Politics
La Crosse Mayor Reynolds on homeless situation, north pool, Euro trip
La Crosse Mayor Mitch Reynolds in the WIZM studio Thursday for La Crosse Talk PM, discussing the homeless situation, the city’s many broken pools, his work trip to Europe and community engagement.
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.
Spent most of the show talking about the city’s homeless situation (12:00), a few days after the city council called a special meeting on what to do in the short-term with those unsheltered.
Began the show discussing the city’s crumbling pools, as Erickson is closed this summer and North Side Community Pool could close for next summer — or for good, depending on what the community says.
After that (7:30), we hit on the mayor’s trip to some of La Crosse’s sister cities in Europe and what he learned there. We also touched on that again at the end of the show (36:40), before rattling off some things happening in La Crosse — Forest Hills tennis courts, building sidewalks, bringing in the Bucks G-League team.
Kent Porter Mayor of the Northside
June 21, 2024 at 6:38 am
HEY MAYOR MITCH YOU GIVE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO THE HOMELESS ALCOHOLICS DRUG ATTICS FROM THE ARPA FUNDS (OUR TAX MONEY) BUT CANT MAINTAIN OUR POOLS AND CITY PLAY GROUNDS WHERE OUR KIDS PLAY TO KEEP THEM SAFE AND OUT OF TROUBLE , I THINK VOTE KENT PORTER FOR MAYOR (MAYOR OF THE NOTHSIDE) I WILL FIX THE HOMELESS PROBLEM FIRE THIS HOMELESS ZAR AND LOCK UP DRUG ATTICS AND DEPORT PEOPLE WHO DON’T WANT HELP. VETERSNS BEFORE HOMELESS !!!!!!!!!!!!
R Head
June 21, 2024 at 8:57 am
Did Mitch find a solution to the homeless problem in Europe?
Roy
June 21, 2024 at 9:37 am
In the interview, the Mayor admits he has no solutions to the homeless problem after 3 years on the job. No short-term or long-term.
The Mayor said that vagrants from all over the area come to La Crosse because “services” are provided to them by La Crosse. The area small towns provide no handouts so the homeless come here.
I believe the Mayor just solved the problem.
Lucenut
June 22, 2024 at 8:38 am
This clown needs to be gone. Traveling to Europe on our dime. What a punk! Put on some overalls and fill some potholes you clown! And stop wasting our resources on the bums. You are pissing in the wind. Government has never solved a problem. Just admit that already.
LG
June 22, 2024 at 9:34 am
Quick history lesson: Lynden Johnson’s war on poverty. We still have poverty. Ronald Reagan’s war on drugs. We still have drug use. War on hunger via food stamps. We still have hunger. War on homelessness. We still have homelessness have to agree with Lucenut. Five, 10, 30 years down the road, we will still have homelessness. Here’s the answer Mitch.
Employment, avoid creating a criminal and eviction history for yourself, shower, daily, be responsible, show up every day for work, Regular haircuts and daily hygiene, Live on less than you earn and create an emergency fund in the event of job loss. Now, how is a government program going to get homeless people to do all that. Homelessness is a series of poor choices and no city or county government program can change that.
I once worked in a government job and helped a person obtain housing using state dollars managed by the county. Things were great for that person for about a month. Then he let every homeless person he knew move into the apartment and they kicked him out the landlord with a mess. Barb Jansen has learned the hard way through her experience. It’s time you learned and stop wasting money and resources.
LG
June 22, 2024 at 5:43 pm
Quick history lesson: Lynden Johnson’s war on poverty. We still have poverty. Ronald Reagan’s war on drugs. We still have drug use. War on hunger via food stamps. We still have hunger. War on homelessness. We still have homelessness. I have to agree with Lucenut about government solutions. In 5, 10, or 30 years down the road, we will still have homelessness. Ask San Francisco. Good intentions are not enough. Government solutions funded by taxes have not worked and will not work. But here is an answer for you all to consider Mayor, City Council, County Supervisors…How about homeless make better choices like: Employment, avoid creating criminal and eviction histories for yourself, be drug and alcohol free, shower daily, be responsible, pay your bills for good credit checks when you apply for an apartment, show up every day for work, get regular haircuts and proper grooming, live on less than you earn, and create an emergency fund in the event of job loss. Now how is a government program going to get homeless people to do all that. Homelessness is a series of poor choices and no city or county government program can change that.
I once worked in a government job and helped a person obtain housing using state dollars managed by the county. Things were great for that person for about a month. Then he let every homeless person he knew move into the apartment. The others eventually kicked him out of his own apartment. The landlord was left to deal with the mess. Barb Janssen on City Council also learned the hard way through her experience. As I understand it, she rented one of her apartments to a homeless couple. She received rent money from a government program paid on behalf of the couple. When government funding rant out, the couple did not pay her rent. She eventually had to evict them at her expense. When she gained access to her own property, it was such a mess she decided she was unable to rent it to anyone else and needed to tear down the property. It’s time you (Mitch) learn these lessons and stop wasting constituent tax money and resources. If people want to help the homeless, I recommend you voluntarily give (as I have done) to the Salvation Army and Catholic Charities. Charitable organizations are best equipped and the most effective at helping those who want to receive help, not another government solution.