Business
Talking Crumbl Cookie opening with Onalaska Mayor Smith, UWL’s Chergosky, plus WI state budget news

Big news for those with a sweet tooth, and the Onalaska Mayor, Kim Smith, along with UW-L political science professor, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, join La Crosse Talk to talk about the Crumbl Cookie finally about to open. We also hit on some Wisconsin GOP legislation to force businesses to accept cash and hit on the state budget.
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.
In terms of Crumbl’s opening, we had Smith call in for just a couple of minutes, but the mayor will be back in studio next week. Along with explaining the fascination some have with the cookie company, we also talk about other development in that area by the Valley View Mall — with a Raising Canes, Panda Express and a few car washes coming soon.
In politics, Chergosky discusses legislation Wisconsin Republicans have to force businesses to accept cash, but have carved out big events in Wisconsin to be exempt — like the state fair.
We also break down the state’s budget process, and how the stories coming out now are what Republicans have pulled out of Gov. Tony Evers’ budget — like legalizing recreational marijuana and state funding for childcare. We also talked about how the state handles public comments for the budget, and how that could be better handled.
One other topic we hit on was US Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) saying the quiet part out loud — very loud — in regards to making cuts to Medicaid. While rallies are happening all over the country, in part to tell the government not to make Medicaid cuts, Republicans have argued they won’t be making those cuts. Johnson, though, is saying the opposite and arguing that those cuts need to be made because of the national debt.

Roy
May 9, 2025 at 12:34 pm
When a broadcast host repeatedly asks the same 3-4 questions on the same 3-4 issues from every public official he interviews, it shows that his command of current events is quite shallow.
But, he always finds time to discuss an issue pressing to him..marijuana legalization.