La Crosse Assembly Rep. Jill Billings on outdoor laws passed, including one honoring Coulee Region native Steve Johnson, plus her new district

Wisconsin state Assembly Rep. Jill Billings in the WIZM studio Monday for La Crosse Talk PM discussing some of the bills passed in the final session, including one that has La Crosse roots. We also talked how she’s getting to know her new district.

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.

One of the bills we discussed that Billings got passed, after years of work, is named Steve’s Law, after Steve Johnson. He was a Coulee Region native who lost his sight as an adult and passed away in 2019. The law helps those with disabilities make outdoor recreation more accessible.

Billings also talked about other outdoor bills that were passed in the Assembly’s final session for the year.

Billings will also have a new district upon winning in November, so she talked a little about getting to know those voters by telling a story about Deke Slayton, as she went to the 100th birthday celebration in Sparta a few weekends ago.

We also discussed a couple of funny things, like whether men ever put their coats over puddles for women to walk over, do men still lead when dancing and how we don’t need wait staff singing happy birthday at a restaurant.

Oh, and how Billings is about to see her first NBA game — the Timberwolves-Cavs on Friday — so we played her some Anthony Edwards highlights. Later in the evening Edwards had what he called the best dunk of his career and also dislocated his finger — so we may have jinxed Billings’ first game.