Onalaska state Rep. Doyle on fed funding cuts, local listening session, selling county land

Wisconsin state Assembly Rep. Steve Doyle in studio for La Crosse Talk discussing a range of issues, including his recent budget listening session in Onalaska, how the Legislature is grappling with federal funding cuts, and whether bipartisanship is improving this term.

La Crosse Talk airs weekdays at 6-8 a.m. Listen on the WIZM app, online here, or on 92.3 FM / 1410 AM / 106.7 FM (north of Onalaska). Find all the podcasts here or subscribe to La Crosse Talk wherever you get your podcasts.

Doyle (D-Onalaska), who also serves on the La Crosse County Board, weighed in on the county’s potential sale of 111 acres of farmland in West Salem — discussing the priorities behind the sale and the possible timeline.

We kicked things off by digging into how federal funding cuts are making the state budget process more challenging, and whether more money should be added to the rainy day fund.

After that, Doyle shared insights on how the Legislature is functioning under new district maps that have eased gerrymandering in Wisconsin. While tensions remain among leadership — like Gov. Tony Evers and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos — Doyle said lawmakers are finding common ground on key issues behind the scenes.

Lastly, we recapped the local budget listening session Doyle held with state Sen. Brad Pfaff (D-Onalaska) at the Onalaska Public Library — one of several sessions organized by area Democrats in response to the state’s Joint Finance Committee holding meetings far from the region. Around 100 people attended. Doyled shared how that went and what people’s concerns are.