Week of Action!

There are several action items coming up that need your attention. 

Note: Currently, the Coulee COVID-19 Compass is at SEVERE with recommendations to stay at home unless essential, no indoor gathering outside of household, only 10 or fewer people at a gathering outdoors, etc. The county is concerned that if we don't control this now, fall will be hell. Young people can get it. People can spread it without knowing they even have it. Even those who have mild symptoms can end up with long-term serious brain, lung, immune system and other conditions that may require costly therapies. We cannot recommend in-person events at this time.

First - VOTING HAS STARTED for the August 11 primary elections. You may still request an absentee ballot at myvote.wi.org or by calling your municipal clerk. You may also vote absentee-in-person at City Hall through August 7. Please vote AND encourage and help others to vote. And, make a plan to help get out the vote and protect the vote from now until November 3. Experts are predicting a very scary election season due to voting issues from problems with mail-in ballots to lack of polling places, decrepit unreliable hackable voting machines and Republic efforts to continue disenfranchising voters. Add the concerns by experts on authoritarian and fascist regimes and expect a nightmare. Be prepared.

The Governor's Task Force on Climate Change is accepting comments through Friday, July 31. Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes is heading up the group. He says, "We are charting a path to meet our goal of 100% carbon-free energy by 2050, while improving the state's economy and environment, diversifying the resources used to meet the state's energy needs, and generating family-supporting jobs." Please submit comments to push for real and meaningful change as quickly as possible. One item you might consider mentioning: If Governor Evers is serious about reducing carbon emissions and addressing equity and environmental racism, he should not restart the "zombie" highway, a bllion + dollar extension of I-94 in Milwaukee that even Scott Walker rejected. Read more about the task force and how to comment at their website. 

On Sunday, August 2, Citizen Action of Wisconsin and SEIU Healthcare are hosting a social distant rally and protest in La Crosse taking a stand against medical debt.. Meet at 3 p.m. at Poage Park. PLEASE REGISTER AT THE LINK. Wear purple, bring your water bottle, and dress for the weather. Let Gundersen know that they need to stop suing their employees and the community over medical debt! The event will begin at CA says, "Gundersen Healthcare is somehow a nonprofit that brought in over $1.4B in profits last year. They are paying their CEO over $1.1M a year. At the same time they are ruining the financial future of their employees and community members by sending them to collections for debts as small as $300. Gundersen is even garnishing the wages of THEIR OWN EMPLOYEES. As one of the largest employers and health care providers in our community, Gundersen Health System has a responsibility to our most vulnerable citizens. In just the past few years, Gundersen has taken hundreds of our community members to court for unpaid medical debt – including its own employees who cannot afford the who cannot afford the steep cost of the Hospital's insurance plan."

At 5 p.m. on Monday, August 3, the La Crosse County Board's Planning, Resources, and Development Committee will discuss a Resolution Adopting Sustainability Goals Transitioning to Carbon Neutrality & 100% Renewable Energy by 2050. This is your chance to push for strong local action to address the climate crisis. If you are able to attend the meeting, please do. You may attend online but UPDATE: If you want to comment at the meeting, you will need to attend in person - Room 1700 County Administration Building, 7th & State Streets. Right now, though, you can SIGN THE PETITION urging prompt action and you may EMAIL THE COUNTY BOARD (countyboardsupervisors at lacrossecounty.org) with your comments in support of a strong resolution that will include the whole county, not just county operations. The window of opportunity to make sufficient changes to avoid an unsustainable global temperature rise is rapidly closing. We are already brushing up against the 1.5 degree ceiling. The Arctic is on fire. Read more about communities that are pledging to reduce their carbon emissions to fight the climate crisis.

At 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 4, Building Unity Wisconsin is coming to La Crosse. The event will be held OUTDOORS in the parking lot at 401 West Avenue South. Social distancing and masks required. This will be part rally and part brainstorming session with some speakers. If you would like to speak on a particular issue, please email and we will put you in touch with organizers. It is also nonpartisan. Building Unity is based on four pillars: Peace, Justice, Sustainability, and Democracy. For more information about the event and the organizations, visit buildingunitywisconsin.org.

On August 8 and 9, the Democratic Party will call voters who have requested absentee ballots but not returned them yet. Beyond the importance of making every vote count, voters who have requested absentee ballots for the rest of the year but fail to return their August ballot will not be mailed a November ballot unless they complete a new absentee ballot request form. If you would like to sign up for this very important phone bank event, please email Pete (peterk at wisdems.org).