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You're listening to Mornings with Pat Crichtlow powered by Up North News.
Now, for my Lake WSOTA studio, here is the founding editor of Up North News, Pat Crichtlow.
Good morning, welcome back.
Nice to have you here up north.
It's a Monday morning, November 10th, 2025.
You can reach us here at 855-75-CIVIC-855-7524842, question of the day.
How do you think the Packers are going to do against the Eagles in Monday night football tonight at Lambeau?
So if it's at Lambeau, well, I mean, it's a Monday night game.
So I already know that producer Parker Olson and I will, well, he's going to try to stay up till the end of it.
I don't know about the rest of us.
You know, Selena's a working mom.
Selena Hellers here from Uptown News.
And then there's Dr. Kristen Lyrely who lives within earshot of Lambeau Field and is already looking for ways to undermine the Eagles tonight when they come to Lambeau.
That's my plan.
One fan at a time.
Crush their morale.
You've got friends who are Eagles fans coming into town.
Okay.
And you're looking to crush the morale of your friends.
I am, yes.
It's
good to have goals.
They're from Philly.
They need that.
Oh, I know.
They need a little level setting.
Yes.
I do not disagree one bit.
So good luck with that.
You can hear Kristen on the Dr. Kristen Lyrely show as well, of course, over the weekends.
And so tell us about last, the show that people missed and the show that people can catch next weekend.
Mayor Dennis McBride, Wauwatosa Mayor Dennis McBride wrote a book about how crazy it was in Wauwatosa.
back in 2020, back when, you know, the world was falling apart.
Wauwatosa was really like a microcosm of what was happening everywhere else.
So Dennis, super smart, great interview, so much fun, and so eye-opening.
So catch that one.
That was last week.
This week, fan favorite, Kristen Brie.
Kristen Brie's back.
We're going to have a delight.
I know two Christians, one place.
It's going to be we.
Can the radio hold us is the question.
No, there's nothing
that can
contain
two of you put together.
So
by all
means, tune in to the Dr. Kristen Lairley show over the weekend here.
Also, keep in mind, you can follow what we do at Up North News through our daily newsletter.
Head to UpNorthNewsWI.com.
Click subscribe in the banner atop the homepage.
Ellie's put together this morning's edition that talks about a national survey on where to find the best haunted houses in the country.
And there are two Wisconsin cities that rank among America's best for the kinds of haunted houses
as you can visit at Halloween time.
So learn more by signing up for the newsletter UpNorthNewsWI.com.
So Selina is going to tell us in just a bit some more reaction about families who cannot believe that they have been used as pawns in this government shutdown fight, having their snap benefits ended.
Another appeals court judge this morning has ruled that the Trump administration does have to pay those benefits, but it has put families in a tight spot.
and Selena will tell us more in a bit, but there's also now a potential deal to end the government shutdown.
There were eight Democrats, or I believe it's seven Dems and one Independent, who have worked with some Republicans to create a package that would reopen the government, would stop some of the federal layoffs, would restore some back pay, and a few other elements and get things opened up again.
but would do absolutely nothing to prevent the massive price hikes in health insurance plans other than get a promise from the Senate Republican leader to eventually hold a vote, a standalone vote on restoring those subsidies.
Senator Tammy Baldwin and many other Democratic senators blasted the plan and are not expected to go along with it.
A few others are saying
Look, you can't keep inflicting this much pain, and we will just simply point out for the next, you know, 50 weeks till the midterms that Republicans are the ones who allowed these health insurance price hikes to go through.
Kristen, I don't know when you first heard about it, but what was your first impression on this potential deal to end the shutdown?
Last night everybody was chattering about it.
I was in Washington DC for the last week and it is really interesting to be in one of the bluest places in the country and to hear some of the conversations that they're having very different than what we're talking about here in Wisconsin.
All of those federal workers who are driving ubers and running photo booths and trying to piece it together just to get to the point where the shutdown is over.
I get it.
I understand that the pressure is on, but healthcare is going up and people are not going to be able to afford it.
So the long-term goal will not be achieved for some short-term relief.
I frankly, personally, I understand the play.
I'm really disappointed though, and I'm feeling very burny right now.
You're feeling very Bernie and yes, Bernie Sanders really lit
into the plan.
Yeah.
As did Tammy Baldwin, who put out a statement that included this, a wink and a nod deal to end the health care crisis later with no actual guarantees is not enough for me or the Wisconsin families I work for.
The clock is up.
Families are shopping for insurance now and I refuse to sign off on a deal that doesn't lower working families health care costs.
And that's the thing, Selina, again, you've been talking
people who face problems with snap benefits cut off with head starts being closed and who are facing these large health insurance price hikes that I mean they they know how bad things are about to get in terms of affordability.
Oh my gosh, this one particular person that we're going to hear from, she has been through it because she has been at, I think, every topic press conference in the last several months because she's a child care provider from her own home.
So, you know, for the state issues and funding child care.
And so she was at that.
She was at an Affordable Care Act press conference talking.
So she's been hit with that part of it.
And just the other day, she
was at a press conference for talking about SNAP and how important it was to her.
So child care providers, they work.
They're not just sitting at home.
They're actually providing a huge service for other people who work.
So if you think of it that way, it affects so many people.
And child care providers are one of them.
So here's Julia Benker from Ms.
Julia's Schoolia in Eau Claire.
These families need me to be healthy and able to show up every day, ready for the big feelings and running around for hours.
When caregivers are concerned about basic needs like food, we are not able to be fully in our own lives or in the lives of those who rely on us.
Snap benefits are important, not only for my health and well-being, but also the seven families who rely on me to care for their nine children.
Like most childcare providers who are working in an underpaid profession, I rely on SNAP.
The average wage for a group childcare provider in Wisconsin is $13 an hour.
Family providers like myself earn an average of $7 an hour.
I earn about just over $15,000 a year.
I've benefited from SNAP off and on since 2009 when I found out about the program.
Having food security allows me to be able to live the life I love and support those who rely on me.
All right.
Uh, by the way, just on a later note, Miss Julia's school.
Yeah.
Yep, every time I hear that.
That's
perfect.
There are minds of you have Zoolander, the school for the kids who can't read good.
So I
mean, she's working hard.
And again, I don't understand how more people in an elected office don't know how the labor cycle works.
they think that these things just happen.
Child care just happens.
And that health care just happens.
And people can't go to their jobs if they don't have child care either through a provider or through something like a Head Start program.
when, and we're going to talk to the Wisconsin head of a group that coordinates Head Start programs coming up in 20 minutes here on the program.
And Kristin, you see this in your patients all the time.
Any one of those things, childcare, healthcare, you know, SNAP benefits, they are so on a lifeline that politicians seem to have no trouble snipping.
Politicians, no.
They're people who live in the world, they know, but that's the difference between politics and policy.
Policy is the actual stuff, the issues, the things that get things done.
It's like the vanilla cupcake.
The politics are the things you put on top of the cupcake, how you sell it, and this is why we have to engage and get involved and understand what's happening because it's a bait and switch.
often, or it doesn't actually fulfill our needs because there's something, some other competing need.
And I'm so excited that Julia is able to take the time away from her incredibly busy life to use her voice and speak up for so many other people across the state, across the country who are suffering, who are struggling, and who have not yet found their voice or been able to talk about.
what's going on in their lives.
And Selena, Julie also talks about the other families that rely on Snap as well, right?
Yeah, the parents who bring their kids to her.
So it's kind of all around.
And this is really the big, you know, you think about the trickle down effect to everything, but this, these are people who have to go to work too.
And this is, this is part of it also, she talks about, you know, it affects those families too.
Some of the families we serve receive SNAP benefits.
The parents are stressed out about food, health care, affordability of living, the fate of our state and our country, wondering where our leadership is to assure us there is no need to panic.
Engaged, enraged at a congressperson who doesn't care about our needs.
I am done accepting the way our circumstances are.
We need high quality food to be available to everybody in our community.
We need leaders who will fight for what we tell them and now demand that we want.
The Republicans in Congress deciding to take food away from our most vulnerable people need to be held accountable and get back to work.
Without a doubt.
Truer words never spoken.
So again, we appreciate Julia talking to you about that.
Robin Tigerton says, yeah, kicking the can down the road.
Right.
That's
a lot of what this is.
Rob also says there's a lot of traffic on Highway 29 going to Lambo
today.
Already?
Come on.
Well, I think he says that I think he's saying that there there will be.
But he also notes.
Good morning from Tigerton.
It's partly cloudy and 20 degrees.
I got my winter coats washed and ready for use.
Did anybody find any surprises in their winter coats in the pocket going?
Oh, that's where that went.
That is always fine.
Yeah.
I emptied out the packets to wash too, Rob.
Let's see.
Let's see what he says.
He was in Clintonville to a fleet farm to get some furnace filters, then had lunch at the ANW in Clintonville, took some pictures of the sunset.
Let's see.
He says he was busy over the weekend, found pictures, aerial pictures of buildings from 1978 around Shawnaw County and showing some of the old bars in the area.
And that brought back some memories.
And of course, he concludes with a little go pack go.
So, yeah.
Oh wait, he's got one more he adds on YouTube.
As a kid, I had a saying it's better to give than receive.
I learned that from my mom who helped start the Tigerton community cupboard.
And as you mentioned, Kristen, you've talked to Rob about, you know, SNAP benefits as well.
And it is the people, some of the people who are struggling the most, who are helping other families who are struggling.
You're not seeing a lot of help coming from politicians.
You're seeing it come from one another going way above and beyond the call of duty.
Yeah, Rob's on snap.
I mean, he proudly talks about the work that he does to support the other people in his community.
This giving spirit, this neighborly spirit is exactly what we need.
And you know who those politicians are, who are not there for you.
They're the Derrick Van Ordens who are angry and they're just, it's political garbage that's coming out of their mouth.
And then you hear Tammy Baldwin with such a thoughtful message to us about how this current legislation
is not serving the people of Wisconsin.
It is incumbent really upon us as citizens and as Wisconsinites to pay attention to who our leaders are and to vote accordingly.
Yes, Selena.
Have you seen all of the people who are getting together in their own kitchens and buying up all of these meal packages, items and putting them together, fill the gap for Snap.
A lot of groups coming together and just doing that is incredible.
Okay, and it's great.
But then you'll get a Derek Van Orden saying, well, you see it proves we don't need a government program.
No,
And this doesn't come near filling in all that.
And for Derek Van Orden, who loves to talk about growing up on government cheese, to just pull the rug out from other people, Kristen, you used the right word, garbage, coming out of his mouth to say that kind of stuff about, you know, fellow struggling families.
I'm Pat Crightlow.
This is the Civic Media Radio Network.
You're listening to Civic Media.
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Welcome back at 722 on this Monday morning, November 10th.
I'm Pat Crichtlow here in Chippewa Falls, Parker Olson producing things
down in Madison and we're joined by Dr. Kristen Lierly and Selena Heller from Up North News.
Civic Media has a daily newsletter you should be reading.
Links to show highlights and much more sign up at civicmediatoday.substack.com.
Of course, we've got the Packers playing the Philadelphia Eagles tonight.
Coverage begins for the pregame at 5 p.m.
on several Civic Media stations.
And then tomorrow there will be a Badger Men's basketball versus Ball State.
Coverage begins tomorrow at 7 p.m.
on some of the stations of the Civic Media Radio Network.
Pat.
Kristen.
Every time I think of the Eagles, I want to say bad words, and I'm like, I'm holding it back.
I do.
I want to meet them
where they're at, and I'm just like, I'm filling up my tank for all the bad words tonight.
I'm so excited for the showdown.
I
didn't know
that
she said bad
words.
I didn't know
that she said bad
words.
Your
friend's done to you.
Bad words.
Don't you want to be like, the Eagles?
me.
Is that just me?
Don't lie.
You more
clearly get worked up about the eagles more than
like any
other opponent that I've ever heard you get worked up about.
Yeah.
Well, yeah, I mean, you know, there's always, they're the bears, but they're cute and I really like that rivalry.
And then, you know, they're the Vikings and they're just kind of like, no, you guys.
You know, we just got done saying in the last hour that this is National Kindness Week.
Yeah.
And you've got
Tony
saying, well, take Pat and Parker off the screen and then you're oozing kindness.
Well, that's what we thought till about 45 seconds
ago.
How it completely changed.
All
right.
Well, why don't we get back to Kristen's softer side now
and ask her about some of
the things she was doing in Washington DC last week, trying to advance women's health and stave off politician after politician after politician who doesn't really believe in those things like women control in their bodies, things like that.
Do
you know what's happening in Oklahoma?
No, I do not.
What is happening in Oklahoma?
So I was at the board meeting, the executive board meeting for the American College of Observation.
and gynecologists.
This is the group of over 60,000 doctors, OBGYNs all over the world who really lead when it comes to women's health.
This is the group that said, you know what, we're not going to take your federal funding because we think that it compromises the work that we're doing.
So we have found other ways to save mom's lives and to make sure that women can get routine preventive health care.
But Oklahoma, the governor has issued an executive order that in order for health care providers to receive Medicaid
any healthcare provider, whether they're a lung doctor, an OBGYN doctor, a pediatrician, they have to sign an affidavit that says that they will not even talk about abortion.
They won't even talk about it.
So it makes it impossible for us to take care of our patients.
We have an obligation to talk about the things that our patients need to talk about and what happens in our exam rooms.
That's between us and our patients.
And I think you would probably agree, as a patient, you want your doctor to address your needs.
So that's a First Amendment right violation, don't you
think?
Yes, a gag order threatening to cut off funds, although you've heard this before.
You've been in the capital where you've heard not to bring up abortion issues.
in the offices of members of Congress or you'll jeopardize their funding.
Yeah.
Oh yeah, we've been threatened by members of Congress to not talk about abortion care.
And you know, you guys don't control the narrative.
We have to represent our patients.
We have to be able to take care of our patients.
You can't take abortion out of health care.
It is part of miscarriage management.
It's certainly part of helping people with complicated pregnancies.
It is something that we are obligated to do and our patients need us.
And if you've ever been in a situation like that, you know that you need that kind of care.
Selena, anything you want to follow up
with?
So what was the number one kind of topic that you kind of all talked about?
Oh, we talked about everything.
I mean, advocacy was a little piece of it.
It was about how do we face what's happening with the Trump administration.
The Heritage Foundation is actually attacking birth control pills now.
We've been hearing about this coming, but now they are starting to move forward on their quest to take away contraception.
Those are the things that stand out for me because I'm an advocacy person, but I mean, we talked about lots of member things and lots of education and patient safety and quality and how we can have a big
presence in social media because you know we're a little slowly.
We still like to hand out brochures at the office where we really need to be on TikTok maybe.
We're getting there and I'm really heartened to see the direction that we're taking.
So very exciting stuff.
I've noticed a lot of people like doctors and such as yourself have been now doing a lot of videos saying I am so-and-so and I've been a whatever for this many years and they're really doing a lot of videos like that that's that seemingly kind of a message that that
That's kind of the way to go now,
huh?
I think so.
We have to have these conversations, but we also have to make sure that we're putting real good information out there.
And that's been tricky because when the national organization puts something out there, they want to make sure that it is vetted and it goes through the legal process and it goes through communications and it takes a long time to get it out there.
Whereas like I can whip out a video today, but you always have to question.
is it totally accurate when you're just scrolling through TikTok or Reels and just seeing some random talking head, we know a lot of the stuff that's out there is not accurate.
So we're hoping to meet the moment and make sure that people can get the information they need in a place where they're seeking it.
Tony writes on YouTube, our health clinic wouldn't tell us to get the COVID vaccine and in general was very hesitant to talk about them because they are political and
don't want to
upset patients.
We were like the opposite.
We want the vaccines.
Please give them to us.
Yes, that's a huge part of the problem.
Nobody wants to be political.
But I'm the person who ran for Congress, so everybody knows where I stand.
So I'm like, hey, we have to be.
There is no not being political in this environment.
There's no not being controversial.
So we might as well just set that aside and start talking about the issues, whether it's in Washington DC at this board meeting or in our neighborhoods talking about SNAP benefits and health care and the things that are affecting us the most.
We've got to have more conversations.
We've got to break down barriers.
And we have to remember that.
But we're not going to agree with everybody all the time on everything, but we can still get along.
That's right.
Remember, you can watch stories from Up North News reporter Salina Heller on our social media sites, head over to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, search for Up North News, WI.
And of course, the Dr. Kristen Larley show every Saturday at noon, replayed Sundays across the Civic Media Radio Network or subscribe at Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Kristen, Salina, thank you as always.
Have a good start to your week.
Go
Packers
and whatever the Eagles.
Boom the Eagles.
Coming up, we're going to talk to the Wisconsin head of a Head Start Coordination Group about the cuts in federal funding and the impact on Wisconsin families next.
I'm Pat Crightlow.
This is the Civic Media Radio Network.
back.
Hey, we're going to talk about Head Start now and the cuts that have been made in Wisconsin programs.
The first of what could be several depending on how long this government shutdown lasts, but there are already children and their parents and providers, educators impacted by this.
And so we're talking to Jenny Maurer, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Head Start Association.
Jenny, hello, thank you for being here today.
Thanks for having me.
What is the current status for Head Start programs in Wisconsin?
Yeah, so it's really a mixed bag for Head Start in Wisconsin.
So I just want to provide a little bit of clarity on the landscape for programs in the state.
So Head Start is funded a bit differently than how SNAP is across the state.
So there are 39 organizations providing Head Start for 40 different programs.
And thankfully, different from SNAP, those programs are not all funded with the exact same renewal date.
And what that means, again, thankfully, is that not all of those programs are waiting for a new grant renewal right now.
So what that means is that, excuse me, for
Only two Head Start grantees are waiting for a new grant renewal.
And those two programs, Sheboygan Human Rights Association and Southwest CAP, those two programs are waiting for two things to happen.
They're waiting for a new notice of grant award and they're waiting for money from the federal government, just like the SNAP situation.
they're waiting for a new federal budget because without those two things in place, they're unable to draw down new federal funding.
So what we saw this week because of that situation is that those programs are not able to draw down additional funds and Southwest Cap made the difficult decision to close their doors to their Head Start kids.
Sheboygan Human Rights Association is able to use some state funding to stay open and then they also have been able to work with community funders to stay open and they're going to be able to stay open through the end of the month with those additional resources.
Well, but let's talk about what's been lost for the one program that is closing temporarily and what could be happening in other programs.
What is it that was happening there?
And was it that the children are losing and, you know, the insecurity brought to their parents as a result?
Yeah, that's a great question.
So what I always like to point out for folks who might be new to Head Start is that Head Start families are
our friends and our neighbors.
These are folks, the majority of Head Start parents are working parents.
They're working in our communities and Head Start is helping
them to get to work.
So the majority of Head Start parents are working.
They're working in our hospitality industry.
They're working in our hospitals.
They're working alongside us.
So if their Head Start program closes like it has done for Southwest CAP, that means that those kiddos, their parents are going to struggle to get to work.
So I'm a working parent.
If I have something like a snow day or a prolonged closure, like we saw during COVID, that means just like for my
family, just like maybe it would, you know, for hundreds of other families, those parents are going to struggle to get to work.
And so it's really a cascading impact for a rural community like Southwest CAP.
So they employ workers.
So those workers at Southwest CAP are furloughed right now.
And then for the families that rely on Southwest CAP to get to work, what we know is that, you know, parents
are working incredibly hard.
They're hustling every day to take care of their families to put food on the table to pay their rent.
And what we know is that parents are going to keep trying to make things happen so that they can get to their jobs.
And then what ends up happening is kids get shuttled between different care providers.
They go to the auntie, they go to the uncle, they go to a different provider.
And then what I also worry about happening is that kids end up being watched by other kids.
Yeah, I mean again, you're looking for people who are licensed and certified instead of bouncing around and without structured programs because Head Start also provides some structure in early childhood education, right?
Yeah, yeah, so again, I think it's really important for your listeners, your viewers to know what makes Head Start special because there are so many things that make Head Start special.
So let's talk about
the foundations of the Head Start model.
So there are a couple of core components.
So I've already described a little bit of that early childhood education.
So like childcare, like thousands and thousands of working Americans depend on that childcare where people bring their kiddos.
They have that safe nurturing structured environment with a curriculum.
So childcare that folks are very familiar with in this country.
So that's a cornerstone of Head Start and Early Head Start.
So Head Start serving kids three to five and Early Head Start serving kids zero to three.
So what's amazing about that for Head Start is that it's free and it really provides families that springboard to economic success.
But the additional really amazing piece about Head Start and Early Head Start is the comprehensive services that really wrap around families and help them
work on the goals that they identify for themselves in collaboration with the program that help them with their next steps on their journey for success.
So that might be working on additional job training that might be trying to find better housing for their family and helping them get connected to those things that every family needs.
like doctor's visits, dental care.
So really getting those those things that families, every family needs as a foundation for success.
So Head Start is really providing those core foundational things that families might be struggling with when they have just a lot on their plate.
We're talking to Jenny Maurer.
She's the executive director of the Wisconsin Head Start Association.
And we've been talking about how the Head Start program has had to close temporarily in
the Southwestern Wisconsin Community Action Program, or Southwest CAP, and that includes 114 children in Iowa, Lafayette, Grant, Green and Richland counties, but also 34 staff, according to the governor's office, that are going without paychecks.
So along with the kids losing, you know, this structured education and oversight, along with the parents who are scrambling for childcare and maybe can't get to work, we've also got these folks who are providing that education who now don't have a paycheck, right?
Yep, so they're furloughed, so they're accessing unemployment benefits.
But as we all know, that doesn't go far enough to cover everything that a staff member needs to pay their own bills.
So staff are really in a tricky position right now.
for all the value head start is one of the things that seem to have universal value and then up comes this project 2025 document last year during the election season and claims in it that head start is quote fraught with scandal and abuse and provides quote little or no long-term academic value for children i don't know that i've ever heard anything like that before had you before last year when this was made a political issue
So there certainly have been claims about the long term impacts of Head Start before and, you know, Head Start is ready and willing to have those discussions about areas for improvement.
I think anybody who says there aren't opportunities for improvement and.
a willingness to be reviewed that's that's silly.
Head Start folks are super comfortable with monitoring and regulations and finding improvements in their program but what we know about Head Start is it's a highly regulated environment like any program there's
Folks who've made bad choices, but Head Start has really tremendous impacts.
Head Start has great data, numerous studies about the long-term impacts and about the short-term impacts.
Kids that are in Head Start are less likely to need further government interventions down the road.
We know there's tremendous return on investment.
Right now, Head Start is serving working families.
It's helping parents.
get to work.
You know, for an administration that really talks about supporting working folks, I don't know why you would cut head start.
I don't know why you wouldn't try to amplify and make it even better.
I don't know why you'd throw the baby out with the bathwater.
And it's so tiring to hear because yeah, it's this or public schools or snap benefits or anything else where there's always something or somebody that can game the system.
That's why you have enforcement mechanisms, probably better enforcement mechanisms and safeguards than and say, I don't know, all the tax dollars that go to, you know, Elon Musk's companies and things like that.
It just seems to be a very, you know, convenient
place to make the case of getting the funds out of there and into tax cuts for other people.
We're talking to Jenny Maurer.
She's the executive director of the Wisconsin Head Start Association.
We've talked about how one program is closing at least temporarily.
Another one is essentially on borrowed time.
And because all of these Head Start programs are around the state, rather,
Get annual grants and those annual federal grants are staggered.
They come up at different months throughout the year You're looking at if this thing really went on Jenny December 1st and then January 1st the dominoes would just keep falling for all these various head start programs
Yeah, precisely.
I think that's a great way to put it, that it's staggered and that each month will exactly, as you just said, Pat, will be in this situation again where programs will have to make heartbreaking decisions about do they dip into precious little reserves to keep the doors open, to keep serving kids.
And frankly, they don't know if they're going to be paid back in previous administrations.
When programs were in this situation, there was a much higher degree of confidence that they would be paid back following a shutdown.
And we're really in uncharted waters in knowing what will happen.
Since the start of this administration, it's really just been one blow after the next in trying to navigate Bob and Weave with the hits.
It started really.
At the start of this administration, there was the federal funding freeze.
Then there was the close of region five, so region five for folks who aren't waiting in administrative waters.
That was the governmental region that processed all of these, roughly $250 million that comes into the state of Wisconsin for Head Start.
They closed that abruptly in April.
And I think to this point of...
wanting there to be sufficient oversight.
Head Start folks, they say, bring it on.
Of course we want to be regulated.
Of course we want to do our due diligence, but they abruptly closed the region and fired all the folks who were processing the grants and conducting that oversight.
Those folks showed up to do their jobs in Chicago and they couldn't get into their building.
So it really was a difficult situation.
So again, it's just been hit after hit.
for folks who are really just trying to do their job and take care of kids and families.
Sure.
I mean, it just, it continues the self-fulfilling prophecy of people who like to say government doesn't work by the action of, you know, breaking government when it is working.
Jenny Maurer, executive director of the Wisconsin Head Start Association.
Jenny, we appreciate all you do and thank you for sharing some of your time with us today.
Yeah, thank you so much.
So it's worth noting that while families were struggling with these head start cuts and again the threatened cuts to snap and everything else, the president of the United States did nothing to try to broker a deal and ease their pain.
And we've just learned what else he was doing over the weekend besides fancy dinners at his estate in Florida.
We've learned he's issued a new round of presidential partons this time to those involved in his attempted coup in 2020 to undermine or even overturn a presidential election.
Parton's went to Rudy Giuliani, his former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, attorney Sidney Powell, John Eastman, another lawyer who pushed a plan to keep Trump in power.
Fake electors are also said to be included on the list.
It doesn't cover state criminal charges.
Those have been plotting along, including in Wisconsin.
But it's been five years since this coup was in the works.
And we're not seeing criminal consequences.
And instead, we're seeing
Pardons.
Tom Nelson talking about the Edmund Fitzgerald in our next hour on these mornings with Pat Krightlow powered by UpNorth News on the Civic Media Radio Network.
You're listening to Civic Media.
Find the latest news, information and archives of all your favorite shows on the Civic Media website, civicmedia.us.
Let's talk for a moment about the wide range of civic media's ability to cover sports.
And then we'll talk to sports director Jimmy Cuska in just a second here.
There are some civic media stations that we'll have tonight's Packer Game versus the Eagles of Philadelphia.
Coverage begins at five o'clock on these stations, WRCO in Richland Center, WCQM in Park Falls, WRJN in Racine, WAUH in Watoma.
And yet at the same time,
Other stations will be carrying Badger Women's Basketball taking on UWM.
So you can see or you can listen to the pregame starting at 610, the Badgers versus Milwaukee Women's Basketball on WFHR in Wisconsin Rapids, WLAK in Amory.
There's a WRCE in Richland Center and heck, even in Ironwood, Michigan, you can hear the Packers game on WIMI or the Badger Women's Basketball game on WJMS in Ironwood, Michigan.
This radio group has range.
Let me tell you, uh, so does Jimmy Koska, who's covering three different sports across three different days this weekend.
We know a thing about range and sports in this business.
Jimmy, good morning.
How are you?
I'm doing pretty good.
Yeah.
Soccer, football, basketball, three entirely different ways to broadcast a game to, I just.
Sometimes I sit and I'm like, every night I show up at noon.
I always enjoy the new adventure of things.
That's
one
of the reasons why I've enjoyed media my whole career is that every single day is a completely different day.
Like there's no two days that are alike in media.
Um, but yeah, when it comes to play by play, you won't find three sports that are that much
different.
So tomorrow Jimmy covers the basketball chess team as they go on the road to face their, no.
This is going to be a Packer game tonight.
It's been our question of the day.
How do you think the Packers are going to do against the Eagles?
And there was a good comment.
I want to say it was from Tony, but I could be wrong.
The Packers tend to play to the level of their opponent, which is why they weren't so good against Carolina, but he expects it'll be on the upswing against the Eagles tonight.
What do you think?
It sounds a lot like what Parker said on our Saturday morning show.
Make the call here on Civic Media.
I think that...
Wait, wait, wait.
Parker said this too.
I think so.
Parker, I think he said something along those lines.
Pretty
close.
Wow, okay.
Great
minds.
Yes, there you go.
Okay.
I think one thing that maybe adds some intrigue tonight, if you're not already enticed by the idea of Packers Eagles after the last few matchups that they've had, just consider this.
Right now the Packers are in first place in the NFC North and
That's the other
thing.
Most people, if you asked them and said who's leading now, they would not say the Packers.
They have no idea.
They think because of that tie and hurt them.
The tie actually helped them to be in
first place.
Here's the thing.
Packers are currently first in the conference, third in the NFC.
If they win, they move up to second in the NFC.
They stay in the lead in the conference.
If they lose, they fall to third in the NFC North and seventh in the NFC.
So tonight's game, massively important at the standings because you could be second or you could be seventh.
in the conference at the end of the night, first or third in the NFC
North.
That's insane, but that just tells you why it's so important.
You play all the games this way, so again, Packers Eagles tonight.
Did you see or hear about anything NFL-wise yesterday that was shocking or surprising for you?
I hate to admit this publicly on the radio.
You can kind of see it in the background if you're watching the video stream.
There is a Miami Dolphins.
Somebody's higher back there.
I'm a Dolphins fan.
They want a game, which is shocking to me.
So that might be it.
But seeing the Vikings, you know, they're kind of on a bit of a downturn right now.
The Vikings kind of laid an
egg there, yeah.
Yes,
they did.
They're below 500 now.
So they're at four and five.
I think that that surprised me a bit because even with the young quarterback, you expected them just with all the talent they had to be right there with Chicago at six and three, Detroit at six and three.
You expected them to be in contention.
But I still think that there's a lot for a lot the Vikings will do in the conference.
I don't think we're done hearing about the impact they will have.
But I tell you, I see the Bears at six and three, I think.
You know, I don't, I don't know if anybody predicted the Bears to win six games all year and here they are halfway through the year at six and three.
Yeah.
Uh, let's see.
Badger football team pulled off an upset, uh, by, by winning over 23rd rank Washington 13 to 10.
Such a big victory.
The, the crowd stormed the field to which a whole lot of people said, really, we're storming the field for this.
I just thought they were trying to stay warm by huddling.
That's what I thought.
Um, but you know,
It's interesting because, you know, you think of just pressure by administration, pressure by fans to get it right.
There were so many questions for weeks about what their fickle would be.
back, whether he wouldn't be back.
And whether or not you like to admit it, you can't shield young adults from this stuff.
So I'm sure the players are seeing, reading, hearing the same things.
So when you remove that pressure, I don't think that was the entire reason.
But just seeing that happen, seeing the Badgers actually get that one, you look at the way they did it, defense and special teams.
I think that it kind of
It starts drawing you back to kind of the identity of what makes Wisconsin football so great.
Also, you see over the last, I don't know, probably five or six days, just a lot of recruiting news tying the Badgers to in-state prospects.
And that is one of those things that's been a criticism of the current coaching staff is that they don't recruit in the state well, where all the top offensive line prospects are going to Minnesota, Notre Dame.
They're going out of state to play college football.
Well, now you're starting to see all of a sudden four or five
five student athletes announced that the Badgers have offered them.
And maybe that's a sign that things are starting to change.
I also enjoyed this part for the press conference.
Luke Vickle says that the team best might be a thing of the past.
Hey, whatever works.
Okay, whatever works.
The Badger men's basketball team, they defeated Northern Illinois on Friday.
They are hosting Ball State tomorrow.
Coverage begins at seven o'clock on several civic media radio stations.
Let's see, we mentioned women's basketball tonight.
The Badger men's hockey team ranked 10th in the country, defeated second ranked Michigan on Saturday to split the weekend series.
The Badger women's hockey team, number one in the country, they were off this weekend.
will play at St.
Cloud State coming up Friday and Saturday afternoon.
The 11th ranked Badger women's volleyball team swept Indiana yesterday in three sets.
They go to 18 and four on the season.
They are back in action on Friday on the road at Michigan State.
And then finally, the Bucks, they lost at home to Houston, 122 to 115.
Yana said 37 points, but only went one of four from the foul line in the game's final 90 seconds.
The Rockets trelled most of the game, but outscored the Bucks 22-7 over the last four and a half minutes.
I think that's going to be a tale of the season.
They got to close out.
Yep, and I think when you're talking about the Badgers, you mentioned all the rankings and stuff, the Badgers.
in the winter are going to be competitive, I think, in virtually sport, which is pretty refreshing.
It is indeed.
All right.
Jimmy Koska, thank you very much.
Talk to you on Wednesday.
Talk to you on
Wednesday.
Coming up, we're going to be talking to John and Gordy from our Civic Media Station in Madison.
We're going to talk about Christmas catalogs.
And then later, Tom Nelson talking about the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald 50 years ago today.
I'm Pat Krightlow.
This is the Civic Media Radio Network.
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