You're listening to Perspective on WFHR 1320 AM 975 FM.
I'm Melissa Kaye bringing you news in our community.
During this interview, I'm talking with Representative Scott Krug on Friday, June 5th, 2026.
Thank you for joining me, Scott, to bring the community an update from the 72nd Assembly District.
Yeah, always happy to do it.
And especially today, I'm sitting outside at the Rome's Farmer Market that goes on every Friday morning from 8 until about 1.
get out here and hang out for a bit so it's kind of a cool venue.
People get a chance to swing by on a Friday.
Nice and it is a beautiful day here on Friday June 5th.
There's lots of puffy clouds in the sky from my view.
Hope the rain holds off.
Yeah, well it looks clear and then it clouds up for a couple minutes here, but then it clears right back up So
hopefully
we get everything in today, and if not we'll be back next Friday We always come down and get some egg rolls or some lemonade and listen to the music and all that kind of stuff
so nice I love farmers market season.
It's so fun to get out and see all the produce and and visit local vendors.
It's a great time Yeah, it's nice
just have some culture, right?
So we're sitting here in the town center here in Rome, you know, since, since Pritzels went out and sand valleys come in, you know, now there's a, there's a boutique shop right across from me.
There's a bakery right over here.
There's the splash pad.
There's live music.
So it's just, it's really cool to have stuff that bigger cities have, especially here in the smaller parts of the district.
So
yeah, for sure.
Well, let's start with something that is making a lot of people feel cloudy, the failed 1.8 billion bipartisan agreement that would have redistributed the Wisconsin budget surplus.
Yeah, it is the absolute height of stupidity from Madison to not be able to get a bipartisan bill through
the state senate is just it's it's mind blowing to some still and I and I've said since it's failed but let's just go back every month and keep making people vote against it because this is the easiest vote that a legislator could take taking surplus money sending it back to the schools sending it back to the taxpayers helping veterans and doing some disaster relief and all at the same time so it blows my mind how
Some legislators are looking at the next session already and trying to figure out what they're going to do with taxpayer money instead of putting it back in the pockets of those that need it or back into our school system.
So I just, I've been pretty outspoken about how upset I am about this.
And I have to say, I agree 100% with Governor Evers on this one that the state Senate really dropped the ball when the three Republicans and all the Democrats in the state Senate voted against it.
Probably the biggest black cloud that I've seen in the capital in a decade or plus.
Well, looking at the details of this and just speaking as a taxpayer myself, $300 isn't a whole lot.
So is $300 more than nothing?
Well, yes.
So
$300 covers two months of my electrical bill.
$300 covers a month of my gas.
$300 covers my home insurance payment or my car insurance payment $300 covers my internet and my cable and Probably even another bill on top of that.
So I mean
Yeah, I mean, we're not giving back thousands of dollars to everybody, but on the back end of it, there was more than just the rebate checks, which is what the state Senate wanted.
There was also the property tax relief for everybody who is in the state of Wisconsin, whether you're a renter or a homeowner, every building that lived there, every building occupied in the state of Wisconsin, received an equal property tax discount, too, in the next upcoming property tax bill.
So, I mean,
you know, 80% of that $1.8 billion is going back into the pockets of taxpayers across the entire state of Wisconsin.
And I, you know, Tom Tiffany who said he wanted it to be everything, the 2.6 billion surplus is,
I
get
it,
if he wants to do that when he's governor, that's great.
But when you have split government and you try to find some common ground and compromise, you don't get everything that you want.
And that's, that's the frustrating part as a legislator is telling people back in my district,
who A would have been eligible for a $300 check as an individual or $600 check as a married couple plus property tax relief.
Telling them, oh, well, you know, the politicians of Madison said, no, we're just going to keep your money instead because we know what to do with it better.
I think that's the bottom line besides just the number
is
it's your money, right?
I mean, you know better to do with your money than any politician in the history of Madison ever will.
Very, very true.
So now let's move into another frustrating topic, healthcare.
It's just getting more and more expensive, but one of your budget topics of the week this month was talking about federally qualified health centers.
Yeah, so one of the things that we
take advantage of here in rural Wisconsin is we get a lot of federal funds for these federally qualified health centers that are in Adams, in Nassita, in Boston.
Friendship, you know, some of the smaller areas take advantage of it, whether it's a noble clinic in Boston that deals with children dentistry or whether it's another psychiatric
In child psychiatric providers, Stevens Point, they're partially federally funded.
But every year in the state budget, we always take a chance to beef up the funding because these healthcare deserts that we experienced in rural Wisconsin.
really exacerbated when we don't step up as a state to help federal funding for things that would have liked to see a little bit more to operate and to be better service providers for the people in our community.
So right here in Adams, for example, at the Gunderson Hospital, there's a small clinic there that provides free health care for residents in the city of Adams, or in general Adams County area.
that helps them get through their crises and make up for some of the lack of funding that they have personally.
So it's really incumbent on us to fill in those gaps as much as we humanly possibly can.
So we're always happy in the state budget, whether it's the FHQs or whether it's the critical access hospitals, Riverview, for example, in rampage.
We also do a line item budget for those hospitals that
if they were gone would be a even bigger proportional problem for people in those areas.
Have you heard anything more about the one they're talking about building here in Wisconsin Rapids?
So I know we just uh we had Marshfield
hospital, Marshfield Clinic opened the hospital across from the Aspires Clinic and been hearing some rave reviews from people to have another provider, another option.
So we've actually, like I said, out there, my family's no stranger to an urgent care ER visit.
So we've actually gone to the new Marshfield facility and I got a chance to tour it and see what's going on there.
And, you know, we had some firsthand health care experiences there too.
So we're, I'm excited to have choices and more providers.
My only concern is
Overhead costs to having more than one or two providers so close to each other I That's my only worry is that that kind of helps push the cost a little higher for consumers.
I think So that even puts more stress on our state budget to make sure we're keeping those costs low, but Choice is good.
We just got to figure a way to help keep those costs down by not Duplicating efforts and different facilities across the street from each other.
Hmm.
So another thing that that could potentially have is
with the housing market which you're intimately aware of as a realtor.
Let's talk about housing prices a little bit.
Yeah it's been interesting in the last three or four months here in the real estate industry you know at the same time trying to have legislate some supply side fixes for our housing issues but prices have been stabilizing and even looking at
going down in some of the bigger markets around the country.
Not quite here in Wisconsin yet where we haven't seen the decline that you see in Phoenix or Seattle or Miami or some of the big metro areas that are seeing oversupply in housing.
We're not there yet here in Wisconsin.
But we did just see a new report this week from Forward Analytics, which is a group that does every analysis of anything you can think of from a countywide perspective on age of population trends in health care.
So Forward Analytics came out with a new study this week that said, hey, I don't think we need to build as many homes in Wisconsin as we thought we did.
Our population is starting to stabilize a bit.
Our housing stock is starting to be equal on buyer and seller demand.
So I think we're seeing some stabilization here in the market that's slowed prices from increasing and has given consumers a chance to get back into the market.
Now there are things we can't control.
It comes to interest rates and the federal discount rate that sets interest rates.
Federal policy and inflation really still have an impact on those things that the federal government has the impact on, not so much us.
But those are all things that factor into it too.
So I think
This rest of this year is probably still gonna be a little higher on the seller side than it is the buyer side.
So I think going into 27 buyers will see rates come down and some more availability.
So we're a lot better than we were three years ago, but we still got a ways to go.
So you think that means there'll be houses on the market, there'll be opportunities, but perhaps buyers won't be as quick to be able to purchase?
I think they'll they're getting to the point where they're quicker to purchase now I think by next year the the inventory level will be easier for them to not feel like they had to pay 15 to 20 percent premium Because there's not a lot of listings so that that inventory is the biggest thing so when people are moving out of their Forever homes into either assisted living or with other family members or moving out of state That's really opens up what we call middle housing
for
first-time buyers and those things are starting to open up more and more and I can
can test that from the real estate side.
I've got more first-time buyers right now than I've had in the last five years.
So I think they're starting to see the opportunities and not so scared of interest rates.
And I think that'll just get better into next year.
OK.
Well, let's pause here for a short moment to hear from our sponsors.
I'm Melissa K talking with Representative Scott Krug, and you're listening to Perspective on 1320 AM, 975 FM WFHR.
Welcome.
You're listening to Perspective on WFHR 1320 AM, 97.5 FM.
I'm Melissa Kay bringing you news in our community.
I'm speaking with Representative Scott Krug and where we left off we were talking about the housing market and that...
Things seem to be equalling out and could continue to get better here.
Now let's dive into an upsetting topic for a lot of people, data centers.
There's been talk of one proposed here in Wisconsin Rapids.
The city has slowed things down.
There's groups that are coming out and speaking out against them, trying to raise awareness.
What is your take on this?
Yeah, I think people should...
maybe take a little step back and remember that this is the second time that a bigger data center has decided they want to look at Wisconsin Rapids.
So after the first proposal failed last year, the city council said, hey, maybe we should take a look at our zoning practices and set some rules and some standards.
So I give them kudos for seeing that this was not going to be one and done and somebody else is going to come.
Uh, in the end, you know, Mayor Zachary and the city council are going to have to make decisions for all of us as a combined area to say if this is something they want to issue a conditional use permit for or not.
Uh, at the state level, we did pass a bill in the state assembly that would have provided all the things that were being talked about in the conditional use permitting process from making sure water is protected to make sure the electoral grid is protected.
They were not going to be paying out of pocket for.
data centers.
I think the one in Rapids has got some issues yet.
My concern right now for the proposal in Wisconsin Rapids is that this is not a we are paying our own way electrically project just yet.
I think Alliance Energy and American Transmission Company and the data center folks who are going to keep looking at the site regardless of this one it's going to you know it's going to keep happening there until there's a manufacturer that might want it but
I think the biggest concern I have right now is energy costs and making sure that if this thing has to happen that there are no out-of-pocket costs for a new transmission, for the use of power that's being gobbled up by this entity.
I think, you know, as far as water, I know that the mill operated there for 120-some years and I know that it used a heck of a lot more water than this one's going to.
I really boiled this one down to noise.
any electrical generation issues.
So if we can figure out a way to meet those standards for a project at some points, then I'd be more comfortable, you know, getting involved and letting the city know that it's a decent deal.
But I don't think we're there yet on this one.
Well, and I think the conversations that are happening seem to, for the most part, be about educating.
Yeah.
Yeah, it's fair.
I mean, and that's what everybody should do is take some time to understand what they are, why they're needed, why there's a big push for them now, you know, whether people are understanding exactly what a data center is or what it does.
Everybody should take some time to at least understand what's being proposed, read the proposal, go to the city meetings.
Be respectful to each other on both sides of it.
I mean, that's been my biggest thing.
Whether it's data centers or KFOs or whatever the hot button issue is.
I don't like when somebody gets on Facebook to ask a question with somebody else and starts getting laughed at emojis at them or angry faces at them for trying to figure out what's going on.
Like
from a straight up
name
calling, people are being very rude.
that's what I said too is like I just I don't get that and we had that same thing in the judges race here in Wood County.
We're starting to see the same thing in the clerk and courts race.
We we seem to be able to hide behind our keyboards and be angry and yell at people all the time instead of just letting people ask questions and vents.
So I mean that is the thing that ticks me off the most is that people on both sides just have no respect for other people's opinions right now and I think.
The biggest thing people should do is just when the city has meetings, if this proposal goes forward, and I say if with a capital IF, because this thing is not moving anywhere right now at all.
But in the meantime, people should understand that they have to get along with each other.
They have to be respectful in their opinions.
They have to be able to share information, whether it's positive or negative.
And they have to quit calling each other out for having opinions on stuff.
That seems to deteriorate a lot the last 10 years, and I think it's something we really have to bring back to our civil discourse here is just the ability to ask questions and talk to each other instead of being angry every time somebody says something.
It would go a long way toward being able to have both parties be able to talk about, you're for it, you're against it.
Okay, let's talk about why.
Yeah, right.
I mean, and
if there was literally in 2026, if there was literally a way,
I could hold a public forum and just say we're going to talk about it and know that we're going to talk about it and do it every week.
That's not how it works anymore, unfortunately, because there's always going to be agitators on both sides.
We're going to try to disrupt as much as they possibly can.
I try to talk to everybody as individually as much as I can as we're knocking on doors.
Obviously, it's campaign season and we're all knocking on doors and talking to people.
When you give people five minutes to say, hey, what's going on with this?
And you describe exactly what's going on with it.
They're like, oh, that's not what I heard.
I know.
I know it's not what you heard or what you saw, but that's what's going on.
So it takes 30,000 of those conversations instead of being able to do it 10 or 15 times.
I mean, it is what it is.
That's just the way things are in our world today.
But I'll keep having that conversation all summer long.
Anybody has any questions ever, they can call or text or email me.
asked me what I think, but if you're going to be angry and confrontational and just not calling with your ears open to hear what's actually happening, then it's probably going to be a pretty short conversation.
Well, respect goes a long way, and treating people how you want to be treated has always been my personal golden rule.
Yeah, it is.
I mean, like I said, I grew up in rampas.
is the rumor mill capital of the world.
Small towns are Scott.
Yes, right.
I mean, everything, everybody hears something and then all of a sudden it turns into something else.
And, you know, whether it's from, you know, whether it's from the right and Trump talking about elections or whether it's from the left and we're all going to run out of water because of this thing or whatever it is.
I mean, there's always a middle, right?
I mean, it's not always just the far right or the far left explanation that is the one that is
Gospel or locked in and written in stone like there's always a middle.
There's always something pro and con about everything.
I just want people to be able to hear what the pros and the cons are on both sides of everything that pops up, let alone just the data center itself.
Yeah, it would be good to have all of the information because then you know what you're dealing with.
That's my favorite part of my job, Melissa, is that
There are very few people that get to see everything, right?
And
that's what
I love the most about this is that I get to hear every conversation.
I have lobbyists from both sides bombarding me with stuff every day.
And I've got a parcel through that and figure out what's fact and what's bull crap.
And then I get to relay that back to the 60,000 people that I represent.
And then they can decide if I'm fact or if I'm bull crap, right?
I mean, that's the beautiful part of the process is I get the most information and everybody can decide if they want to hear it or not.
Yeah.
Well, one thing that is a very big boon for us is the disaster relief funds.
This is an application that can be filled out.
You had put this in one of your e-updates here this month and the applications are the deadline to apply is July 15th.
So talk about this a little bit.
Yeah, so it's really nice when we get other entities besides government because, like I said, we couldn't pass the disaster relief in the budget deal we just had because of the height of hypocrisy in Madison, but other groups have stepped up in our area to say, hey, we've got some funds available that we can provide some disaster relief without government having to give us the money for it.
So right now the Wisconsin Realtors Association working with their individual entities, and here that's the central Wisconsin Board of Realtors, has said, hey, we've got a pool of money that we've gathered up between our agencies and our association.
And if you're really in a sticky situation, we can help provide at least a little bit of disaster relief fund for people in affected areas, whether it's the tornadoes in Ringo, or whether it's some of the ongoing flooding issues in other areas.
There's a little bit of money available to give people some short time relief until something bigger comes down the road, whether it's federal funds from FEMA or the state actually passes this bill that we've been talking about.
So it was really nice to see the Central Wisconsin Board of Realtors step up and be able to provide some pool of money for some disaster relief.
And that is the assistance available is up to $1,000 per household that can be rental costs due to displacement, hotel reimbursement, monthly mortgage expenses, and the funds will be provided on a first come first serve basis.
So the sooner you apply, the better.
The applications and attachments can be sent to cwbr at cwbr.org.
And I recommend getting them in sooner than later.
Another thing I
can tell you too is that it's been available for quite a few weeks now and there's still money available.
It's really hard to get this information out to people so if you're still in that situation there are still funds available and that's why we put it back in the update here again just to say hey it's not like something's run out already.
Feel free to give a call or send an email and find out some more information.
You can call my office too and we can connect you with whoever you want to know more about it with.
Do you want to give that number, Scott?
Yeah, it's 715.
I'm sorry, I was giving my cell phone.
Either
way, call me on my cell.
It's 715-323-3293, or my office in Madison is 608-266-0215.
Well, here in our last minute,
Let's celebrate that Wisconsin is now 178 years old the the nation itself may be 250.
We're a little younger
Yeah, we look a little better We haven't been worn down as much as the nation has in political discourse, but
Yeah, I mean, 178 years as a state is something to celebrate is, you know, I look back on people that have served the state of Wisconsin for a long time, like my predecessor, Marlon Schneider.
He was in office for 40 years.
And when I look back at his time, that was a quarter of the state history that he got to serve our state, right?
I mean,
So people have put in that time and effort and service.
It's nice to recognize those that came before us and those that are there with us right now serving and making sure that the state's functional and not as messed up as some of the politics in the rest of the country.
So it's definitely a thing to celebrate the 178th.
Well, as always, it's a pleasure to talk with you, Representative Scott Krug of the 72nd Assembly District.
Thank you for taking the time today, Scott.
Absolutely.
Talk to you soon.
All right.
And I'm Alyssa Kaye saying thank you to listeners joining us for news in our community on perspective, 1320 AM, 975 FM WFHR.
