(This interview was edited for time and clarity. Listen to the full conversation in the link above.)
Jason Cregier (JC): There has been a lot happening in southern Wisconsin lately, so we called on a newsmaker from the area to help break down some of the headlines. Alex Gary is a reporter for the Beloit Daily News and joins us now.
So, Alex, let’s dive right in. Beloit recently named a new city manager. Who is it?
Alex Gary (AG): The man's name is Daniel Ortiz Hernandez. He has worked in several places around the United States, and that seemed to be the difference between him and the other finalists for the position.
The other finalist was the city manager for Whitewater, which is less than an hour from Beloit, and he had only worked in Wisconsin.
So, it was an interesting choice. Hernandez came from California, worked in Iowa and worked in Texas versus someone who knew the state of Wisconsin and how it operates. I thought it was an interesting decision for Beloit's city manager position.
JC: The last time we talked, we discussed the possibility of a data center being built near Beloit. Since then, there is also talk about a liquefied natural gas plant coming to Beloit. How are people reacting to that news?
AG: They call it LNG, for liquefied natural gas. It was proposed in early 2025 — or maybe late 2024 — and it has been going through the approval process.
Environmentalists oppose it, but it was not generating much controversy until the data center proposal came along. Now environmentalists are tying the two together, saying, "Look what they’re doing out there." They built a much bigger power plant in 2020, were approved to add more megawatts to the plant in 2025, and now they want to build an LNG plant.
Theoretically, it is meant to function as a peaker facility — something used during periods of peak demand on the system. But environmentalists see it as a way to add more power to the grid for a potential data center and are connecting it all as part of one larger plan.
People who oppose the data center have now adopted opposition to the LNG plant as well.
JC: Let’s end on a lighter note. Farmers markets are opening across the Stateline as the weather warms up, including the farmers' market in Beloit. Beloit's farmers' market is recognized as being one of the better ones around the area. Why is that?
AG: Well, it is the second-largest farmers' market in Wisconsin. Only the Dane County Farmers' Market in Madison is bigger.
In Beloit, it is not just locals who come to shop. People and vendors come from all over, and there is strong vendor support. The Beloit Farmers Market has survived for 51 years, even through the economic hardships of the 1990s following the closure of Beloit Corp.
The market is now based along State and Grand streets, an area that has seen significant investment. Downtown Beloit has improved over the last 20 years, and that has helped the market thrive.
The main thing separating the Madison and Beloit farmers markets is simply the size of the cities themselves. Shoppers come to the Beloit Farmers Market from Rockford, the DeKalb area, Madison and Milwaukee. It draws people from as far as two hours away.
JC: That is Alex Gary of the Beloit Daily News.
You can check out Alex’s work at beloitdailynews.com.
Alex, thanks for joining us today.
AG: Thanks a lot, I hope to talk with you soon.
Copy Edited by Eryn Lent
