What’s Worse: The Lottery Or Sports Betting? (Hour 2)

From the Civic Media World Headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin, it's the Todd Alba Show.

And now, pursuing truth wherever it may lead, here's your host, Todd Alba.

Across Wisconsin on the Civic Media Radio Network.

and streaming worldwide on the Civic Media app.

Good afternoon, everybody.

Ta-da, along with Mr. Aaron Zommerer's on the board.

It is six minutes past the hour of two o'clock on this Monday, September 8th, 2025.

It's a great day to be Wisconsinite.

Back to school, back to work.

Start of the new work week.

Welcome, everybody.

Aaron Zommerer's, How is your weekend?

We are here at the World Headquarters of Civic Media, downtown Madison, mostly cloudy skies, although I'll call it...

fairly seasonal temperatures around 70 degrees.

It feels like a fall day out there.

It sure does.

And yeah, I had a very nice weekend.

My dad retired this past Friday.

Congratulations to the elder, Mr. Zomers.

I went to go hang out with Andy, my dad.

I don't normally call him that, so that felt weird.

But anyway, got some dinner, just hung out.

Of course, his first night of no longer working or sorry, the first morning he got up early and went hunting.

which I expect that to be many of his days going forward.

Well, congratulations to Andy Zombers on his well-earned retirement.

It's nice that you got to head back to beautiful Manitowoc and hang out with him.

I was in town most of the weekend, great weekend.

My sister came down from beautiful Eau Claire.

We made a weekend of it.

And on Saturday,

We're very honored to be invited by the Ewing family to go tailgate a little bit with Brady Ewing and his family.

And then we were in the stadium, thanks to Rob Wheat, who could not use his tickets.

He and his lovely wife Max were traveling.

And so Heather and I used the tickets courtesy of Rob and got to see Brady Ewing as the honorary captain of the Wisconsin Badger football team after he... I'm trying to decide whether I want to tell this story now.

or wait until Friday when he's scheduled to be on.

I'll save the story until Friday.

I'll simply say that Brady Ewing is a two, two time Big Ten champion and went to two different Rose Bowls.

It was back, one of the best full backs that was asked to be the honorary team captain without flip the coin.

It was great.

They announced him and the cool thing was all four of his sons and his daughter, all four of his

sons and his

wife were there.

Going what he has a daughter no all four of his sons his wife were there and his brother and sisters and mom and dad So so that was really really cool Badgers got a big win didn't feel as big as the score reflected But they managed to get by middle Tennessee 42 to 10 so that was fun pretty beautiful day for football Madison here by the way on

on Saturday, and then we came home.

Heather and I did after we walked.

We parked the vehicle here at the Civic Media headquarters and walked down to Camp Randall.

We walked around and my sister keeps track of steps at the end of the day's hours.

Any guess how many miles that we we walked on Saturday?

Oh, I guess I don't remember how many steps are in a mile.

Can I guess steps?

Do you remember that?

No, I don't.

OK.

I don't know, 10 miles.

Not quite.

Seven.

Seven

miles.

Which is

plenty.

Which is plenty.

And boy, we were feeling it.

So that was, that was a lot of fun.

And we went to the farmers market earlier in the day here in Madison on the square.

That was, that was lovely and fantastic.

And then we went home and watched the Brewers.

Brewers had a big weekend as well.

Swept the pirates on the road.

And then yesterday, so got a little bit of outside time and then watched the, uh, the Packers also with a big victory, 27 to 13.

over the Detroit Lions, so Badgers won, Packers won, Brewers won, huge sports weekend, great outdoor weekend, so I hope all of you had a great weekend as well.

Back at it today, and happy to be so, at the bottom of the hour, we're gonna talk to our friend, Tom Kircher, great reporter at Wisconsin Watch.

A story headlined...

quote, as Wisconsin companies saved billion, $1 billion in rate cuts, severely injured workers haven't seen a raise in nine years, unquote.

Gonna talk about workers comp in this state and find out what's going on, why workers have not received a raise.

Those who are all workers comp in over nine years.

Tom Kertcher, great reporter.

He might pull out some of his news briefs as well.

I always look forward to that when he

Uh, does fact checking on stories out there and then finds out what the truth really is.

So Tom Kircher from Wisconsin watch and then an hour, number two, we're going to do it.

What's worse for you today.

By the way, Zomers, I'm here.

I'm all five days, by the way, I'm putting in a full work week.

I'm here Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday of this week because I did not win the lottery.

over the weekend, the $1.7 billion lottery was not a winner.

I was wondering where you were going with that.

I'm like, you mean like just about every single other

week?

I did not win, but today is what's worse, the lottery or sports betting.

As Mike Lucas says, timely, timely indeed, because lottery was on the mind of people this weekend and a lot of sports betting going on with all the aforementioned sports.

And then our old friend, Matt Flynn.

is going to be in looking forward to a conversation.

He has a brand new book out called American Dawn, American Dawn.

So Matt Flynn will be joining us and talking about his novel, giving us his take on some current events as well.

So all of that very, very interesting and looking for your calls as well.

And on the text, you can text us at any time via the Civic Media app.

Big week, by the way.

Brewers have a series starting at home or probably out on the road tonight against the Texas Rangers.

Very important.

And then the Packers play on Thursday against the Washington commanders on September 11th in Lambeau field.

So big week and then Wisconsin goes to Alabama down there in beautiful Alabama.

So big sports weekend or week to follow or ahead here as well.

Mike Clemens.

Our great sports reporter will be all over it and will be bringing us the latest.

I thought we'd start with the Packers.

Got my for those watching the stream, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter.

I think that's what a lot of people are talking about this morning.

I know I had some apprehension going into the game over the weekend.

Could the Packers pull it off?

How are they going to look?

Micah Parsons, the new defenseman from Dallas.

How is he going to fit in?

And boy for those of us that watch the gamer listen to it right here on many of our civic media radio stations on the Packer radio network Wow really fantastic CBS had their all-star team had their pregame show from outside of Lambo on the CBS network That was pretty cool Nate Burlington looking very very natty indeed with a CBS pinstripe like athletic jacket and they recreated the

inside of the stadium in terms of a wall, a section of the wall, and late Burlington could do a lambo leap.

I wonder if it was full size.

It was.

Yeah, it was.

It was.

It was full size.

So that was pretty cool.

After the game, after the Packers won 27 to 13 over the Lions, CBS's Tracy Wolfson caught up with quarterback Jordan Love, but first talked to Micah Parsons after the game on CBS.

good snaps, but a huge impact.

What was it like out there for you today?

I'm not going to lie, I was a little tired.

The snap count was probably justified, but you know, overall I thought we played really well.

Some of these guys on defense were just flying around, set the tone early, even with me out there knowing my snap count.

So that really means a lot.

They just let me do catch up and then where they playing right now.

I could take my time because I think we go for a long run.

I love that.

What were the emotions walking out of the tunnel for a new team?

I

can't lie, it gave me chills.

This environment, the first time, how to embrace me, the fans, this was one-on-one.

You know, this was really just a blessing in disguise.

My man Jay Love told me it'd be this nice and I think, you know, nothing he could have said, I could imagine it'd be like this.

Jordan, I know you're...

Glad to have this guy on your side.

Oh yeah, most definitely.

And like he said, I mean, when the crowd went crazy when he ran out, he ran out a special moment.

And, you know, glad he's with us.

I'm sure he's glad to have you.

You came out and you set the tone with those two touchdown drives.

How important was it to start fast and be able to start the season this way against your North rival?

It was very important.

That was a big goal for us coming in this game.

Just start fast, start the season off fast.

And that's exactly what we did and got us off to a hot start there in that first half.

So we've got to keep building on that.

Grads on the win.

Quick turnaround.

Good luck on Thursday.

Thank you

very much.

That was Tracy Wolfson from CBS, great sideline reporter talking to Micah Parsons, the new acquisition from Dallas.

And of course, QB Jordan Love after the game Packers won 27 to 13.

They looked really good, in my opinion, because I was nervous with this preseason play.

But again, it just shows you how really the preseason stuff is.

It's really just to do some evaluation for the coaches, in my opinion, anymore.

There really isn't going to be a good barometer.

of how these teams are really going to be in the regular season.

Meanwhile, tonight on Monday Night Football, a battle of the also-rans in the NFC North.

The Vikings and the Bears are going to go at it tonight on Monday Night Football in the, I guess, who cares category.

Yeah, pretty much.

You know, I have something to look forward to in that one of them will lose.

Yes.

Or they'll draw.

That's that's a good way to

put

it.

Now,

what

can you draw?

I mean,

I'd be a little rough on the Vikings still.

I mean, I think I have a reasonable shot being a good team, but the Bears, not so much, but Vikings, the Bears tonight.

Here's our very old aforementioned sports reporter, Mike Clemens, of course, always covering the games at every single event.

He's got some audio sharing with you throughout the day today, but I want to just pull it up right now to emphasize it.

Here's the deal.

If you watched it on TV and according to people who went there, lots of blue in the stands, lots of Detroit Lions fans.

And that is apparently because a lot of Packers season ticket holders sold their season tickets to Detroit Lions fans, which I think is a bunch of hooey.

And remember the Packers under their agreement have the right to reclaim season tickets from ticket holders who just.

keep selling it and don't actually use it.

Head coach Matt LaFleur was not happy with many of the season ticket holders of Green Bay after Mike Clemens got the audio.

Here's LaFleur after the Packers win.

The fans that showed up brought great energy and the fans that sold their tickets to all those Lions fans got to be better.

Succinct and really true.

I mean.

Think how long people wait generation.

Well, maybe not a generation, but a lifetime.

A kid is born.

They put their kid on the, on the waitlist, hoping that by the time the kid is 30, 35, 40, that they'll get season tickets at Lambo.

And, and then to go and sell them to a Lions fan.

Like, look, I don't, if you can't go to the game, I mean, look at my friend Rob wheat has season tickets to the Badgers, but he didn't put it out there for, not that there's going to be a lot of middle Tennessee fans buying them, but you know what I mean?

He sold them, or he was kind enough to gift them if you want to know the truth.

I still owe him another dinner and a couple of drinks, but he gave them to somebody who knew he knew was going to use them in a route for the Badgers.

And I just don't get this thing where people, well, you know, I paid for it, so if I can make money with it, that's my right.

No, actually, it's not, in my opinion.

To be fair, maybe they tried to reach out to people they knew and nobody could go.

But that many people...

No, that's for maybe a few of them, but there are a lot of things.

I

think people just Detroit fans were willing to pay the price and people are willing to make money on it.

So I say knock it off, talk to Michael LaFleur or listen to Michael LaFleur, Matt LaFleur on that and just don't either either either don't sell your tickets or give them up to true Packer fans who will actually use them or resell them to other Packer fans.

So that great game by the by the Packers.

Over the weekend again, they play again on Thursday Against the Washington Commanders the pregame time is set for five o'clock in the afternoon on Thursday I believe the kickoff will be just after seven o'clock on Prime on Prime the great Al Michaels and Kirk Kirk Street in to call the game on Amazon Prime or you could hear it even better yet on the Packers radio network

in Richland Center on WRCO, Park Falls, WCQM, WRJN Racing, Kenosha, and WAUH in beautiful Wattoma on Thursday, the Packers pregame show at five o'clock.

Come back, give me a couple of pack, pardon me, Brewer highlights as well.

And also some new news, speaking of on the Brewer's movie from 1982, details after this on The Civic Media Radio.

on the Civic Media Radio Network.

Now, 22 past the hour of two o'clock on this beautiful Monday, September 8th, 2025.

Glad to have you along.

At the bottom of the hour, just after the farm news with Midwest Farm Report and the great Pam Yankee, the great Tom Kircher.

Gonna be along from Wisconsin Watch talking about workers' comp in the state of Wisconsin and why there has not been a raise in over nine years.

Also, maybe check in with a couple of news briefs.

Tom sussing out the truth for us today on Monday.

Appreciate that.

Then our two little what's worse for you involving betting and expecting our friend Matt Flynn to stop by with his brand new novel as well.

So big show straight ahead.

Zobber's playing a little violent fems to bring us in there from the movie.

Just a bit outside the store the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers our friends Kelly Call and Sean Hannish the producers and producer director respectively of the movie are gonna be here our guests at 335 the reason is Well, we always love to have them number one but

If you've been saying, geez, Todd, I know that the DVD is out there.

I missed it in theaters.

I don't subscribe to Amazon Prime.

I don't subscribe to Apple plus TV.

I don't have Roku.

Well, here you go.

Starting tomorrow night, just a bit outside the store that I did in Milwaukee Brewers is going to be on broadcast television for free.

How about that?

You're running out of excuses, not

to lie.

It was announced today that in the Milwaukee area, it's going to be on CBS 58 on WMLW.

Here in Madison, if you're in the Madison market, it'll be on Channel 3000, WISCTV on TVW.

So many, like if you get it over the air, if you use what used to be called rabbit ears, like Channel 3 is 3.1.

And TVW is 3.2.

So it's going to be on 3.2.

I think same thing in Milwaukee.

If you have YouTube TV or Direct TV or something like that, just look for, you know, WMLW in Milwaukee or TVW in the Madison Market.

It's also going to be on WSAW in Wausau in the Green Bay Market, WGBA and WACY.

And in La Crosse,

on WKBT channel eight.

I think it's eight point two, the digital channel there.

So, and there's also plans.

Apparently you might learn more from Kelly and Sean tomorrow.

They're also going to have the documentary as an audio selection on several of the brewers radio network stations for dates and times to be named later, hoping that some of those stations that include civic media stations, hoping we're participating, but we'll find out more soon.

But how cool is this in a year that really is giving you the feeling of that 1982 team to have more opportunities to see this great documentary just a bit outside the story of the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers.

So we'll talk with Sean and Kelly and we'll get all the details.

Get you ready to watch that because here's the deal.

Select Brewers games, including tomorrow night are over the air on all these broad same broadcast channels.

So tomorrow night's game, the Brewers at Texas.

are going to be on those channels I mentioned, and then just a bit outside will be shown after that game on those same channels.

So I think that's pretty cool.

Speaking of the Brewers, they got another sweep of a series against Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh.

Yesterday afternoon, the crew won 10 to two.

The Miz on the mound, Jacob Mizorowski.

Here is manager Pat Murphy on the Miz last yesterday afternoon.

I thought Miz got on track around the fourth inning and Jansen deserves a lot of credit for that and he straightened out his sequencing and everything else and got him under control and I thought he really settled down and pitched

well.

The thing is Murph, or the Miz pitched as long into a game as he has in his short major league career.

He may have gone longer in the minors, but he went all the way into the seventh inning

yesterday afternoon here's the Miz, pardon me, the Murph on the Miz going that extra time.

Because he was going so good you know like all of a sudden he looked like he was his tempo was good he was on time I'm like why would we take him out he's you know it's as good as he's looked the four fifth and six and seventh were better than the first three you know I was concerned in the first three I was concerned.

And one more cut for our great sports reporter, Mike Clemens, Murphy, Pat Murphy, after yesterday's Brewers win on The Miz.

I can only tell you this is a great learning experience for him and he answered the bell today and did a very, very nice job.

Did he pitch great?

No.

Did he, in a normal circumstance, could he have been out of that game early?

Yeah.

But he settled in and showed that he has the resiliency to make those adjustments.

Now on Friday night, the Brewers were on Apple Plus TV.

And the sideline reporter for Apple Plus, there's the same woman who got the whole Pat Murphy pancake thing, the pocket pancake thing going.

So on Friday night, she interviewed Murph again.

There's a whole new food in Murph's pocket.

It's a real hot team and they've proven that they can, they can score and they can beat anybody.

They're at their end of their season.

They got a lot of veterans.

We got to work it out for us.

Is that a quesadilla patch?

It is.

Quesadilla during the

game.

Nope.

A

lot of problems last time.

You caused me a lot of problems.

So

I would love a fight.

Pat, we have a gift for you too.

You gave me a pancake last time.

It was way too dry.

So we got you some authentic Wisconsin Maple syrup from Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

You won't use it.

Beautiful.

Thank you.

You're so welcome.

Thank you for the Quesadilla, Pat.

I might put it on the Quesadilla.

Do it.

Come out.

There you go, Pat Murphy talking to sideline reporter on Friday night at Apple Plus TV.

Same reporter, she got him to do the pocket pancake.

Now they're selling them on Sundays at Amphan Field and she brought him some syrup from the hometown there, Zommer's a man to walk.

Yeah, that was great.

And they have some great syrup there.

Right, yeah, very good.

So Brewers, again, not gonna get a big win yesterday, tended to.

They sweet the pirates.

By the way, magic number for the Brewers.

And this is fantastic.

They're going to town.

The magic number to win the Central is down to 12 games.

And for post-season play, the magic number is simply three games.

So really, really exciting time to be a Brewer fan.

Gonna come back and talk some news with our friend Tom Kircher at Wisconsin Watch and also some news briefs.

Our friend Jeff Perry on Facebook says he's already ready.

He has his news briefs on.

Come on back, we'll talk news.

Farm News is next right now at Pam Yankee.

Don't go anywhere.

We're having fun doing a welcome back the title ball show on the Civic media ready to work 35 minutes now past the hour of two o'clock on a Monday September 8th 2025 glad to have you along to kick off the week back to school back to work

Overcast sky is going to be a great week and no better way to start it off with a little bit of great Wisconsin news and nobody does it better than our first guest today.

Joining us from the road, as reporters often do, the great Tom Kircher of Wisconsin Watch.

You can find this story and many more at WisconsinWatch.org.

That's WisconsinWatch.org.

Tom, thanks for making time for us today.

How are you?

Dad, you're welcome.

I'm doing well.

That's great.

We were commenting before we went on the air.

I got my Packer polo shirt on today.

Sounds like you watching as well.

You always feel better, don't you?

As a Packer fan on a Monday after the Packers win.

Especially if you work at an office setting.

I remember the days when after Packers lost, Monday was just so grim.

We probably lost a collective.

100 hours of work time with people complaining.

But if they had won, oh my gosh, everybody in a great mood, ready to dive into the week.

Productivity goes up, but we're ready to dive into you.

I had a great story in Wisconsin Watch last week.

I think it also appeared in the Isthmus, correct me if I'm wrong.

But the headline is, as Wisconsin companies saved $1 billion in rate cuts, severely injured workers.

haven't had a raise in nine years.

Tom Kircher, you know, you think of Workers' Comp, not exactly a sexy, quinoa sexy type of topic, but how did you come to learn of this story and to get onto it?

You know, some months ago, I did a story about Michael Gabelman, the former state Supreme Court justice, and kind of looking at the rise and fall of his career.

And a reader who read that story,

E-mailed me and said hey Wisconsin watch ought to look into this this workers comp situation and The most severely injured people on the job those who are declared permanently and totally disabled Haven't had a raise in their benefits in nine years and certainly was not something I'd heard of before and Seemed well worth looking into

yeah, and I'm so glad that you did because like I say these are one of these things where

You know, I'm not going to workers' comp per se, but whatever the capital.

and state government, and I got shingles like 20 years ago, and I got shingles really bad.

I was on partial, I guess maybe technically as workers come, but a partial disability for like three months, because I had paid into it.

I had that insurance I had paid for, and so it covered a portion of my salary while I recuperated, and eventually went back.

But in this story, and correct me if I'm wrong, Tom, these are folks, as you said, maybe a lot of construction folks or other people who

Perhaps through the fault of their employer didn't have safety things in place and they fell they got hit whatever it is and these folks now are Physically not able to probably ever hold a full-time job again.

So this is their salary for the rest of their lives, correct?

Or at least part of their income, right?

So these are workers compensation covers people injured on the job not someone who's Disabled for another reason and can't work but specifically injured on the job

And similarly to disability, it pays a portion of your income based on what you made at the time of the injury.

And it's paid in perpetuity.

You get a check, at least for the people who are permanently and totally disabled.

I should take a step back.

So workers comp, by and large, covers people on a temporary basis.

You're working on the job like you described.

You get hurt.

you're off for several weeks, whatever it is, until you recover, you come back to work.

So it's a temporary benefit.

But there are roughly about 500 people in the Wisconsin Workers' Comp system who are declared permanently and totally disabled.

And so the good news, so to speak, for them is they get a Workers' Comp check for the rest of their lives.

They're permanently and totally disabled, declared not able to hold a meaningful job.

What's been tougher for them is that while they get this check forever, so to speak, they haven't had a raise since 2016.

And as you can imagine with inflation being roughly 34% over that period of time, it's made it difficult for folks like that to be able to pay their bills.

I think this is fascinating because

Before I got back into radio here, going on three years ago, I was working in retail doing a management gig for LL Bean.

And just in the time I started working there, part-time, I guess it would have been in like 2018.

And I finished up as a manager in 2022.

Just in that short time, our starting employees there went from $11 an hour to $15 an hour.

You know, and, and that was for retail work.

I mean, it was a good job, whatever, for what it was.

But to think about in the business world, that kind of an increase over four years, five years.

And then you look at workers comp and these folks, by and large, and again, keep me honest, Tom, and maybe, maybe they're eligible to get some supplemental income if they can.

But really this is the heart of what's paying rent, putting the food on the table and their survival.

And there's no increase in nine years.

Right, you know depending on an individual circumstances, it might be their only income.

We featured a man named Jimmy Novi who's a 77 year old permanently and totally disabled person injured about 50 years ago working in a battery manufacturing plant and he was exposed to a chemical that caused nerve damage for him and so Jimmy Novi is carrying on and that he also gets a social security check so he gets about 1500 a month

Social security about the same coincidentally 1500 a month for workers comp And he's married and his wife bring us in some income But you know, he talked to when I first talked to him back in July He I got him on the phone just to see if he'd be willing to be part of our story And he said hey, this was in the middle of July and he said, you know I've got eight dollars left in my checkbook as he put it Until the end month.

So, you know, not a destitute person not homeless.

I don't want to overstate it

At the same time, as he put it, if my wife weren't paying for the groceries and things near the end of the month, I'd probably be starving.

Yeah.

It's really a great, sad, but also a really good reminder.

By the way, we're talking with Tom Kertcher, a reporter for Wisconsin Watch.

You can find this story.

And many more great stories at WisconsinWatch.org.

It's just a great reminder, Tom, for me as I read this and just great reporting.

People that we pass the grocery store every day,

people will be passed on the street.

We don't know what other people are living with, are dealing with, and it truly is a struggle.

I always say there by the grace of God, go I've gone through times in my life when if I hadn't been for family there to basically be my safety net, I could have been homeless.

I could have been without food.

And it's a great reminder that we're all not that far away from many people in your story here.

Yeah, it's certainly true in his case and he was a young man right out of high school taking a job in the factory Manufacturing batteries that were used in walkie-talkies in the Vietnam War He had no idea with you know what he was being exposed to and after about ten years on the job Started to have trouble walking and even keeping his balance You know so in his mind Why can't I get a little bit of a raise every year?

I'm not asking for a lot, but my social security

is increased automatically every year.

Why isn't my workers comp?

And one explanation for that is that about half the states do have automatic pay increases for their permanently and totally disabled workers comp folks.

It's adjusted automatically annually.

Wisconsin does not.

So in Wisconsin for people like Jimmy Novi to get a raise, the legislature has to approve it in law.

And that's something that's taken up every two years workers comp issues.

So on the one hand, it's not automatic, certainly harder for people like Jimmy Novi.

On the other hand, people say there is value to Wisconsin's way of doing it because the workers comp issues on the whole are dealt with every two years by a workers comp committee management and labor.

And they can deal with things on a consistent basis as opposed to if there weren't.

this committee, it would be left to the whims of the legislature, which might swing one way or the other, depending on which party is in

charge.

So why is it, Tom Kircher, you're reporting, why have these folks not gotten a raise in nine years?

Has it developed, has it boiled down into a partisanship?

Is it just a lack of willingness?

Is it a lack of like what you're doing right now, awareness?

What you're reporting, why is that?

One of the key issues, I think, is that if you think about it as a contract negotiation between a union and management, and maybe on the job somewhere, there's horse trading, right?

You give us this, we want that.

And that's part of what happens every two years in the workers' comp system, where the management and labor...

sides get together and discuss an array of workers comp issues.

And if they don't agree on certain things that it never gets into that bill.

So since 2016, they've never reached agreement on a bill that includes raises for the permanently and totally disabled.

And so this year, and it's tentative at this point, but the two sides have this year recommended that.

the permanently and totally disabled like Jimmy Novi get a raise starting in 2026.

We'll have to see if that bill, once it's the drafting is complete, see if it goes to the legislature and gets approved.

And if it is, it would need to be signed by the governor too.

To me, Tom, this is the greatest use or one of the greatest uses of my opinion, journalism.

great journalism, like what you're doing here, bringing awareness because I think it's incumbent upon each one of us who read this story at WisconsinWatch.org, who hear this program today, call your state representative, call your state senator and tell them to pass this increase.

Do the humane thing.

We had a $4 billion surplus.

I know it's less now after the state budget, but there's no reason that Wisconsin cannot pay this.

cannot give these folks raises.

And if you can, just one more story, because I love your reporting because you give these examples and that's a strong connection as you can possibly make.

The stigmatism out there is, well, you know, these people, you know, they don't want to help themselves.

Talk about this kid, Scott Meyer, from West Bend High School, star athlete, great kid.

Tell folks what happened and why he is in this situation.

Yeah, he's the other person we featured in our Wisconsin watch story also permanently and totally disabled Got a job out of high school on a loading dock in an accident to get pinned the semi truck trailer pinned him against the dock he ended up

paraplegic.

He's 51 years old now and living in Colorado, permanently and totally disabled.

He's a little bit better off, I think, financially than the other man I mentioned, Jimmy Novi.

He's married, his spouse has a nice paying job, and they have a condominium that they own.

At the same time, he's talked about, hey, I've gone way overboard in my life to save the money I've been given, including a settlement he received after his injury.

but with no raises in nine years, and I've had to start to dip into that savings, and I worry about continuing to dip into it, particularly as my health is likely to deteriorate over the years because of the injury.

And again, I would just remind our listeners or ask, as I have done in reading your work here, ask myself, you know, this, I've had good fortune, this isn't me, but it could have been.

It could have been.

I mean, this kid, you know, Scott Meyer in 1992, photo here of him, all kinds of hockey trophies, had his whole life ahead of him.

He's working.

He's working a blue collar job, gets pinned by a semi, loses both of his legs a paraplegic like this.

And he's not asking people if he feels sorry for him.

He goes on and he has a life, but no raise in nine years of these benefits when we can put a lot of money into other things.

To me, Tom, it comes down to investing in our fellow humans, in our fellow Wisconsinites.

Yeah, not for me to say what we should or shouldn't do.

I

think it's important that we raise the issues which we did in this story and lay it out for people that here's the folks we're talking about.

Here's what happened to them.

Here's how they're living financially.

There are other considerations too.

There's only so much money in the system and you want to make sure that state programs like this are well run at the same time.

nine years is a long time to go without a rage.

We'll come back, talk more.

Tom Kertcher of Wisconsin.

Watch, wrap this story up on a couple of Wisconsin news briefs.

It's the all ball show for Monday on the Civic Media Radio

Network.

fun doing it.

Welcome back to Tattleball Show on the Civic Media Ready Network.

Eight minutes now before the hour of three o'clock at the top of the hour, CBS News or ABC News, depending upon which of our great stations you're listening to across the state of Wisconsin.

Weather update, sports update with a great sports reporter, Mike Clemens.

After that great sports weekend, Packers win, Brewers win, Badgers win.

and the Brewers back in action this afternoon, starting a new series down in Texas against the Texas Rangers.

You can hear that on many of our stations with the pregame show starting at 6.30 tonight.

In our two little what's worse for you and expecting our friend Matt Flynn to be along talking about his new novel.

But right now,

friend of the program, reporter, great reporter for Wisconsin Watch.

Tom Kircher joins us via StreamYard disease on the road.

Great reporter that he is.

Great story again, Tom.

I hope everybody goes to WisconsinWatch.org and reads this great reporting on.

Wisconsin companies saving a billion dollars in rate cuts.

Meanwhile, severely injured workers haven't had a raise a workers comp in nine years.

Really important story.

And I hope after people read it that they'll feel inclined to call their legislator.

And because because I think part of this story here, an important part is there is a solution on the table, right?

Yeah, it is a live issue, if you will.

There's legislation being drafted now that would provide raises for the permanently and totally disabled in the workers comp system.

Once that's drafted, it'll be shared with the labor committees of the assembly and the state Senate.

And then eventually, if it does move forward, the Republican legislature would have to approve it.

And then the Democratic governor, Tony Evers, would have to approve it.

But it is something that will be in play here for the next several

months.

It is the fact briefs.

I keep calling it the news briefs.

But no, occasionally, if I get really frisky, I'll put on my news boxers.

But no, no, no, today is the fact briefs.

Here now, as Tom takes a question from people, they ask him, true or untrue, what's the facts?

And you briefly give us the facts.

Here we go.

Number one.

Right.

Do tens of millions of unauthorized immigrants

receive federal health benefits.

This is great.

This is a great question.

A lot of people are misinformation.

Do tens of millions of unauthorized immigrants receive federal health benefits?

Tom Kircher, what's the truth?

The answer is no.

We looked at this because Vice President JD Vance made a statement to that effect when he was in the cross the other day.

And it's just simply not the case.

His concern as he raised it was that

G for spending lots of money on health care for the unauthorized immigrants.

We won't have enough for citizens.

But in fact, unauthorized immigrants, sometimes known as illegal immigrants, are not eligible for Medicare, not eligible for Medicaid, not eligible for something called CHIP, a child health insurance program, and not eligible for Obamacare, the plans you buy yourself on the federal exchange.

So what he said is not correct.

There are not.

10 millions of unauthorized immigrants getting health benefits.

JD Vance's comments untrue, not factual, according to the fact briefs here at Wisconsin Watch.

He was preoccupied, Tom.

He really wanted to go to Ashley Furniture, and they said no.

So he was a little bit salty about that.

All right, next one here.

Next question.

Is there evidence linking marijuana use to psychosis?

What say you, Tom Kircher at Wisconsin Watch?

What are the facts?

The answer is yes.

So this came from comments in an interview by Tom Tiffany, the Republican congressman from Northern Wisconsin.

He was addressing proposals to legalize marijuana and said that he had some concerns among them is that research has found a link.

between marijuana use and psychosis, think of things like delusions, hallucinations.

And he's correct.

There is quite a bit of research linking the two.

One of the caveats, if you will, is that the research is not so settled on causation.

So there is that connection.

People who use marijuana can be more likely to have a psychosis problem, but the research is not conclusive yet that one causes the other.

I'm not sure I agree with this because you know, I took a coming before the show and I keep telling the pink hippopotamus sitting next to me that there's nothing to this and I don't know I'm kidding for goodness sake for the human resource department.

I'm kidding.

It's a joke for crying out loud Well, this is this is very interesting because I think this is gonna continue to come up in the 2026 elections It always does when it when you know Democrats tend to want broader marijuana legalization, but interesting Tom right a lot of

People that want illegalization marijuana in Wisconsin in 2024 voted for Donald Trump and and so I think that's a really interesting political thing there because Trump is trying to make hey I guess instead of weed with the marijuana issue

Yeah, you know and a couple issues related to that I think there's even more evidence that younger people that young adults had a lessons can have that

predisposition, if you will, to psychosis.

So that's one concern.

As I understand it, marijuana is much stronger today than it was some decades ago.

That's another consideration.

At

the same time, marijuana users who develop psychosis are very few in number overall.

Yeah, I think Willie Nelson has talked about that you know a long time He doesn't smoke anymore because he has respiratory issues, but he he said you know Hey, it's someone who supports weed He said look the stuff that we smoke back in the day very different than than what it is now.

So once again Tom Kertcher You brought us facts.

I love that great reporting You can find all of Tom's work at Wisconsin were a watch try that again Todd Wisconsin watch dot org Tom, thank you so much for taking the time with us and safe travels out there on the road

Yeah, thank you, Todd.

Appreciate being on.

Our pleasure.

Thank you very much.

Tom Kirch everybody of Wisconsin Watch and find all of his work at WisconsinWatch.org.

Our next hour is straight ahead.

Going to do what's worse for you.

No, Todd did not win the lottery over the weekend.

That's why I'm here at work.

The lottery, but lottery, sports betting, what's worse?

We're gonna discuss that and also expecting here the second hour to be talking with her old friend Matt Flynn, two times chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin about his new book.

It has a brand new book out.

You can buy it now and it's called American Dawn.

Yeah, that right at my fingertips.

Thank you very much.

From the Civic Media World Headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin, it's the Todd Alba Show.

And now, pursuing truth wherever it may lead, here's your host, Todd Alba.

A cross Wisconsin on the Civic Media Radio Network.

and streaming worldwide on the Civic Media app.

Good afternoon, everybody.

Todd Alba, along with our producer and engineer, Mr. Aaron Zommers on the board.

It's six minutes past the hour of three o'clock.

Welcome into hour number two of the big broadcast on this Monday, September 8th, 2025.

It is a great day.

to be Wisconsinite.

Glad to have you along here in hour two for the World Headquarters of Civic Media in downtown Madison on State Street across from the beautiful Overture Center.

Cloudy skies, but seasonal temperatures.

Some beautiful fall autumn day here in Madison.

Exactly what you want for the second full week in September.

Many thanks to Tom Kircher, our guest in hour number one from Wisconsin.

Watch what great reporting there.

On an issue.

I think that a lot of us don't think about Until either a we have a friend or family family member that has to go on workers comp or B it visits us and the fact there have been no increases in nine years to workers comp recipients of Wisconsin is Atrocious in my opinion And many thanks to Tom Kirtcher, Wisconsin watch for doing this great reporting go to Wisconsin a watch dot org

read all of Tom's great work, including this story.

And then I'd urge you to call your state senator, your state assembly person and say, look, vote for this.

There's a fix in the works, in the pipeline, the state capital, vote for this and help these folks who by and large, through no fault of their own, are in a situation where they need some help.

I mean, nine years and no, no adjustment at all.

It's just, there's not too many jobs out there that are paying the same thing to their employees that they did nine years ago as Amherst.

Absolutely.

And if you or anyone you know has had short-term disability or short-terms workers comp, it's not like they're just sitting on their butts collecting money and don't have to work at all.

Well, they don't have to be employed at that job, but it is a pain in the butt to get all of that paperwork.

Like you have to go in and prove beyond the shadow of a doubt repeatedly that

you have been injured on the job and deserve to be paid.

It's all medically reviewed and confirmed.

So yeah, absolutely.

Great work there by Tom Kircher and the folks at Wisconsin Watch.

All right, come up at the bottom of this hour after the farm news.

It'll be our old friend Matt Flynn, two times chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, a Navy vet.

He's an author as a new book called American Dawn by Matt Flynn.

Can't wait to... He knows how to make things...

current events relevant through fiction.

And he creates his fiction, but there's always some nuggets of truth in it.

You can learn something about it.

And this is great.

This story here, it's about a young woman named Dawn, an innocent college student working at a law firm, becomes involved with the partner of the law firm.

He is involved with less than stellar political campaigns.

And when they try to suck her into this terrible plot,

She turns the table on him, and as Flynn writes, the hunters become the prey.

So the young college student turns out to be the heroine in the novel, apparently.

So great reading as always by Matt Flynn.

He'll be along talking about his new book called American Dawn.

You can find all of Matt's publications wherever you buy your books, including Amazon.

Look up Matthew J Flynn, because apparently there's another Matthew Flynn out there that sells books.

Don't buy his.

They might be fine, I don't know.

But Matthew J Flynn, FYNN, that's what you want to look up on your Amazon books, this new book called American Dawn.

That's coming up at the bottom of the hour as well.

And we're also going to try to sneak in a little news here.

A Democrat who I think is running a great political campaign over in Michigan, Mallory McMoro.

And I think she got it just about right.

We're gonna play the the ad from her in just a little while and little Johnson Mike Johnson over the weekend Trying to say that Donald Trump was actually an FBI informant in the Epstein files and Then ends up trying to walk it back.

I'm not making this up

But right now it's 11 minutes past the hour of three o'clock time and get once again for what's worse.

Let's go

Time once again

for what's worse nothing to give away no prize money involved

But it is your chance to have your voice heard at all 10 news talk sports stations on the civic media radio network.

All right.

Timely, timely indeed as Mike Lucas has fond of saying, by the way, we're trying to get Lucas on the show.

I'm very excited about this.

It was like going fishing.

Uh, he and, uh, uh, his former journalistic sports writing partner, the rate Tom Oates, they are a part this week of idea fest, something put on by the cap times and.

our own company, Civic Media.

All week long here in Madison, IDFS, you can go find information about it online, as long as you give us IDFS.org, or if we could get them.

We'll let people know a little bit later.

And so Civic Media is a sponsor in the CapTimes.

We got great people coming in, Stacey Abrams from Georgia, Governor Tim Walls from Minnesota.

And there are different nights are going to be speaking around this.

Thank you, Zomers.

He's got it up there on the screen.

It's cap times, cap times, idea fest.com.

Cap times, idea fest.com.

You can learn more about it.

As I said, Civic Media is also a co-sponsor of this.

But it's not all politics.

And Oats and Lucas are going to be speaking tomorrow night here in town on Regent Street at the Old Italian Club.

And I believe their tickets still available, but go to captimesideafest.com to buy your tickets.

I'm going to be there tomorrow night listening to Oats and Lucas, and we're going to try to get them on the program very, very soon.

We were close.

We were close to getting them in the boat, and then they got away.

But we're working on it.

We're working on it.

So, uh, anyway, as, uh, Lucas is fond of saying timely, timely indeed over the weekend, the big $1.7 billion lottery prize was one, two tickets match the numbers.

I believe Missouri and Texas.

So no, I did not win.

And then you got over the weekend, lots of, I don't do it.

I did buy a lottery ticket.

One, actually two, um, spent six bucks, whatever.

But sports betting, I'm just not a big sports better.

I've never, never done it, but I know a lot of people do.

So today's category, what's worse, the lottery or sports betting, the lottery or sports betting, eight, five, five, seven, five, two, four, eight, four, two, eight, five, seven, five, two, four, eight, four, two.

Give us a wrangling on the old cell phone.

on your cell phone or landline or whatever, but calls 855-752-4842 or on the Civic Media app.

If you don't have it, download it today on your favorite app store, Apple, Android.

Simply type in in the search bar, Civic.

C-I-V-I-C media, it'll pop up.

Click on that, takes less than a minute to download.

It is free.

It's what CBS's Gale King calls a deal.

the Civic Media app.

Get yours today.

Then you'll be all set.

You can communicate with us.

End, end on Friday.

A couple more weeks left.

A free Friday ticket giveaway.

Get a giveaway for club level Milwaukee Brewer seats on Friday, but only via the Civic Media app.

So download it today.

855-752-4842, 855-752-4842.

Let's go to the phone lines.

Jim, listening on WAUK in beautiful Brookfield, Wisconsin.

Jim, the lottery or sports betting, what's worse?

Sports betting because it's addicting.

You

can get

so close, you know, the basketball player misses that last second shot.

the guy misses a field goal on a football game and it's addictive because I think oh if I just would have bet a little bit differently you know and so you keep doing it.

the lottery, it's you never get close.

And if you do, you know, luckily get some, you know, five numbers, you win something.

But anyway, like my wife had to go out and buy tickets, you know, for the big drawing Saturday night.

And of course, she never got one number right.

And I asked her, I said, well, how much do you get if you didn't have one number right?

Because that took takes skill.

But anyway, my point is that sports betting is worse because it's just so addictive.

He gets so close those games.

You know, covering the spread or whatnot, but the lottery, you're never going to get close, won't be addictive.

You don't think, but I, I see people like at grocery stores that you could just, oh, like I'm not trying to judge people too much.

I guess I kind of am by their looks, but I mean, it doesn't appear that could be putting $25 on, on scratch off lottery tickets.

And they do, I think they think, well, I can't, I'm not going to make my money any other way.

And they think they're going to hit it.

I just, I feel bad for people to have those kinds of addictions.

Definitely I would feel bad too because I can tell you you have a better chance to get struck by lightning three times than hitting that jackpot

Obviously your wife buys lottery tickets.

Have you ever sports bet Jim?

Yes before I was married and it was a dick thing and I lost that one a lot I lost a lot but really

It's just, it's just not worth it.

Um, yes, the sports betting, you know, occasionally in Vermont and Vegas, all right, maybe I'll put a bet down on the backer game just for good luck, but for good luck.

But anyway, no, that was something in my youth and I know for only no too well, first hand, it's, it can be addicting.

Yeah.

Absolutely.

Great call, Jim.

Thank you as always.

I appreciate it.

Something in my youth and childhood.

Uh, Jim said it is youth.

He did some sports betting.

I've never, I guess maybe a friendly wager in the office for like five bucks, but I've never gone online.

Cause now everything's a, you know, an app and you do it online.

Have you ever sports bet summers?

No.

And I, I don't know.

I'm going to spoil my answer.

Don't do it.

Don't sports bet, especially now that it's on the app and it's so easy and accessible.

Yes.

It is designed to suck your life and money away as much as possible.

Yeah.

No, I think Jim's really onto something there.

What's worse, the lottery or sports betting, 855-752-4842, 855-752-4842.

What's worse, the lottery or sports betting.

Brett in beautiful brown deer on WAUK says sports betting is worse.

It requires knowledge and luck.

Lottery is, I'm gonna hit, I'm gonna hit, enough to retire early.

There you go.

Uh, also, uh, Cam in Appleton listening to WISS and Oshkosh sports betting is garbage.

It's a bad habit for some.

Greg in Genesee Depot listening to WAUK says the lottery is worse.

What's worse?

The lottery or sports betting eight, five, five, seven, five, two, four, eight, four, two, eight, five, five, seven, five, two, four, eight, four, two.

Jim is onto something though.

I mean, because I, and this is why, I mean, I've been to Vegas three times, I think, but not, it was just like flying through or whatever, like never really went there.

I've just never been a big gambler other than I take my 25 bucks and I do the lottery or the two of the slots.

And I don't even do those anymore because I like pulling the arm.

Now you just hit a button and

it's all electronic.

I was interested in going to Vegas at some point in my life, but now that there's no real slot machines, I'm like, what's the point?

Some people are really into betting lots of money at the tables or whatever.

It's just not my thing I I've never gone to any big Vegas shows because they're usually like two or three hundred dollars and I can't afford that and I guess I would probably like to show this if I could if I could afford him

but a lot but you got to fly out there you got to get watching and pay for the shows

but but to Jim's point early that a couple of times have been to Vegas you go out there they have these cards that are on little

little ropes, basically, they're attached.

And it's like the life is being sucked out of people and into these machines a lot of times.

What's worse, lottery or sports betting, Zomber of the Silent give you our answers on the other side.

And straight ahead, expecting Matt Flynn to stop by on his new novel, American Dolanist, the Todd Allball Show on the Civic Media, Ready Network.

You've got to know when to hold up.

Know when to fold up.

Know when to walk away.

Know when to run.

You never count your money.

When you're sitting at the table, there'll be time enough for counting

when the deal is done.

Welcome back to Tell All Balls Show on the...

Civic Media running at work 22 past the hour of three o'clock the late great Kenny Rogers the gambler Kind of no one to hold him no one to fold him the gambler that was made into I believe a TV miniseries back in the day Kenny Rogers was I mean he was he was like hot I mean not I didn't find him attractive.

I'm just saying like he was a he had number one songs.

It's star power.

Yes star power on television and some films

He was all the rage back.

There was a time in this country when, boy, you couldn't get bigger.

And he once came to Richland Center.

I believe for there was a big, we used to do this thing in Richland Center called Star Spangled Celebration.

And at memory serves, someone who was there could correct me.

But I believe Kenny Rogers played Richland Center late in his career.

And, or maybe it was in the Dells he played.

Anyway, I knew somebody who, who was a part of this.

And Kenny Rogers.

Always insisted in being paid in cold hard cash He would not accept a check of anything just you've had to bring cold hard cash in a attaché case And you gave it to Kenny Rogers before he went on stage That's That's a

quirky

performer what it you know it

They're

in the right to request that

they earned your right.

I mean it begs a lot of questions How much of that is he actually reporting to the IRS?

But hey, he was the gambler Kenny Rogers Category for what's worse today the lottery or sports betting What's worse the lottery or sports betting 8 5 5 7 5 2 4 8 4 2

eight five five seven five two four eight four two let's go down to walkie-shaw on w a u k rick in walkie-shaw rick the lottery or sports betting what's worse

the sports betting why what particular reason do you say that rick because it's not like years ago that all of the all of the leagues they

uh

They got so many more games and so many more teams and it's like the Officials aren't good and the Championships like the baseball the lights went out.

They had to cancel it for a long time and football, you know, they had the they had Baseball they were cheating during the World Series and they never did anything about it in wrestling.

They take away the trophy

Are you talking about real wrestling or fake wrestling like profession quote-unquote professional wrestling?

Well, the professional so-called wrestling,

you know,

acting.

Yeah.

Yeah, they take the belt away.

Right.

Right.

That's just boxing the same thing.

They take they take the thing away if they catch them cheating.

Right.

Exactly.

Or the Olympics.

Oh, yeah.

People have been stripped of medals before.

Here

we had them, you know, playing smoke signals with garbage cans during the World Series and.

That was okay, you know when they did it in football too.

Yeah Rick appreciate the calls always have a great day down there and beautiful walkie-shaw What's worse the lottery or sports betting 8 5 5 7 5 2 4 8 4 2 8 5 5 7 5 2 4 8 4 2 barb Listing on w a uk and walkie-shaw.

She texts in via the civic media app and says sports betting is worse

It's very addictive, she says.

Matt, one of our great UPS drivers in the RC, Richland Center, the old hometown, says, listening on WRCE, says, sports betting is worse.

It has ruined football for me.

Cheering on teams, my friends has been replaced by constantly checking phones for live payouts.

Listening to them talk about parlays, spreads and money lines all Sunday is exhausting.

Wow Wow That's a sad but great text because I I don't know people like that personally Matt, but I can see how that would just yeah that would completely ruin sports hours

Yeah, the one badger football game I was at there people around talking about their parlays and how they're doing parlays are particularly devious because what a parlay is for those of you who don't know it is a bet with multiple legs, right?

So it'll be instead of just betting

This team's gonna win this team's gonna lose it'll be like this team will win and they'll win by this much and that team will hit a Homer in the third inning and they start you at low numbers It'd be like you just paying a dollar, but you could win a hundred bucks and eventually you're betting on parlays like Pat Murphy is gonna storm the field at the Packers game and streak across the field And Mercury is in retrograde and the mole men are coming up from the earth and you'll pay $700, but you could get two million

It's crazy.

John and Oshkosh on WISS says, I can't believe no one has said the lottery is worse.

No skill to play in the lottery.

Sports betting takes instinct, analytics, and a bit of luck.

I don't know any power ball drawing that has filled a stadium.

Oh, that's a good take, John.

I appreciate that.

I'll, I'll, I don't know.

I was going to say, I bet you more people this week played the lottery than played sports betting, but I don't know that to be true, actually.

It might because, because to some of our callers and textures point, you're pointing Zombers, this sports betting thing, but because it's on the old iPhones or on a device, it's so much easier.

You don't have to leave your house.

You still have to leave your house to go out buy a lottery ticket.

Yeah,

when it's in your hand, it's dangerous.

Zombers?

I think if, if we take into account the fact that it's in your hand, sports betting is far worse.

Otherwise, I'm going to agree and say that, you know, the lottery is just random.

So that's worse, but because of the access sports betting

I agree that the chances of winning depending upon what you're betting on the chances of winning or worse in the lottery But as terms of just what's worse as a thing I'm gonna say that sports betting is worse for reasons that you stated and others that it's easier and it's more addictive and to Matt's point which is perhaps the best best text of the day in my opinion it can ruin watching the game

I mean, I'm watching a game my friends and family, we're in the game.

We're not looking at our sports bets.

Not that I'm going to say, I don't even do one.

John and Edgerton, late entry on WMDX says, is the lottery, the lottery is worse.

I don't do sports betting, so the only way I waste my money is on the lottery.

All right, never a waste of time to listen to Matt Flynn.

He is due in next, talking about his new book, Farm News, right now with Pam Yankee and Midwest Farm Report.

It's the all balls show across Wisconsin on the Civic Media, Ready Network.

Hey, get a rhythm.

When you get the blues, come on, get a rhythm.

When you get the blues, get a rock and roll feeling in your bones, but taps on your toes.

Get gone, get a rhythm.

When you get the blues.

Welcome back to the title of our show, the Civic Media Radio Network, 35 minutes down

past the hour of three o'clock on Monday, September 8th, 2025.

Whenever you hear a little Johnny Cash like that in this program,

You know the the great Matt Flynn cannot be far behind and such is the case today.

I'm going to talk to Matt in just a minute.

A quick programming note.

Remember that tomorrow on this show, our old friends of the program, Kelly Call, former CBS president, entertainment president, news president, also Sean Hannish, great director of

and also the head of cannonball productions in Los Angeles.

They are going to be our guests tomorrow because they are producers and director respectively of just been outside the store of the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers.

Here's the interesting thing.

The Brewer Game tomorrow is going to be broadcast on television on several over-the-air broadcast stations.

and immediately following tomorrow's Brewers Game on television on these stations, they are going to air for free over broadcast the movie, just a bit outside the story of the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers.

You can see the movie and the game tomorrow on CBS 58 WMLW television in Milwaukee in Madison on WISC TV, TVW.

in Wausau, WSAW, in Green Bay, WGBA, and WACY, and in La Crosse, WKBT on their secondary channel as well.

On some of these stations, it's the digital, so I can channel three in Madison, it's 3.2 or TVW.

We'll go through with this all tomorrow and explain it.

Of course,

On the audio side, we'll have the game on many of our civic media stations on the Brewer's radio network.

You can always listen to it there and then watch it over these broadcast stations and then stick around for just a bit outside the movie after that.

Really excited about this for Kelly and Sean and for everybody across Wisconsin that might not have seen this film.

It's coming to you for free tomorrow.

across gonna cover most of the state tomorrow.

So Kelly and Sean will be here tomorrow at 3.35, talking about their film just a bit outside the story of the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers, as well as the great Brewers Run reminder, the Brewers are back in action tonight, this time down in Texas.

Pre-games show at 6.30 across many of these stations.

First pitch a little after seven o'clock, you can hear it in Richland Center, Oshkosh.

Park Falls and now in Hayward on our stations there.

37 minutes now past the hour of three o'clock.

You know him.

You love him.

He's a friend of mine, a friend of this program.

He is a two-time chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, a Navy veteran.

And lest we not forget a great author as well.

And he joins us now via phone from his home in Milwaukee.

Matt Flynn, thank you so much.

How are you, my friend?

Good to

be with you, Todd.

It's been a while.

I always like being on the Todd O'Balk show.

Well, we always appreciate it because we have a great time, great insight.

I want to get your take on a couple of topical news stories.

You always have something to say about it.

But let's start with your new novel because that's why you're really joining us today.

And you've been so kind to share several of these books with me.

I love the way you write because it's very accessible.

Usually, these are fictional stories, meaning they're not true per se, but there's always a nugget of fact in there that makes it relevant today.

Your new book is entitled, American Dawn.

American Dawn, available where people buy books, including Amazon and Amazon Prime.

Matt Flynn, tell us a little bit about how you came to write and what American Dawn is about.

Well, thanks very much.

And I'm excited about this novel, American Dawn, of all the novels I've written.

And there's a couple of disclaimers I want to put in right away.

There's a lot of sexual content in it and kind of graphic.

So if anybody's offended by any of it, they should simply skim over those paragraphs, but it's absolutely necessary.

What I've done is presented a Senate race in Wisconsin with a crooked Republican candidate.

who is trying to steer the election, and they're using sex to do it.

Now, if you read it, you will recognize a lot of things that have, in fact, happened with the Republican Party.

They come across as, frankly, the proclivities of the Republican Party.

I'm not just talking about Trump, Higgs, the rest of them,

how

they relate to politics.

Now, the Democratic Party doesn't come across great in it either and neither does the media, but

I strongly recommend it.

American Dawn, a very innocent, beautiful girl named Dawn, seduced by this crooked Republican.

And when she finally turns on it is when she realizes his depraved final plan for her.

So I strongly recommend it if you want an insight into the present Republican politics.

Well, I love it because you take this young woman who was kind of, you know, involved in this and I could give anything away.

But the table, as you say, the tables are kind of turned.

And I like the fact that the female character kind of becomes the heroine and shows some of these guys what's up.

And yeah, I mean, OK, so I mean, it's an adult, I mean.

Not, not like a pornography book, but it's an adult content book.

And I don't know about you, Matt, but we've both been in politics a long time and look at today's headlines for goodness sakes.

And unfortunately, you know, sex is a part of politics and, and, you know, just happened over the last couple of hours here, breaking news right from the headlines.

The Epstein birthday book has been handed over to the House committee and it appears to have Donald Trump signature on it.

So people don't think that there.

there is sex in today's politics that are kiddin' themselves.

Well, absolutely.

And Donald Trump is a poster child, so is Epstein, and frankly, Hegzeth.

But I do wanna throw in one quick thing.

On October 14, at 6.30 p.m., October 14, Boswell Books in Milwaukee is hosting my book launch.

Oh.

And there'll be a book signing.

So if you are anywhere in the Milwaukee area, Downer Avenue, Boswell Books, a great independent bookstore,

We're going to talk about the book and have a book signing.

But yeah, with Trump alone, and I mean, forget Stormy Daniels, or Eugene Carroll.

I mean, these girls were put on planes.

Trump was on that plane seven times as frightened teenage girls flown to Mar-Lago.

And one of them committed suicide.

They were trafficked.

And one of them was a masseuse.

in Trump's Mar-Lago when he accused Epstein of quote, stealing her.

What the hell?

Does he think she's a slave or something?

What do you mean stealing her?

Unbelievable.

Read the book, American Dawn.

It's, you know, clearly there's two things here that the book is fictional, but as these nuggets of current events truth in it, but what the other part about the Epstein part is just obviously very, very tragic to these young women who were taken advantage of.

quote unquote allegedly, you have to throw that in there.

I guess these days just to make sure everything is kosher.

But I'm kind of from the camp, Matt Flynn and we're talking to Matt Flynn, two times chair of the Democratic Party, Navy veteran and author talking about his new novel called American Dawn, buy it wherever you buy your books.

But I'm one of these guys, Matt, that, you know, if it, if it walks like a duck, if it talks like a duck, it's probably a duck.

And, and, and what I, what I find, and honestly, I haven't talked

Like there are programs out there in radio land and television land that are just obsessed with this and and want to talk about nothing else but the Epstein files I've been very succinct about it and and talking to people in my former party Republican Party that I left in 2011 I'm like look he campaigned on a second term for president telling the most extreme people in Moga world the QAnon folks that he would

unmask the quote-unquote pedophiles and unmask the Epstein files.

If he has nothing to hide Donald Trump, if you're an innocent person, then you do that.

There's only one reason is they're not Matt Flynn that Donald Trump is not revealing these things.

Yes, and the fact that he was on Epstein's plane seven times

They weren't going to Hoboken to look at garages, okay?

They were going to Mar- Mar-a-Lago.

You catch my drift.

You see what I'm saying?

And he had his own plane.

So was he.

Hitched a ride with Epstein saying, hey listen, take me to Bayonne, New Jersey.

I want to look at the pollution.

Give me a break.

How stupid do they think we are?

Yeah, exactly.

Let's wrap up talking to Matt Flynn here via telephone from his home in Milwaukee.

The book is called American Dawn by Matthew J Flynn.

Make sure you put the J in there because if you dial it up without the J, you get some other schmuck and I have no idea whether his stuff is good

or not.

It might be, but we're here to promote Matthew J Flynn and his book, American Dawn.

What was your favorite part about writing this Matt in in in taking these headlines of sex and politics but also just the fact that that So often in current Republican politics, I guess there might be some cases of Democratic ones as well But people are taken advantage of and put in situations Where they feel they have no choice but to do the bidding of the people that hired them largely because of on on

physical, sexual, or intended blackmail.

Right.

You hit the nail on the head, and it really, it goes back in modern times to Clinton when he got hit by the Republican party over Lewinsky.

Everybody in the Republican party was after him, had more ravenous groins than Bill Clinton, believe me.

But this goes back a long way, and it is a tactic the Republicans used against George McEver in 1972.

they sent prostitutes to the rooms unannounced or unasked for of democratic delegates to try to influence them.

So what I tried to capture in this book is the reality of what Republicans do about sex in somewhat graphic terms.

And when you read it, you will understand how candidates get picked and how they win or lose elections.

And I am a party chairman several times.

I've seen a lot of this stuff up.

I've closed what they do and it's not right.

People are intimidated.

Some of them are getting death threats.

Some of them would lose their jobs, but some of them are being blackmailed.

In my own feeling, and I've said this before, is Trump himself, he's so servile to Putin, Putin has supplied him with money and with girls for a long time.

He's on video a lot of places.

And this guy has betrayed the country.

He has betrayed our country.

Read the book, American Dawn.

American Dawn, wherever you buy your books, and you can buy it on amazon.com.

It's Matthew Jay, as in John, Matthew Jay Flynn, F-L-Y-N-N, the book is American Dawn.

Good luck with the book, Matt.

Yeah, I mean, it's a sad reality of today's politics, but I also don't think it's just today.

I mean, I'm not going to tell stories out of school or whatever, but I mean, you remember the days, I mean,

you're older than me, and there were times in our own state capital back in the 70s and 80s before there was the internet, before there were phones, before there were cameras on everybody, that things went on that people back home just never knew about, and it would curl

the hair

on some people if they found these things out,

and it happened on both sides of the

aisle.

What?

Right.

No, no, absolutely.

And you see both sides of the aisle here.

And just so everybody's clear, this is set in the pre-Trump era in 2002.

And the reason it's set back then is to show the continuity, starting with what they did to Clinton and then going forward now with Trump and the rest.

And if you want to see how candidates really are nominated and win, read American

Dawn.

Great book.

Looking forward to the sales mat.

I also turn our gears talking to Matt Flynn, two times chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.

Um, as long as there's a time to play the Mike Johnson clip here, we up against the clock.

We want to do it.

We come back.

We do it now.

All right.

Here is a Speaker Mike Johnson, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican over the weekend on what he says Donald Trump's involvement with the Epstein files was.

So, no!

Little Johnson, Mike Johnson says that Trump was an informant for the FBI,

Matt

Flynn.

He's walked it off a little bit yesterday, but we'll come back.

We're up against the clock, Matt.

When we come back, Matt Flynn's take on this.

Johnson yesterday backed off that claim, but we'll talk about it.

Matt Flynn after this and more.

It's the Todd Allbowl Show for a Monday on the Civic Media.

Get the blues.

Welcome back to the title show on the civic media ready to work eight minutes now before the hour of four o'clock at the top of the hour ABC or CBS News, depending upon which of our great stations.

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A little bit later on of the Brewer's Radio Network, another of the Maggie Dawn show from Four Until Six, and Pete Schwabba and Nightlight from Six Until Eight.

Right now we're talking to our friend and ongoing contributor, Matt Flynn, two-time chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, a Navy vet, author of the great new book called American Dawn.

Buy it wherever you buy your books, including Amazon.

And Matt, joining us from his home in Milwaukee via telephone.

Matt, listener Frank in poignette.

WMDX says, can't wait to hear more of Matt.

Very well respected man.

He is missed.

Well, Frank, thank you very much.

And we always like it when we get Matt back on the air with this.