Civic Media

Civic Media Your local network for fun, honest and engaging discussions on the issues that affect your hometown.

The Civic Media radio network — your local source for honest and engaging commentary. Tune in for fun and thought-provoking discussions on the issues that affect your hometown.

President Trump signed legislation proposed by U.S. House Representative Derrick Van Orden that provides federal assista...
07/31/2025

President Trump signed legislation proposed by U.S. House Representative Derrick Van Orden that provides federal assistance for homeless veterans:

Several Wisconsin cities are listed as having the poorest air quality among U.S. cities due to smoke from Canadian wildf...
07/31/2025

Several Wisconsin cities are listed as having the poorest air quality among U.S. cities due to smoke from Canadian wildfires polluting the air:

Justice-elect Susan Crawford will be sworn into Wisconsin's Supreme Court Friday as Justice Ann Walsh Bradley's term end...
07/31/2025

Justice-elect Susan Crawford will be sworn into Wisconsin's Supreme Court Friday as Justice Ann Walsh Bradley's term ends:

WISCONSIN DISABILITY PRIDE IN ACTION 👨‍🦼‍➡️👩‍🦯‍➡️👏This July, we celebrate Disability Pride Month—honoring the achievemen...
07/31/2025

WISCONSIN DISABILITY PRIDE IN ACTION 👨‍🦼‍➡️👩‍🦯‍➡️👏
This July, we celebrate Disability Pride Month—honoring the achievements of people with disabilities while advocating for equal rights and inclusion. As the month comes to a close, it's the perfect time to spotlight advocates still fighting to fulfill promises of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

If you haven't been following along already, I welcome you to learn about Carl Schulze from Neenah. Today, Carl is traveling the final stretch of his 90+ mile journey in his wheelchair—culminating tomorrow, Friday, August 1st, at the Wisconsin State Capitol.

Here's why Carl made this inspiring journey:
Home care workers in Wisconsin earn only $12-16 per hour—wages so low you literally cannot survive on them. These Wisconsin workers providing essential, life-sustaining care are making wages that won't even cover basic rent and groceries, let alone support a family.

This wage gap creates a devastating shortage of caregivers, leaving people like Carl, who needs assistance with daily activities like getting in and out of his wheelchair, washing, dressing, and meal preparation, without reliable care. The irony? During his three-week trek, Carl actually lost over a week of travel time due to care unavailability. That's exactly the problem he's working to solve right there.

Carl's ask is simple but powerful: Raise home care worker wages to at least $20 per hour. Because when we value the people who provide essential care, we're really valuing the independence and dignity of people with disabilities.

Our family, friends, and neighbors in need of home care remain deeply concerned that Medicaid cuts included in the federal budget bill will force states to pick up more costs, creating budget holes that will abandon people who rely on these services and drive more care workers to better-paying jobs, further depleting a care industry already experiencing shortages. Folks like Carl stand ready to work with the Governor and our public officials to maintain and improve these programs—because for people with disabilities, these aren't just line items; they're lifelines to a better quality of life.

This is what Disability Pride means—accepting who you are, demanding to be seen, and expecting better for your entire community 💪 ✊👇

Want to show up for Carl?
He will kick off the final day of his journey at McPike Park at 10:30 AM tomorrow in Madison, and make his way to the State Capitol to give a public speech at noon.

The poor air quality affecting the state this week continues into today because of smoke from the Canadian wildfires:
07/31/2025

The poor air quality affecting the state this week continues into today because of smoke from the Canadian wildfires:

Badger legend and NFL Hall of Fame lineman Joe Thomas joined Civic Media's "The Todd Allbaugh Show" to talk about all th...
07/31/2025

Badger legend and NFL Hall of Fame lineman Joe Thomas joined Civic Media's "The Todd Allbaugh Show" to talk about all things beef and football:

07/31/2025

Well, that didn’t take long. The 2026 race for Wisconsin governor already has its first smear campaign—and it was as predictable as it is tiring. Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez met her husband at a salsa dancing class and they’ve been married nearly 20 years. He’s an IT network engineer, a naturalized citizen, and they’re raising two teenagers. Naturally, the first whisper campaigns of his immigration status are underway, and Rodriguez put into perspective perfectly for voters.

For people who follow the news regularly, there’s no surprise in what billboards are saying about the Trump megabill. But there are still plenty of people in Wisconsin and elsewhere who aren’t aware that the massive cuts in vital programs aren’t saving them a dime—it’s all going to pay for tax cuts for billionaires and others in the highest tax brackets. We’ll talk to the head of a national group putting up billboards featuring America’s most prominent rich guys and sharing a simple message: We Make. They Take.

Wall Street finance and compliance expert Sean O’Malley gives us his Wisconsin common sense take on the latest economic news—raw numbers that suggest things aren’t as bad as people feared they might be, but there’s no clear path out of the current sluggishness. And it goes without saying, the sluggishness wasn’t inevitable, since we were enjoying a resurging economy when it was under adult supervision.

We’ll also look ahead to this weekend’s big events around the state, including the Wisconsin State Fair, with Cherita Booker, social media manager for UpNorthNews. We’ll check in with Civic Media’s mid-afternoon host, Todd Allbaugh and Chad Holmes from our station in Wausau. And Joe Zepecki will have an update on how the 2026 races for governor and other Wisconsin offices are being impacted by Gov. Evers’ retirement.

How declining enrollment and state funding shortfalls are squeezing schools across Wisconsin.Chad Trowbridge uses his di...
07/30/2025

How declining enrollment and state funding shortfalls are squeezing schools across Wisconsin.

Chad Trowbridge uses his district as an example why schools may have to rely on more local referendums:

The U.S. Supreme Court appears set to allow even more money into political races across the country:
07/30/2025

The U.S. Supreme Court appears set to allow even more money into political races across the country:

EAA AirVenture 2025 updated the numbers for this year’s fly-in, and they do not disappoint:
07/30/2025

EAA AirVenture 2025 updated the numbers for this year’s fly-in, and they do not disappoint:

A man from Madison pleaded guilty to a federal court after illegally shipping scientific equipment to Russia:
07/30/2025

A man from Madison pleaded guilty to a federal court after illegally shipping scientific equipment to Russia:

07/30/2025

Today Medicare and Medicaid turn 60 years old. It should be a cause for celebration, for the untold number of lives made better through healthcare security for the retired, the disabled, and other at-risk populations. Instead, those recipients are being called lazy, told to “get off the couch,” and being lumped in with a miniscule number of cheats as an excuse for conservatives to reach their long-sought goal of removing the safety net and letting Americans return to an era of old age poverty and bankruptcy resulting from getting sick. So, Happy Birthday?

We’ll talk to two guests from Chippewa Falls, the school district business manager and a school board member, about the problems being faced in communities with declining school enrollment. Whether because of demographics or (increasingly) the threat from taxpayer-funded private school vouchers, each kid who leaves means state aid goes down a little. But expenses don’t. The lights still go on and the school bus gets fueled whether there are 20 kids or 19. Is the current system sustainable?

Is Big Oil about to go the way of Big To***co and face an overdue courtroom reckoning for its role in putting our climate and human health in danger? If so, there’s no shortage of courtrooms where that might happen. Former US Attorney Jim Santelle joins Melissa Baldauff in this week’s Climate Check to discuss a World Court ruling as well as landmark lawsuits making progress recently in Hawaii, New York, and Italy.

Also: Civic Media reporter James Kelly has an update on stories across northwest Wisconsin. We’ll get some western Wisconsin headlines from Civic Media’s Jimmie Kaska. And Earl Ingram checks in from Milwaukee.

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