Weekly Review - July 15, 2025

Four Lakes Voices is a free online publication diving into Dane County, Wisconsin, and National politics. Please share with your friends!

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Publication Manager & Editor Four Lakes Voices
July 15, 2025

Articles In This Issue

Join Mike’s Conservative Club on July 22!

Mike Herl, Contributor, Four Lakes Voices

I have assembled a small team of conservative-type folks to help me launch a series of speakers from the area that can provide us with their insights and experiences within the Southcentral Wisconsin political scene.  Until we come up with a better name for this group, we are simply calling it “Mike’s Conservative Club”.  We will be limiting the size of the participants to fifty (50) people so that we do not overwhelm staffing at our chosen venues.

We have lined-up Howard Marklein, state senator, as our next speaker for Mike’s Conservative Club. We will be meeting at Kavanaugh’s on Tuesday, July 22 at 5pm. Again, we are limiting this to 50 people, and you may share this invite with all of your friends.

State Sen. Howard Marklein

Kavanaugh’s Esquire Club

Monday, May 12th at 5:30pm.

Please RSVP me ONLY if you are coming. Howard will talk about the budget battle that just concluded two weeks ago and he will talk about his upcoming election and the sudden opponent who just threw her hat into the election ring. Howard will also be taking donations for this upcoming battle so don’t forget your checkbooks! Thanks.

If you would like to join us that evening, please RSVP to [email protected].

Why Are People Fleeing Gov. Pritzker’s State?

The Capital Times has landed a truly big fish to speak at its annual Cap Times Idea Fest on 09-13-25: J.B. Pritzker! The Illinois governor will “bring the fire,” publisher Paul Fanlund gushes. Maybe Gov. Pritzker can light up a revival tent like Elmer Gantry. Missed his keynote speech to this year’s state Democratic convo. The larger question is, does the man have anything to say?

Because J.B. Pritzker is the governor of a failed state. America’s Somalia. About 340,000 people have fled Illinois since he took office six years ago. His most recent state budget pushed through $1.1 billion in tax hikes. Even so, the state staggers under the nation’s worst government employee pension crisis — $211 billion in unfunded obligations. Homeowners pay the second-highest property taxes in the nation, according to the Illinois Policy Institute. Despite spending more on education, 11th-grade math scores are down 22% in four years. Chronic absenteeism is up 62%.

It’s time for the hard questions Paul Fanlund won’t ask. Like, would you return to Biden’s open borders policy?

Forgive college loans? Do you know what a woman is?

With governors like J.B. Pritzker, no wonder desperate Democrats are turning to Zohran Mamdani. He promised to get rid of billionaires.

Remember Durango

Rolf Lindgren, Four Lakes Voices Contributor - July 9, 2025

One day, about ten years ago, I was out long-distance walking in my Middleton neighborhood. As I approached my home, I decided to take one extra walk around the block.

On the third corner, I saw a man who looked like he was from ZZ Top but was wearing a John Lennon T-shirt. I said "Nice shirt" to the man as I approached him. We struck up a conversation and discussed things like Ron Paul, music, the Federal Reserve, and various conspiracy theories. I got his phone number and we kept in touch. His name was Durango McMurphy.

As the years went by, I sometimes gave Durango rides, and he told me more about his music playing. He sometimes played at the Middleton Sport Bowl bowling alley. His music was soft rock. He often played Hank Williams or the Beatles and was very good at singing light rock and country tunes on his acoustic guitar. He was a really nice and friendly guy.

One day in 2020, while organizing Pints & Politics during the COVID lockdowns, I had planned an event at Middleton Sport Bowl. Then a brilliant thought hit me! Why not recruit Durango to play live music at Pints & Politics! …