Guest: Wisconsin State Senator Fred Risser
The number 13 may just be State Senator Fred Risser’s lucky number. With the inauguration of Tony Evers, that will be the 13th Governor Senator Risser will serve under as a member of the Wisconsin Legislature. The previous 12 governors were evenly divided between 6 Republicans and 6 Democrats.
“The pendulum always swings,” says Sen. Risser. And he speaks from experience. Poised to go into his 63rd year in the Wisconsin Legislature, State Senator Fred Risser can officially claim the titles of Longest Serving State Legislator in Wisconsin history and the Longest Serving State Legislator in United States history.
On this program Sen. Risser shares secrets of how he has been able to maintain his health and vigor for work and life. “I’ve never used the elevator in the Capitol for one thing. I always take the stairs,” he stated. “I also was blessed with good genes, and I never smoked.” Each year on his birthday, he also rides a mile on his bicycle for every year of his life. This past May, he rode 91 miles.
Fred Risser is also passionate about Wisconsin and hasn’t lost his enthusiasm for representing a good part of Madison and the Village of Shorewood Hills as a Democrat. He takes us down memory lane recalling momentous moments in the Administrations of each of the governors he has served under and his own legislative challenges and accomplishments.
Senator Risser has been called “an institution within an institution.” and there is no sign that is going to change anytime soon. “Retirement’s never been a goal of mine,” he said.
