Gene Mueller is one - half of the Reitman and Mueller morning show on 94.5 WKTI. A staple of local FM radio, he's served as an alarm clock for countless Milwaukeeans for 20 years. This season, he expanded his reach statewide by joining the Packers Radio Network.

A regular guy who can laugh at his own jokes as well as himself, he's a rabid fan of the Brewers and "The Simpsons." He's also a father and a family man who's not at all embarrassed when noticed in the checkout line at the supermarket.

In another exclusive Milwaukee Talks interview, we caught up with Gene to chat about the green and gold, his wacky work schedule and what's it like to have a Beastie built in your likeness beheaded.

OMC: Tell me about your new gig on the Packers Radio Network. Add to your morning show duties, and you must be working 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

GM: It's not that much, but it's a little extra time. Everybody in Wisconsin is a Packers fan, but now I have to read more, prep more and really know my stuff. I gotta know what I'm talking about, because people out there know more than I do. I really believe that there are Packers fans out there who know more than the announcers.

OMC: It's quite an educated fan base.

GM: Yeah. They've lived here all their lives, and they remember the past. I can't BS them. I can't win a trivia contest with them. They're smarter than I am. I can help make them even smarter. I'm their vehicle to make them learn more about the team. But Sunday, or whatever game day is, gets to be a long day. The rest of the week is just reading and keeping up. It's a labor of love. But it's the Packers, and every day is game day. We love the Packers.

OMC: But you're a big Packers and Brewers fan, anyway.

GM: Yeah, it's not a stretch. It's not like being the opera correspondent.

OMC: That might take more research.

GM: Big learning curve there!

OMC: How did you get involved with the Packers broadcasts this season?

GM: Len Kasper left in March, and they came to me in June and asked if this would be something I'd think about doing. I've listened to it, being a fan, so I asked to listen to a tape of the whole thing so I could see what it really involves. It got to be three weeks before camp, and they asked if I wanted it or not. So I said, "sure, fine." And that was it. It came together pretty fast. The next week we had a big production meeting and away it went.

OMC: So what time do you get to the station on a Sunday?

GM: 6:30 a.m. I got out of here around 5 p.m.

OMC: How do you get ready for your morning show the next morning?

GM: I go home and decompress. I watch the second game with my boy and watch "NFL Primetime." Then it's time for "The Sopranos" and "The Simpsons." It's my usual routine; I don't stay up any later.

OMC: Although I have to think a Monday night game is impossible with your schedule.

GM: I'll burn Tuesday as a vacation day, yeah. That will be a day off.

OMC: You have somewhat of a journalism background, right?

GM: I started out as a disc jockey in radio, but when I got to college I started to work more toward news. I was a part-timer in Sheboygan, where I was born, but when I quit school, I went to become a radio news reporter up in Stevens Point. I did that for four years and went to QFM and was news director there.

OMC: When was that?

GM: That was '81.

OMC: How did you wind up at WKTI?

GM: A guy I worked with in Stevens Point was at KTI when they took it off the automation. They'd already hired Bob (Reitman) as program director. He shot me a call at QFM and asked if I wanted to come on board. That was September of '82, so we've been doing this for 20 years.

OMC: After 20 years, are you running out of material?

GM: No, there's always something. And we have Gino (Salomone, their producer) so there's plenty of grist for the mill.

OMC: I don't want to make you feel old, but I grew up listening to Reitman and Mueller. I remember my grandma and I trying to find the Heiney Winery.

GM: In beautiful downtown Waldo.

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