different, it's that hunger piece.
It's about human dignity.
you know for me and so I'm looking at him and I'm wondering like we are the wealthiest country country in the world like what are we doing what are we doing
you know can I just say there are so many Pat you said it earlier politicians who are out there not living in their district just trying to take advantage doing the photo ops if I see another picture of Tony weed at a food bank while he is literally taking food out of people's mouths I'm just gonna lose it but Emily
Emily is doing the real thing, the thing that people want, the thing that people expect their leaders to do.
I want to invite all of our listeners to just really think about what does this mean?
What is true leadership when somebody like Emily who is so authentic and grounded steps into this role to truly serve?
It's beautiful and I'm so honored
to be your friend, Emily.
you know like thank you but also it's just the I put out a call right like you have a little bit of a social media presence and I put out a call and I built something I think that was really beautiful community-wise when I ran last time and to say to those people our neighbors need us and have them be like I've got it I've got stuff on the porch now I've got bins on the porch just come and pick them up and I you know I
messaged all my friends and they're doing that work and I think it's that collective like community effort that we need to see more of and frankly like when government fails us we know here in Wisconsin we're going to take care of each other but at the same time it shouldn't be this way it shouldn't have to be this way and frankly because of what's going on in Washington the fact that they have that funding available that they're simply not releasing that has already been appropriated like it we need to call attention to that.
right the the egregious missteps of this administration and congress and people like Tony weed who are then doing their photo ops and it's like show up authentically don't use us as pods.
Yeah.
Emily as much more of course on her campaign website Emily sephos.com that's Emily TSE FFOS Emily TSE FFOS Emily sephos.com to learn more.
Can you tell folks a bit about the district that you're running in where it is?
Sure.
So every Senate district in the state is made up of three assembly districts.
So districts 55, 56, 57, doesn't mean a lot to people, but it's just the outskirts of Appleton, some grand chute.
And then it goes westward to Wapaka and Washera counties and then down into Winnebago County, like Fox Crossing and south of Oshkosh.
All those like urban like cities along the lake are a different Senate district, but very, very rural, very, very large.
And so like,
I alluded to before it's going to take a team effort to get this one done and get it done right.
And I'm really going to be dependent on people that are like, I know it's broken.
I want to help you fix it because I don't want it to just be me.
I want it to be a whole community effort kind of thing.
It's the only way it gets done is it takes a village because there's a lot of villages in every state-centered district.
A lot of ground to cover.
Dr. Kristen Lyrely with us along with Emily Cephos.
It is just coming up on 8.30 here and we will continue this conversation coming up and then again a reminder that Dr. Kristen Lyrely's show can be heard on the weekends at noon all across the Civic Media radio network.
You can also follow on Spotify, Apple, wherever you get your podcasts.
We'll be back.
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The weekday edition today includes an article about the way that federal cuts are threatening rural Wisconsin.
In so many ways, we've talked about it a lot on this program, but get a few more details by finding that article on our website or subscribing to our weekday newsletter.
And then there's our Sunday morning newsletter, conveniently named Sunday mornings with Pat Crightlow, all about some of the political stories of the week.
There's also a question of the week and this week's question was should a new nuclear power plant be built in the Kiwani area where there had been a plant that was then decommissioned and there's been talk about Building a brand new nuclear power plant there one that supporters say would generate electricity without contributing to you know climate change Other saying that the risks aren't worth it
For the first part of the week, the answers were decidedly 50-50 in nature.
And now after this program, I'm going to tally up all the rest of the emails that have come in responding to the newsletter.
We'll have the answer coming up this Sunday morning, along with a new question of the week.
Again, subscribe over at UpNorthNewsWI.com.
Joined once again by Dr. Kristen Lyrely and Emily Sefos, who is running for state senate in the Fox Valley.
And Kristen, of course, has the
Dr. Kristen Lyerly Show, which you can hear Saturdays and Sundays at noon across the Civic Media Radio Network.
And Kristen, you are no stranger to the topic of the federal cuts harming rural health care.
We've talked about that at length.
And Emily, you have a Senate district that was a lot like mine over here in the western part of the state.
It's got some incorporated areas, but there's a whole lot of area that is decidedly rural and feels forgotten.
in Madison or Washington and you're there to tell them that somebody actually is listening and wanting to work on their behalf.
Yeah, I think that we have like WPACA that lost their maternity ward earlier this year in their hospital and a lot of people that I've talked to again like kind of pulling from what I did in 2024 but certainly this hasn't changed is that it's really
it's hard to get access or to care close to you and it's really difficult for a lot of working folks to to find what they need in order to like live healthy lives in in their townships and we really want to like point out the root cause of that instead of it just being like this thing happened like we really need to start naming plainly repeatedly who's
accountable like who made the decisions every pain point is a policy choice and that's what i'm going to try to do this time around.
I want to say that every pain point is a policy choice which is so true and I think we especially in rural areas are so reluctant and we talked about this a little bit earlier to pick a side it's like we are loyal to our team and we just don't want to let that go but.
Clearly one team is not working on behalf of the people and it's having that conversation that face to face Emily that you are so good at when you knock on somebody's door and you start talking about the things that people care about and you are you so gently help people understand this isn't working for you and it's because of this.
This isn't working for you and it's because of this and creating that trust and helping people understand truly how this
This tribalism is tearing us apart.
These are the conversations we need to be having with our friends and neighbors and their hard conversations to have, but they are necessary.
Yeah, I think that with the misinformation and like the just the way that the machine works on either side with media and things like that It's getting back to the one-on-one conversation.
It's painfully slow surely to be doing this kind of stuff But I've been on so many doors whether they're either like politically apathetic or they've got a lot of misinformation and then to like have an honest respectful conversation and say like you tell me that you're not political but I see you taking care of your autistic grandson because your daughter had an issue with addiction like that's all political because it either helps
what you're trying to do for your own self to make things manageable or it hurts people like you and like
those are the kind of things where it's like, you see those light bulbs go off, you know, and people are like, oh my gosh, you're right.
And what I think like Pat, you mentioned people feel left behind and forgotten is because everything is so big and ambiguous and you like the economy is the stock stock market and blah, blah, blah, like no, it's people sitting that are stressed at the end of every month with bills on their kitchen table.
They're
like, how am I going to do this?
Right?
Like, how am I going to pay this again and save for something like retirement?
And so we really just need to get back to the brass tacks and talking about that without letting that twist and contortion.
kind of put them against us.
Emily Cephos is a candidate for state senate.
You can learn more about Emily at EmilyCephos.com.
That's Emily T as in Tom.
Emily T S E F F O S about the race that she's running there.
And Emily and Kristen, there's also of course the aspect of things.
I mean, we're always trying to like explain
the little nuances in policy that are hurting rural areas.
But then there's the things that are readily apparent, like China buying no soybeans from Wisconsin farmers, and then the Trump administration, you know, giving $20 billion, $40 billion to Argentina and saying, we're going to import beef.
And sometimes it feels like you just need to knock on some of these doors.
They're already aware of that and go, see?
It's so tempting, but I keep telling people don't do that.
Like I keep telling people because you want to it doesn't and I think like what I'm trying to like get across to people is to say like as you know People are feeling that stress that what's created by this administration or by people in Madison like they lied to you They told you costs were gonna go down.
They told you that the market the global market for your
crops or your beef would be better than ever.
That's not happening.
And you're seeing it happen.
And I'm so sorry that they lied to you.
But let's talk about what I want to bring to the table or the kind of transparency and accountability that I would bring in leadership to make sure that this kind of stuff doesn't happen.
We don't want people taking advantage of each other.
And frankly, like, again, when we're talking, it's not left or right anymore.
It's top versus bottom.
And it's people that are taking advantage of that.
And while we're toiling away and fighting at the bottom, all the people at the top are laughing all the way to the bank.
Like, and it's, and I think that that is a critical piece of this as well.
Any chance, any chance it's too late to change how you're running on the text line from Tiffany and River Falls, Cephos for governor, just that basic.
So,
you know, flattering, I have three kids and the Senate district is quite big enough for me.
Um, and there's some great candidates that have already immersion field.
So
we're going to
go here.
Well, you know,
there is the future.
So let's keep that in mind.
Oh,
yeah.
Yep.
There's, there's always that.
Uh, Emily's also serving as a county chair for the out of gaming county democratic party.
So Emily, both you and Kristen, uh, have another role that you're playing this time of year.
It maybe isn't really firing up yet, but, but it should and it will real soon.
And that's finding candidates for some of these other districts to run and candidate recruitment.
I don't know.
Is it, is it.
harder because Donald Trump actually won last time around and people are discouraged or might it be a little easier because now they've seen what his wrecking ball has metaphorically and literally done.
I
think it's
a little bit of both.
I think that there are people that are excited, not excited, but they feel it's their responsibility right now as things are hollowing out to go and serve their community in that way and that is incredible to see.
I do think that especially in these non-targeted districts like where I ran and where I'm running, that it's a really tough ask because you know you're kind of like left out there to
to build and do your own thing.
And so what I want to do, part of the reason that I'm excited about running for Senate is that it encompasses those three assembly districts.
So really working in coordination, and Kristen, you set us up in the 8th CD to do this, really collaborating and being as strong as we can.
And when you do that, hopefully you see more people that are like, OK, as long as I'm not alone, I can do this with you.
And so we really want it to be a team effort.
We're all in this together kind of thing.
That's exactly what we need.
I think in the past we've looked at these districts and said there is a candidate running in this district and it's about the candidate, but in Northeast Wisconsin it's about our team, our team working with the county chairs, with the food banks, with the other candidates, and it's this giant collaborative effort, but still it's hard for people to step up in an environment like this and put
yourself in a partisan role, recognizing that the partisan divide is huge and uncomfortable.
But if ever there was a time to take one for the team and to recognize the difference that you could make, this is that time.
Dr. Kristen Lyrely is with us along with Emily Cephos as we talk about the 2026 races that are just coming, you know,
coming into their own with people announcing for all the various offices that are out there.
And Kristen, I think it's important to remind folks that, you know, Emily's running for state Senate that last year we were talking all about the new fairer maps and that all 99 assembly districts, you know, had been basically redrawn or, you know, modified, but only half of the state Senate because those terms are four years instead of two.
So this next time.
is the other half of the state Senate having to run with these brand new maps for the first time.
And just by luck of the draw, a lot of last year's state Senate races were pretty prominently Republican.
There are a lot more state Senate districts in 2026 that are going to be up for grabs this year.
We may end up with, if not the trifecta of a Democratic governor, Senate and Assembly coming closer than we have in 15 years.
That's the goal.
I don't think we kept hearing about how gerrymandered we were.
I don't think we really recognized like truly felt how gerrymandered we were until we saw the new maps.
Northeast Wisconsin is a great example of this.
We had three state senators who lived literally within six miles of each other.
They were just right next to neighbors.
They could walk to each other's houses, but they consumed the entire northeastern region of the state because of the way that these maps were drawn.
Now that we've got fair maps in the state legislature,
People get it and people are going to get out and vote because they care.
I believe in Wisconsinites.
I know that Wisconsinites are independent thinkers, independent voters.
That's what Emily is counting on and she's having these conversations in some really tough districts.
I think we as neighbors, as Wisconsinites, we can really make a difference here.
Emily when you made the decision to run given the the fair maps again still you know not not not an easy campaign by any stretch but you're talking to folks with the the state democratic party the democratic senate committee there and then other democrats who are running for state senate as well as assembly and there has to be you know as much optimism as as there ever has been thanks to the way we finally got fair maps in the state.
Yeah, I think that people, again, are feeling that optimism.
And it's weird because you're holding two truths in your hand.
One is that things are not looking great for a lot of people that we care about, but now it's our shot.
And so I think that we need to keep serving with community as the center and as the root of any of the things that we're doing, like not being so hyperpartisan in our messaging or kind of just
Disregarding people's real and experienced like fear or anger and stuff like that, but really getting to like the root.
Like we all care about our family, our community, our country.
So let's talk through without again, all of the manufactured crises and hyperbolic outrage.
Let's really talk through like the nuts and bolts of what it's going to make life when you walk out your front door, how are we going to make it more livable, more affordable, safer for you?
And let's work on that together.
So I think that as long as our candidates are willing to do that work.
and talk to those issues, like we're going to see some really positive things coming out next year.
Emily, we're coming up on Halloween night.
You've been busting your butt all week.
Do you do you relax?
Do you take people out trick or treating?
Are you the candy hand or outer?
How are you going to take care of yourself tonight?
Well, I have three children and they have big plans for a bag full of candy.
So we have our costumes.
Yes, exactly.
And my middle son was like, I'm going to fill the whole thing.
I'm like, that's a lot of candy, buddy.
But we're going to be out trick-or-treating.
So I'm going to do some running to pick up all the food this morning.
And then I'm going to get out trick-or-treating with them in the afternoon.
Got a costume tonight, or a favorite one that you've had in the past?
I'm always Professor McGonagall from
Harry
Potter because I have a robe and it's nice and warm and it's great.
So that is my annual costume.
Actually, I was Dumbledore a couple of different times when my daughters were into Harry Potter.
Very easy costume.
Kristen, how about you tonight?
I'm making a big pot of soup and handing out goodies to all the kiddos and the grown-ups.
We've got grown-up
goodies here.
You put a little soup in the bag or do you put the individual?
Oh, you mean for dinner before.
Just a
soupy pillowcase.
That's weird.
Help the chocolate.
All right.
Now, Kristen Lyrely, listen for her show tomorrow at noon and Sunday as well across the Civic Media Radio Network, Emily Cephos, state senate candidate at Emily TSE, FFOS, EmilyCephos.com.
Emily, Kristen, thank you.
Thank you so much.
Have a great start to the weekend.
Happy
Halloween.
Great to talk to you both.
When we come back, coming up, we'll close out with a game of tricks and treats.
Politician or Disney villain.
Politician or Disney villain.
We'll explain after this.
You're up, Mark.
scarier than a gas station breakfast burrito.
It's mornings with Pat Critello, powered by Up North News.
Gas station sushi can be counted in there as well.
The Milwaukee Bucks Ryan Rollins set a personal scoring high 32 points to help the Bucks beat Golden State last night.
120 to 110, Yana set out with a sore left knee.
Let's see, there's also college hockey to tell you about coming up Saturday.
The Badger men's hockey team will host Minnesota 530.
The pregame begins on WFH on Wisconsin Rapids and Sunday Packers hosting the Carolina Panthers pregame begins at 10 a.m.
on some of the stations of the Civic Media Radio Network.
Time to introduce the audience to a new character here on the program.
And by character, I mean an individual, I don't mean like, this is his real name, Frank Argano, who serves as one of our new senior producers at Civic Media.
Frank, welcome to the program.
I'm glad you're bringing ideas here and this one is called what, Disney villain or politician?
Obviously, Disney villains are always popular costumes this time of year.
So, you know, we talked a lot about politics.
So let's end the show on a light note and we'll see.
if you guys can guess if these quotes are attributed to famous politicians or classic Disney villains.
So it's going to be Pat versus Parker.
I'm going to read the quote.
You both will give your guess politician or Disney villain and then Parker will play the clip.
Are you guys ready?
Right.
Oh, yeah.
And just so you know, you guys are playing for a prize.
The winner will get a free beverage of their choice courtesy of yours truly.
Oh, well, OK.
That's really interesting.
Let me take the next step toward that old-fashioned and go with question number one.
I'm gonna go with politician.
You know, it takes a lot longer to build a lie than to tell the simple truth.
one.
Well, of course.
Okay.
retells a
Oh, or is incapable of anything but.
All right.
Question number two.
All
It sounds like a Mary Poppins type thing.
I'm going to, well, she's not a Disney villain.
Oh, maybe just some people.
I would say Disney villain anyway.
Pretty isn't it?
Perfectly balanced as all things should be.
Avengers.
Oh,
Wow.
Oh, we're even going Avengers on this.
Oh, yeah.
That's it.
It's a Disney property.
The umbrella is gargantuan.
All right.
We're
that's.
I really hope that it's a villain.
So I'm going with that.
Okay, there's going
I'm gonna go with politician.
because I'm a
Oh, okay.
All right.
Good.
There we go.
Score one for Parker.
getting that close.
He's getting that close to his beverage.
Another glass of water.
I was going to say,
Oh, no, Fiji.
Fiji's top of the line.
Fiji.
Come
Only the finest of bottled water.
All
Ooh.
I think politician.
I'm going to go with politician as well.
It's just awkward in that he is a politician of a Disney villain type in his own way.
So I almost feel like we both can get the point for that one.
But it's still.
Still keeps Parker in the lead.
All right.
For those of you just joining us, we are playing politician or Disney villain.
We're reading famous quotes.
Pat and Parker have to guess whether it was a politician or Disney villain.
Right now Parker leads four to three.
We have time for a couple more.
Let's get to the next one.
I'm surrounded by idiots.
I mean, everyone has said that at some point in their life.
Yeah.
So
it
I think it's a villain.
Politician.
I'm surrounded by idiots.
Yes.
remember the quote well, but I, given that I have said it many a time myself in an ill temper, I'm going to give myself a point having been a politician who probably uttered that at some point.
So half a point for me.
absolutely.
Yes.
It's the genius of this game.
Oh, we know this one.
I
we get next your
We know this guy who should be a Disney villain and still has a chance to, after his congressional career is over, play a little Derek Forrest Parker.
They're lying!
I'm over it!
Stop it!
Eric Van Orden's greatest hits, boys and girls.
to
a villain.
There we go.
Politician.
He says, villain, play it.
Success doesn't come for freeing.
You have to be willing to do whatever it takes to seize your moment.
Who was that?
this all
Congratulations.
It's your beverage
Thank you Frank.
Thanks to Happy Halloween everybody.
Have a wonderful weekend.
We'll see you back here Monday morning bright and early here up north.
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