Good morning.
Welcome to the WXCO morning report.
Part of mornings with Pat Critello on 98.9 WXCO.
I am Chad Holmes along with Ian Welsh.
Ian again.
Good morning.
Good morning, Chad.
Somebody that's also down the hallway here at WXCO is our new news reporter, Isabella Neghetto.
How many weeks has it been now?
Has it been a month yet?
I think this is my fourth
week.
Time just loses all meaning
as we go
forward.
Folks, hear you at the top and bottom of the hours with your local news updates.
And it's been interesting in the first few weeks, hasn't it?
We've had a couple of visits from Governor Tony Evers.
You
saw
had a chance to go and see Senator Tammy Baldwin.
You've been keeping an eye on some of the
meetings.
How has it been going?
Has you been able to start to put your feet on the ground and get a feel about what's going on here in Central Wisconsin?
Yeah, I think I'm starting to get the hang of things around here, especially statewide with all of these U.S.
representatives that are coming to town to announce candidacy bids and things like that.
So it's been really interesting.
Met the governor twice first two weeks.
That was really interesting as well.
So I think I'm definitely getting acclimated.
And I forgot to mention you also had a chance to see Tom Tiffany the day after he
made his big announcement.
I think
it
was his first campaign stop.
What jumped out about the campaign appearance for Congressman Tiffany?
It was a really interesting event.
It took place at the Peterson Barn.
So it was my first trip out into kind of the more rural area of Warsaw.
So I got to see a lot more of the naturey side of things.
I got to see a little bit more of Ribb Mountain.
I got to see a lot of different people.
The mayor was there.
Mayor Denny was there.
And there were a few other... I think there were a couple of council members there as well.
But it was interesting for sure.
Also, you mentioned the fact that the government...
was here a couple of times and I was with you over at Wausau East and I had a chance to watch the governor interact and I was really, I was touched in a sense because whenever you do see some of these events where sometimes it's sort of in and out real quickly, maybe it's because the governor knows that he's ending his term in just over a year,
but
I thought it was interesting to see him interact with a lot of the students and other folks over at Wausau East.
What was your take on what you saw with the governor both then and also in the second appearance that he made just a week after that?
Yeah, he definitely took his time with students, which isn't something that I saw from, say, Governor Pritzker, you know, when he would come to things in the Springfield area.
It's very, you know, make your appearance and go, and, you know, seeing Governor Evers take his time with the students, see his staff kind of be like, okay, Governor, it's time for us to move on and see them kind of, you know, push him forward to the next event, because you could tell he really wanted to be engaged with the students, which is nice to see, you know.
You can tell that he used to be an educator.
It was, it was interesting to see.
It was
actually funny that day because I know there was a reporter from channel 12 in Rhinelander and he had to get back up north to do like a stand up for one of their early newscasts.
And normally there'd be no problem, but that event has kept going and going and going.
I said,
man, you may not get back in time.
It was really, it really wasn't where he kind of soaked it all in over at Easter on that day.
And I imagined that one of the things that I'm going to be curious to hear from you.
as you continue, is the differences, maybe, of what you saw down in Springfield and in Illinois compared to here.
I know it's a little too early, but I imagine that's something that's gonna keep an eye out as well.
Yeah, I've definitely noticed a few differences in the pace of things.
And definitely in the energies of the two places, you know, Springfield is where all of the political elites go to meet.
And it's a very, you know, it's a very old boys club type vibe in Springfield.
But here's a little bit different.
I'm noticing that people take a little bit more time and meet with people a little bit longer instead of just making your appearance and going.
Also a difference.
I'm kind of curious to hear your.
perspective on or if there are differences is locally because you had covered local government in Illinois as well and you've had
a
chance to to visit the city council and see the the the ethics committee meeting and and and get a taste of the county board as well I know it's very early but anything jump out about the local government meetings that you've seen so far
You know, I really think one of my favorite shows is Parks and Rec.
And I think I just I learned so much watching that show in my early years about how...
Local government is run and what it what it looks like and you know Even though that was a comedic show how accurate it is and how you can find some of those little humorous moments in the local government as well So that's what makes it really interesting for me to see how they interact with each other How council members react react to each other when they're debating things on the floor or you know in council meetings It's interesting and I really enjoy seeing how it plays out at the end of the night.
That's the thing is
that kind of jumps out to back when you first did a zoom interview with us is that this does interest you that that you like getting into the the details of local government because it's not easy sometimes and I and I was watching you get into this job when you have to kind of start from scratch I mean there's a lot you have to kind of get a feel for as
you
start this job isn't there
There really is.
And I think I'm starting to get the hang of it, but there's so much, so much history behind relationships at the local level.
It's, you know, it takes a little bit of time to get used to it and see, you know, just observe how people interact with each other based on those histories as well.
Elected official, you had a chance to see was Senator Baldwin.
Anything jump out about her?
Because, again, you've seen other political figures.
Anything jump out in the one appearance she made here in, in WASA recently?
You know, she seemed really genuine and seemed to really be interested in hearing from the constituents she did hear from.
You know, the people that were at the roundtable with her, they mentioned that they had sent out letters to several representatives and other senders and trying to get them to respond to their concerns about the ACA.
tax credits being potentially expiring at the end of the year.
And she really did seem concerned and they mentioned that she was the only one that had actually responded to the letter and set something up with them.
So while it was still a very newsy event, you could kind of tell that she was interested in hearing from the people.
She was glad to have a local constituent voice sitting next to her and kind of keeping
keeping the local angle still still relevant and kind of a larger conversation that is relevant statewide.
Fantastic.
Again, you can hear Isabella and her news reports at the top and bottom of every hour.
We have our information updates, news, weather and sports at the top and bottom of the hour every hour here during the day on 98.9 WXCO.
Again, it's interesting to hear your perspective, and I know you'll be out there covering a lot of these great news stories, and you can keep up with Isabella on our website as well, wxco.fm, and of course, tune in.
But thanks again, and we'll talk again real soon.
Yeah, thank you.
We're going to take a quick time out and then get back to Mornings with Pat Krightlow here on 98.9 WXCO.
Once again, everyone, welcome back WXCO morning reports on 98.9 WXCO online at WXCO dot FM mobile devices and Alexa by searching WXCO.
And on the civic media app.
Part of mornings with pack right low.
Another very pleasant start here in North Central Wisconsin.
A lot of sunshine, temperature of 55 degrees as we begin our Tuesday, the final day of September.
Yep.
It does not feel like it.
I It's pretty amazing.
I'll just stay in very very summer like here as we get into the month of October In fact, it's gonna stay summer like into early October.
I mean, I'm looking ahead You know tomorrow today about 80 but then a little dip to 75 but then back up 79 on Thursday 83 on Friday 81 on Saturday.
I mean the high school football games on Friday and Saturday You're gonna feel have people cramping up
Gotta keep sure that they're drinking the water because I mean those are those are late August like temperatures so for Friday night and Saturday afternoon for our games that we will talk about as we continue into the week You hear the voice of Ian Welsh Ian again.
Good morning.
All right Chad.
It's good to talk to Isabella Nieto our news reporter again.
It's nice to have more people here in the building Yeah, we've we've added a couple of folks here in recent months of course Aliyah
Our new sales person has been with us for a number of months and now we got Isabella who's out there covering the news and you can catch her news reports at the top and bottom of the hour during our information updates all day and all night right here on 98.9 at WXCO Wanted to mention again though this week you have a chance to win and we want you to win through us at WXCO because it's our goal for the green and gold
Text-to-Win Contest.
That's right.
It's a multi-state contest because Civic Media keeps getting bigger and bigger.
Got a station over in Minnesota.
Got a couple of stations now in the UP of Michigan.
So it just keeps on growing.
So it's a multi-state contest, but
very
good.
Daily prize, $200 cash and gold jewelry.
So not just the green.
Not just the gold, but the green and the gold.
And the thing is, yep, you get seven chances a day to get the keyword and text it in on the Civic Media app.
And if you have not downloaded the Civic Media app yet, it's real simple.
Just go to your app store, search Civic Media and then download it.
And then you'll see all the stations on the Civic Media radio network.
And we're near the top because we are one of the first stations that was
acquired by Civic Media.
That's
right.
And so just open up the 98.9 WXEL part of the app.
You'll see buttons to listen live.
You'll see a button to send us an email.
Then you'll have a text button as well.
So just click on the text button and then put in for this hour.
You have until eight o'clock this morning.
The keyword is win.
win.
W I N win.
So again, that's the first of seven chances and the best chance for you to win here today.
Our daily price is to play during this hour, during the nine o'clock hour with Jane Matanair and Greg Bach, during the 11 o'clock hour with Tom Hartman.
Again, Tom Hartman at one PM Todd Alba during the three o'clock hour.
Maggie Dawn at five o'clock and then during the seven o'clock hour peach wabba and nightlife So again get out your civic media app right now and text the word win And if you could just put your name and where you're from as well because doggonna We want to know that when we want to find out where you are in in terms of you know taking our bow by having a winner as well, but also if you
play if you send in your text, your keyword, you'll then be part of the final drawing, the grand prize, which is two club level indoor seats to the Green Bay versus Minnesota game.
in Green Bay on November the 23rd at 12 noon plus a gas card to get you to the game.
It's a $1550 value.
That's the grand prize for the goal for the green and gold multi-state text to win contest here during this week.
Again, we did it last week.
We're doing it again this week.
So again, download that app.
Because you need the app anyways, because then you can listen to us wherever you are.
You can connect with us wherever you are, and you can win with us wherever you are.
So W-I-N, your chance to win.
And Ian, you cannot win because you are an employee, so can't do that.
Otherwise, what's going on with you?
How are you doing as we get to the final day of September?
Well, now that Sarah's stage is over, I don't have like the hassle of tech week to worry about.
But I am involved in another show and I am slowly easing myself into it because I haven't been there for the first two weeks of rehearsal.
So I got some catching up to do.
However, I know the stuff I need to learn and I know who to talk to if I need help with it.
So I'm going to slowly ease into that and wear my music and the blocking.
Is it because in a little over a month I'm going to be involved with a wassa community theater and their production of a Sweeney Todd and that'll be happening at the veninga theater in the I was the first or maybe the second weekend in November So it's not for a while yet, but those shows are the six a seventh and eighth of
November at the Beninga Theater.
Well that's coming up pretty quickly so you have to get right back on that horse and get ready to roll with that and I'm sure before we get to that point we'll bring out some folks from that production and learn more about it.
It is a very
Famous show that's been done many times over the years.
So oh, yeah, Sweeney Todd coming here to wasa in the wasa community theater in the early part of November Coming up bottom of the hour information update including the farm report Then we'll send it back over to pack right low for more mornings with pack right low and we'll be back with another WXCO wasa morning report coming up at 7.52 again when is the keyword for this hour when W I N send it
open up that 98.9 WXCO part of the app and be a winner in the Goal for the Green and Gold multi-state text-to-win contest.
That's
right.
With Ian Welsh, I'm Chad Holmes.
The time is 7.30 here on 98.9 WXCO.
If you want me, you can find me left of center off of the strip in the outskirts.
It is the WXCO morning report part of mornings with packed bright low on 98.9 WXCO online at WXCO dot FM mobile devices and Alexa by searching WXCO and on the civic media app Don't forget you have just a few more minutes to send in your text to win our statewide text to win the goal for the green and gold statewide text to win.
I should say multi statewide
text-to-win contest, a chance to win $200 in cash today, and gold-plated jewelry.
Yep, not just one, but both the daily prize and also be part of the final drawing for that trip to see Green Bay in Minnesota in late November in Green Bay.
A $1,550 price package.
The keyword is win, W-I-N, win.
So again, do that in the next six minutes.
Again, open up your Civic Media app and pick 98.9 WXCO and send in that keyword.
Last night, the Wausau School Board met, and we often talk about the importance of being involved about...
Our democracy does not work unless we're involved and there is currently an opening on the wasa school board Jane Rusch decided that she had to resign her seat and The board has now opened it up to folks who are interested in completing the term at least Serving until next April when the next election is and the good news is seven different folks did apply
to become the new Washington school board member to replace Jane Roos.
And last night, they went from seven candidates to four candidates.
What the process was is that you heard from the candidates and also got the information from the candidates in written form.
And then the board would cut down, it was supposed to be cut down to three, but there was a tie.
So they cut it down to four and the four candidates who are remaining when it comes to the, uh, choice to replace Jane Rusch.
Let me see here.
Uh, Cody Nikolai, who is a, a former board member of anti lost his reelection bid last year.
Also Charles Berger, who is a.
parent in the Wasa School District and also a graduate of Wasa Eastback in 1989.
The third is Michelle Gleason.
She is also a parent within the Wasa School District, employed at the Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin and the Center for Well-Being.
And is a licensed clinical social worker and the fourth is John Huntington who again is a parent in the wasa school district with experience in the masonry industry as well.
So that is the next round So what will happen next is that they will
further Continue this process The four finalists will return coming up in two weeks on October the 13th when the board will conduct interviews and then select the one candidate to serve until April the 26th of 2026 and Whoever they choose will be sworn in immediately on October the 13th to take over their position What's gonna happen then in
in in marches will be very interesting for folks who are thinking about being involved perhaps would like to become a member of the wasa school board uh there will be elections for three board seats scheduled for next spring uh the three highest vote getters will serve full three year terms but there will be a fourth
candidate that is victorious next spring.
The candidate who finishes fourth in that election next year will complete the remainder of Roosh's term, which runs until April of 2027.
So again, the person that is chosen to replace Jane Roosh will be on the board through the election next spring and in order to continue, and in fact they could continue as a full board member.
That just finished up the term of Jane Rusch.
So again, who completes that term will be the fourth place person in the election next spring.
And for folks who are interested in becoming a WASA school district member, school board member.
Instead of just three victorious candidates there will be four victorious candidates next spring So that may be something to think about as you decide whether or not to throw your hat into the ring and again I would encourage you to think about it because not only we talk so much about elections for say governor coming up or Senator or president of the United States.
It's these local positions that are so vitally important in terms of our democracy to be able to
have our system work at the level it should work at.
And the school board is vitally important in terms of some of the questions they have to ask and answer and some of the hard decisions that are made.
So again, if you're somebody that cares about your community, if you're somebody that lives in the Wasa School District, think about perhaps being involved in and running for office.
And I know it's not easy to run for office.
And that's one thing that's always been in the back of my mind when I've thought about it.
It's like, man, that's hard.
It's hard to go to somebody's door and knock on it and ask for their vote and to get in conversations with people who may disagree with you and sometimes disagree with you vehemently and But it takes courage and I think it takes great leadership and it shows a great I think love for our community after our country if they decide that hey We I would like to run for local office and there's so many different offices You can run for including becoming a member of the wasa school board.
Absolutely.
The time is 7 59
We have another information update coming up.
We'll get the latest news from around the country and around the world with CBS We'll have a local
news update with Isabella Nieto.
We'll have Mike Clemens talking sports and we'll have a look at the very warm weather forecast as well.
So a lot of information coming up in the next six minutes.
And then it's back to a pack right low for more mornings with pack right low.
And then Ian and I will be back at 822 and we'll wrap things up at the end of that segment with the number for the day quiz as well.
That's right.
It is the WXCO morning report.
Part of mornings with Pac right low 98.9 WXCO.
Mornings with Pat Cranklow on 98.9, WXCO, wxco.fm, mobile devices and Alexa by searching WXCO and on the Civic Media app.
The time is 8 23 56 degrees under fair skies.
Another beautiful start here on this Tuesday morning, the final day of September, September the 30th of 2025.
And, uh, you know,
I'm gonna use this.
This is a day that should live in infamy Because this morning the last half an hour or so Okay, well, we've been sitting here the Secretary of Defense Has been advocating for war crimes The Secretary of State is a man named Pete Hegseth a man that is completely over his head in this job and to be honest with you I am living at what I've been seeing what he's been saying
He and the president of the United States have brought in Basically all the major generals of them are all over the world For Pete Hexeth the basically announced that War crimes are now part of the deal for the United States military a few of the things that Pete Hexeth Has been saying in the last hour and again, I encourage you to look at this because this is important
And frankly, when we start talking about candidates for the democratic nomination for president in 2028, if they don't say that they are going to prosecute men like Pete Hegseth, then I don't want to listen to him because this guy needs to be put away.
He is making the United States of America the worst of the worst by advocating for war crimes.
A few of the things he's been saying, according to Aaron Rupa, who follows Trump administration folks on blue sky.
Hegseth quote basic training is being restored to what it should be scary tough and disciplined We're empowering drill sergeants to instill healthy fear and new recruits ensuring that future war fighters are forged They can put hands on recruits.
So basically beat up recruits Hegseth quote we unleash overwhelming and punishing violence on the enemy
We also don't fight with stupid rules of engagement We untie the hands of our war fighters to intimidate the moralized hunt and kill the enemies of our country No more politically correct and overbearing rules of engagement.
So basically war crimes are okay for Pete Hegseth Hegseth quote
A few months ago, I was at the White House when President Trump announced his Liberation Day for America's Trade Policy.
It was a landmark day.
Well, today is another Liberation Day.
The Liberation of America's Warriors.
You kill people and break things for a living.
Hegseth, quote, I don't want my son serving alongside troops who are out of shape or in combat units with females who can't meet the same combat arms physical standards as men.
This guy doesn't understand that so much of the success or the lack thereof of success of military operations isn't just about Looking like the guys on an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie.
There were so many folks that are the Security the logistics personnel.
Yeah, the folks that are the brains of these outfits not all
are the physical folks.
There are people that you would call, for lack of a better term, the computer nerds that are just as important for success on the battlefields of the world.
But this guy...
is basically saying there should be no rules.
And then
finally, one other thing.
This
guy's living in an alternate reality.
One other thing I want to mention, another quote, Hegseth, quote, you should not pay for an earnest mistake for your entire career.
That's why today at my direction, we're making changes to the retention of adverse information on personnel records.
So basically, if you've been accused of a war crime or blatant racism, we're going to push it under the rug.
basing for some of his buddies that probably have some of this stuff in their records.
So I
mean,
this is infuriating to be honest with you.
And I don't know what
to say
here.
I mean, basically saying that any of the rules of engagement that have been put together to make sure that war crimes would not be committed for Pete Hagseth, that's politically correct stuff that we're not going to follow anymore.
Just thought that
means a
serious reality check and also the Democrats need to point out this these are war crimes that if he is gonna implement this stuff He will be held responsible because it makes our country look horrible It makes our country look like the worst of the worst not the best of the best
nice people
Afraid to want to live
here.
It's just wrong.
It
is wrong wrong wrong Something has to be done about this.
I mean That kind of Behavior is completely inhuman it is I mean the idea
that I mean this guy He is he was a Fox News weekend host and now he is of
course he
was the
the secretary of defense and completely out of his depth so again that's been going on that's like breaking news here in the last half hour what he's been saying into just really really really bad really bad yeah all right well let's lift ourselves for
the last couple of moments of
this
show.
It's time for our number for the day quiz.
Ian is all for one so far this week.
So again, he needs two correct for a passing grade, three correct for a winning week, four correct for an A grade.
So today is the start of the major league baseball playoffs.
And
many
of the teams are big spenders.
The Milwaukee Brewers are not one of the big spenders in major league baseball.
Okay.
The Milwaukee Brewers, where do they rank in terms of baseball?
In terms of payroll, how, you know, number one is the team that spends the most money.
Number 32 is the team that spends the least money.
And the
Brewers are the best record of baseball this year.
What was their payroll?
Okay.
Was their payroll number 21?
Number 23 or number 25?
I'm gonna say
21.
I'm gonna say 21 is my final answer.
The Brewers had the best record in baseball while ranked 23rd in payroll.
Well, you have a little
catch it up to do.
Catch it up to do here in the last few days.
Yep.
I guess they focus.
Well, enjoy the rest of this warm Tuesday and we'll try again tomorrow.
Nice shit.
Happy Tuesday, everybody.
Take care.
Stick around after an information update.
More of mornings with Pat Critelaw on 98.9 WXCO.
