Music.
On this portion of the morning show on a Thursday morning, we're pleased to have State Senator Sarah Kievsky in the studio here in the 14th District.
Good to see you back here.
How's the summer been for you,
Sarah?
Well, the summer has been great.
It's been nice and busy, but it's also had some calm times, which has been quite nice, because I've needed to get a little bit refreshed once in a
while.
Catch your breath.
Yeah, catch my breath.
Exactly.
Spend
some time with my family.
Well, that's an important thing too, because I know you're on the road a lot.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'm busy.
I'm busy.
And so trying to take some dedicated time, I have a son that is going to be a senior this year, and I have twin girls that are juniors.
And so I just want to make sure that I'm there for all these
pivotal moments at the end.
We're also visiting colleges, you know, for my son.
And so it's just busy, but trying to take some good time with them, make sure I don't miss it.
Right.
And at the same time, keeping track of your constituents and kind of talking about their needs.
What's, what's been the hot topic this summer?
Oh my,
the KV lines.
I mean, that's, that's a
new one.
Yeah.
The 765 KV lines that,
are now being proposed.
There's something called the Becky Line BECI that is coming through much of my district.
And so Richland County, Sock County, Columbia County and Dane County.
So they just are sending out the company that is going to be presenting a proposal for building this line.
They've already gotten the
um contract essentially because they went through this bid contract phase with um there's so many acronyms but let me try to limit it um but they already got the the build bid contract to build and now they're looking at where to build the line and they um have some different ideas um and there's a lot of feelings about it because it's going to be
big and it's going to change the landscape.
And I think people are going to have a lot of feelings about it, fair enough.
It goes, potentially one of the lines goes right through my area, which is Lodi area.
And so,
I think we're contending with an issue of, while there are advances in our world, there are losses that come with that.
And we are going to need, as a people, I think, and this is more of an existential sort of philosophical issue, but we're going to need to really contend with what's the cost-benefit ratio.
And I think this is one of those.
I think data centers is another, right?
Where we're really kind of needing to face.
If we want as much technological advancement, if we want the cloud, if we want to be able to have a smartphone in every pocket, if we want to be able to make transitions across the world, if we want to be able to use GPS to plant our crops, if we want to be able to do all these things,
then we need more energy.
And what's the cost of that?
And so I don't have any answers for that, but I think that's kind of where the rubber is meeting the road right now, where we're really having to take a look at that.
And so anyway, the company that is heading this, they are going to have some informational meetings in each of the counties that they're going to be proposing a line.
And so there's going to be one in Richland Center coming up.
Let me look at the date again.
It will be on
August 24th, so Monday, August 24th from 10 a.m.
to 1 p.m.
at the Richland Center High School.
And so I would ask that people that are concerned about this want to know more, want to have a say, they go to that, and they speak with the people there, talk about their concerns and issues, and have their voices heard.
I have heard, you know, just doing this program, it really is of no benefit for Wisconsin residents.
They're just kind of using Wisconsin to cut across toward the east coast.
And I'm not sure if that's.
Yeah, I don't, I guess I don't know.
You know, I'm not a specialist in this area.
What I understand is there's something that's called the MISO network of transmission lines where we share energy.
So we give energy and we get energy through these transmission lines with about 50.
Let's see.
something like 12 to 15 states and one province in Canada, Manitoba.
And so it's not as if it doesn't benefit us at all.
I don't think that's probably accurate, but it isn't just for us.
It is transmission for this group of states that share so that if you have low
energy needs, but a different area of this, this myso network needs higher energy, then they share and then they kind of pull it from another area.
So it's kind of this network, if you will.
It's a grid system.
And so, and interesting, what they said is it was actually proposed this,
plan was proposed before data centers were even on sort of really the horizon, these big data centers.
This has been something in the works for some time now.
I guess these lines are in other states more to the east.
We've not had 765 lines in Wisconsin, so this would be the first time.
Um, but yes, it's not just for us.
It is to benefit others also.
I think that is a correct
statement.
Okay.
Um, some things we wanted to ask you about, uh, of course, school funding is another thing.
I know you've been, uh, talking with some area administrators again, another meeting today, but anything on the horizon or have you heard anything?
Uh, you weren't called back for a vote this summer as we thought maybe you were,
you're hoping
that you might be,
yeah, we were hoping that we would be able to get some kind of, um,
compromise that would allow us to spend some of the budget surplus that we do have.
But we didn't and so that's unfortunate.
I think the reality is is that right now we are at a different crossroads in our state with what are our priorities and how will we create a budget
to show those values or priorities.
And a big question for that will be who's in the legislature?
Who's gonna be the governor?
Who's gonna be the majority in the Senate and who's the majority in the assembly?
Because the two parties have some different priorities in those areas.
Public school for Democrats is a huge priority.
So I know all of the governor candidates and I know
our caucus in the Senate and in the Assembly, we really want to figure out how to fulfill the constitutional mandate we have to fund schools so that they're equitable for all students in the state of Wisconsin as equitable as possible.
But that takes money.
But we really understand that as a
not just a cost but an investment in our kids, but also in our rural areas because a robust school, a healthy school, brings people.
And people in our small rural communities then help buy groceries at the grocery store, buy homes in that vicinity, go to the small businesses.
So we understand it conceptually in that way.
But our state has not provided the kind of support financially, the general purpose revenue that it should have over the last, I mean, we're going on, oh gosh, you know, 20 some years, if not more.
And so it's going to matter who is the governor.
It's going to matter who's in the legislature because if we
have different values or propositions about how to do this.
The Republican Party right now has kind of, they've been in charge, so they've helped create the system that we have, which is right now spending almost a billion dollars on voucher or private schools every year.
We can't afford that if we want to be able to pay for our public schools and be able to do that so that our
property taxes do not have to continually go up.
The reason they have to go up is if we as the legislature in the budget, if we do not put forward the enough money to pay for these schools, the schools then have to ask their property owners, their constituents to increase their own tax revenue, like through a levy, so that they can pay for the operational costs that
keep going up.
These are not costs that are for special, beautiful, new, innovative things.
These are costs for heating the building, paying for custodians, paying health care premiums for teachers or a portion of paying for gas for the buses.
This is just
operational costs.
So we just have a very fundamental, different way of thinking about our schools and what's important.
And, um, in order to be able to fund them well, um, we are going to need to have a change in the, in the legislature.
Do you think that, uh, you know, when the governor's race is over in November, there's a new governor elected.
Um, things will change then.
I
think if there is a Democrat
that is elected as governor, I can guarantee all of them, whoever is elected, has stated that public education funding is something that they are very serious about and willing to help make some bold movements toward, which will probably mean then other bold movements that are like,
Maybe we need to tax at a higher level the highest income earners in our state.
Maybe we need to change that right now so that those that can afford more do pay more.
That would be an option.
Now, I'm not suggesting what they're going to do.
I don't know.
I don't know what will come out in all the negotiations someday.
But that would be an option.
Maybe we need to take away some of the credits we have for corporations that
provide them some ways of saving money that perhaps we don't need to incentivize anymore.
And so that we would have more money.
So one of the things people are really afraid of is that we're just going to want to text, text, text so that people have to pay more.
That's not the goal.
The goal is to be able to look at our budget now and see where we can make some shifts and adjustments so that we don't have this
deficit in what our schools need, but we're also not harming the people that are then gonna have to saddle a payment if we put it on the backs of the taxpayers, which is not our goal.
Some other things I wanted to ask you about.
I was curious about notable neighbors and that program.
Could you talk about that, Sarah?
Well, so one of the things that I have always thought is important
is just community and service.
You know, I grew up on a small dairy farm in Cashion, Wisconsin.
And one of the things that was pivotal in my growing up is memories of, I remember a farmer lost his house in a house fire.
And the community just rallied.
And did so many things to help them, everything from helping to tear down some things, to bring in the crops so that some time could be spent doing other things, giving money, obviously, providing meals, that kind of thing.
And there are stories like that throughout my life that I just remember.
And so when I got into this legislative position and prompted by Governor Evers, who made this the year of the neighbor,
in his address to the public.
I thought, you know, I love that idea and I wanna support it.
So I'm doing something called finding people that others consider notable neighbors in my district that they recommend.
And then we are choosing from those recommendations and then I'm meeting with them and giving them accommodation and giving them something that I knit personally, because I love knitting and I love giving like something that is personal, homemade, kind of like that, just as a small gesture.
And so just kind of trying to highlight the fact that a lot of times people that do big, amazing things get noticed.
I mean, even me, right, as a state senator, I get more credit than
in some ways is comfortable.
I would rather in some ways take some of that spotlight and say, hey, but look at this person that's doing this.
Hey, look at this person that's doing this.
And especially the people that really don't get noticed because they help.
snow plow their neighbor's yard and they maybe watch over their kittens when they're gone and maybe they help cut down a tree when it you know has blown over in the wind, whatever.
Like these small gestures but are so pivotal in a community that help people feel connected and loved and just bonded in a way that helps bring our whole community up and better.
Did you have someone from Lone Rock?
I did.
The
first family that we had, Mike and Sarah Manny and their two kids.
I got to meet with them and they were just a really lovely couple.
Again, I don't know who's getting nominated until we get these stories.
And they were nominated by their neighbors who have
just been so grateful for their willingness to help in small and big ways, like helping when there's been water in the basement or things like that.
And so it was just a way to say thank you to them and to kind of hear their reasoning for doing what they do, which is really similar to kind of the way that I see the world, which is we're all better when we all pitch in and help each other.
I think it both gives us more internally in our heart.
It kind of swells, you know, with joy when we can give.
But I think it also helps lift somebody else up so that they don't feel so alone in this world.
Wonderful.
You attended a leadership development conference earlier in the summer as well.
Yeah, so that was lovely.
I was nominated to participate in a leadership conference for legislators that are relatively new in the first four years of their legislative experience.
I think it's like 11 states and three provinces that can nominate.
So there were 36 of us that got together for
for long, long days, trying to talk about and learn about leadership in this era.
And it was interesting because I think in some ways, leadership is the same.
There's certain qualities, ideas, and ways of being in the world that are similar and have followed a,
linear path.
But there are other things that right now, pardon me, as legislators in this really partisan, divided time that are different.
And so it was a really interesting time to talk with other state legislators
bipartisan, mind you, so they're 36 us, bipartisan from all these states, having different experiences, having different ideas and ways of interacting to think about how do we as now legislators in leadership positions, how do we help change the trajectory of how partisan and divided we've been to being more collaborative and connected
while also honoring the fact that we still may see things differently and have different viewpoints.
How do you do that mindfully?
but also in a way that can help move our states forward in a meaningful way that takes into consideration the fact that there are right now primarily two parties.
The election cycle is here.
We're going to hear more and more and see more and more ads coming up here.
And personally, I just don't think it does a lot to unite us because it's kind of the same old
you know, attack ads and things like that, regardless of what side you're on, you know, I guess it's a necessary thing, right?
Oh, you know, okay, so I have so many thoughts about this as a mental health provider.
Pardon me.
What I know, what I know is that people are propelled by emotion, much more by than by logic, right?
So if you had an ad that was about, here, let me logically tell you why we should do A, B, and C. It's not going to have the resonance as something that says, hey, let me tell you something to be really angry about.
That's gonna stick in our craw much more because our primitive brain, the amygdala part, the fight-flight part is activated.
And so when that's activated, we are then riled up.
and pay more attention.
So that's kind of like just basic neurology of why it is done this way.
I'm simplifying.
But the sad part of it is that it's done this way because it works.
And it is so binary in the way it's presenting things.
It's good or bad.
And the reality is the world and these challenges that we're facing are so nuanced and complex.
that there's no way to really make it out to be good versus evil in such simplistic terms.
And yet that's kind of what happens in these ads.
So money is spent in the millions of dollars outside money is coming in to try to sway our elections.
I think it's atrocious.
I would love and will continue to advocate for.
money out of politics wherever and whenever I can.
Because I think we are losing, we are losing the voice of people now and we are gaining the corporate money that has ulterior motives really to continue to advance their agendas which is more money in their pockets and continue our economic disparity versus hearing people that
have these kitchen table issues, as we say, that are really struggling to just pay for their health care, their groceries, their house payment.
And those people are getting kind of drowned out, maybe activated with this anger and tell you who to hate for this.
But it's a simplistic version versus recognizing it's not your neighbor.
You need to look up.
and see who's in power, who has the money, who has the megaphone.
That's who is kind of, if you will, pulling the puppet strings.
It's not your neighbor to be angry with and unfortunately that's kind of where we are.
You've been on the end of the attacks before.
I mean, when you were running your campaign, I mean, it's not
funny, but
funny.
You gotta have thick skin.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I was, I mean, the things that came out about me were wild, right?
And I mean, one of the things that was so interesting to me was this idea that like I would want to increase taxes.
That was, that was one of the things, right?
There's lots of things that they would shout about me, but that was one of them.
And, and I thought,
Why the heck would I want to raise taxes?
Do you know who gets affected by those taxes?
Me.
My family, my friends, my neighbors, my children someday, right?
I don't, that's not what I'm seeking.
I'm seeking equitable distribution of money.
I'm seeking paying for things that are a collective good, but not necessarily taking that out of the pocketbooks of people.
Again, I think there are other ways to do that.
that are about our corporate tech structure, et cetera.
And so, I struggle to articulate how frustrating it is to be told lies about and how hard it is to really tell your story, your truth when
literally millions of dollars are out being spent on things that are gonna go into your radio, into your TV, into your mailbox to say something that is untrue about me.
And I think also the fallacy is that us in the media like that time.
We don't necessarily like that time.
I don't care what side, but I mean, we have to legally run these ads.
Well, and you know, I'm gonna just say this and then I have one more thing that I wanna flip to if we can before I'm out.
I think the dilemma though is that it is a big moneymaker.
I mean, so media, printing companies, consultants, like it's a big moneymaker, all these elections.
And so to get money out of politics is something that's not necessarily comfortable for people that make money.
And I'm not suggesting you necessarily, but these are big TV ads, these are
big promotional brochures that are being made.
These are big expenditures on consultants, et cetera.
So it's a lot of money that is propping this up.
So if we want it to change, we have to change the idea that that is how we want our money spent.
And we as a society need to say no thank you in a way that helps us
channel our voices differently and in a more productive way that doesn't just elevate corporate spending.
Well said.
Yeah.
What was the other point you wanted to make, sir?
Okay, so the last time I was here, I happened to hear that there's somebody in this room and it's not me.
His name is Filney that has maybe been around for a while.
40 year anniversary, am I correct
about that?
This month,
yes.
So I have.
Oh my goodness.
A commendation for you.
Oh my goodness.
And
so I'm just going to read it.
It's very short.
Know you by these.
presents, whereas Phil Knee is celebrating 40 years of broadcasting at Richland Center's Broadcasting Network, WRCO, FM 100.9, and whereas Phil is known for his unwavering passion for his work and efforts to uplift community members, educators, and local leaders, and whereas Phil brings music, local news, and essential community conversations to the Richland Center area, and whereas Phil currently serves as WRCO's general manager
host a variety of programs each week, including those were the days and Saturday evenings.
Therefore, Senator Sarah Kieske hereby congratulates and recognizes Phil Knee on 40 years of broadcasting at WRCO.
Thank you.
I'm getting kind of misty eyed here.
Oh my goodness.
That is really nice.
Thank you.
So
I want to just really.
commend you and thank you for all that you've done.
I have, I mean, in this short time and obviously this is not the end of you interviewing me, but I've really enjoyed being here, being interviewed by you.
I can tell by your questions and by your concerns that you really care about your community.
You're aware, you're plugged in and that you're doing your very best to bring forward information, knowledge and advocacy for important things.
So thank you.
Thank you very much.
I know, you know, maybe you were a little nervous the first time you came here.
Oh, I'm nervous every time.
But you didn't know what to expect, but I'm not the kind that's going to beat somebody over the head.
You know, I just throw the questions out there and see how yours goes.
Yeah.
Well, I
think we have a great banter because
I
don't come in with notes and you,
um, let us
fly by the seat of our pants and just talk about the things that we think are important on that day, which I really appreciate because I, uh, you know, I've always said, I just want to be authentically me and I think you let me do that and don't pigeonhole me in some weird way.
Um, so I appreciate that from you.
I feel like you're just genuine and, and I think
I think Richland Center and the Richland area is just really lucky to have you.
Thank you for saying that.
You made my week, my month, my year
here.
Thanks a lot, Sarah, for coming in today.
You'll be making the rounds around the district.
I'll be around.
We'll see you again real soon.
That sounds great.
Thank you.
Sarah Kieske joining us, representing District 14 here in the area.
Coming up, of course, we have a primary on Tuesday, and we did have Rebecca Cook on a little bit earlier on the morning show last week.
Equal time coming up for her opponent, and we'll have coming up here in just a little bit Emily Berge on The Morning Show.
In our studio of the morning show today, Emily Berge is here running for Congress in the third congressional district.
It is so nice to meet you.
You've been making the rounds here through the congressional district.
And what kind of has impressed you about some of these towns you've never seen before?
So I'm going to be honest, because I don't know any other way.
But I didn't know about the Driftless area.
Like up in Eau Claire, we go north to vacation.
We go to Lake Superior.
Our family goes to cable Wisconsin a lot.
I had no idea how beautiful it is down here.
And so the last year and a half, I've been able to discover the nooks and crannies of the third.
And it's amazing.
So why are you running?
Why did you get the urge to do this and step forward?
I mean, really it's about values for me.
I was raised with the values of compassion, honesty, opportunity for all.
and it was how I'm raising my kids who are now 18 and 20, so they're old now, but that's how I raised them.
My husband and I raised our kids, we were raised.
I am not seeing those values at the national level, and I believe that the people of the Third Congressional District deserve leadership that has those values of honesty, compassion, looking out for the local person, just looking out for regular people that live here.
That's what's missing, and I want to do something different.
I want to serve differently,
I've done that at the local level up in Eau Claire serving on the city council for eight years.
Um, at the local government, it's all about getting things done.
And you just, you serve your community, you get things done and you care for your community.
And that's what I want to do at the national level.
So that's why I'm running.
The big agriculture area here in the third, um, what are you hearing from farmers these days, Emily?
That's a huge issue.
And I'm traveling all over, visiting people on their farms.
And what I hear is that there's a lot of small and medium-sized farmers that, like, they cannot make it anymore.
You know, already it was hard, but over the last year and a half, it's gotten even harder with fertilizer prices going through the roof after the Iran war going on.
you know, gas prices through the roof because of the war, but just this consolidation of power.
Well, the consolidation of just these like the fertilizer companies, the seed companies.
So you have this consolidation of just the farming adjacent companies, but also the farms itself.
Like our federal policy is like bigger, bigger go home.
Like you have to, our like our federal policy incentivizes the more you plant the bigger you are.
And so that's what farmers have to do is go big.
You know, they have to have a lot of output to cover the input and it's just really hard now for small and medium sized farmers to make a go of it.
That's what I hear.
But we can change that by electing people that will put the regular people at the table, you know, give them a seat at the table and that's why I'm running.
Health care is another concern in this area and all across the country, isn't it?
Health care is huge.
And you know, my day jobs, I'm a licensed professional counselor, so a therapist.
And so I'm, I'm a mental health provider.
I've been a therapist for 20 years.
I've worked in the Sacred Heart ER up in Eau Claire.
It's where I got my, um, 3000 hours.
So I did state consults, suicide assessments in the ER.
And then I've been worked in schools.
I've worked in, um, now I'm in private practice, but like, so mental healthcare, huge.
There's so many barriers of mental healthcare and physical healthcare.
And I, I've been hearing all about it.
And then it's just, so I've been knowing as a,
known as a problem for the last 20 years or more.
It's getting worse.
And then seeing the collapse of Sacred Heart in Eau Claire as I was president in, um, so I was, I was the highest elected official in the largest city in our congressional district.
in Eau Claire, cause we don't have a mayor.
So I was president in Eau Claire when we lost Sacred Heart.
And so I saw a devastation to our community and St.
Joe's was closed too up in Chippewa, also in the third.
And it's terrible.
Like we lost our morgue, we lost where people, you know, women were going to have their babies, like all these things that you don't, hospice services, counseling services, our inpatient behavioral health was gone.
Like all those things you don't always think about when you think about healthcare, within two months it was gone.
And it was,
I mean, we're still really from it up in Eau Claire.
So, and that's just an Eau Claire, but healthcare is an issue.
That's the number one thing I've heard about wherever I go, healthcare is number one, and we have to do something about it.
And it's just gotten worse over the last year and a half.
The last two questions kind of coincide because farmers are struggling a lot of times, you know, mentally, you know, the farmer angel network is a great resource, but certainly some things need to be done in that regard too.
Yeah.
Yeah.
The suicide rates for farmers, it's heartbreaking.
how like high that is.
And it's a lot of loneliness too.
And when you look at mental health care, it doesn't have to be necessarily a therapist.
It really is connecting people.
And so it's like my grandparents, you know, my mom grew up on a farm, my grandparents lived on a farm.
It was
Like they played hearts, you know, they played, they had their cards every Sunday, you know, and that's, that's mental health.
Like, you know, that's what it's about.
It's getting people together, neighbors come over, you know, and
You know, you get together and that's what we need to encourage more.
We need to be able to talk about it.
We need to make sure that people are connecting, especially in the wintertime, you know, in Wisconsin, you know, we have, it feels like nine months sometimes of the year.
It's, you know, it's hard, hard to get out.
So how can we continue to connect people?
That's a huge protective factor with our mental health and we need leadership around that as well.
Housing, that's a big concern.
You know, people, first time home buyers and people struggling to make rent and everything.
Housing is that's here.
You're hitting all the top three healthcare, housing, AI is my top three in data centers or what I have been hearing.
And housing number one, housing hits urban and rural.
You know, I'm also, I was, you know, uncounseled for eight years up in Eau Claire.
So local government is where housing happens, you know, it's through our zoning laws.
You know, we work, we try to, you know, with economic development.
But also I'm the past president of the League of Wisconsin municipalities.
So this is a statewide organization that all municipalities in the state belong to except for maybe five.
being on that board for about five or six years, like housing was number one too, like making sure that communities small and medium large have housing options for no matter your income level.
You know, if you're a first time renter that there's options.
If you're buying your first home, there's options.
You know, if you can afford a bigger home that there's options.
You know, if you're homeless that there's options.
And so through that role too, serving it with the League of Wisconsin municipalities, you know, I testified in front of the state legislature in Madison about like affordable housing.
What can the state do?
I've been in Derek Van Orden's office several times.
I've been in DC several times talking about housing and how our federal government can help local governments solve that problem.
Again, I believe we can do this.
It's just having the people in place.
It's up to the people to elect people that want to solve these problems that have the experience to do this, like I do, and we can get this done.
It's just, yeah, electing the right people and then people getting to work.
Have you learned a lot about the 765 kilovolt lines?
That's a big hot topic right now in the area.
Yes.
The power lines, transmission lines, yes and I. So more, you know, as I've, I've been on the ground running a very strong grassroots campaign.
So I've been out talking to folks for last year and a half.
So I started hearing about the Maribel project, you know, a year ago.
Again, you just, when you show up these.
places, people are talking about it.
So I've been known it's on the ground, definitely the concerns, the concerns of the land, land order, land owners.
And then what in the last month, all of a sudden the Becky line, you know, shows up and took, you know, the people of Richland County by surprise.
And now that is the hot topic.
And so very attuned, you know, I've talked to people, like organizers on the ground, which I think is very important.
And I will do what I can at Congress, but unfortunately that will take a while.
So the people on the ground, the organizers on the ground, people can do what they need.
That's where the work is right now.
And there are steps.
I hope people who are listening, land orders who are concerned, or just people, neighbors who are concerned, reach out to the local organizers.
They can reach out to my campaign, and I can help them get connected to the people who are doing the work.
And that's what I want to do as a leader as well.
I may not be able to.
flip the light switch or, man, that's a bad analogy with the power line, but, you know, wave my magic wand and fix this, but I can get you connected to the people that are doing the work on the ground.
Well, I can help out at the national level, but no, that's a big concern for a lot of people right now.
And it's really, I mean, there's so many questions around and how the timeline with this Becky line is in seven months.
Like that, and that was probably six months, you know, from when, I mean, that's ridiculous.
That's unheard of.
Like, and that is just, it's unfair.
to the people that live here, the local communities, like they deserve to be part of this process.
People are sick and tired to be, that they're being told what to do.
You know, these decisions are being made behind closed doors, states away, you know, and then they just plop these, whether it be a data center or these transmission lines, they can people's backyard and people are sick and tired of it.
So yeah, that's a huge issue.
I stand with the people here in the third congressional district and I will do anything I can to help be by their, and I will be by their side.
We hear from people on both sides that are just kind of feeling like nothing's getting done.
There's a lot of arguing going on.
How do you look to change that and maybe work with people across the
Yes, definitely.
So I have public town halls all the time.
In fact, I'm the only candidate in this race that does this, where anyone can come to my events anytime on my calendar.
It's where I will be.
You know, and so people show up, which is great.
It's what I want.
And I believe that voters and constituents should need access to elected officials and their candidates.
Anyways, so Republicans show up to my events, independent show up to my events, you know, people who have not voted in a long time show up to my events.
Democrats obviously show up to my events and what they come out of I mean there's things and sometimes it has gotten a little tense I agree you know but we figure it out and we have a conversation about it and what what everyone agrees with is what you just said people are sick and tired of this divisiveness they want just
people to get things done.
They're sick of money and politics too.
That's another big thing.
But people just want to be able to have these conversations.
Like politics does not have to be nasty.
Politics does not have to be hateful and yelling and bullying.
Like politics can be people coming together and having a conversation.
Now serving in local government, this is what we do, right?
Like I have a background.
in working with people of all different backgrounds and solving problems.
As a counselor, that's what I do.
I've done family therapy.
I've done couples therapy.
I've worked with employee groups on the site.
A workplace is working with different employees.
You can do this.
It's just getting people together and having conversations.
And again, I'm going to say it again, bringing community together, getting people in the same room.
and have and talking through it.
And you might disagree, but you know what?
It's hard to hate up close, right?
That's a good point.
Yeah.
Like when you get in the same room and when you hear from different people, like you start to understand and you start to like, Oh, they're not a monster.
You know, they're just concerned about this.
Oh, I understand that, and then you can come to a solution a little easier.
So that's how I've done it, and that's how I will do in Congress too.
It's very important.
Again, my background in local politics and being a counselor, and just to think who I am as a person.
That's what we need is just someone to bring people together and figure it out, which we can do.
We just need the leadership to make that happen.
Right.
Cause I think we all agree on a lot of topics.
We agree on our, our kids, you know, things like that and our communities being strong and our local business community.
That's exactly right.
When you look up at a Venn diagram, you know, what's the intersection?
That's where you start.
What do we agree on?
But you're exactly right.
People want like strong schools.
They want to feel safe in their communities.
People want good paying jobs.
like people just want to be able to afford a good life.
You know, that's what we all, most of us agree on, right?
What sets you apart from your opponent in next week's primary?
Well, I think my experience is huge.
You know, I've been elected three times in the city of Eau Claire.
Again, I served as the highest elected official in the largest city in our congressional district and being past president as well at the League of Wisconsin municipalities.
So I have done the work.
I've been the arena doing this work.
Um,
My opponent, she's been running for the seat for six years, and so there's a difference there, right?
Again, in the arena, solving problems, serving my community.
I have a very public service background.
I served at AmeriCorps.
I've done volunteer work my whole life.
My kids were little.
I volunteered in their schools.
Just that volunteer or that I'll say experience, that elected experience especially sets me apart.
I think there's some policy differences.
I am the only candidate that supports a moratorium on data centers.
I think that we need to get that figured out until, and it's not even a timeline for me, it's until we have regulations on data centers, but also AI.
Again, I brought up AI.
When I talked to young folks, you hit the top two, healthcare, housing, but AI.
People want regulations around this.
We need to have oversight with these AI products.
I'll just tell a quick story.
My daughter who's 18, she's going to go to school to be an illustrator.
She's a very creative person, very proud of her.
And they both actually go to my kids.
go to stout.
So that's great.
And my husband and I met at stout.
So that's kind of fun.
But anyway, she got herself a tablet for school, for college, and she deliberately got an older model that didn't have AI like baked in it.
And that's
That's how people are that age, 18 through 20.
They're sick of AI.
And so I think it's really important to put a moratorium on all these huge data centers that are coming, which these transmission lines are feeding.
It's all part of the same thing.
It's these billionaires in California that are just using us, using our land, they want us to pay for it.
No, like we need to put a stop to it until we can get that figured out.
So that's a big difference as well.
You know, just that moratorium on data centers.
A lot of people don't know what it is like living from paycheck to paycheck out here and, you know, all across the country.
Right?
Right.
I know.
It's true.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Patriot, you know, it's really scary.
And then healthcare as well, you know, that goes, everyone needs access to healthcare.
I support universal healthcare.
That's another differentiation between, you know, me and my primary opponent.
I just believe that everyone should have access to healthcare, including mental healthcare.
We are the richest country in the world.
And people are having GoFundMe pages to pay for healthcare.
You know, again, you talk to young people after they age off their parents' health insurance, if their parents even have health insurance,
they go without health insurance.
I just, I believe it's a compassion thing.
It's what makes us strong as a company, or as a company, as a country, it makes us strong as a country to make sure that our people are taken care of, you know, and we need to prioritize, especially the people of Wisconsin.
What will it take to win against Derek Van Orden in November for you or your opponent?
So like I said, I am running a grassroots campaign for the last 18 months I've been out there at a goal.
I still have a goal of shaking every hand, talking to every person, all 750,000 of them in the third congressional district, which I know is a lofty goal, but I think it shows you where my values are.
I have been showing up, and people are responding.
In Lafarge, I had 100 people show up at the town hall.
In Verrocco, I had 120 people show up at the VFW for a town hall.
And up in Pigeon, in Trumplow, I had a packed house.
And these are small rural communities.
In Galesville, I had a packed house at the library.
I have over 600 people who have signed up to volunteer with our campaign.
And so money.
is a part of politics, unfortunately.
That's just the way our federal government, that's the way the values have been, which is unfortunate.
And I will work to get that out of our government.
So there's money.
And whoever wins the primary, the money will be there.
But only one of us has the people.
Like it has all this volunteer people power.
And that's our campaign.
And that's what we need to win in November.
People so often take the people for granted.
Outsiders, DC insiders, they take the people for granted.
You know, the DC establishment, the Democratic establishment, did not want me to run.
They told me they didn't want a primary, that they had their candidate.
And that's what I knew I had to run.
You asked me my why?
That's what sealed it for me.
When they said, no, we don't want you to run, I said, well, then I'm running.
Because the people of the Third Congressional District deserve a choice.
They get to choose what Democrat goes up against Derek Van Orden.
And insiders in DC do not get to choose that, even though they want to.
Again, and because of that, that's where my values lie anyways is the people, like the people, very people focused campaign, but because the establishment has funneled millions to my primary opponent and these national endorsements, that made it us all, all the more important to build this people power, to show them, you know, because that's what the global show them, you know.
But that sets me apart, and that has allowed us to create this huge movement of people that are so excited for just hope and change.
So excited to have someone to believe in.
It's not even me.
It's this movement of people first.
And that's how we're going to win in November.
The other thing, too, is
people want to be treated kindly and they don't like that matters how you treat people and people don't always feel like they're treated kindly with you know our local with our you know federal elected people so just like that respect that integrity that our campaign has is what draws people to us and we're like just a snowball rolling down the mountain or a bluff you know like and we're just growing bigger and bigger as more people join our movement and that's what we're going to do you know in November and that's how we will
you know, flip the seat back from red to blue.
Though it isn't even about colors, it's just about representing the people and local communities of Wisconsin.
What about the governor's race?
You know, it was pretty crowded there for a while.
Not as crowded now, but certainly it still, it seems up in the air, right?
It's, it's been really interesting to be on the ground for the last 18 months.
And I, I hear a lot from people and is what everyone is talking about right now.
And they asked me who I'm voting for and
I don't say anything.
But yeah, there's differently.
I will say that people that are voting for Hong, they know that they're voting for Hong.
And it seems like everyone else is kind of undecided.
So we'll see how that kind of shakes out.
But you're right.
Dropping out, getting back in, dropping out.
I think people are frustrated by that, especially because they're already on the ballot.
People have voted for people that then they drop out and that's frustrating for people because it's kind of a wasted vote then.
And I can certainly understand that, but we will see one week to go.
And I know them all just being involved with the league and different things.
And they're all very kind, wonderful people.
So there's no bad egg in there.
So that's the good news is that they're all really good people.
That's good to hear.
Anything else I didn't ask her, you'd like to add today, Emily.
Um, no, I just really been appreciative of everyone, all the support I've gotten.
It feels really good out there on the ground.
Um, you know, we, the lacrosse County released a straw poll, which had me very much ahead.
We won the, the straw poll by wide margins, which
Uh, feels great.
There's Berge signs everywhere over the third congressional district, which is wonderful to see people are just really excited, which then gets me excited and then it gets them excited.
So I'm excited for, you know, a week, a week from today, we will know.
So, and that's interesting that in a week, my life is going to be very different.
And it's kind of interesting for me to think about that, but I am excited for the, for the next chapter.
Well, it's great to meet you.
Thanks for stopping by the studios.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Emily Berge running for Congress in the third congressional district.
Get out and vote.
That's the main thing next week, right?
Absolutely.
We'll be back with more on the morning show.
Music.
On this portion of the morning show on a Thursday morning, we're pleased to have State Senator Sarah Kievsky in the studio here in the 14th District.
Good to see you back here.
How's the summer been for you,
Sarah?
Well, the summer has been great.
It's been nice and busy, but it's also had some calm times, which has been quite nice, because I've needed to get a little bit refreshed once in a
while.
Catch your breath.
Yeah, catch my breath.
Exactly.
Spend
some time with my family.
Well, that's an important thing too, because I know you're on the road a lot.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'm busy.
I'm busy.
And so trying to take some dedicated time, I have a son that is going to be a senior this year, and I have twin girls that are juniors.
And so I just want to make sure that I'm there for all these
pivotal moments at the end.
We're also visiting colleges, you know, for my son.
And so it's just busy, but trying to take some good time with them, make sure I don't miss it.
Right.
And at the same time, keeping track of your constituents and kind of talking about their needs.
What's, what's been the hot topic this summer?
Oh my,
the KV lines.
I mean, that's, that's a
new one.
Yeah.
The 765 KV lines that,
are now being proposed.
There's something called the Becky Line BECI that is coming through much of my district.
And so Richland County, Sock County, Columbia County and Dane County.
So they just are sending out the company that is going to be presenting a proposal for building this line.
They've already gotten the
um contract essentially because they went through this bid contract phase with um there's so many acronyms but let me try to limit it um but they already got the the build bid contract to build and now they're looking at where to build the line and they um have some different ideas um and there's a lot of feelings about it because it's going to be
big and it's going to change the landscape.
And I think people are going to have a lot of feelings about it, fair enough.
It goes, potentially one of the lines goes right through my area, which is Lodi area.
And so,
I think we're contending with an issue of, while there are advances in our world, there are losses that come with that.
And we are going to need, as a people, I think, and this is more of an existential sort of philosophical issue, but we're going to need to really contend with what's the cost-benefit ratio.
And I think this is one of those.
I think data centers is another, right?
Where we're really kind of needing to face.
If we want as much technological advancement, if we want the cloud, if we want to be able to have a smartphone in every pocket, if we want to be able to make transitions across the world, if we want to be able to use GPS to plant our crops, if we want to be able to do all these things,
then we need more energy.
And what's the cost of that?
And so I don't have any answers for that, but I think that's kind of where the rubber is meeting the road right now, where we're really having to take a look at that.
And so anyway, the company that is heading this, they are going to have some informational meetings in each of the counties that they're going to be proposing a line.
And so there's going to be one in Richland Center coming up.
Let me look at the date again.
It will be on
August 24th, so Monday, August 24th from 10 a.m.
to 1 p.m.
at the Richland Center High School.
And so I would ask that people that are concerned about this want to know more, want to have a say, they go to that, and they speak with the people there, talk about their concerns and issues, and have their voices heard.
I have heard, you know, just doing this program, it really is of no benefit for Wisconsin residents.
They're just kind of using Wisconsin to cut across toward the east coast.
And I'm not sure if that's.
Yeah, I don't, I guess I don't know.
You know, I'm not a specialist in this area.
What I understand is there's something that's called the MISO network of transmission lines where we share energy.
So we give energy and we get energy through these transmission lines with about 50.
Let's see.
something like 12 to 15 states and one province in Canada, Manitoba.
And so it's not as if it doesn't benefit us at all.
I don't think that's probably accurate, but it isn't just for us.
It is transmission for this group of states that share so that if you have low
energy needs, but a different area of this, this myso network needs higher energy, then they share and then they kind of pull it from another area.
So it's kind of this network, if you will.
It's a grid system.
And so, and interesting, what they said is it was actually proposed this,
plan was proposed before data centers were even on sort of really the horizon, these big data centers.
This has been something in the works for some time now.
I guess these lines are in other states more to the east.
We've not had 765 lines in Wisconsin, so this would be the first time.
Um, but yes, it's not just for us.
It is to benefit others also.
I think that is a correct
statement.
Okay.
Um, some things we wanted to ask you about, uh, of course, school funding is another thing.
I know you've been, uh, talking with some area administrators again, another meeting today, but anything on the horizon or have you heard anything?
Uh, you weren't called back for a vote this summer as we thought maybe you were,
you're hoping
that you might be,
yeah, we were hoping that we would be able to get some kind of, um,
compromise that would allow us to spend some of the budget surplus that we do have.
But we didn't and so that's unfortunate.
I think the reality is is that right now we are at a different crossroads in our state with what are our priorities and how will we create a budget
to show those values or priorities.
And a big question for that will be who's in the legislature?
Who's gonna be the governor?
Who's gonna be the majority in the Senate and who's the majority in the assembly?
Because the two parties have some different priorities in those areas.
Public school for Democrats is a huge priority.
So I know all of the governor candidates and I know
our caucus in the Senate and in the Assembly, we really want to figure out how to fulfill the constitutional mandate we have to fund schools so that they're equitable for all students in the state of Wisconsin as equitable as possible.
But that takes money.
But we really understand that as a
not just a cost but an investment in our kids, but also in our rural areas because a robust school, a healthy school, brings people.
And people in our small rural communities then help buy groceries at the grocery store, buy homes in that vicinity, go to the small businesses.
So we understand it conceptually in that way.
But our state has not provided the kind of support financially, the general purpose revenue that it should have over the last, I mean, we're going on, oh gosh, you know, 20 some years, if not more.
And so it's going to matter who is the governor.
It's going to matter who's in the legislature because if we
have different values or propositions about how to do this.
The Republican Party right now has kind of, they've been in charge, so they've helped create the system that we have, which is right now spending almost a billion dollars on voucher or private schools every year.
We can't afford that if we want to be able to pay for our public schools and be able to do that so that our
property taxes do not have to continually go up.
The reason they have to go up is if we as the legislature in the budget, if we do not put forward the enough money to pay for these schools, the schools then have to ask their property owners, their constituents to increase their own tax revenue, like through a levy, so that they can pay for the operational costs that
keep going up.
These are not costs that are for special, beautiful, new, innovative things.
These are costs for heating the building, paying for custodians, paying health care premiums for teachers or a portion of paying for gas for the buses.
This is just
operational costs.
So we just have a very fundamental, different way of thinking about our schools and what's important.
And, um, in order to be able to fund them well, um, we are going to need to have a change in the, in the legislature.
Do you think that, uh, you know, when the governor's race is over in November, there's a new governor elected.
Um, things will change then.
I
think if there is a Democrat
that is elected as governor, I can guarantee all of them, whoever is elected, has stated that public education funding is something that they are very serious about and willing to help make some bold movements toward, which will probably mean then other bold movements that are like,
Maybe we need to tax at a higher level the highest income earners in our state.
Maybe we need to change that right now so that those that can afford more do pay more.
That would be an option.
Now, I'm not suggesting what they're going to do.
I don't know.
I don't know what will come out in all the negotiations someday.
But that would be an option.
Maybe we need to take away some of the credits we have for corporations that
provide them some ways of saving money that perhaps we don't need to incentivize anymore.
And so that we would have more money.
So one of the things people are really afraid of is that we're just going to want to text, text, text so that people have to pay more.
That's not the goal.
The goal is to be able to look at our budget now and see where we can make some shifts and adjustments so that we don't have this
deficit in what our schools need, but we're also not harming the people that are then gonna have to saddle a payment if we put it on the backs of the taxpayers, which is not our goal.
Some other things I wanted to ask you about.
I was curious about notable neighbors and that program.
Could you talk about that, Sarah?
Well, so one of the things that I have always thought is important
is just community and service.
You know, I grew up on a small dairy farm in Cashion, Wisconsin.
And one of the things that was pivotal in my growing up is memories of, I remember a farmer lost his house in a house fire.
And the community just rallied.
And did so many things to help them, everything from helping to tear down some things, to bring in the crops so that some time could be spent doing other things, giving money, obviously, providing meals, that kind of thing.
And there are stories like that throughout my life that I just remember.
And so when I got into this legislative position and prompted by Governor Evers, who made this the year of the neighbor,
in his address to the public.
I thought, you know, I love that idea and I wanna support it.
So I'm doing something called finding people that others consider notable neighbors in my district that they recommend.
And then we are choosing from those recommendations and then I'm meeting with them and giving them accommodation and giving them something that I knit personally, because I love knitting and I love giving like something that is personal, homemade, kind of like that, just as a small gesture.
And so just kind of trying to highlight the fact that a lot of times people that do big, amazing things get noticed.
I mean, even me, right, as a state senator, I get more credit than
in some ways is comfortable.
I would rather in some ways take some of that spotlight and say, hey, but look at this person that's doing this.
Hey, look at this person that's doing this.
And especially the people that really don't get noticed because they help.
snow plow their neighbor's yard and they maybe watch over their kittens when they're gone and maybe they help cut down a tree when it you know has blown over in the wind, whatever.
Like these small gestures but are so pivotal in a community that help people feel connected and loved and just bonded in a way that helps bring our whole community up and better.
Did you have someone from Lone Rock?
I did.
The
first family that we had, Mike and Sarah Manny and their two kids.
I got to meet with them and they were just a really lovely couple.
Again, I don't know who's getting nominated until we get these stories.
And they were nominated by their neighbors who have
just been so grateful for their willingness to help in small and big ways, like helping when there's been water in the basement or things like that.
And so it was just a way to say thank you to them and to kind of hear their reasoning for doing what they do, which is really similar to kind of the way that I see the world, which is we're all better when we all pitch in and help each other.
I think it both gives us more internally in our heart.
It kind of swells, you know, with joy when we can give.
But I think it also helps lift somebody else up so that they don't feel so alone in this world.
Wonderful.
You attended a leadership development conference earlier in the summer as well.
Yeah, so that was lovely.
I was nominated to participate in a leadership conference for legislators that are relatively new in the first four years of their legislative experience.
I think it's like 11 states and three provinces that can nominate.
So there were 36 of us that got together for
for long, long days, trying to talk about and learn about leadership in this era.
And it was interesting because I think in some ways, leadership is the same.
There's certain qualities, ideas, and ways of being in the world that are similar and have followed a,
linear path.
But there are other things that right now, pardon me, as legislators in this really partisan, divided time that are different.
And so it was a really interesting time to talk with other state legislators
bipartisan, mind you, so they're 36 us, bipartisan from all these states, having different experiences, having different ideas and ways of interacting to think about how do we as now legislators in leadership positions, how do we help change the trajectory of how partisan and divided we've been to being more collaborative and connected
while also honoring the fact that we still may see things differently and have different viewpoints.
How do you do that mindfully?
but also in a way that can help move our states forward in a meaningful way that takes into consideration the fact that there are right now primarily two parties.
The election cycle is here.
We're going to hear more and more and see more and more ads coming up here.
And personally, I just don't think it does a lot to unite us because it's kind of the same old
you know, attack ads and things like that, regardless of what side you're on, you know, I guess it's a necessary thing, right?
Oh, you know, okay, so I have so many thoughts about this as a mental health provider.
Pardon me.
What I know, what I know is that people are propelled by emotion, much more by than by logic, right?
So if you had an ad that was about, here, let me logically tell you why we should do A, B, and C. It's not going to have the resonance as something that says, hey, let me tell you something to be really angry about.
That's gonna stick in our craw much more because our primitive brain, the amygdala part, the fight-flight part is activated.
And so when that's activated, we are then riled up.
and pay more attention.
So that's kind of like just basic neurology of why it is done this way.
I'm simplifying.
But the sad part of it is that it's done this way because it works.
And it is so binary in the way it's presenting things.
It's good or bad.
And the reality is the world and these challenges that we're facing are so nuanced and complex.
that there's no way to really make it out to be good versus evil in such simplistic terms.
And yet that's kind of what happens in these ads.
So money is spent in the millions of dollars outside money is coming in to try to sway our elections.
I think it's atrocious.
I would love and will continue to advocate for.
money out of politics wherever and whenever I can.
Because I think we are losing, we are losing the voice of people now and we are gaining the corporate money that has ulterior motives really to continue to advance their agendas which is more money in their pockets and continue our economic disparity versus hearing people that
have these kitchen table issues, as we say, that are really struggling to just pay for their health care, their groceries, their house payment.
And those people are getting kind of drowned out, maybe activated with this anger and tell you who to hate for this.
But it's a simplistic version versus recognizing it's not your neighbor.
You need to look up.
and see who's in power, who has the money, who has the megaphone.
That's who is kind of, if you will, pulling the puppet strings.
It's not your neighbor to be angry with and unfortunately that's kind of where we are.
You've been on the end of the attacks before.
I mean, when you were running your campaign, I mean, it's not
funny, but
funny.
You gotta have thick skin.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I was, I mean, the things that came out about me were wild, right?
And I mean, one of the things that was so interesting to me was this idea that like I would want to increase taxes.
That was, that was one of the things, right?
There's lots of things that they would shout about me, but that was one of them.
And, and I thought,
Why the heck would I want to raise taxes?
Do you know who gets affected by those taxes?
Me.
My family, my friends, my neighbors, my children someday, right?
I don't, that's not what I'm seeking.
I'm seeking equitable distribution of money.
I'm seeking paying for things that are a collective good, but not necessarily taking that out of the pocketbooks of people.
Again, I think there are other ways to do that.
that are about our corporate tech structure, et cetera.
And so, I struggle to articulate how frustrating it is to be told lies about and how hard it is to really tell your story, your truth when
literally millions of dollars are out being spent on things that are gonna go into your radio, into your TV, into your mailbox to say something that is untrue about me.
And I think also the fallacy is that us in the media like that time.
We don't necessarily like that time.
I don't care what side, but I mean, we have to legally run these ads.
Well, and you know, I'm gonna just say this and then I have one more thing that I wanna flip to if we can before I'm out.
I think the dilemma though is that it is a big moneymaker.
I mean, so media, printing companies, consultants, like it's a big moneymaker, all these elections.
And so to get money out of politics is something that's not necessarily comfortable for people that make money.
And I'm not suggesting you necessarily, but these are big TV ads, these are
big promotional brochures that are being made.
These are big expenditures on consultants, et cetera.
So it's a lot of money that is propping this up.
So if we want it to change, we have to change the idea that that is how we want our money spent.
And we as a society need to say no thank you in a way that helps us
channel our voices differently and in a more productive way that doesn't just elevate corporate spending.
Well said.
Yeah.
What was the other point you wanted to make, sir?
Okay, so the last time I was here, I happened to hear that there's somebody in this room and it's not me.
His name is Filney that has maybe been around for a while.
40 year anniversary, am I correct
about that?
This month,
yes.
So I have.
Oh my goodness.
A commendation for you.
Oh my goodness.
And
so I'm just going to read it.
It's very short.
Know you by these.
presents, whereas Phil Knee is celebrating 40 years of broadcasting at Richland Center's Broadcasting Network, WRCO, FM 100.9, and whereas Phil is known for his unwavering passion for his work and efforts to uplift community members, educators, and local leaders, and whereas Phil brings music, local news, and essential community conversations to the Richland Center area, and whereas Phil currently serves as WRCO's general manager
host a variety of programs each week, including those were the days and Saturday evenings.
Therefore, Senator Sarah Kieske hereby congratulates and recognizes Phil Knee on 40 years of broadcasting at WRCO.
Thank you.
I'm getting kind of misty eyed here.
Oh my goodness.
That is really nice.
Thank you.
So
I want to just really.
commend you and thank you for all that you've done.
I have, I mean, in this short time and obviously this is not the end of you interviewing me, but I've really enjoyed being here, being interviewed by you.
I can tell by your questions and by your concerns that you really care about your community.
You're aware, you're plugged in and that you're doing your very best to bring forward information, knowledge and advocacy for important things.
So thank you.
Thank you very much.
I know, you know, maybe you were a little nervous the first time you came here.
Oh, I'm nervous every time.
But you didn't know what to expect, but I'm not the kind that's going to beat somebody over the head.
You know, I just throw the questions out there and see how yours goes.
Yeah.
Well, I
think we have a great banter because
I
don't come in with notes and you,
um, let us
fly by the seat of our pants and just talk about the things that we think are important on that day, which I really appreciate because I, uh, you know, I've always said, I just want to be authentically me and I think you let me do that and don't pigeonhole me in some weird way.
Um, so I appreciate that from you.
I feel like you're just genuine and, and I think
I think Richland Center and the Richland area is just really lucky to have you.
Thank you for saying that.
You made my week, my month, my year
here.
Thanks a lot, Sarah, for coming in today.
You'll be making the rounds around the district.
I'll be around.
We'll see you again real soon.
That sounds great.
Thank you.
Sarah Kieske joining us, representing District 14 here in the area.
Coming up, of course, we have a primary on Tuesday, and we did have Rebecca Cook on a little bit earlier on the morning show last week.
Equal time coming up for her opponent, and we'll have coming up here in just a little bit Emily Berge on The Morning Show.
In our studio of the morning show today, Emily Berge is here running for Congress in the third congressional district.
It is so nice to meet you.
You've been making the rounds here through the congressional district.
And what kind of has impressed you about some of these towns you've never seen before?
So I'm going to be honest, because I don't know any other way.
But I didn't know about the Driftless area.
Like up in Eau Claire, we go north to vacation.
We go to Lake Superior.
Our family goes to cable Wisconsin a lot.
I had no idea how beautiful it is down here.
And so the last year and a half, I've been able to discover the nooks and crannies of the third.
And it's amazing.
So why are you running?
Why did you get the urge to do this and step forward?
I mean, really it's about values for me.
I was raised with the values of compassion, honesty, opportunity for all.
and it was how I'm raising my kids who are now 18 and 20, so they're old now, but that's how I raised them.
My husband and I raised our kids, we were raised.
I am not seeing those values at the national level, and I believe that the people of the Third Congressional District deserve leadership that has those values of honesty, compassion, looking out for the local person, just looking out for regular people that live here.
That's what's missing, and I want to do something different.
I want to serve differently,
I've done that at the local level up in Eau Claire serving on the city council for eight years.
Um, at the local government, it's all about getting things done.
And you just, you serve your community, you get things done and you care for your community.
And that's what I want to do at the national level.
So that's why I'm running.
The big agriculture area here in the third, um, what are you hearing from farmers these days, Emily?
That's a huge issue.
And I'm traveling all over, visiting people on their farms.
And what I hear is that there's a lot of small and medium-sized farmers that, like, they cannot make it anymore.
You know, already it was hard, but over the last year and a half, it's gotten even harder with fertilizer prices going through the roof after the Iran war going on.
you know, gas prices through the roof because of the war, but just this consolidation of power.
Well, the consolidation of just these like the fertilizer companies, the seed companies.
So you have this consolidation of just the farming adjacent companies, but also the farms itself.
Like our federal policy is like bigger, bigger go home.
Like you have to, our like our federal policy incentivizes the more you plant the bigger you are.
And so that's what farmers have to do is go big.
You know, they have to have a lot of output to cover the input and it's just really hard now for small and medium sized farmers to make a go of it.
That's what I hear.
But we can change that by electing people that will put the regular people at the table, you know, give them a seat at the table and that's why I'm running.
Health care is another concern in this area and all across the country, isn't it?
Health care is huge.
And you know, my day jobs, I'm a licensed professional counselor, so a therapist.
And so I'm, I'm a mental health provider.
I've been a therapist for 20 years.
I've worked in the Sacred Heart ER up in Eau Claire.
It's where I got my, um, 3000 hours.
So I did state consults, suicide assessments in the ER.
And then I've been worked in schools.
I've worked in, um, now I'm in private practice, but like, so mental healthcare, huge.
There's so many barriers of mental healthcare and physical healthcare.
And I, I've been hearing all about it.
And then it's just, so I've been knowing as a,
known as a problem for the last 20 years or more.
It's getting worse.
And then seeing the collapse of Sacred Heart in Eau Claire as I was president in, um, so I was, I was the highest elected official in the largest city in our congressional district.
in Eau Claire, cause we don't have a mayor.
So I was president in Eau Claire when we lost Sacred Heart.
And so I saw a devastation to our community and St.
Joe's was closed too up in Chippewa, also in the third.
And it's terrible.
Like we lost our morgue, we lost where people, you know, women were going to have their babies, like all these things that you don't, hospice services, counseling services, our inpatient behavioral health was gone.
Like all those things you don't always think about when you think about healthcare, within two months it was gone.
And it was,
I mean, we're still really from it up in Eau Claire.
So, and that's just an Eau Claire, but healthcare is an issue.
That's the number one thing I've heard about wherever I go, healthcare is number one, and we have to do something about it.
And it's just gotten worse over the last year and a half.
The last two questions kind of coincide because farmers are struggling a lot of times, you know, mentally, you know, the farmer angel network is a great resource, but certainly some things need to be done in that regard too.
Yeah.
Yeah.
The suicide rates for farmers, it's heartbreaking.
how like high that is.
And it's a lot of loneliness too.
And when you look at mental health care, it doesn't have to be necessarily a therapist.
It really is connecting people.
And so it's like my grandparents, you know, my mom grew up on a farm, my grandparents lived on a farm.
It was
Like they played hearts, you know, they played, they had their cards every Sunday, you know, and that's, that's mental health.
Like, you know, that's what it's about.
It's getting people together, neighbors come over, you know, and
You know, you get together and that's what we need to encourage more.
We need to be able to talk about it.
We need to make sure that people are connecting, especially in the wintertime, you know, in Wisconsin, you know, we have, it feels like nine months sometimes of the year.
It's, you know, it's hard, hard to get out.
So how can we continue to connect people?
That's a huge protective factor with our mental health and we need leadership around that as well.
Housing, that's a big concern.
You know, people, first time home buyers and people struggling to make rent and everything.
Housing is that's here.
You're hitting all the top three healthcare, housing, AI is my top three in data centers or what I have been hearing.
And housing number one, housing hits urban and rural.
You know, I'm also, I was, you know, uncounseled for eight years up in Eau Claire.
So local government is where housing happens, you know, it's through our zoning laws.
You know, we work, we try to, you know, with economic development.
But also I'm the past president of the League of Wisconsin municipalities.
So this is a statewide organization that all municipalities in the state belong to except for maybe five.
being on that board for about five or six years, like housing was number one too, like making sure that communities small and medium large have housing options for no matter your income level.
You know, if you're a first time renter that there's options.
If you're buying your first home, there's options.
You know, if you can afford a bigger home that there's options.
You know, if you're homeless that there's options.
And so through that role too, serving it with the League of Wisconsin municipalities, you know, I testified in front of the state legislature in Madison about like affordable housing.
What can the state do?
I've been in Derek Van Orden's office several times.
I've been in DC several times talking about housing and how our federal government can help local governments solve that problem.
Again, I believe we can do this.
It's just having the people in place.
It's up to the people to elect people that want to solve these problems that have the experience to do this, like I do, and we can get this done.
It's just, yeah, electing the right people and then people getting to work.
Have you learned a lot about the 765 kilovolt lines?
That's a big hot topic right now in the area.
Yes.
The power lines, transmission lines, yes and I. So more, you know, as I've, I've been on the ground running a very strong grassroots campaign.
So I've been out talking to folks for last year and a half.
So I started hearing about the Maribel project, you know, a year ago.
Again, you just, when you show up these.
places, people are talking about it.
So I've been known it's on the ground, definitely the concerns, the concerns of the land, land order, land owners.
And then what in the last month, all of a sudden the Becky line, you know, shows up and took, you know, the people of Richland County by surprise.
And now that is the hot topic.
And so very attuned, you know, I've talked to people, like organizers on the ground, which I think is very important.
And I will do what I can at Congress, but unfortunately that will take a while.
So the people on the ground, the organizers on the ground, people can do what they need.
That's where the work is right now.
And there are steps.
I hope people who are listening, land orders who are concerned, or just people, neighbors who are concerned, reach out to the local organizers.
They can reach out to my campaign, and I can help them get connected to the people who are doing the work.
And that's what I want to do as a leader as well.
I may not be able to.
flip the light switch or, man, that's a bad analogy with the power line, but, you know, wave my magic wand and fix this, but I can get you connected to the people that are doing the work on the ground.
Well, I can help out at the national level, but no, that's a big concern for a lot of people right now.
And it's really, I mean, there's so many questions around and how the timeline with this Becky line is in seven months.
Like that, and that was probably six months, you know, from when, I mean, that's ridiculous.
That's unheard of.
Like, and that is just, it's unfair.
to the people that live here, the local communities, like they deserve to be part of this process.
People are sick and tired to be, that they're being told what to do.
You know, these decisions are being made behind closed doors, states away, you know, and then they just plop these, whether it be a data center or these transmission lines, they can people's backyard and people are sick and tired of it.
So yeah, that's a huge issue.
I stand with the people here in the third congressional district and I will do anything I can to help be by their, and I will be by their side.
We hear from people on both sides that are just kind of feeling like nothing's getting done.
There's a lot of arguing going on.
How do you look to change that and maybe work with people across the
Yes, definitely.
So I have public town halls all the time.
In fact, I'm the only candidate in this race that does this, where anyone can come to my events anytime on my calendar.
It's where I will be.
You know, and so people show up, which is great.
It's what I want.
And I believe that voters and constituents should need access to elected officials and their candidates.
Anyways, so Republicans show up to my events, independent show up to my events, you know, people who have not voted in a long time show up to my events.
Democrats obviously show up to my events and what they come out of I mean there's things and sometimes it has gotten a little tense I agree you know but we figure it out and we have a conversation about it and what what everyone agrees with is what you just said people are sick and tired of this divisiveness they want just
people to get things done.
They're sick of money and politics too.
That's another big thing.
But people just want to be able to have these conversations.
Like politics does not have to be nasty.
Politics does not have to be hateful and yelling and bullying.
Like politics can be people coming together and having a conversation.
Now serving in local government, this is what we do, right?
Like I have a background.
in working with people of all different backgrounds and solving problems.
As a counselor, that's what I do.
I've done family therapy.
I've done couples therapy.
I've worked with employee groups on the site.
A workplace is working with different employees.
You can do this.
It's just getting people together and having conversations.
And again, I'm going to say it again, bringing community together, getting people in the same room.
and have and talking through it.
And you might disagree, but you know what?
It's hard to hate up close, right?
That's a good point.
Yeah.
Like when you get in the same room and when you hear from different people, like you start to understand and you start to like, Oh, they're not a monster.
You know, they're just concerned about this.
Oh, I understand that, and then you can come to a solution a little easier.
So that's how I've done it, and that's how I will do in Congress too.
It's very important.
Again, my background in local politics and being a counselor, and just to think who I am as a person.
That's what we need is just someone to bring people together and figure it out, which we can do.
We just need the leadership to make that happen.
Right.
Cause I think we all agree on a lot of topics.
We agree on our, our kids, you know, things like that and our communities being strong and our local business community.
That's exactly right.
When you look up at a Venn diagram, you know, what's the intersection?
That's where you start.
What do we agree on?
But you're exactly right.
People want like strong schools.
They want to feel safe in their communities.
People want good paying jobs.
like people just want to be able to afford a good life.
You know, that's what we all, most of us agree on, right?
What sets you apart from your opponent in next week's primary?
Well, I think my experience is huge.
You know, I've been elected three times in the city of Eau Claire.
Again, I served as the highest elected official in the largest city in our congressional district and being past president as well at the League of Wisconsin municipalities.
So I have done the work.
I've been the arena doing this work.
Um,
My opponent, she's been running for the seat for six years, and so there's a difference there, right?
Again, in the arena, solving problems, serving my community.
I have a very public service background.
I served at AmeriCorps.
I've done volunteer work my whole life.
My kids were little.
I volunteered in their schools.
Just that volunteer or that I'll say experience, that elected experience especially sets me apart.
I think there's some policy differences.
I am the only candidate that supports a moratorium on data centers.
I think that we need to get that figured out until, and it's not even a timeline for me, it's until we have regulations on data centers, but also AI.
Again, I brought up AI.
When I talked to young folks, you hit the top two, healthcare, housing, but AI.
People want regulations around this.
We need to have oversight with these AI products.
I'll just tell a quick story.
My daughter who's 18, she's going to go to school to be an illustrator.
She's a very creative person, very proud of her.
And they both actually go to my kids.
go to stout.
So that's great.
And my husband and I met at stout.
So that's kind of fun.
But anyway, she got herself a tablet for school, for college, and she deliberately got an older model that didn't have AI like baked in it.
And that's
That's how people are that age, 18 through 20.
They're sick of AI.
And so I think it's really important to put a moratorium on all these huge data centers that are coming, which these transmission lines are feeding.
It's all part of the same thing.
It's these billionaires in California that are just using us, using our land, they want us to pay for it.
No, like we need to put a stop to it until we can get that figured out.
So that's a big difference as well.
You know, just that moratorium on data centers.
A lot of people don't know what it is like living from paycheck to paycheck out here and, you know, all across the country.
Right?
Right.
I know.
It's true.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Patriot, you know, it's really scary.
And then healthcare as well, you know, that goes, everyone needs access to healthcare.
I support universal healthcare.
That's another differentiation between, you know, me and my primary opponent.
I just believe that everyone should have access to healthcare, including mental healthcare.
We are the richest country in the world.
And people are having GoFundMe pages to pay for healthcare.
You know, again, you talk to young people after they age off their parents' health insurance, if their parents even have health insurance,
they go without health insurance.
I just, I believe it's a compassion thing.
It's what makes us strong as a company, or as a company, as a country, it makes us strong as a country to make sure that our people are taken care of, you know, and we need to prioritize, especially the people of Wisconsin.
What will it take to win against Derek Van Orden in November for you or your opponent?
So like I said, I am running a grassroots campaign for the last 18 months I've been out there at a goal.
I still have a goal of shaking every hand, talking to every person, all 750,000 of them in the third congressional district, which I know is a lofty goal, but I think it shows you where my values are.
I have been showing up, and people are responding.
In Lafarge, I had 100 people show up at the town hall.
In Verrocco, I had 120 people show up at the VFW for a town hall.
And up in Pigeon, in Trumplow, I had a packed house.
And these are small rural communities.
In Galesville, I had a packed house at the library.
I have over 600 people who have signed up to volunteer with our campaign.
And so money.
is a part of politics, unfortunately.
That's just the way our federal government, that's the way the values have been, which is unfortunate.
And I will work to get that out of our government.
So there's money.
And whoever wins the primary, the money will be there.
But only one of us has the people.
Like it has all this volunteer people power.
And that's our campaign.
And that's what we need to win in November.
People so often take the people for granted.
Outsiders, DC insiders, they take the people for granted.
You know, the DC establishment, the Democratic establishment, did not want me to run.
They told me they didn't want a primary, that they had their candidate.
And that's what I knew I had to run.
You asked me my why?
That's what sealed it for me.
When they said, no, we don't want you to run, I said, well, then I'm running.
Because the people of the Third Congressional District deserve a choice.
They get to choose what Democrat goes up against Derek Van Orden.
And insiders in DC do not get to choose that, even though they want to.
Again, and because of that, that's where my values lie anyways is the people, like the people, very people focused campaign, but because the establishment has funneled millions to my primary opponent and these national endorsements, that made it us all, all the more important to build this people power, to show them, you know, because that's what the global show them, you know.
But that sets me apart, and that has allowed us to create this huge movement of people that are so excited for just hope and change.
So excited to have someone to believe in.
It's not even me.
It's this movement of people first.
And that's how we're going to win in November.
The other thing, too, is
people want to be treated kindly and they don't like that matters how you treat people and people don't always feel like they're treated kindly with you know our local with our you know federal elected people so just like that respect that integrity that our campaign has is what draws people to us and we're like just a snowball rolling down the mountain or a bluff you know like and we're just growing bigger and bigger as more people join our movement and that's what we're going to do you know in November and that's how we will
you know, flip the seat back from red to blue.
Though it isn't even about colors, it's just about representing the people and local communities of Wisconsin.
What about the governor's race?
You know, it was pretty crowded there for a while.
Not as crowded now, but certainly it still, it seems up in the air, right?
It's, it's been really interesting to be on the ground for the last 18 months.
And I, I hear a lot from people and is what everyone is talking about right now.
And they asked me who I'm voting for and
I don't say anything.
But yeah, there's differently.
I will say that people that are voting for Hong, they know that they're voting for Hong.
And it seems like everyone else is kind of undecided.
So we'll see how that kind of shakes out.
But you're right.
Dropping out, getting back in, dropping out.
I think people are frustrated by that, especially because they're already on the ballot.
People have voted for people that then they drop out and that's frustrating for people because it's kind of a wasted vote then.
And I can certainly understand that, but we will see one week to go.
And I know them all just being involved with the league and different things.
And they're all very kind, wonderful people.
So there's no bad egg in there.
So that's the good news is that they're all really good people.
That's good to hear.
Anything else I didn't ask her, you'd like to add today, Emily.
Um, no, I just really been appreciative of everyone, all the support I've gotten.
It feels really good out there on the ground.
Um, you know, we, the lacrosse County released a straw poll, which had me very much ahead.
We won the, the straw poll by wide margins, which
Uh, feels great.
There's Berge signs everywhere over the third congressional district, which is wonderful to see people are just really excited, which then gets me excited and then it gets them excited.
So I'm excited for, you know, a week, a week from today, we will know.
So, and that's interesting that in a week, my life is going to be very different.
And it's kind of interesting for me to think about that, but I am excited for the, for the next chapter.
Well, it's great to meet you.
Thanks for stopping by the studios.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Emily Berge running for Congress in the third congressional district.
Get out and vote.
That's the main thing next week, right?
Absolutely.
We'll be back with more on the morning show.