Across Wisconsin on the Civic Media Radio Network and streaming worldwide on the Civic Media app,
Good afternoon, everybody.
I'm Tom Allvalt, along with Mr. Aaron Zommers, our producer and engineer.
It is six past the hour of one o'clock.
Welcome into hour number two of the big broadcast.
Glad to have you along on a Tuesday, February 18th, 2025.
It's a great day to be a Wisconsinite sunny skies here at the World Headquarters of Civic Media in downtown Madison.
Chilly, though, dangerously cold in some parts of the state.
much of northern Wisconsin, northwestern Wisconsin, part of western Wisconsin, canceled classes for school today out of concern over students, those particularly that have to walk to school or walk and then stand at a bus stop for, you know, some kids get up early, might have to stand outside for 20 minutes, half an hour.
before they get picked up by the bus and officials just said, look, that's too dangerous when temperatures are negative 25, negative 30.
And so they shut down classes and parts of Wisconsin today.
That cold weather is going to continue on through tonight into tomorrow morning.
So listen to your local civic media news station and elsewhere locally for possible.
School delays or closures parts of the state also delayed classes today for for two hours But it looks like one more day at least of this kind of cold snap and then forecasters are saying by Saturday Sunday parts of the state could be near 40 degrees So how about that for a quick turn or maybe the groundhog was right Jimmy the groundhog here in Wisconsin said an early spring
So we'll see.
We hope not too early.
Mark your calendars on Thursday and Friday of this week.
We are going to be doing the show live from downtown in beautiful Hayward, Wisconsin, home of WBZH, the Buzz of the North up in Hayward.
We are returning for the 51st annual American Birkebinder, the Birkey.
And this year, unlike last year, it is cold.
And there is snow, and the final leg slash finish line of the Birkenbeiner will be in downtown Hayward on Main Street.
Our station is literally not even a half a block from that route, so we're gonna be set up where Zomers, we're gonna try.
I've taken out the old Baxter State Parka.
out of the, out of the closet.
And I'm going to be all duded up in my warmest gear.
And we are going to attempt to broadcast live the entire show outside at the America Berkabiner on Friday.
It'll be something.
All right.
I'll, I'll give you that.
Just
warm.
Thank you.
Oh, great segue.
We're going to talk about a little coffee in a second.
Yeah.
But so, uh, uh, Thursday outside because a lot of things are happening outside downtown on Thursday.
See, it's not just one race.
We learned this last year, of course, at the Birkenbeiner.
There are events all week long.
And so one of the races or a couple of the races, the shorter ones are going to be held on Thursday.
And we'll, so there'll be all kinds of activity or so we hope on Thursday and then Friday, nothing in particular downtown.
And so we're going to be doing this.
show from inside our studios in Hayward.
And then Saturday is the great big Saturday and Sunday are the great huge events.
And what's cool about it is we have people from all over the world.
We learned last year, I think there were three states like Louisiana, Mississippi, and one other one that fails to jog my memory.
Those are the only states that do not.
Send participants to the Birkenbeiner and then you have all kinds of Scandinavian countries and and Canada and and Germany So a good time will be had by all So looking looking forward to being up there at the Birkenbeiner and and talking to a few people in Hayward around the local area and bringing that coverage So join us live from Hayward as the show goes back on the road in 2025 from the American Birkenbeiner this Thursday and Friday
Many thanks to Darla, our great general manager up there in Hayward and across the north for helping to set all of that up and very much looking forward to it again.
I'm sleeping on the futon again.
Which is fine.
Just to go a
year.
And this is great.
It's one of the few.
Green Bay also has showers in the station.
So if I ever get caught somewhere, I can just, I need a quick accommodation.
Hayward has a futon.
It's got hot water.
It's got a shower.
There's a little kitchenette.
I'm set.
I'm self-contained.
Not a lot more you need for a couple of days on the road.
No, it's really looking forward to it.
So many thanks for that opportunity.
I hope you'll come along with us on Thursday and Friday.
More news in this hour.
Talk a little bit more about the governor's budget address.
What is that?
What you can expect tonight?
What does it mean in this hour?
But right now, at 11 minutes past the hour of one o'clock, time once again for What's Worse.
Let's
once again for what's worse.
No prize money involved, nothing in particular to give away, but it is your chance to have your voice heard across the entire state of Wisconsin.
All 11 news talk sports stations and the Civic Media Network in every major media market in the state.
No better way to get your message, your product out and engaged with community than right here on Civic Media.
Check it out civicmedia.us in how you can advertise with this great network.
All right Zalmers Could not be more timely today could not be more timely what's worse on a bitterly cold day across Wisconsin People just trying to warm up whether it's Luke Mathers at home with his dogs Think about that.
You have a dog on each side.
You're gonna be a warm puppy.
Sure are People drinking hot chocolate might be adult beverages
And of course, that's always dangerous because it makes you feel like you're warmer, but it actually makes you colder.
Hello.
All right, here we go.
But a lot of people like coffee on a day like today.
And nobody likes coffee better than me.
I have been privileged to have a lot of experience in coffee.
I've owned a couple of coffee shops over my life, been to origin as they say, which means where coffee has grown in Central America a number of times.
So here now, today's what's worse.
Coffee black or coffee with cream?
Coffee black or coffee with cream?
What's worse?
855-752-4842-855-752-4842.
You can also text us on the Civic Media app.
Simply go to your Apple or Android device.
Go to your app store.
You'll see the little search bar there in the app store.
Type in Civic CIVIC Media.
It'll pop up a little CM logo.
Click on that.
Takes less than a minute.
It is free.
Gratis.
Cerro.
No dinero.
Not a dime.
It's what Gale King at CBS calls a deal.
The Civic Media app.
Get it now.
You can listen to our special election night coverage, Governor's budget address, and that big Badger basketball game all on Civic Media's app tonight for free.
So get it right now.
What's worse?
Coffee black or coffee with cream?
855-752-4842, 855-752-4842.
Steve, listening on WAUK in Milwaukee, right out of the gate, black.
Steve says black coffee is worse than coffee with cream.
You know I have feelings about the summers.
says,
it's just
Also, yes, we're gonna talk about this in a second.
Let's start from Wannakee, or Wannakee, good Lord Todd.
I see AUK, I start thinking of Wannakee in my head.
Waukesha, W-A-U-K, it says neither, both are delicious.
All right, what's worse?
coffee black or coffee with cream 8 5 5 7 5 2 4 8 4 2 8 5 5 7 5 2 4 8 4 2 or text us on the civic media app Greg listening in Genesee Depot on a UK says black coffee
while I'm watching on the on the YouTube you can join us on YouTube Facebook Twitter you can see Zomers and I live and in color and in person our guests as well and you can be part of our what we call the secret show
because when you hear commercials over the app or over the air, we leave our mics and cameras on and we have a lot of fun off the air.
So you can see what we say off the air.
Anyway, LA Tom, listening out there, staying very warm, by the way, God love him in Los Angeles, says, I do not know.
What?
Wait, time out.
He says, I do not know because I have never drunk coffee.
Never LA?
He's never had coffee
like
good for you LA I wish I could say the same I mostly when I got the best shape my life about 11 years ago.
I went
probably six months plus without and then I had maybe one or two.
I went almost like over a year and barely drank soda and felt much, much better.
I can't say that now.
Philip listening in beautiful Beaver Dam.
I once went to Beaver Dam.
That's a great poem.
Anyway, Philip from Beaver Dam listening on WMDX says black is the only coffee.
God love you, Phillip.
Absolutely.
Peggy in Brooklyn calling in on the old lines, 855-752-4842.
Peggy, what's worse, coffee black or coffee with cream?
I totally agree with you.
If it's good black coffee, you don't need cream and usually you're on the road.
Bingo, bingo, Peggy for the win.
Yes.
Peggy for the win.
Nice.
Peggy, you nailed it.
There's little I could do to improve that call because you're right.
If it's without naming somebody, when you're on the road, it's usually like a convenience store, right?
oh, yeah, she's gone.
All right, but Cindy's our Peggy's absolutely right about this I'm gonna expound on it when we come back also more of your phone calls coffee black or coffee with cream What's worse 8 5 5 7 5 2 4 8 4 2?
Back after this on the civic media radio network
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens.
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens.
Brown paper packages tied up with strings.
These are a few of my favorite things.
Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels.
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles.
Wild geese that fly with a moon on their wings.
These are a few of my favorite
things.
What a great program and what a great movie that is sound to music and probably more pertinent today than ever before.
Unfortunately, as it turns out, a few of our favorite things.
Welcome back.
Zommer's on the board.
All ball behind the mic.
Twenty two past the hour of one o'clock right in the middle of today is what's worse?
Coffee black or coffee with cream?
What's worse?
Coffee black or coffee with cream?
855-752-4842, 855-752-4842 to weigh in on this topic today.
Listener on WMDX says, it depends on the coffee.
You're right.
Convenience store coffee sucks pretty much.
I mean,
for the most
part.
I will say,
Many of the quick trips now in Wisconsin have put in this new machine where you could go and it grinds it right before it makes it.
So it's not just sitting there in a big pot.
That's slightly better.
It is, for sure.
So I do that if I'm on the road like Peggy said earlier.
Ali, in Madison listening on WMDX, his black coffee is worse because as a kid, my grandma gave me a little coffee with lots of cream.
Half and half, baby.
Well, I guess, yeah, if you got it addicted to that flavor as a kid, right?
Anything else above that summer as we haven't gotten to on the text line there?
Let's see.
A DJ in Warsaw listening on our great station up there in WXCO says, coffee black is worse.
Oh, now here's a guy as a Texan.
He says, down in Texas,
the rain chains and cowboys only drink coffee black.
So I indulge to fit it into the culture.
I can't understand it.
So I have to take it, uh, take it like the wolf in pulp fiction, lots of cream, lots of sugar.
All right, we'll get, we'll get back to this in a second.
Uh, what else do we have here?
A Liz and sockville.
It says definitely black is my favorite, but it's icky coffee.
than with cream, all right?
Steve Milwaukee says, keep your fancy expensive Starbucks, but agree if it's really premium stuff, black is good.
I love Colombian coffee, all right?
Steve Milwaukee also says McDonald's coffee has to have cream.
Yes, if you have to drink it, that's probably the best way to do it.
Anything else summers above that?
Or are we pretty much caught up there on the old?
I think that's pretty much caught up.
All right, let's go to Fred, listening in Cottage Grove on WMDX.
Fred, thanks for listening.
What's worse, coffee black or coffee with cream?
I personally like black coffee.
It sends it away, so he ships us to us, but if we're gonna have cream, it's gotta be with Baileys.
That a boy, that a boy, right?
Have a little fun with it.
I like that.
Thank you, friend.
Thanks for your listenership.
All right, so here's the deal.
I'm a quick educate.
I could literally do a half an hour on this.
More than that probably.
Probably.
So yes, I started drinking coffee when I got into radio in high school.
I mean, I kind of sipped parents or grandparents, but I wanted the caffeine and I didn't want to drink Mountain Dew at five AM when I signed on the radio.
And so I started drinking coffee in high school.
I forced myself for the caffeine.
And then years and years later, after I was in college and was in one of my trips to El Salvador, I went to a coffee farm and I had black coffee.
And it was absolutely stunning.
And then I went to a local coffee shop in El Salvador where they roasted it right there and ordered a latte.
I've said this on the show before.
It was like a food orgasm in that it just blew my mind away.
It tasted like it had sugar in it, but all it was was espresso and milk.
Peggy is right in Brooklyn.
If you buy, cause here's what happens.
Most coffee come like your Folgers and all that stuff that you get and put in a percolator or in your Mr. Coffee, that is low grade coffee.
It has grown low altitudes and it's cheap.
And just like a wine or a cheap beer has bad flavors in it, cheap coffee also does.
And so what most roasters do to cover that up, imagine you have a cheese pizza.
and you leave it under the broiler too long and it's all black when you take it out.
And do you taste the cheese?
No, you taste, it was charred, right?
It tastes like charcoal of a pizza like that.
Same thing with coffee.
So anytime you see coffee that has like that really glossy dark black sheen to it and they have a fancy name on it, that is burnt coffee because the natural oils in the coffee are being forced out of it.
And so when you drink that or it's ground up, you say, oh, that's crap.
I won't use Peggy's word, but she's right.
And so you say, yeah, I got to put sugar and cream to cover up the burnt flavor.
Here's, I'll drop this knowledge on you.
Coffee like wine has 161 natural flavors to it, from strawberry to grape to raspberry to brown sugar.
And if you buy a high quality coffee, if you get a whole bean, you want like a matte finish, a brown matte finish, not black and glossy.
And then you grind that up properly.
And here's another tip.
Don't use tap water.
Coffee is 98% water.
Use either through a filter, like I have a zero, a water thing or bottled water.
You want not tap water, really good coffee, and then brew it properly.
And if you do that, you'll actually develop a palette and you'll actually be able to taste real tastes in black coffee.
The problem is most of the public doesn't know what I just told you and we've been indoctrinated into buying bad coffee.
Cause it's cheap.
Cause it's cheap.
So yes, I buy a 12 ounce bag of my favorite coffee that I've talked about on this show before.
And it's 13 bucks for 12 ounces.
That ain't cheap.
But again, I'm not buying 24 packs of Miller Lite every Friday night.
It's what you can afford and what you want to spend your extra money on.
So an LA Tom, you've got, so what if you're in, if you happen to be in Los Angeles in downtown Pasadena, try ideology, ideology, coffee, I D E O L O G Y coffee.
I've been there before in downtown Pasadena.
They do a great job.
Ideology coffee also up there is a blue bottle coffee.
They do a great job as well And also a place called go get them tiger which was started by a former us barista champion if you're here in, Wisconsin try to buy coffee that's Sourced locally in you know, we don't grow it here other than the hawaii and even that coffee is kind of so-so So it's not even close to me good coffee black is better zammers
Oh, yeah, absolutely.
Completely agree.
That was a short one.
Alright, there's your left on coffee and there's what's worse.
Back with more after this on Civic Media.
having fun doing it.
Welcome back to the Civic Media Radio Network.
I'm laughing because during the commercial there, I was trying to catch up on a couple of emails.
I was looking at something that our good friend Dan Schaefer, our political editor here at Civic Media and the founder of the Reconbibulation Area, sent me.
We have our election night, our primary election night coverage tonight as well as the governor's budget address.
So I got in the middle of that.
All of a sudden, I hear the theme music and Zomers is waving at me like, you idiot, we're going off the air.
I
I was
wait a minute, we're doing a library show.
We're both like, wait a minute, we gotta do a show here.
So welcome back to the show.
Speaking of, glad to have you along with us.
Remember, it is primary election day.
Yes, there is an election day.
It's harmless, it's painless, it won't take you long.
I got in and out of my polling place this morning.
I'm wearing my little
I didn't get an iVoter sticker today.
Mine says today every vote matters when I voted today.
So I was a voter number 134 in my award.
So anyway, take that for what it's worth.
I know our Mike Clemens, our great sports reporter, put the eVoter this morning as well.
And at his polling place,
very, very down from previous spring elections.
So, low voter turnout, a lot of people might not know about it or might not think it's important, the cold weather.
But I always think about this.
And I don't want to say, I'm trying to think, you know, I'm 55, since I turned 18 and had the right to vote, I'm guessing now, guessing.
If I put all of the elections I was eligible for, spring primary, spring general, fall primary, fall general, special elections, I'm guessing maybe I missed 10 or fewer elections in my lifetime where I just either I forgot or was out of town or something like that.
So that's not too bad over that many years missing.
single-digit type of elections.
But I always think about what I'm thinking about like a day like today when it's cold.
I think about the men and women who have been on battlefields since this country was founded and how cold they were and how hungry they were and how scared they were and how brave they were.
And they fought
and many died to give me the opportunity to go vote in every election.
And I think, well, you know, they could do that.
The least I can do is get my story keister off my couch and put on a heavy jacket and brave a little cold weather to do the duty, my patriotic duty that they gave their lives for because they can't vote today.
So I hope all of us think of that.
I know it's not always convenient to go vote, but people died so that we had the privilege and the right to go vote.
And in today's world, it's more important than ever that we exercise that, right?
So go vote, be a voter, as Luke likes to say.
If you don't know where, maybe you've moved recently, simply go on your phone.
on your computer, dial up the old internet, and go to myvote.wi.gov.
Myvote.wi.gov.
It stands for government gov.
You type in your address, it'll tell you that Zommerz is putting up for all those watching on the live stream.
Thank you, Zommerz.
It's really easy.
I've done it when I moved before.
And I'll tell you where your polling place is at.
If you're a new voter to that polling place, simply take a legal ID, which is a valid Wisconsin-issued driver's license.
Remember, it does not have to be what's known as a real ID now, the one with the star in it to use for traveling.
Just a regular old driver's license.
Make sure it's valid, all right, from the state of Wisconsin or a state ID card.
that's valid or a U.S.
passport that's valid or a government military U.S.
government military ID that's valid.
Take one of those.
Also going to want to take a recent utility bill like a phone bill or electric water bill type of thing.
Remember in Wisconsin it does not have to be a paper version if you can pull it up on your phone.
They'll accept electronic aversion.
You can register same day in Wisconsin at the polls and the big race.
Every voter in Wisconsin being asked to date a vote for a Department of Public Instruction.
This is the person that oversees all public schools in Wisconsin.
The incumbent Dr. Jill Underly had running as a Democrat.
They're nonpartisan, but a Democrat, fellow Democrat, Jeff Wright.
who is a superintendent of public schools in Sock Prairie, who's been on this program, and the Republican-backed candidate, Brittany, she thought I can say her last name.
I'll get it for you in a second.
Sorry, I had a brain fart, so to speak there.
So one of those three candidates will win tonight.
Two of the three will move on and face each other in the general election on April 1st.
Brittany Kinzer, pardon me.
See, that's what happens when you try to do things from memory summers.
I learned that long ago from my radio mentor, Ron Fruit, who said, always write things down in front of you.
Don't try to do it, because sure enough, just when you think you'll never forget something, you forget it.
You look like a fool.
It happens to everybody.
Performance, anxiety, you know?
performance, whatever.
That could go a lot of ways.
40 minutes now past the hour one o'clock.
Be a voter today.
Lots of local races as well.
If you are in the La Crosse area, Big La Crosse mayor primary up there, Owen Jimi Cusco will be following that race today in Boston, Wisconsin.
They are determining whether or not their school district will survive.
Many local races across the state.
So be a voter today.
You will not be sorry that you did.
And speaking of local news, things like that in our local communities, local news is struggling across America.
Local newspapers started disappearing because their ad revenue was lost to Google, other web platforms.
But now even online news may be in trouble.
Now, this is troubling because, you know, a lot of these publications like weekly newspapers, even daily newspapers, online news, you go to the website, right, to read the news.
Well, apparently now even that is in trouble because people are increasingly simply avoiding news altogether.
A survey by IPSOP and American Communities Project found that 40% of Americans are avoiding online news sites.
They said they spend zero or next to zero time reading news online.
People surveyed said they pick up news from social media and chatting with neighbors, family, and friends.
44% of Americans said, quote, I learned more about what's happening in my community on social media than through the news, unquote.
44% said that.
A third of Americans said, quote, I rely on friends and family to tell me what important things happen in the community, unquote, asked why they're avoiding the news.
Two in five Americans said, I avoid the news because it's depressing.
I hear that from a lot of people.
Another one in five said, I avoid news because it does not really impact my life.
I understand the sediment.
It's not true, but I understand the sediment.
Here's the issue.
Democracy depends upon citizens' ability to make informed decisions about their leaders and their policies.
That applies to democracy at the local level, as much as at the state and national level.
Civic media and its partners are on a mission.
to tell truthful news so we can help keep democracy alive.
I wanna thank you, each and every one of you for being a civic media community member.
When you listen, when you participate with your calls, your texts and emails, you my friends, each and every one of you is participating in democracy and it is important.
Now so,
more than ever.
44 minutes past the hour of one o'clock.
A few more people calling in text.
Oh, by the way, Terry Bubba, wonderful and talented Terry Barr here at Civic Media, checking in, saying my pair on YouTube, saying my parents believed in watching news together and chatting about it.
You and me, both Terry.
We come from a generation, I think where, well, not to sound too old-manish.
But there was a time when you were, the family was still all expected to be home and eat dinner together.
Whether that was at 5.30 or six or 6.30, dinners at six o'clock, be here, be home.
And you sat down and you discussed the day's news.
Like I've told this story before, my granddad was a farmer, you know.
get everyone usually beyond the table by 5.30, sometimes six, and he'd turn on Walter Cronkite, or day and rather, and he would watch the evening news without fail.
And Lord help you if you tried to ask him a question in the middle of the evening news, you'd get a hush now.
Hear now.
And that was it.
There was no debate.
There was no, but Grant, no, you knew
was.
Right.
And that's the way it was.
But, you know, times change.
Technology, the internet changed how we perceive things.
When Walter Cronkite, known as Uncle Walt told you at the end of the newscast, and that's the way it was, or that's the way it is, you believed him.
And now there's a lot more doubt.
There's always been corporate influence in news, obviously, at the big levels.
But I think for those of us who went to school, went to college, and studied journalism and communication, there was a pride.
There still is.
I don't want to say there doesn't exist anymore.
But people who go into journalism for the right reasons, there's a pride.
that you're there to suss out the truth for your readers, your listeners, your viewers, and you're doing a community service.
There was a time when editors and publishers valued that.
That's what sold, getting the big scoop, bringing the truth, exposing injustice.
But with the advent of the internet, we've gotten more into the entertainment side of it all.
It's about the clicks, the views, the ratings,
Yeah, and I also can't totally blame people for tuning out aside from the depressing thing, but news websites are garbage.
Many of them.
A lot, not all, but many, especially on mobile.
There'll be so many ads everywhere, even if you're paying for it, that you can see probably 20 to 30% of your screen.
And a phone is already not that big.
It's miserable.
It's awful.
So
if
That's a
Yeah, because they want you to click on the ads to pay for it, right?
So, yeah, that's just another, I appreciate that, Terry.
It's another great example of why I'm proud to work here.
I enjoy working here because things like tonight bringing you the governor's state budget address.
It's important because
What he did a month ago was the state of the state.
It's more encompassing is more cheerleading Tonight is gonna be a bit more for many people boring But actually probably in many ways more important because the governor is going to be laying out The most important action every two years in state government the biennial budget how our tax dollars are being spent His proposal for that
Not just political programs, but how he proposes to spend our money and then the legislature Via was called the joint finance committee or JFC most powerful committee in the state legislature.
They will hold hearings and and legislators will make motions on How to spend that money and they'll incorporate that in the joint finance committee, which is overwhelmingly controlled by Republicans the majority party in both the Senate and the Assembly
They'll pass that.
Then it will go to the governor.
They'll have to hash out which way it goes.
An important address tonight.
Join us tonight at 10 minutes before seven.
Join us after this on the Civic Media Radio Network.
Welcome back to the Towel Ball Show on the Civic Media Radio Network.
It is now nine before the hour of two o'clock at the top of the hour.
ABC or CBS News, depending upon which of the Civic Media stations you're listening to, followed by news in your area by our local news teams across the state of Wisconsin.
A check of weather with our great weather team.
Of course, many severe cold watches and warnings in effect for tonight into midday tomorrow.
around much of the state.
Bundle up temperatures well below zero, especially with the wind chills.
Expect temperatures to warm by the weekend.
But make sure you are prepared for the cold weather over the next 24 or 48 hours or so.
Sports with our great sports reporter, Mike Clemens.
Big game for the Badgers tonight.
They continue or try to continue the winning streak at home at the Cole Center against.
We talked about this a little bit yesterday with Sam, but it's one of those things that's funny, but I feel terrible for the guy that this was honoring, by the way.
But Illinois retired one of their former players jerseys over the weekend down there in Illinois at a home game.
And there was a packed crowd and the lights were dimmed at halftime or whatever it was.
And so I said, in the past, like when Frank Kaminsky's jersey number was retired at Wisconsin, they have the banner in a box, like a wood box on the floor and the metal, the bar and the metal wires are attached and then they raise it up.
It comes out of the box and it raised up into the rafters.
But the way Illinois did it is they rolled up the banner and had it on a pipe.
and then it was already up there, and they turned on the spotlights, and they pulled it to release it, and it unveiled exactly the way they intended, but whoever hung it hung it upside down.
It was more than awkward.
So anyway, Illinois, I'm gonna be interested to see tonight if any of the students are wearing, you know, t-shirts upside down or anything like that.
That'd be kind of funny, actually.
Probably something.
Probably something.
Illinois versus Wisconsin tonight, 6.30 p.m.
broadcast time for the pregame show.
Tip off at 7.30 on our Civic Media stations in Amory, Wisconsin Rapids, Racine, Kenosha and Richland Center.
For the rest of the network, you can hear our special broadcast tonight at around 6.50.
taking the airways for Governor Evers budget address and then our election coverage on Wisconsin decides 2025 that DPI primary along with other races around the state as well.
Hope you'll join us for all of that.
Coming up after our program today, Maggie Dawn.
Maggie and Dom went on a little excursion this weekend I hear.
And
there I'm anxious to hear about how that went down.
So Maggie's back today, as well as a Dom, a Selvia after her.
And then he got Pete, poor Pete Schwabba.
He starts out and then we're going to hone in on his on his great program with election night stuff.
But
Oh, that's fantastic.
Look at that.
We don't want to miss a Pete show at six o'clock with.
light as well.
All right, now it is five minutes for the hour of two o'clock.
Cindy on the phone line from Appleton 855-752-4842.
One of our great listeners over there in Appleton.
Cindy, thanks for calling in.
Are you keeping warm over there in the home of Harry Houdini?
Come on, Todd.
This is the weather all of the scouts might wish
for.
Right?
A hearty soul.
A hearty soul.
I love
it.
Yeah.
Well,
anyway, the only thing I'm the only thing I'm hanging upside down is my flag these days.
And speaking of the budget, I have heard and I have on very good authority that the Republicans are planning on absolutely eliminating from the budget completely and permanently money for the nose Nelson stewardship fund.
So if you're as upset about that as I am, I'm asking you to call your state legislators and tell them to scrap that stupid idea.
Yeah, that would be a tragic to say the least.
the Noel Nelson Stewardship Fund, which goes a long way towards conservation projects in this state, a bipartisan project, by the way.
So that's interesting.
Cindy, I appreciate that perspective and information.
We'll see what Republicans do with this.
But yeah, that would certainly be a tragedy if that happens.
This preview by Laura Sholte in the Milwaukee Journal sent note today, Tony Evers to propose $2 billion in tax cuts to help farmers.
The upcoming budget address tonight says Evers is putting forward
a new two-year spending plan.
He says he'll provide nearly $2 billion in tax relief, blunt the impact of tariffs on farmers, and provide tens of millions of dollars for programs to boost students' reading skills.
The Democratic governor will release his 2527 state budget tonight.
That is, a spending plan that Evers says aims to help Wisconsinites navigate the economic pressures of inflation.
according to experts of the speech, pardon me, excerpts of the speech provided by the governor's office ahead of his prime time address.
That's gonna be another thing I'm looking for tonight in this budget address.
We talked about this a little bit before.
A friend of mine last weekend said, if I were the governor, I'd start out by saying, Speaker Voss has said this budget is dead on arrival.
And you know what, he might be right.
But not because of anything that Speaker Voss, the Republicans are doing.
because of what Donald Trump and Elon Musk are doing.
Because of their purge of needed federal employees, that's going to impact programs in Wisconsin, federal money that Wisconsinites rely on.
So that means that those programs are just going to go away forever.
Or Wisconsin is going to have to pick up the cost of some of those things through the $4 billion
surplus we have right now in the state.
I think that would be an interesting way to start.
By the way, another friend of mine was talking to you last night that said that right now with federal employees, you have the people who are incompetent and can't get a job, or you have the people who are really competent and stay out of service.
The people who Trump and Musk are getting rid of are the competent people.
something new noodle on us be with us later on tonight stay tuned now for Maggie Dawn for Zomers I'm all ball thank you to Luke Mathers and all of you for listening whatever you're fighting for whatever you believe in do not give up keep begging your drum see you later