{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Podcast history, hip-hop ed, local budget woes","description":" Hosts: Rob Chappell, Stephanie D\u00edaz de Le\u00f3n, Omar Waheed  Dee Star's big moment: Three major milestones for Dee Star, host of the OuttaDeeBox podcast: February 3 has been declared Dee Star Day in Sun Prairie; the Out of Dee Box podcast will be the first podcast enshrined at the Wisconsin History Museum and the Sun Prairie Historical Society; and he's receiving a legislative citation for community impact. Omar caught up with him about what it all means.  Hip-hop in the classroom: Omar visited Kennedy Elementary to check out a hip-hop artist residency featuring Lex, a clean hip-hop artist, author, poet, DJ and educator. Lex spent two weeks visiting 16 MMSD schools, performing and helping kids process emotions through music \u2014 and it was anything but a corny after-school special.  School funding crunch: MMSD is already laying groundwork for next year's budget, and the outlook isn't great. The hosts dig into why: a state legislature that funds only about 5% of school district budgets (compared to 60-70% in Minnesota), federal special education cuts, and a new lawsuit challenging Wisconsin's funding model as unconstitutional.  Dane County's $31 million problem: Rob obtained a budget memo showing the county faces a roughly $31 million deficit heading into 2027, as post-COVID surpluses dry up and health insurance and employee costs climb. Balancing the budget could mean cutting around 241 full-time positions. Only one county supervisor responded to Rob's request for comment.  County contracting review: County Executive Melissa Agard has ordered a comprehensive review of county contracting practices. Rob spoke with Agard, Human Services Director Josh Luter, and several nonprofit leaders. The recurring theme: a need for greater transparency in bidding, scoring and feedback \u2014 plus structural issues like one-year contracts for five-year projects with no built-in cost-of-living increases.  On the radar: Stephanie flags the November 3 election, which will include a Republican-backed constitutional amendment that would prohibit DEI policies at any state government entity, including UW. Also coming up: spring county board elections with a few competitive races.  Question of the week: How big would a worm have to be before you'd tell somebody about it?   We're hiring!  &amp;nbsp; ","author_name":"365 Amplified","author_url":"http:\/\/365amplified.libsyn.com\/website","html":"<iframe title=\"Libsyn Player\" style=\"border: none\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/40250140\/height\/90\/theme\/custom\/thumbnail\/yes\/direction\/forward\/render-playlist\/no\/custom-color\/88AA3C\/\" height=\"90\" width=\"600\" scrolling=\"no\"  allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen><\/iframe>","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/assets.libsyn.com\/secure\/item\/40250140"}