Old Fashioned & Up North News (Hour 2)

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Broadcasting live from the Civic Media Studios in Green Bay, this is Night Light with Peach Wabba.

Your inside source on everything entertainment from Wisconsin to Hollywood.

And now, a guy who still likes to build a fort, Pete Schwabba.

Welcome.

Welcome back to Nightlight, folks.

Intermission is over.

We are kicking off act two here.

You are here on a great night.

We've got great guests.

A good question.

Our question of the night to reiterate is, what was your best year?

Conrad is coming off his 26th birthday.

I said my 30th year was the best year.

I had a lot of fun.

When I was 30, Conrad was 21.

We've got some great texts.

We'll get to your texts soon.

But please let us know and be part of the show.

We talked to, in the first hour, Mr. Bob Bremerton, who was here on behalf of Sweeney Products.

LLC or LTD, something.

And we learned about a whole host of products that are coming out right around the corner, more Sydney Sweeney products.

And if you got money burning a hole in your pocket, spend a G and get a bar of soap with your bathwater in it.

That's always fun too.

And all kinds of stuff.

So you were here in a great night.

We're kicking off hour number two.

My pal Rich Talarico is here.

We have roots in Chicago comedy.

He has gone on to do amazing things.

on the Key and Peel show, SNL, Mad TV.

He has a, let's talk about this, Rich, before we get back in your movie project, which is awesome.

You have a sketch in the Smithsonian.

Please tell us about that.

That's so cool.

Thanks, Pete.

Well, you know, I brought in a sketch about a teacher that couldn't pronounce the kid's names based on my eighth grade teacher, guy named Fred Chudy.

And the thing was Fred was, you know, ready to retire and he was our homeroom teacher.

And we had a lot of exotic names in the class.

We had a girl named Lori Babiars.

We had a fellow named Chester Dobrinsky.

And we had a girl named Olga Plachotnik.

So Fred would read the names.

And all he wanted to hear was here.

So he would just look at the name Babiars.

And he'd go Babish.

And poor Lori Babiars would raise her hand and go here.

I think you mean me.

And he'd see Chester Dobrinsky.

And he'd go.

Like that even really

trying?

Not even trying like getting it so wrong.

He'd see Ogilpachanik and his, you know, head would explode, but that was the inspiration for that.

And there was, you know, there was some improvisation on the set with that one.

I had a lot of fun, but I've ruined Aaron's, all the errands I know.

And Jack will ends.

I've ruined my life.

Yeah.

But we had a lot of fun at Key and Peel and that was one that really surprised us actually how popular it became very quickly and Continues to be so I mean over 10 years since we since the show was on

Yeah, would you say I mean you've written for Saturday Night Live mad TV?

Key and Peel was like kind of groundbreaking right?

I mean there hasn't been a sketch show on since that that's come close, right?

Well, you know, you may be right.

I mean, I don't want to you know

take away from all the other great sketch shows that are out, like I think you should leave and Black Lady Sketch Show.

I mean, there's been some great ones since then.

But it definitely struck a chord.

I think it's, you know, its appearance on YouTube and its highly consumable, you know, fashion made it very popular, especially during the lockdowns and stuff.

People were home and were just kind of going crazy watching the show.

But it was so popular on YouTube, people didn't even know we were a television show.

Oh my gosh.

People

thought

we were a YouTube show.

That's great.

Yeah, we're very happy about that.

Well, let's jump in.

I want to talk about all your sketches.

We'll have to do that another time.

I know we've hit on the substitute teacher one.

You also wrote the Obama one, which is so funny.

Yes,

Obama.

reading people differently based on their appearance.

This

is beautiful.

So, folks, I want to talk more about Rich's movie project though, but definitely go to YouTube, check out the Obama sketch, the substitute teacher sketch, and any others you want to point out that they can search for Rich.

Oh, well, sure.

I mean, I wrote racist zombies and there's a sketch that people seem to like about two guys at a crosswalk and one guy's pressed the button and the other guy wants to press it and hasn't $100,000 where it's a drug deal where they're trying to count out the money.

I probably have like, you know, 30 or 40 sketches that are mine from Key and Peele.

So you can also look at my website and there'll probably be some stuff there.

Social media as well for me should have a lot of stuff for people to

check out.

Great stuff.

All right, so Rich Talarico is here.

He is an outstanding writer.

Rich, how different was it?

And I just, I didn't realize this before when you sent the link.

You have the whole script for your movie project on

on your on your website like was that different that that must have been like I assume you've probably written other screenplays but how different was that than writing sketches

Yes.

Well, you know, the truth is I don't think you can get the whole script.

You can get like a couple of pages.

OK.

Doc comes up, but we don't really put the whole script out there just for everybody to read.

But, you know, a narrative feature can be two hours long and can have 70 to 100 scenes in it.

But, you know, you you have to just spend a lot of time outlining, you know, it's the majority of the writing gets done when you're kind of just what we call breaking the story or outlining the story.

And

figuring out, you know, you put the biggest pieces in first, just like packing a trunk, you know, put the biggest, biggest suitcases going first, then all the little details.

Sometimes you have to take it all back out and put it all back in when you have to repack the trunk and you realize we're gonna have room for everything or we need to buy a bigger car or whatever.

But there's a process to that.

I also did that during the lockdown.

That was my lockdown project.

I just started to read

Oh, just a few books about Annie.

And there's not many out there about her, but just became captivated by the time period and just the Cajones on this person.

And I'm also a teacher, so I have a soft spot for her because she's a teacher.

Substitute teacher is a sketch that I wrote, of course.

And also teaching center, that's another one people seem to like, which is like if teachers were treated like sports stars.

So it's a teaching center where you're seeing these teachers get these million dollar contracts.

My wife's

a kindergarten teacher.

I would love that.

And she is like, it's funny you say that she's like a celebrity when kids see her at the grocery store.

It's like, they can't believe they're seeing.

It's like, you know, the Muppets or something.

You know, it's so great.

You've got such great stuff in here too.

You got suffrage and she talk about, you were talking about Tesla before we went to the break that she met Tesla.

That's a name we're all familiar with.

What, what else has she done or tell us more about this character that sounds so fascinating.

Well, I mean like I said, she was kind of really even though she was Victorian and had you know her ways She was about as independent as a person can be and you know She has stories that you know, she allegedly was robbed on a stage coach by Jesse James.

Oh wow So she had a lot of you know

stories and at the time before you know she decided to do this people were doing stunts in and around Niagara Falls people were riding the rapids in barrels but nobody would ever go over you know people were doing tightrope walks across the falls but she was she came up with an idea that was in her mind certain to grab attention

But yeah, as far as Tesla, you know, there's also the assassination of William McKinley in this same,

you

know, all kind of happening around the same time.

Around the same time, you know, you were seeing the rise of the women's suffrage movement.

The girls were reading Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, but also fun things were happening.

And one of the links to the script is that all these new products were coming out around this time.

So like Corn Flakes got introduced, I think in 1900 or something like that.

And Popsicles came out a couple of years later.

But there's a character in the movie who is trying all these new things and his line every time is I don't think these that's gonna last like he doesn't really Not a fan of cornflakes.

I don't think it's So the time period is a big part of the story and even to the point and I think we talked a little bit about this, you know the language of that time period is so fanciful and fun Matt was a lot of fun to try to get some of the language

Yeah You also on the website

This script, you entered the script into the Beverly Hills Film Festival in 2020.

Am I getting that right?

Yes, I received an official selection from Beverly Hills Film Festival, which was a nice laurel for the project, for sure.

Nice.

So what do you do now?

Like, you've got this.

Are you talking to studios?

Are you going to make it independently?

You've got so much great stuff in here, so much meat, so to speak.

What do you do?

It's a great question.

Over the years, I've been in entertainment since the 1900s, and I've sold about five films and pilots and things like that, but none of them have been made.

There's a lot of things getting shelved, or for one reason or another, over 20 years, I had all these projects.

So this was one that I've...

Didn't really put out there too much and I've always kind of wanted to try to find a way to get it made so I thought you know after the fires in LA I decided to Work on this so I came to I'm in Buffalo right now, and I'm visiting locations in Buffalo I'm wearing my producer hat, and I'm trying to Find partnerships with places that will let us shoot our movie And I do have a few places that have agreed to cooperate with us some places have offered for us to shoot for free

So

this legwork is hopefully something that we'll pay off next year and we'll be back here with a budget.

Now, whether that budget is $5 million or less, that would be considered a low.

I know that sounds like a lot of money, but that's considered a low end, especially

for

a period with some special effects.

We have a producer, a guy named Keith Raskin, who was the line producer on Key and Peel.

So the reason Key and Peel looked good was because of Keith.

He can make $100 look like $1,000 on camera.

So I'm working with Keith and my goal in the next few months is to be around Buffalo I'm visiting places all week every week from hotels to museums to art galleries To weird spaces that could be time period appropriate and just trying to get a general sense of what they'll charge us And then I'm gonna try to go through the script and because I'm also the writer I could kind of you know change where things happen because I'm like, okay, I've got this barn Right.

I know I've got this barn so now maybe instead of it being in a church basement the square dance could be in this barn

because I know I've got the barn.

So right now it's one of a few projects.

I'm also just finishing a new screenplay with a partner.

And we're going to do a table read of that in a couple of weeks.

And these will probably be independently run projects.

But if I can get a celebrity to sign on as the lead character, then we might actually bring a bigger budget.

So I'm kind of trying for both.

I got two words for you, Rich.

Ethel Merman.

Is she available?

Probably.

What has she been doing?

That's true.

This is

her time.

The lead character is 63.

I think Ethel is deceased, though.

Isn't she, Pete?

All the more reason.

Elizabeth,

give her her

chance.

Elizabeth Hurley, we just do these Hollywood beats here.

She just turned 60.

But you know what?

I hate to say this, but a lot of times you have to write a character

that you have access to, right?

Like that you can get it in their hands and circumvent the agents and managers and all that.

And I would think, you know, there should be more roles for women that age, but maybe there aren't.

So maybe that's a little easier for you.

You've got such a great resume with your Peabody and your Emmy Noms and your, all your stuff you've written, right?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Well, you know, we'll see.

A lot of it is like, well, you know, will we get lucky?

Will this happen?

I met the producer of Forrest Gump and she told me it was nine years from when they started working on it until when they were sitting there filming in Savannah.

I think it was with Tom Hanks.

So

You know, these are sometimes long, long projects and it may take a while to find the right, especially if you're doing it independently.

You know, a studio could put its boot down and, you know, make it happen in a month if they wanted to, you know.

But because we're trying to do this, you know, I want to do it one way or the other.

If a studio comes in, we'll be very happy.

If a celebrity comes over, we'll be very happy.

But if it ends up being a very small project, we might still

try to do it.

So right now I'm just hoping to do more spreading of the word.

I'm doing some table reads here in Niagara University.

I'm going to do another one in Buffalo.

I'm doing some virtual table reads just to try to get more people aware of what we're up to and to introduce them to Annie because she's a super cool lady.

And I want to tell her story.

Dude, you're the best.

Thank you so much for being on the show.

We'll do your slang.

I love that.

I saw it too late, but the slang term game, we'll do that next time.

Have

a great night,

Rich.

Keep me posted and we'll talk soon, buddy.

Thank you, Pete.

Bye.

Welcome.

Say hi to Bob Bremerton too.

All right.

It's Beach Wawa and Nightlight.

We're coming right back with Up North News is Christina Laurie.

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'm Pete Schwab, welcome back to Nightlight.

That is like, I think they said Brian Wilson makes songs to God or something like that.

Like the way his music was described, especially like these anthems for young people, you know, wouldn't it be nice?

That's what kids think about when they're young and in love and they want to be older.

And it's like they fantasize and dream about this stuff.

And he captured that voice so well.

That is such a great tune.

Welcome back to Nightlight, folks.

Our question of the night, what was your best year?

Conrad had his birthday yesterday, and he had an amazing night at his home, making chicken, partying like a 26-year-old should, saving it for the weekend.

Dave on the stream says, 18th year, legal drinking.

Boy, you know Dave's from Wisconsin.

Started dating my wife, Nancy.

All right, Dave, that's a good one.

I do remember that, actually.

I think I could drink legally when I was 18.

So I guess that's right.

I thought, I read that and thought, man, that seems...

awfully young.

You could have a few pops and go back for a homeroom if you're a senior in Wisconsin back in the 80s.

All right, I'm very excited to welcome my next guest to the program, folks.

She is the editor of the Up North Newsletter.

This is one of the best things you'll ever read, especially if you love Wisconsin and just love reading about our state.

Up North News makes it fun and engaging and insightful and I can't put it down.

Every day I get these updates in my email and we'll tell you how you

can do that because there's phenomenal factoids about Wisconsin and great informative news as well.

Christina Laurie joins us now on the stream.

Hey, Christina.

Hey, Pete, but don't set the bar too high, please.

We're going to get people's hopes up.

Too late.

Too late, my friend.

This is great.

How are you, by the way?

I'm good.

Your little commentary was interesting there, though.

If you think 18 is too young to drink, one of the stories that we recently had in our newsletter was about all of Wisconsin's weird laws.

And here, as long as a parent is with you, you can drink as young as you want in a restaurant.

I

find

that strange.

Well, I don't know.

Actually, I'm kind of torn because maybe the way to, you know, normalize it is just to start younger, make it accessible, something that you don't feel like you have to hide.

But then it is addictive.

What if you have an addictive child and you don't know it?

You're setting those habits young.

I can really see it both ways, but it's a tough one very Wisconsin law

Yeah, and I don't like I said to my kids I said I'd like you to have a drink at home before you go off to college I'd like you to see how alcohol affects you Because I was a sloppy drunk

Um, no, I'm kidding.

Christina, don't hang

up.

Are you

still there?

Okay.

Um, but I wanted them to know how alcohol affected them and neither one of them at the time had any interest or like, sorry, dad, we just don't want to do it.

My daughter still doesn't drink.

My son drinks responsibly, but, uh, you're right.

We do live in a state where there are some crazy laws in it.

Do I have this right?

And maybe you don't know this.

I don't mean to put you on the spot.

Is this, does the tavern league right laws about drinking in Wisconsin?

You know,

I actually, I'm not sure of their involvement.

I know that there's like a lot of lobbying going on and there's a lot of arguments for both sides because you know we are always on the list of the drunkest counties in America.

You see Wisconsin all lit up and red and

not

for Badgers this time on those lists.

So it is a very serious problem here but I think they kind of

They swing all kinds of different ways.

There are some really strict laws, and then there are very lenient laws, like that restaurant one.

Yeah, and

I

think, and I get it, you know, they're your kids, but a lot of parents are idiots.

Let's be honest.

I mean, you know, we-

You said it, not me.

No, well, some are, some aren't.

I mean, I'm not, you know, judging anybody.

Parenting is tough, but, well, let's not dwell on alcohol.

You know what?

Let's keep it on alcohol, Christina, actually, because you did a great piece recently

And I'm excited to talk to you about some summer things that we like to eat and drink in Wisconsin, and the Food Network weighs in on some of this stuff.

The brandy Old Fashion is our state drink, I know.

You did a piece on that recently, and where you can find the best Old Fashion, where did you find the best Old Fashion for Up North News?

Yes.

So we have a series going on for the entire month of June.

There's an article that Food Network put out not too long ago.

That was the 25 most iconic eats and drinks from America's Dairyland.

So I thought it would be interesting to just kind of break it down day by day and get that outsider's point of view.

They call themselves the Food Network.

They're supposed to be experts, right?

So

what do

they like best about our state?

So what you mentioned, one of the days we've already featured

was the brandy old fashion because here in Wisconsin, it's atypical in other states, apparently, to make old fashions with brandy.

But that's what we use here.

And the reason why we use it is actually really interesting.

It comes because a lot of immigrants here, they were frugal because they didn't have a lot of money when they first arrived here.

And at the 1893, rather, Columbian Expo in Chicago, they were handing out a bunch of free samples of Corbell's brandy.

So they started using them for that reason when they came back up north in their old fashions.

And then it stuck ever since.

Oh,

sorry, go ahead.

Oh, go ahead.

No, I was just going to mention that you had asked where the best old fashion was.

Well, according to Food Network, it's at Dingaling Supper Club in Orfordville.

That's a super fun name.

I have never personally been there.

The favorite that we usually feature up north is just by default, the supper club that tends to sell the most old fashion.

And that, of course, is Ishtnala in the Delves.

I love that, and I love Dingling.

I was waiting for you to say that, because I knew

a

serious journalist like yourself would have trouble.

We have a quick call we'd like to squeeze in here.

It's Cindy from Appleton, and she wants to talk about the Tavern League.

Cindy, we've got about 30 seconds.

We'd love to hear what you have

to say.

Well, I have a few things quick.

First of all, I just came from Parker Jones, who had made me tonight a Southern Comfort fashion.

Oh.

Maple, bacon.

old-fashioned complete with a strip of bacon.

And one of the other reasons we decided to do old-fashioned is because of the bitters and the bitters we have before dinner because the bitters help you to get your digestive juices going.

And number three, the Tavern League has a huge influence on the laws that are made and they have a huge lobbying group in Madison, so they are very

powerful.

Thank you so much for the call.

And yeah, old fashions are healthy.

There you go, Cindy.

We're coming right back with Christina Laurie and more talk from Up North

News.

Sort

of celebrating the life for the music I should say of Brian Wilson tonight here at nightlight I am peach wabba great to have you with me on this Wednesday night and Packed downtown Green Bay.

Why do I always think I'm gonna find street parking on a Wednesday Conrad?

That's a good question There, you know, there's a perfectly good parking ramp over there

Would it kill you to be out there and just kind of hold a spot for me and stand there until I pull in

I feel like I would get ran over

probably one of those loud muffler people

I don't know what it's going on here.

Hey, tomorrow night on the show, folks, more fun.

Beauty Queen and security expert Jenna Watkins will be here.

Jenna's a great guest.

She's been on the show before.

I judged a costume contest with her at Sputnik Fest in Manitowoc.

That's where I met Jenna, and she is a lot of fun.

Her insight, she does cybersecurity during the day.

She's just really fun to talk to about that subject.

So we will talk to Jenna tomorrow.

And also Papa John's owner, Danny Bem, will be here grilling pizza on site, folks.

So you won't want to miss that.

That's all kinds of fun tomorrow.

That's how we Thursday here at Nightlight.

Right now, I am excited to get back to our guest.

Christina Laurie from Up North News is joining us here.

We were talking about old fashions.

Christina, that was interesting.

What Cindy from Appleton said on her call.

She actually had bacon in her old fast.

Have you ever had one of those?

I

have not.

I'm actually like one of your kids.

It was at your daughter who doesn't really drink.

Yeah.

I don't really belong here because personally, I don't drink.

Luckily, I do love cheese.

Oh, there you go.

You have to at least do one of those things, right?

I think, yeah, otherwise you get your Wisconsin driver's license revoked.

Well, what I think is funny too is Wisconsinites start talking about, when we start talking about drinks and like Cindy did it, they're like, oh, and the bitters, it's good for your digestive system.

It's like, yes, of course, drinking is healthy.

That's why we

do.

Oh, absolutely.

You have to find, we've done stories too, like talking about something that I like with cheese, where we try to find the health benefits too.

Yeah.

The calcium is actually really good for your teeth.

I've interviewed Dennis about that.

You know, I mean, it's a very niche subject, but if we find a health benefit of cheese, then we can just rationalize eating as much as we want, right?

Exactly.

Let's stick with summer food and drink here, because I noticed the theme recently, and you got, like you said, the Food Network has weighed in on a lot of this stuff.

Let's talk brats.

How are you when it comes to bratwurst in your Wisconsin residency?

Do you like brats?

I do.

Yes.

I like pretty much any case meat.

I would take a Polish and Italian, a hot dog.

I'm originally from the Chicago area, so I feel like that's very hot dog heavy.

I grew up a lot eating, you know, I would go to a lot of socks games, so I'd get hot dogs there.

So I would say I tend to lean towards more of that than bratwurst, but I also have a lot of found memories growing up.

and having tailgates outside of line-eye games.

And my uncle would always make broths.

So I'm very much a brat with grilled onions on it.

What's your topping of choice?

I think on a brat, it's raw onions.

And it's interesting

because I

think we talked about this a little bit last time.

I am not, I know this is sacrilege because I grew up on the northwest side of Chicago, a couple miles west of Wrigley Field.

And I don't, I used to like Chicago hot dogs.

I find them, I love the toppings and the poppy seed bun.

But I've kind of, I'll go with Wisconsin brought any day over the Chicago dog or even a good Italian sausage.

But I like raw onions.

Okay, that's a little controversial.

I mean, I guess we can continue speaking.

But wait.

Controversial with you or in general?

I

don't know.

I just like everyone I know, I don't know that I really see that many people having raw onions.

It's always grilled, right?

I guess so.

Conrad, what do you think?

We need a tiebreaker here.

I don't know.

I think I'm in the middle too.

Like it's tough.

Honestly, Christina, I would do grilled onions as well.

How about some nice Jardinera on there?

Like an Italian beef or something?

I could go Jardinera.

Does that win

me?

Yeah, yeah.

You redeemed yourself a bit.

Maybe we need to send a man on the street out to Sheboygan, which is the bratwurst capital of the world.

That's where I was

steering you.

Yeah.

Okay, so tell us more and there's a place there I'm looking for right now because I did write it down in Sheboygan that has the best brats

Yes, I was just trying to dig it up

as

well.

It's unfortunate Okay, so here this is the issue with this list that we have so it came out about two years ago from the Food Network and unfortunately some of these places closed so Food Networks pick was the charcoal in

that's

right for the best bratwurst

But luckily, you don't have to go far to find a list of the best brats in Wisconsin.

So we also shared this list of 10.

I can just rattle them off really quickly.

Madison, Bavaria Sausage Kitchen in the Dalles Brothouse Grill in Kenosha, the Brot Stop in Cable, Garmish USA Resort, Sheboygan, Knees Fields.

a classic.

People love that one.

They

make

50 different kinds of sausages and including 24 different types of broths.

The options are insane there.

They have like apple sauerkraut broths to cranberry cheddar broths.

They also have low sodium broths.

If we were talking about healthy foods, that's how we can make it healthy there.

Then there's Nolchek's Meats in Thorpe, Wisconsin, a community of just 1600 people and they made the list.

Otto's beer and brat garden in Minakwa.

Minakwa, sorry.

Steinhouse in La Crosse.

You singers sausage shop in Milwaukee, of course.

And then Windsor's stube in Hudson, Wisconsin.

Wow.

So there's something on that list for everyone, hopefully in every part of the state as well.

And then if we if we didn't mention it for you, I mean, I'm glad some smaller towns made the list, but that's the issue.

We publish a lot of these lists where we'll say like, you know, the top 10 insert item here.

And we know every time I like every time I press send, I know I'm opening a bag of worms because someone is always going to feel left out.

And a lot of times it is from the smaller communities because our lists will be like

the most reviewed places.

So if we're doing a list from Yelp, you know, someone from Thorp is probably not going to make the top

10,

even if they are the best.

That's a great point.

just know it's hard and know that I personally feel bad that your favorite is not on our list.

And I do love when people write in because then I do sometimes find out about places I would have never heard of otherwise and they are a great hole in the walls.

So I love shouting those out as well.

Don't you think too?

Like I'm not an expert but I've made broths at home.

Sometimes I put them in beer.

It's pretty tough to screw up a broth.

Right?

To at least make it serviceable.

You know, maybe it's not going to taste as good as some of those places you just listed, but it's going to be a decent sandwich, right?

Very true.

But then we open up an entire other controversy.

We've asked our readers this question before as well.

What's the correct way to cook a brat?

And people have very strong opinions.

And it's not to put

it in beer, right?

That is a very popular option in Wisconsin, go figure.

It is, but I think

purists, sorry, go ahead.

Oh, well, no, I want to know what purists

you.

I thought, I thought we had someone on recently, maybe you remember this con that said that is not the way to do brats if you're a purist.

But I like

them like

that.

So mine, I just like it as grilled as possible, like almost like blackened.

Oh

yeah, nice.

Super charred.

Okay.

Yeah, I like I

like

them well done do you should you should make sausage meat well done in my opinion in general Hey, if we could pivot here, I want to talk to you also about you guys did something recently and your question you asked was where is the Midwest and I was surprised that most people outside the Midwest don't consider Wisconsin Minnesota or Michigan Midwestern states.

How is that possible?

Yeah, I I We need it.

We need to address this problem in our schools.

I feel like I mean I See where they're coming from because if you look at a map of the United States It is confusing that we are like if you think about it too deeply Why are we called the Midwest when really it's the mid-east

true

just geographically looking so I am wondering where they got their polling population though because

Anyone who's ever been to the Midwest would know that like Wisconsin is pretty much the heart of the Midwest

I think so too

But according to this poll the most Midwestern state would be Iowa, which I feel like they could deserve it I wouldn't argue with that, but there's people as far west as Montana Wyoming and Colorado That makes no sense part of the Midwest.

No

They cannot be part of the Midwest.

I think it's even debatable if North and South Dakota are part of it.

Oh, I would agree with that.

I mean,

yeah, what do you think?

Well, I don't think North Dakota, certainly.

Look, I did stand up back in the day in North Dakota.

There were a couple of clubs there I worked once a year and.

I don't have, the people are wonderful, but there is not much to see there, the topography.

It's very different than Minnesota and Wisconsin and Michigan, I would say.

And maybe you could say we're in Northern states, because we're sort of at the top of the US, but like, I was surprised in your poll, or what you guys published in Up North News, 94% of Wisconsinites say they're Midwestern.

Okay, fine.

I was surprised 6%, don't think they are.

I was too.

And I also, I think it comes, that brings up a different question.

Is Midwestern, is it more, it seems like this poll had a lot to do with geography.

But when I think Midwestern, I kind of think of more of a culture, like, you know, the types of food that we have that were overly friendly, you know, our different culture and customs.

Like to me, that is more innately Midwestern than just our geography.

I would agree with that.

Certainly, I don't think Oklahomans.

Oklahomans, am I saying that right?

Oklahomans, yeah, I don't think they're really Midwest.

They seem more West to me, but I get

what you're saying.

No, but if they want to be part of our club, like, cool, come on, we live in a place, we live in the Midwest, everyone wants to be us.

All are welcome, yeah,

exactly.

So, there's two more things I want to bring up with you.

Okay, three, I just saw another one of my questions.

Limburger cheese.

You wrote this in Up North News, has the same bacteria as feet.

Like Limburger cheese to some people is gross enough, but when they read that, what is the connection there?

So yeah, the bacteria that.

Grows on feet that makes them smell bad Particularly is the cheese that gives Limburger.

It's extremely pungent smell I mean if you are sensitive to blue cheese if you've never smelled Limburger, I mean it's blue cheese Times a thousand.

It's brutal.

I don't know how people get past that I can't even do blue cheese and I love cheese It just is the smell I have a sensitive nose.

I guess I just can't get past that but

Limburger cheese, in order to become Limburger, it has to age a certain amount and it develops this bacteria that is found on your feet.

But if you like it, you like it because it has a really die hard fan club and Monroe, Wisconsin is the only place in the world that makes it still.

I think that's so crazy.

And I think if

you're probably is for a reason.

Yeah.

Right.

I just think it's like, I don't have any interest.

I actually like blue cheese, but now I'm rethinking that after reading this or after you just said that because I, the connection, cheese can smell really bad.

Like Parmesan cheese can smell horrible.

And I don't eat a lot of cheese, but I do like blue cheese, like with some balsamic on a salad or something, or some walnuts.

I don't even think I can maybe do that anymore.

That's horrible.

Well, and if you think that Limburger isn't smelly enough to be given the way that the official way that people eat it in Wisconsin is usually on a slice of like pumpernickel bread

with raw onions and horseradish.

So if it didn't smell bad enough already, just add the raw onions on top.

And then what's funny is that places like Baumgartens, that's the most popular place in Monroe to get a sandwich, they actually serve it with an Andy's mint right on top.

Cause they just know ahead of time you're gonna need that.

Softens the blow.

Christina Laurie is here.

We'll have a couple more minutes with Christina after this very short break.

I'm gonna ask her about the.

best beaches in Wisconsin.

That's coming up next on Nightlight with Pete Schwabba in the Civic Media Radio

Network.

Welcome back.

This is Nightlight with Peachwama.

I am Peachwama.

Folks, you have two more days to play Civic Media's Scotty Summer Text-to-Win Contest.

It ends Friday, June 13th, which is right around the corner.

You have to have the app to play, which most of you probably already have.

All you have to do is get the keyword and text in at 7 a.m., 11 a.m., 2 p.m., and 4 p.m.

And you will be eligible to win hourly prizes which consist of a hundred bucks cash in your pocket That's tax-free ladies and gentlemen clear as they say or Milwaukee Brewer's club level seats a great seats out at American families in American Family Field Conrad

No, it's Miller Park

Miller Park.

Oh, well, we're gonna do that.

I'll just say County Stadium Every hourly entry qualifies you to win two grand prize trips one to Dore County and one to Baraboo both beautiful parts of our state

Good luck, everybody.

It ends, like I said, on the 13th.

Our texts for our question, what was your best year?

This is on the heels of Conrad's 26th birthday yesterday.

Bridget from the 818 says, very difficult question.

I'm not sure how to answer.

I will get back to you.

Okay, Bridget, we'll be waiting.

I love that someone took the time out to say that.

That's like when you do a poll and people call in and say, I don't know.

And they're in the undecided category.

Steady Eddie, he's in the 608.

He says, Pete, my best year, I think, was when I was 11, summer days playing baseball and fishing in the sun.

No cares, no worries, just fun, fun, fun, till my daddy took my T-bird away.

Well done, Steady Eddie with the Beach Boys reference, which he called out there.

Pete, I was in heaven when I was 11.

Steady Eddie, well done.

Oh, and then he put, Conrad, this keeps going.

There's more to this.

Did you know this?

Yeah, yeah.

He said, if I could be 11 again, wouldn't it be nice?

I'm not gonna sing it, but he's referencing the song by The Beach Boys.

Awesome stuff, steady Eddie, as usual.

Jameson in Pennsylvania, he's in the 814 says, middle of the road, cooked peppers and onions.

Never caramelized, I need texture, not mush.

Raw is good too.

Thank you, Jameson.

I think Jameson just built a bridge between me and my guest.

Up North News is Christina Laurie.

What do you think about that, Christina?

Do you think we just found common

ground?

Yeah, I think I misspoke when I forgot to mention peppers because that is a key ingredient.

Absolutely.

Good call.

I totally agree.

Hey.

So you guys, you did a post recently too that said, this really caught my attention.

That's another thing you guys do.

Your, your headlines are great.

You just grab people and this said six ocean like beaches in Wisconsin.

Well, I'm clicking immediately and I had no idea some of these places existed.

I've heard more and more about the apostle islands, which I have to check out because I've never been up there, but tell us about six ocean like beaches in Wisconsin.

Well first thank you for complimenting my headline because it sounds like so ridiculous because it's You know probably like on a good day.

It'll be five or six words It takes so long to come up with something that is short and just clickable.

Yeah You're very

welcome you guys do a great you do a great job

Well, and we have certainly a lot to brag about here in Wisconsin when it comes to beaches

Lake Michigan, beautiful.

You mentioned the Passill Islands.

I want to give a special shout out to Schoolhouse Beach on Washington Island.

It's one of the only all rock beaches in the world.

And when you first hear all rocks, you would think like, oh, disaster zone.

Why would I want to go there?

These are smooth pebbles.

They're not normal rocks.

And they're actually so rare, so beautiful.

And so protected that if you take one from the beach, you will be fined $200.

No kidding.

Just throw that out of time.

Wow.

Which is good because we want to protect it.

It is so beautiful.

It was also voted one of the clearest beaches in the world.

I mean, it's pristine.

It almost looks like the water that I've only seen in photos of Greece, where

it's like that

color blue that almost doesn't seem real.

So that's an especially beautiful one.

But the list of six beaches, I mean, they kind of span the entire state.

There's Bradford Beach in Milwaukee.

There's Big Bay Beach on Madeleine Island up north.

There's North Beach in Racine.

Do you have a favorite beach?

You know, um, well, I live in the Marinette area.

I'm a seven one fiver.

So there are nice beaches there, but, and I live pretty close to the water in a small community in old Chautauqua settlement near the water.

We have good, you know, our, our water fluctuates.

Sometimes it's a great beach, but then sometimes the water level goes too low.

We're a bay off of green bay.

Um, or we're on green bay, I should say.

I.

I really want to go see the Apostle Islands and I'm conflicted because I am not, I mean they're islands and they're not, you have to get out there somehow.

I am not a boatman, Christina.

I am not seaworthy.

I don't know how I feel about going out to these islands, but I have to do it because they sound beautiful.

Even when I go to Dork County, we go to Dork County a lot.

I don't go to Washington Island and I need to check that out too.

I think taking an official tour is the way to go.

Be a tourist in your own backyard, like they say.

That's very well said.

Hey, this was fun as always.

I appreciate your time and I love the work you do at Up North News and I hope we get to do this again soon because you're a great guest and really fun to talk to.

That is so nice of you to say thank you so much and I just want to let your listeners know that we recently launched a new newsletter that comes out on Saturdays previously.

We were only sending stuff out Monday through Friday.

But now we send out an all sports newsletter that's on Saturdays.

And even if you don't think that you're like the world's biggest sports fan, I just kind of dive into like the more of the niche topics like behind the scenes stuff, the people stories, the thing that the players are doing off the field or the court.

Yeah.

Give it a try if you like our normal weekday newsletter.

We'd love to have you sign up for that other one as well.

I can't believe I forgot to ask you this too, but how can people find up North News if they're not already aware of it?

That is a great point.

For shame on you, if you've never heard of us, where have

you

been?

Exactly.

I'm kidding.

I'm kidding.

Our website is just upnorthnewswi.com and right at the top there's a subscribe banner.

All you have to do is click it.

Enter your email.

We don't even need your name.

No phone number, of course.

No payment.

And you'll just sign up for our free newsletter.

The perfect newsletter if you're on the lam or avoiding the law.

It's outstanding and totally anonymous.

Thank you, my friend.

Always fun.

Have a great night and let's talk soon.

Thanks so much for having me.

Bye

guys.

Christina Laurie, check out Up North News.

Good stuff tonight, Conrad.

Oh yeah.

You were kind of quiet, I will say.

So you

okay?

Yeah, I'm all right.

the post birthday blues.

Hey, we're coming back to do all this again tomorrow night.

Thanks so much for being with me tonight, folks.

Thank you to Christina Laurie.

Thank you to Rich Todd Rico, Bob Bremerton, and thank you for all your texts and calls on behalf of the lovable producer Conrad.

Good night, Wisconsin.

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