Mornings with Pat Kreitlow

Welcome to the Best of Mornings With Pat Kreitlow! We've curated a wonderful show, giving you the highlights from our show including a discussion about child care with Corinne Hendrickson, DPI head Jill Underly talking about education and Congressman Mark Pocan on why he can't get a simple answer, to a simple question. All this and Producer Sam is all about summer vacation!

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-9 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single...

Dr. Kristen Lyerly joins the show to discuss her advocacy for extended postpartum Medicaid and the importance of civic engagement, while Mike Clemens provides insights into Wisconsin sports, including the Packers' mini camp and Brewers' games and ends with a lighthearted segment where producer Ian Welsh aces a quiz on laundry statistics.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-9 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the...

In the second hour, Chad discusses the challenges of maintaining civility in online comments with Wausau Pilot & Review editor Shereen Siewert. Shereen discusses the toxic environment on social media and the need for moderation, emphasizing the importance of responsible free speech and community engagement. Meanwhile, Civic Media Meteorologist Brittney Merlot talks about Wisconsin’s weather outlook is promising for Mother's Day weekend, despite high fire danger due to dry conditions.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-9 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure no...

Chad Holmes steps in for Pat Kreitlow and the episode kicks off with disbelief at President Trump's appointment of Jeanine Pirro as a federal prosecutor, showcasing chaos and lack of seriousness in leadership. The crowning of a Midwestern Pope, Pope Leo XIV, sparks a mix of excitement and controversy among Catholics, especially amid 'woke' accusations. The show also touches on local Wisconsin issues, like the mayoral antics in Wausau and the challenges facing a local ginseng farm due to trade wars

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through...

Wisconsin isn’t the only place dealing with a shortage of affordable homes—and it’s also not the only place trying to confront one of the causes: hedge funds purchasing properties and converting them to rentals. It reduces the number of single-family homes available in an area, driving up prices for what remains. We’ll talk to state Sen. Sarah Keyeski about her bill, similar to proposals elsewhere, that seek to limit the degree to which Wall Street can be a landlord in Wisconsin.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio ne...

Later today, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is expected to roll out a plan to patch up an old and broken air traffic control system. The problems in the system –old technology, demographics– didn’t appear quickly and a solution won’t be in place quickly. But here’s what doesn’t help: Sean Duffy slamming his predecessor for not fixing things sooner. Why is that not helpful? Because as a congressman from up north, Duffy voted against funding the changes everyone knew were needed. And Republicans more recently turned down a request to fund 3,000 more controllers. Duffy hopes folks are du...

The 2024 election is finally over! There was still one undecided race until now—a big one for a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court, where it appeared the losing candidate was going to be successful in throwing out thousands of votes. Sanity prevailed at the very last minute. We’ll talk to our Courier Newsroom colleague there for the story. Also: Donald Trump’s MAGA mentality has made it almost socially acceptable to engage in heckling and taunting, but there are right ways and wrong ways for Trump critics to make their points and score some points in the co...

Has Sen. Ron Johnson actually done everyone a favor in his most recent comments, where he basically roots for killing Medicaid coverage for families who otherwise cannot afford health insurance coverage? By saying the quiet part out loud, has he made it that much harder for other politicians to claim –without credibility– that they are willing to cut almost anything, without harming Medicaid?

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-9 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single epis...

We have a special guest for our weekly Homeroom segment: Dr. Jill Underly, state superintendent of public instruction. We’ll talk about Teacher Appreciation Week, the status of the state budget debate in Madison, and the harm being caused by President Trump’s efforts to gut essential educational support. We’ll also visit with Congressman Mark Pocan about the difficulty getting Trump officials to acknowledge tariffs are taxes on consumers.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-9 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to...

Republicans running the Wisconsin Legislature have just released the first list of actions they plan to take on the next state budget—starting with killing 612 items requested by Gov. Tony Evers and a parade of Wisconsinites testifying at Joint Finance Committee hearings. Help for childcare? Gone. Help with children being poisoned by lead paint or water lines? Gone. Fighting PFAS in drinking water? Gone. Expanding Medicaid to cover more families? Gone. Repealing taxes on tips and utility bills? Gone. Incentives to freeze local property taxes? Gone. And on it goes.

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The Wisconsin Legislature has scheduled a busy week of committee hearings. But some of the bills being put forward by Republican lawmakers are retreads—vetoed previously by Gov. Evers and sure to be rejected again, since lots of folks think legislators could be doing more to help struggling families rather than punishing them for losing their jobs or for simply being poor. We’ll get an update from Dan Shafer. And we’ll check in on stories around the Wausau area with Chad Holmes. Mornings with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday throug...

Some parents are going to learn the hard way next Monday that Wisconsin remains stuck in a crisis over the lack of affordable childcare options. Many childcare providers will shut their doors as part of the national Day Without Child Care, designed to put pressure on lawmakers to do right by families, the workforce shortage, and the overall economy. Also: On this National Tourism Day, we get an update on one special segment of the market from the Wisconsin Agricultural Tourism Association.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday...

In the olden days —prior to you-know-who shredding constitutional norms— disputes were normally solved at the negotiating table, often between Congress and the president. But with Congress becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Trump, Inc., it’s been up to the courts to try to rein in extra-legal power plays. Through Gov. Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul, Wisconsin are now involved in 14 different lawsuits attempting to halt America’s slide toward authoritarianism.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-9 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be su...

This is National Great Lakes Awareness Day. We’ll talk to Jadine Sonoda of the Wisconsin chapter of the Sierra Club about a project designed to set a world record as part of their effort to demonstrate public opposition to the Enbridge Line 5 oil pipeline up north. We’ll also visit with Nick Ramos of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign about their upcoming anniversary, 30 years of exposing money in politics and other ways the system is being rigged against regular folks.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from...

UpNorthNews reporter Salina Heller introduces us to a drag performer who is encouraged at some of the increased representation of the LGBTQ community in the Wisconsin Legislature, even as attacks ramp up from the far-right. And we’ll have our first interview with Laura Benjamin, the third and most recent candidate to announce a run for Congress in the 3rd Congressional District against Derrick Van Orden.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-9 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on...

We’ll evaluate weekend remarks by Josh Schoemann, the first official Republican candidate in the 2026 race for governor. We’ll review how national media has failed the nation again in holding a sitting US president accountable for their actions and lack of basic knowledge about American democracy. And it’s the kind of test you can’t possibly fail, or so Pat thought.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-9 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode...

Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich recently wrote a column for Civic Media’s Dan Shafer with his feelings of what Democrats should do differently in order to win more elections in 2026. Mayor Genrich joined Pat Kreitlow to talk about the essay and engage in some back-and-forth about where Democrats can put more emphasis on getting results rather than the process of seeking results. Pat also gives his thoughts on Donald Trump's first 100 days and welcomes guest WI State Senators Kelda Roys and Jeff Smith as well as Assembly Member Jodi Emerson.

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Motherhood—is any concept more American and more worthy of respect from our elected leaders? That doesn’t seem to matter to Robin Vos, the Speaker of the Assembly, who’s single-handedly blocking a bill to better protect new moms from health crises. We’ll talk to Dr. Kristin Lyerly and Emily Tseffos about this bill and another bipartisan proposal at the Capitol: providing better coverage for the kinds of diagnostic mammograms that are proven to save lives.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-9 am. Subs...

Please do not try to parody the New York Times. It is no longer possible. Its 100-day coverage of the Trump White House concludes with a review of the administration’s “style, an administration where looking the part is crucial to playing the part.” We’ll try to find the nuggets amidst this week’s sludge of national media coverage from our regular Week In Review panel.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-9 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a s...

Give the White House some credit for a little bipartisanship: Businesses, workers, consumers, and pundits have united on the notion that the Trump tariffs are off-target and causing real harm. We’ll review this week’s developments with Courier Newsroom’s Keya Vakil and Courier colleagues from our outlets in New Hampshire and Michigan.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-9 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the...

People like US Rep. Derrick Van Orden love to talk about “following orders,” but he and other GOP lawmakers won’t be able to pass the buck and blame only President Trump for an economy heading toward recession. We’ll talk to Joe Zepecki about Wednesday’s vote in Congress that could have modified or ended Trump’s disastrous trade war, but they’ve decided to keep their wagon hitched to his falling star.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-9 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be...

We’re joined by two Chippewa Valley legislators, Sen. Jeff Smith and Rep. Jodi Emerson, who will discuss the latest Donald Trump budget cuts to community volunteer programs—and we’ll see if the money budgeted two years ago for a healthcare crisis in their area is still being held hostage by Republican lawmakers.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-9 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the...

Somewhere between serving as a news anchor in Eau Claire and a radio host in Chippewa Falls, Pat spent a brief stint as a TV reporter in the Cayman Islands. Wednesday was Election Day in his favorite piece of paradise, giving him a chance to reminisce about covering politics in a British Overseas Territory—and being denounced by members of Parliament as one of those nasty immigrants coming to “take our jobs.” Sound familiar?! Also: Sean Duffy is afraid of New York City. And Melissa Baldauff discusses a new study about the poor air quality in southeast Wisconsin.

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A new bill raises this point: should Wisconsin utilities get an advantage when it comes to NEW transmission line projects, or does it stifle competition? It’s a question that doesn’t cut neatly across party lines, as we’ll discuss in this week’s Climate Check with Melissa Baldauff.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-9 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civi...

If you’re not familiar with the issue of how lead paint is still poisoning children in Milwaukee schools, you can be forgiven for asking, “How is this still a thing?” Our guest from the Wisconsin Public Education Network has the background in this week’s Homeroom segment.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-9 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media ne...

We’ll ask how we ended up with a government so hostile to even the concept of immigrants that its only plans are to ask people to make more babies and put off retirement. Sean Duffy is the latest in the Trump White House to hint at making retirement tougher for air traffic controllers in order to address a shortage that’s led to major travel delays. Also: Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan is getting plenty of bipartisan, high-powered legal help in addressing her politically-motivated arrest by President Trump’s FBI.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow airs on severa...

We’ll begin a weekly series of check-ins with Dan Shafer, Civic Media political editor and founder of the online news site The Recombobulation Area. He’ll tell us about the big political stories he expects to follow each week—and we suspect he’ll also express a high level of angst about his beloved Milwaukee Bucks. Plus, he’s hosting a Recombobulation Happy Hour! We’ll also check in with Chad Holmes on stories and topics he’s following in the Wausau area.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monda...

Democrats (and progressive Americans who prefer not to wear a party label) are still celebrating this month’s state Supreme Court victory, but no one out there is assuming some kind of permanent corner has been turned. Feelings are still raw about Donald Trump’s Wisconsin victory, so what do Democrats need to do to have more success in 2026? Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich put his thoughts on paper recently and we’ll hear what motivated him to share some suggestions for the political left.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio...

Welcome to the 100th day of the Trump administration, a milestone opportunity to outline the many, many, many, many, many ways it turned out to be a not-very-good idea to elect a convicted criminal with a chip on his shoulder, who’s willing to take out his frustrations on every non-billionaire American. On the bright side: Trump’s attempt to meddle in Canada’s election just backfired spectacularly. Also: Gov. Evers joins the parade of lawsuits looking for court to remind Trump of the things he’s not allowed to do—in this case, slash education funding for Wisconsin kids.

A recession appears increasingly likely with a president operating an economic policy that resembles a bull in a china shop more than a coherent strategy. We’ll talk to Sean O’Malley about ways to protect your retirement nestegg from the worst of a potential Trump Slump. And state Sen. Kelda Roys tells us about a bill not likely to pass the Legislature, but it’s still important to introduce it so people know who’s fighting to keep the government out of doctor’s exam rooms and protect women’s most personal healthcare decisions.

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There’s a mistaken impression that our national forests are supposed to be in some kind of primeval condition. That’s not what anybody wants, and health forestry practices have been standard in Wisconsin for a long time. But with a president abusing an emergency declaration to sidestep environmental safeguards, it’s easy to see why a former head of the US Forest Service from Wisconsin thinks this is a dangerous plan. Also: Salina Heller talks to the head of the Packers Hall of Fame during Draft Weekend.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Ci...

We’ll have an update on Friday’s politically motivated arrest of a Milwaukee County judge and, as Paul Harvey would say, the rest of the story that President Trump’s FBI doesn’t want you to know. We’ll also talk to Kristin Lyerly about the experience of having the NFL Draft in her backyard.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-9 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of...

We’ll visit live with Devin Remiker, the executive director of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, who’s in the race to become the next DPW state chair. And we’ll talk to Dr. Kristin Lyerly—not only about what things were like inside the NFL Draft festivities, but about how the Trump administration is trying to come up with ways to encourage women to have more babies. It’s an odd way to address a worker shortage made worse by their anti-immigrant policies, especially given their opposition to things like paid family leave, affordable childcare, and guaranteed health insurance...

Hillary Clinton got it right in 2016 when she tried to warn Americans that Donald Trump would be a “Putin puppet” if elected. But perhaps the president has earned an even stronger title: Quisling. We’ll talk to our Week In Review panel about that and more. Plus an update on sentencing for a man in an Illinois parade shooting who nearly attempted the same mass murder in Wisconsin. And we’ll talk about the first round of the NFL Draft in Green Bay.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday t...

It’s a case of MAGA vs. IRL. It’s one thing to be boisterous about a candidate during a campaign, but President Trump is finding public support diminishing when they’re watching his failings IRL, “in real life.” We’ll also talk about Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s embarrassment as government lawyers risk their careers by “mistakenly” filing paperwork showing his flimsy defense in an ongoing legal spat with New York City. 

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-9 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to m...

We’ll get reaction to the incendiary comments made about people with autism by Robert Kennedy, Jr., the US Health and Human Services Secretary. (We know, we still can’t believe it either.) It might be easier to catalog what he didn’t get wrong in his remarks. And Joe Zepecki helps us review the week’s political headlines and gives us an update on his run for state Democratic Party chair.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-9 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure...

Ben Wikler’s departure as chair of the state Democratic Party not only means a change at the top but throughout the WisDems organization. We’ll talk to Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski about the role she’d like to play as a new chapter of leadership opens for Wisconsin Democrats. And we’ll get an update from Chad Holmes on the Wausau mayor’s effort to replace members of the local ethics board with political friends amidst the board looking into his conduct for removing an absentee ballot drop box against legal advice.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow a...

Once again, recent events offer us a study in contrasts. On one side, public officials introducing a bill to give women back the reproductive rights that have been taken from them recently On the other side, we have legislators pretending to “investigate” the UW System for embracing diversity, a Wisconsin military commander disciplined because someone turned around a photo of President Trump, and a president who’s destroyed so much of his own government that the FDA can no longer do regular safety inspections of milk. 

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media r...

It’s kind of like the Today Show—expanding to three hours starting today. Can a 4th hour and our own streaming network be far behind?! Okay, that’s probably too much, but we can spend today’s first extra hour getting to know another of the candidates running to be chair of the state Democratic Party: William Garcia from western Wisconsin.

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow airs on several stations across the Civic Media radio network, Monday through Friday from 6-9 am. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn...