Training Tonight!

 

Tonight from 5 to 7 p.m. Bystander Intervention &
De-Escalation Training at

The Nature Place

Support our Mississippi River!

From Friends of the Refuge-Mississippi River Pools 7&8

The Fish Thief: A Great Lakes Mystery screening on February 15 at The Rivoli (more details coming soon!)

A small local group is coordinating with the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, the primary backer of The Fish Thief, to enable this screening. The Commission has coordinated screenings in several other locations around the Great Lakes, including in conjunction with outdoor and sports shows. 

The Commission is now planning to have a booth at the La Crosse Sport Show (February 12-15, 2026) to promote the documentary and expand their education and outreach – especially in light of their collaborations with our very own USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center on French Island which will also be represented at the Commission booth during the La Crosse Sport Show.

The 1.5-hour documentary tells the incredible story of the most successful integrated pest management program of any aquatic vertebrate. The documentary highlights USGS science, including that conducted at the USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center.  Commission staff and USGS scientists will attend the screening to answer questions about the Sea Lamprey Control Program and USGS science.

Last year we witnessed projected severe cuts to federal budgets and reductions in federal personnel including: National Park Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, USGS Ecosystem Mission Area (which funds the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center), and more. 

This is another local advocacy event to sustain funding for the management and research to sustain our natural resources, the first of 2026, to continue to tell the good stories of the people helping to protect the resources we value.

Help our neighbors!

 

February 6 from 10 a.m. to Noon help Driftless Mutual Aid collect community needs at Pearl Street Books, 323 Pearl Street with gubernatorial candidate, Francesca Hong.

Needs include non-perishable foods (no glass containers), hygiene/personal care items, period products, cold weather gear (hats , gloves, scarves), hand and foot warmers, first aid kits, baby products (diapers , wipes, cream), baby formula, gas cards, and donations.

Help support Hmong elders who may be reluctant to leave their homes to get basic supplies in these fraught times. You can help by donating or dropping of personal care items or non-perishable food items at the Hmoob Cultural and Community Agency, 1815 Ward Ave., M-F between 8 and 4:30 p.m. For more information contact Mia at 608-797-2578.

Transit Equity Day

Did you know that transportation is the second highest expense in most U.S. households? Did you know that the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics and the American Automobile Association report that it costs almost $12,000 per year to own and operate a car? Did you know that the Wisconsin Department of Transportation estimates that forty percent or more of City of La Crosse residents are non-drivers? Did you know that transit riders in Wisconsin spend 63 percent more time commuting than car drivers?

Transit Equity Day, February 4, Rosa Parks' birthday, calls attention to the need for better, stronger transit to ensure that everyone, no matter their age, physical condition, or wealth, can get to a full life. In fact, as Martin Luther King, Jr., noted, "Public transportation--buses, subways, trains, and more--is a genuine civil rights issue." Read more about that in this CityFix article.

Join the movement for better transit to improve equity, reduce air pollution and carbon emissions, and make our streets safer.

FREE FARES ALL DAY ON THE MTU February 4

OPEN HOUSE AT THE TRANSIT CENTER from 4 to 7

February 6 - SMRT Education & Outreach trip to Viroqua

Learn more: tinyurl.com/TEDLaCrosse-2026

Freedom March #4 - Feb. 7 in Winona

From Buffalo County Dems

On Saturday, Feb. 7th, concerned Wisconsinites in coordination with the Buffalo County Dems & Friends and the Winona Rapid Response Team will gather at the Latsch Island Beach (101 Latsch Sq, Winona, MN 55987). The exit is at the base of the Winona Bridge immediately after the green “Winona” road sign and crosses under the bridge toward Old Duke Road.

Freedom March #4 over the Winona Bridge will start at 1 PM. We will meet Minnesotans at the top of the bridge, and then proceed over to Windom Park (one block from the bridge) for brief comments from Puentes/Bridges Co-Founder (and Buffalo County's own) John Rosenow. For over 20 years, they have been building cultural bridges between the immigrants' home communities and our rural farming communities in west central Wisconsin and southeast Minnesota.

This will be a family friendly, peaceful, and non-violent event in the spirit of MLK Jr. (i.e. no "F" ICE signs, etc.). Bring your signs, flags, and voices.

Terry Schoonover, Chair, Buffalo County Dems & Friends

info@buffalodems.org, (608) 248-1100