GARYVIDEOS – The second episode of a video talk show featuring host Gary W. Morgan, a retired broadcast radio news anchor-reporter, and various guests. This episode became available at the authentic McStreamy Video Channel on YouTube, June 12, 2020, and on this page at the Garytalk.com website. Gary Morgan originally produced this series of programs for the River Cities Public Access Cable Channel, Wisconsin Rapids, WI after retiring from a radio news position in the year 2000 culminating a lengthy career in radio and newspaper news gathering and editing at several locations around the State of Wisconsin, including the past decade at WFHR-AM in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin.
This episode features a recently elected Republican lawmaker’s view of on-going negotiations on the 2002 Budget and several other topics, including health issues and Tobacco Industry money which was won for the State in the controversial legal battle won in part by the then Wisconsin Attorney General Jim Doyle (D). The winnings were to reimburse Wisconsin for the cost of health issues that have plagued Wisconsin residents resulting from the use of tobacco. The funds gained were to be paid out to the state over several years, but Republican Governor Scott MacCallum negotiated a reduced lump sum to help with a then-current Wisconsin State Budget deficit.
This is a followup to the first show in this series called Gary & Friends. The first featured Democrat Marlin Schneider of Wisconsin Rapids, a 40 year veteran of the State Assembly. MaryAnn Lippert was a relative newcomer to her seat in the legislative chambers after winning the seat that had been held by veteran Assembly Representative Don Hasenhorl (D) of Pittsville, WI after Hasenhorl announced his retirement.
Gary Morgan and Wisconsin 70th Assembly District Representative MaryAnn Lippert (R) of Pittsville, Wisconsin talk about the 2002 Wisconsin Budget negotiations, and other topics. Some of the other topics included some Stevens Point, WI students who were stopped at an airport due to having suspicious names during the period after the 9/11 incident that toppled the World Trade Center twin towers in New York City, and other subjects.
This is a complete program, originally recorded on VHS videotape. You’ll note the quality has suffered in the 20 years sitting on the shelf before being transferred to digital for viewing on computers and smartphones. We have processed it as best we could from the analog version to what’s called the MP4 format for presentation during the digital age. Unfortunately, the result is not exactly what we would like it to be, but the historical content of the discussions about the sometimes controversial issues in Wisconsin during the more innocent days of 2002, we feel will prove worthwhile to understand history and how it affects the present and future.
As a point of historical information: Gary Morgan ran for the Assembly seat held by MaryAnn Lippert in an attempt to keep the seat for the Democratic Party when the seasoned Don Hasenhorl decided to call it quits after nearly 3 decades on the job, a seat that Morgan was hoping to fill. So, why was he interviewing MaryAnn Lippert after she won? The simple answer is that Morgan didn’t make it past the Democratic Party primary, or MaryAnn might have been interviewing Gary, instead, if things would have turned out differently.
Amy Sue Vruwink of Milladore, Wisconsin, who had worked in longtime Wisconsin U.S. Congressman David Obey’s office, won the primary. Although Gary was born in the Wisconsin Rapids hospital, he spent his growing up years living in the 70th Assembly District seat in Pittsville, next door, and then south of Marshfield where Gary spent attended Cameron’s Pride elementary school in the Marshfield School District of Wood County, Wisconsin. He was looking forward to winning the seat because of that connection, but, it didn’t work out that way.
Amy Sue had been working in Democrat David Obey’s Congressional office for several years while Obey groomed her to run for Hasenhorl’s seat when, someday, Don Hasenhorl would decide to retire. Amy Sue won the primary but lost the seat to MaryAnn Lippert, that year. (The whole Morgan Campaign for the Assembly and what happened afterward is a story in itself. Someday, it will be told in Gary’s book if he ever finishes it.) As a further historical point of information, Amy Sue Vruwink did win the seat back for Democrats in the following election year and ended up serving in the Assembly for 12 years, from 2003 until 2015.
This show with full article content can also be seen at the authentic McStreamy Video Channel on YouTube. If you visit the authentic McStreamy Video Channel on YouTube, please SUBSCRIBE. More Gary & Friends Video Shows are coming, along with other videos on the McStreamy Video Channel on YouTube. We would be happy to have you aboard. Thanks.
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