Governor expresses love for La Crosse area, after 30 visits just this year, but he won’t be doing any waterskiing like Tommy

Does Wisconsin’s governor have a favorite area of the state to visit?

You could argue that the Coulee Region, and much of western Wisconsin, is a favored destination for Gov. Tony Evers.

The governor’s office confirms that Evers has been on the far western side of the state 30 times since the beginning of the year, roughly once a week.

Evers was on La Crosse Talk PM this week, and host Rick Solem asked him to admit it, La Crosse is his favorite part of the state.

“It’s a beautiful part of the state,” Evers said, “and the people are rational and good-thinking. It’s fun to be there, and a lot of good things happening.”

La Crosse Talk PM airs weekdays at 5:06 p.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 PM wherever you get your podcasts.

Evers was asked if he likes to do any waterskiing on the Mississippi River when he comes by — a bit of a joke, as his predecessor, former Gov. Tommy Thompson was injured in 2021 waterskiing at 79-year-old and required surgery.

“There’s no way I’ll be doing that,” said Evers. “I like more sedate things.” And he claimed he would go water-skiing “when donkeys fly.”

Evers, who was the Tomah Schools superintendent early in his career, said he likes visiting anywhere along Wisconsin’s “West Coast,” from Hudson south to Prairie du Chien.