Climate Weekend

Several events are coming up this weekend and in the days and weeks following to let you take immediate climate action. Please do one or more.

Sunday, September 26 from 1 to 5 p.m. at Copeland Park, learn about your future ELECTRIC ride - car and/or bike and/or bus - from people who have electric cars and bikes. Learn about the many benefits of e- vehicles and how they can actually help you save money. Ask Me About My EV: tinyurl.com/DriveEVLaX

Sunday, September 26 from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. at Emerson Elementary School on Campbell Road, it's the first annual SOLS supporters meeting. Bring your own picnic (only dessert treats will be supplied) and learn about this community group working to put solar on our public schools right here and right now. Solar On La Crosse Schools Annual Supporters Meeting: tinyurl.com/SOLSPicnic

Now through October 4 Sign up for Western Technical College's Drawdown Challenge. This is your chance to pledge and DO things that will help decrease carbon emissions. The sign up will end on October 4 and the challenge actions will happen from October 4 through 23. Actions include everything from researching more climate- friendly options for your family, to trying different ways of shopping, eating, transporting, cooking, and living, to going beyond your family to push for bigger, more meaningful changes in our community and our country.

On September 23, 28, and 30, join a Sierra Club ACTION NIGHT to Build Back Better. At these virtual action events, "we’ll be doing things like posting on social media to pressure our Members of Congress, making window signs, and reaching out to friends and family -- or for a phone bank to call Sierra Club supporters in Arizona and West Virginia to ask them to call Senators Manchin and Sinema, who are two of the key votes needed to secure these wins."

On October 12 from noon to 1 p.m., the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration are hosting an online lunch and learn program: Global and Local Climate Action. (Registration available soon.)

If you haven't yet completed the city and county surveys to let them know how you would like them to use American Recovery Program Act funds, please do. City surveys are here. And County information and link to the survey is here. 

Using this money to improve energy efficiency, especially in the city's rental housing stock and, possibly, in new public housing, can reduce our carbon emissions, reduce energy bills for families, and improve health. Using ARPA funds to improve our public transportation system, so people would not feel the need to own a car, will reduce carbon emissions, improve access to jobs and services, and improve public health. Using ARPA funds to and support neighborhood services, like child care and necessities, near where people live and work, will reduce transportation emissions, give people more time for family, and reduce congestion. Our community is not a bunch of disconnected blobs - jobs, health, transportation, school, etc., but is a system of interconnected systems. Improve one and you can improve many. Ignore one and it causes problems in others. 

Please use this opportunity to take one or more actions now and pledge to increase your commitment through the end of the year if you can.

Afghan help updated

The page for helping Afghan visitors is now up and updated as of tonight. Please check that page for new and immediate needs, ways to donate time, money, and goods. Ways to support Afghan visitors.

Especially needed right now:

• Personal hygiene items
• Cash donations
• Those who can commit four to six hours per day working at the Morale-Wellness-Recreation centers at Fort McCoy

Read more at the Help Afghan Visitors page. 

Friday, September 10: Northside Elementary School drive for clothes, blankets, toys for Afghan refugees. Drop off: 7:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the school, 1611 Kane Street.

Items in most need include summer and fall seasonal clothing, blankets and toys.

Donated items can be new or like new, but should be age-appropriate for newborns up to 18-years-olds.

Money will also be accepted.

 

Use ARPA funds for Climate Action

La Crosse County is requesting input on its plans for spending ARPA funds. You can see their preliminary document, a summary, here and fill out the survey here.

I have done both and have the following comments.

While ARPA is meant to "recover" from the social and economic damage wrought be the novel coronavirus, there is no reason the funds can't be used to prepare for the NEXT and far more serious "pandemic," the climate crisis. In fact, to NOT consider how plans and budgets will work to mitigate global heating is, to me, a dereliction of duty. 

With this in mind, considering that the county's preliminary plan does not mention climate change once, nor, really, target any funding toward its already-passed goal of reducing county carbon emissions. The closest we get is one item of a nine-item list:

B) Renewable/Green Infrastructure Incentives: Programs (grants/low interest loans) under this category would be developed to encourage homeowners, farmers, businesses, and other organizations to install renewable/green infrastructure on their properties. Initial capital costs often preclude the use of renewable energy producing systems and their long-term savings. Using ARPA funding for these expenses will stimulate the renewable energy economy, while producing long-term energy savings for homeowners, farmers and businesses.

To me, this is far too timid and, almost, criminal. The climate crisis must be recognized and must be front and center in our planning. Period. 

At this point, we don't rely on "encouraging" people to do what MUST be done, rather we need to decide on a zero carbon goal (done) and then work out policies and use resources to make that happen. So, to me, this summary should include something like, "we will use funds, as allowed, to improve bicycle and public transportation infrastructure and reward individuals and businesses who create plans to travel and commute using lower carbon modes. We will offer grants for those who commit to reducing or eliminating the need for private vehicle commuting. Using ARPA funds to eliminate the high dependence on private cars will improve transportation equity, put more money in low-income residents' pockets, and reduce our carbon emissions. We will subsidize weatherization to near or net-zero standards. We will facilitate transitioning from fossil gas for heating and cooling. We will assess the climate impacts of all programs funded by ARPA money." That's just one part of an idea about how these funds can build a more sustainable future.

The survey itself divides things that should not be divided, I think. For example, in discussing housing, there is no discussion of transportation, but these two are intimately related as we saw in 2020. Will ARPA funds be used to grant or build housing that is out in the middle of nowhere, far from services and jobs? To me, no. Priority should be given to ensuring housing, especially for low- and moderate-income residents, is near where people need to go. Or, if not near, then accessible by public transportation and bicycle. Otherwise, the funds are wasted by subsidizing unsustainable systems that are killing our planet.

And, for some reason, equity is not mentioned in anything, even though the ARPA funds are supposed to work on addressing inequities. Equity is part of every decision, and making decisions that will address the climate crisis will also address issues of equity. 

I also think, from a climate action standpoint, the section on housing is far too limited. Understand that ARPA funds may be used for, "home repairs, weatherization, or other needs," with the aim of addressing economic impacts of income inequality exacerbated by the pandemic. Why not use this to its fullest climate action potential?

People who need to pay high rents for drafty and inefficient housing in poor condition are at higher risk for health problems which cost healthcare dollars and lost wages and decreased productivity. People who have to pay high energy bills because their housing is in poor condition have less money for other basic needs. So, why not commit as much ARPA funding to refurbishing existing housing to net-zero standards and, leveraging other funding sources if needed, installing solar on this housing which could eliminate people's utility bills and improve health outcomes and reduce income inequality. 

Why not use ARPA funds to BUILD public housing that uses micro- grids on net-zero buildings to eliminate energy bills altogether. Solarizing public housing is a win-win project. These are not loopy dream unicorns. These are things people are already doing. And, again, transportation. Can new public housing be near shops, jobs, and services? Can there be public transport to serve it (and can that public transport run every 15 minutes most of the day and night?) The national average annual cost to own and operate a car is more than $9,000! Public transportation is an equity issue.

What about the food system?. Lack of food, already a problem for many in our area, became a crisis during the pandemic. The business as usual solution is for richer people to buy and donate canned beans and boxes of macaroni and cheese that have been, probably, unsustainably grown, processed, food-colored, and packaged, then shipped thousands of miles to a grocery store, with each step along the way taking a cut and driving up the cost of the "food." And, often, the processed, packaged, shipped food is not healthy and bad for the planet resulting in societal costs paid by all of us. What would a climate-centered recovery for food insecurity look like that also seeks to address lack of good jobs, saving rural areas (from bacon CAFOs), repairing environmental damage caused by industrial animal products factories, reducing hunger and income inequality. Why can't ARPA funds be used to assess how much actual food (not GMO corn and beans for animal feed and, really, not animals) is currently available in our region and how much more could be sustainably grown. Our current 3,000-mile food footprint does not have to (and should not) be the norm. How can we encourage, support, and build a much more robust local and regional food production system?

Consider, also, the other systems now in place from tourism to lack of worker control over their own labor (why not help more co-ops start?) to child care to consumption to schools and more. You cannot solve a problem called by a bad system within the bad system. Who will think outside the system to find better ways?

We just have to think totally differently about our priorities and communities going forward. The old systems have brought us to the very brink of disaster!! We have to connect systems that support a good life like clean  transportation that does not depend on personal wealth, safe healthy housing that does not depend on personal wealth, access to a full life that does not rely on personal wealth.

Please weigh in on these plans. Encourage the county to make climate crisis the number one main concern. Show them how things connect. Speak up.

How to help 2

An update about needs and opportunities to help Afghan refugees came today and is here below. We are going to make a special page for further updates. Please check the AFGHAN AID page in the left menu going forward. We'll post weekly shorter alerts as needed. This update is from Veterbo's Sister Laura who convened the community group a couple of weeks ago:

The Basics:

There are approximately 3300 refugees at Fort McCoy with more arriving daily.  Fort McCoy could process over 10,000 refugees this fall.  We have no indication as to how many (if any) refugees will be resettled in our area.  The agencies and sites for resettlement are scrambling to get things in place and are not ready to take refugees yet.  This means that each refugee could stay at Fort McCoy for 2+ months.  Fort McCoy and various agencies are making plans for refugees to be on base through December. The refugees are in military housing, receiving three halal meals a day and receiving medical care (both physical and mental). 

What agencies are helping at Fort McCoy:

Currently Catholic Charities, Catholic Relief Services, American Red Cross and a representative for the USCCB (Catholic Bishops) are at the Fort.  However, the Red Cross will be leaving shortly.  Many, many other agencies are assisting on the resettlement side of things.  I would imagine there are other agencies helping as well.

UPDATE: Team Rubicon will also be working with donations.  If you want to learn more, you can check them out here:  Team Rubicon | Built To Serve (teamrubiconusa.org

Help needed:

At this time, the greatest and most immediate need is a core team of organizers who are able to work full-time at Fort McCoy coordinating a variety of things. Catholic Charities is looking for:

• ·         Technical lead to organize MWR (morale, wellness and recreation centers) as well as organize and coordinate volunteers.
• ·         Technical lead to organize the legal support of the refugees.
• ·         Technical lead to organize distribution logistics at Fort McCoy.

These are paid full-time positions.  It will be intense work through the fall, if you are interested or know of someone who might be, please contact me (S. Laura) ASAP.  I will gladly share a job description with you.

Volunteer Opportunities:

Catholic Charities is asking for volunteers.  Volunteers will be split into two categories; those that can help regularly at Fort McCoy and those that can work at CC or collection sites.  For those interested in volunteering at the Fort, Catholic Charities is looking for individuals that can give a full week(s) commitment.  There may be other opportunities to volunteer at the Fort and if you are interested, please sign up through the Catholic Charities website here - Volunteer Application Form (volgistics.com)

Catholic Charities is also looking for volunteers to process and sort donations and these volunteers would not need to go to Fort McCoy for this work.  Additionally, while Catholic Charities is being pulling into refugee work, they need volunteers to assist in their various other projects and ministries.  There will be many more volunteer needs as this situation unfolds.

United Way, through their platform Ugetconnected, is taking names of volunteers to share with agencies who are requesting volunteers.

UPDATE: The La Crosse area coordinators now Facebook group – Afghan Refugee Aid Coordination La Crosse. Afghan Refugee Aid Coordination - La Crosse | Facebook If you have FB please join!  This is where we encourage people to post articles, updates, questions, etc. and where we can coordinate information in real time.

Material/Financial Donations:

Catholic Charities has put out a list of donation needs and will update it as the needs change. You can find the list here - Afghanistan Refugee Assistance – Catholic Charities. More organizations are working on collections and links to their efforts will be available soon. If your donation effort would like to be included, email info by 9 a.m. on August 30: lmnettles-at-viterbo.edu

Ongoing Organization:

We are working on a Facebook Page to coordinate all of our efforts, ask our questions in real time and share ongoing information with each other. I will send out the link to the page as soon as it is ready to go live.

The next large group meeting will be on September 6 at 6:30 p.m. If you would like to attend for your group/agency, please email S. Laura.

UPDATE: If you are concerned about ensuring your donations are well spent, check out charities at Charity Navigator first. 

• Catholic Charities of Wisconsin gets a 100 out of 100 rating ..
• No One Left Behind, Inc. earns a 90 out of 100 
• American Red Cross gets 88.99 out of 100
• Some are new crowd-funded and not yet rated like Flyaway Emergency Afghan Rescue Mission. Here's a list from Mashable.

How to help

About 1,500 Afghan families and individuals have arrived at Fort McCoy and thousands more are expected over the next several months. Some may stay in the area, but many will settle near family or where there is already an existing Afghan community. Until their next stop is finalized, they are in need of our understanding, love, care, and compassion.

Many left everything behind and suffered harrowing experiences to get to the airport and on a flight. Some have been separated from family members, including children. Often, extended family members are not allowed to accompany those who have the paperwork to qualify for exit. This is a trauma for families and for US troops who are trying to secure and oversee a very dangerous and chaotic situation.

How can we help?

Dozens of individuals and organizations are working together to build a local foundation and network to anticipate, find, and meet needs. If you can help in any way, please do. 

If you can donate to help with refugee resettlement or to help get people out of Afghanistan, here's a short list:

• No One Left Behind
• Flyaway Emergency Afghan Rescue Mission
• Catholic Charities
• Red Cross 
• Othman bin Affan Mosque, PO Box 275, Onalaska, WI 54650  Venmo: @OBA-Mosque-LaCrosse

You may also donate goods - a list of current needs is here: https://cclse.org/afghanistan-refugee-assistance/

If you can help in-person, here are some needs. Contact the Red Crosse or Catholic Charities to volunteer.

• Immigration/refugee/DOJ attorneys
• Pashto speakers/translators
• ESL teachers
• Individuals who can commit to at least two weeks of daily help at Ft. McCoy staffing MWR (Morale, Welfare, Recreation) services, including playing soccer with children, serving tea, helping make people feel welcome, etc.
• Individuals who can help transport people in Tomah and donations from La Crosse to Tomah
• Individuals who can write letters to the editor and talk to co-workers, friends, organizations with a message of welcome, support, and responsibility to counter some of the ugly rumors being circulated on social media

This is a very preliminary list. We will have more ideas, links and lists as they are developed. The large community group that has been meeting since last week will split into teams now to more specifically focus on areas like material donations, spiritual needs, veteran care, resolutions and communications and more. 

If you represent a group or organization and would like to be involved, email Sister Laura (lmnettles@viterbo.edu) who is moderating the group.

There are plans to pass resolutions welcoming and pledging support for refugees. If you can send a short email to the city council and county board in support of such a move, please do. If you are a council member in Onalaska, Holmen, West Salem, or other La Crosse area communities, check out this model from Pierce County, Washington and this example from the University of Kentucky.

Please do whatever you can and do not allow false narratives and misinformation to spread. To this last point, I beg you to read about and practice the "truth sandwich" developed by communication expert Dr. George Lakoff to help communicators avoid inadvertently amplifying lies.

These dear fellow humans have been traumatized enough without rumors, misinformation, and fear-mongering by certain officials and social media trolls adding to their misery.

August 26 - Jobs, Justice, Clean Energy

On August 26, from noon to 2:30 p.m., La Crosse area residents concerned about the climate crisis will gather at Western Technical College to press the need for elected officials to #ACTNOW ON CLIMATE in federal priorities and budgets.

Two bills - a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a larger reconciliation bill that more fully addresses climate action - are moving forward in the House and Senate, but there are many challenges ahead. People who believe the IPCC report (Code RED for humanity) must continue pushing for immediate meaningful climate action which will address the threats and causes of increasing global heating.

At noon on Thursday near the Western Technical College Integrated Tech Building (the courtyard area), community members are invited to create a handprint banner and rock art with rocks from their homes along the Mississippi and Driftless Region. 

Immediately following the community art portion of the event, there will be a press conference at 1 p.m. followed by a march to deliver the message to US Congressman Ron Kind.

The Driftless Region of Wisconsin is already facing severe flooding, droughts, and many threats to safe drinking water. In our country and world, carbon emissions are making areas of Earth uninhabitable, forcing millions to flee their homes. Billions of animals are burning, cooking to death, and starving because of human-caused global heating. We must do a U-turn on fossil fuel use right now to stop the worst scenarios from occurring and the window of opportunity is very small.

This event is co-sponsors by Citizen Action of Wisconsin Driftless Co-op, Sierra Club of Wisconsin, and Wisconsin Conservation Voters. 

August 29: Infrastructure Town Hall with Bernie

Cedar Rapids August 29 at 2 p.m. RSVP HERE

“For too many decades, Congress has ignored the needs of the working class, the elderly, the children, the sick and the poor. Now is the time for bold action. Now is the time to restore faith in ordinary Americans that their government can work for them, and not just wealthy campaign contributors. I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this Budget Resolution and a reconciliation bill that works for working families, not the top one percent.”

Read the summary on the reconciling instructions here.

Read the resolution text here.

Read the committee print to accompany the FY22 budget resolution here.

Waking Up White Community Read

 From La Crosse Waking Up White Collaborative:

1. Starting August 16 - Access the Waking Up White Book:

Books available starting August 16: 

• Wisconsin residents, check out a book through the Winding Rivers Library System
• Individual paperback books
• Book kits (10 books plus guided discussion) available for check out to be used for hosting book discussions
• Minnesota residents, check out a book through the Southeastern Libraries Cooperating System

Pick up a FREE COPY at one of these locations:

• La Crosse Public Library, 800 Main St., La Crosse 
• People's Food Co-op, 315 5th Ave. S., La Crosse
• Cameron Park Farmer's Markets in La Crosse - Bridges Church table on Aug. 20 & 27, Sept. 4 & 18
• Trinity Lutheran Church, Monday nights, "Monday Meals" 5-6 pm, 1010 Sill St., La Crosse
• Our Savior's Lutheran Church​​, Tuesday nights, "Come for Supper" 5-6:30 pm, 612 Division St., La Crosse

2. Starting Aug. 16 - Sign up for Book Chats - small group, In Person, theme-based facilitated discussions. Book Chats are free, 90-minute, small group, theme-based facilitated discussions based on a topic raised in the book Waking Up White. Having read the book is not a prerequisite for joining a discussion. Book chat spaces are limited to 6 people per group to facilitate courageous conversations. Register early, starting Aug. 16 through the La Crosse Public Library, for best selection - registration opens Aug. 16. COVID-19 in-person recommendations from local health departments will be observed. 

To sign up, go to the library's event calendar and click on individual programs. 

3. Starting Sept. 12 - Attend Free, Public, In person*, Presentations - Public Presentations are free, in-person presentations (streaming available for most) on a variety of antiracism topics with local relevance. Having read Waking Up White is not a prerequisite for attending a presentation. COVID-19 in-person recommendations from local health departments will be observed. 

Visit event site for more details: www.laxwakingupwhite.com/waking-up-white-regional-read.html

Alfredo fundraiser

 

Water is Life - STOP LINE 3 Festival

 

Climate CODE RED

First, an updated on weighing in about how the city should spend American Recovery Act Funds. There is a detailed section of the May 17 Federal Register outlining what are and aren't acceptable uses for these funds. Acceptable would be weatherizing the heck (to net zero?) out of low-income housing or restoring funding for public services cut because of COVID (ahem, LIBRARY). Unacceptable, starting new programs that will require new funding to keep them going. Read it for yourself and then please complete the online forms to share your priorities.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has released its latest report and it can be (and has been) summed up in two words: CODE RED. 

"Within the next two decades, temperatures are likely to rise by more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, breaching the ambition of the 2015 Paris climate agreement, and bringing widespread devastation and extreme weather.

"Only rapid and drastic reductions in greenhouse gases in this decade can prevent such climate breakdown, with every fraction of a degree of further heating likely to compound the accelerating effects, according to the International Panel on Climate Change, the world’s leading authority on climate science." - Major climate changes inevitable and irreversible – IPCC’s starkest warning yet, The Guardian (UK), August 9

As many are pointing out, dire does not mean hopeless. We have the knowledge and the tools to make major changes immediately. While it's true that a huge chunk of emissions comes from a few large corporations, another huge chunk comes from our current "business as usual," and that can change if enough people make it change.

Our city and county are taking steps now to plan for climate action. The city has already put solar panels on buildings and will soon start an interactive climate plan process. The county is taking a similar path, led by County Board Chair Monica Kruse who clearly gets it.

There are some institutions that are ahead on climate action, like Gundersen Health Systems and Organic Valley, and there are some who haven't yet committed, like UW-L and the La Crosse School District. We need to let all our institutions and electeds know that we expect strong action now. In addtition, we should press for divestment as the UW Divestment Council and others in the state are doing. How many La Crosse foundations are divested from fossil fuels? 

Take action by contacting elected representatives to tell them how important this is. Demand that fossil fuel subsidies be stripped from legislation and that the Biden administration shuts down Line 3. Ask your school and workplace what their climate action plans are. Tell our local media that we want them to start giving at least as much coverage to the climate crisis as they do to high school sports. Work with divestment movements to ensure fossil fuel industries can't find funding. Promote clean, renewable energy solutions like walk/bike/transit programs and strong weatherization initiatives. Call out business as usual and demand climate action priorities and thinking.

Public input: public money, farmland preservation

The City of La Crosse is set to receive almost $22 million in American Recovery Act funding and they are inviting public comments on how to allocate it. 

"In May 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury launched the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund, established by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 to provide $350 billion in emergency funding for state, local, territorial and Tribal governments to respond to the COVID-19 emergency. 

"The City of La Crosse is expected to receive two separate funding allocations from the ARPA totaling $21,990,000. These dollars must be obligated by December 31, 2024, but actual payments can lag to December 31, 2026."

This is the bill Democrats passed first, after defeating the criminal Trump and securing the barest of Senate majorities, with zero Republican votes, to ensure those impacted by COVID would be able to recover. Funds are to be spent on infrastructure, payments to certain professions, support for hard-hit individuals and businesses, and public health.

The city has created three online surveys for your suggestions. In addition, anyone may email or call the City Council and Mayor about city business. 

Please participate. 

For example: 

Infrastructure, public health, and economic equity intersect, in the transportation realm, at "active transportation"--walking, biking, and public transport. What could our city be like if anyone of any age or ability (AAA) could *safely, comfortably, directly, and easily* walk or bike to appointments, school, work, shopping, social and recreational activities? What if some of our main streets had a totally separated and physically buffered lane for bicyclists OR were turned into car-free public spaces (Pearl Street)? 

What if you could count on the bus to take you every place you need and want to go whenever you want to go there and what if, just like with our public streets, our public transportation did not charge a "toll" to use it? We all pay for the streets, but they've been taken over by cars; speeding cars, polluting cars, dangerous cars, parked cars, and parked things pulled by cars, from trailers and boats to motor homes, canoe racks, and construction vehicles.

What if our streets were reworked to ensure that pedestrians, bicycling children, and people using wheelchairs and walkers could have equal access, safety, and comfort using them? What if we start transitioning to designing for people, not for cars?

There are so many fantastic models out there. Weigh in. If we're going to recover, let's recover to a better, healthier, more equitable community.

The County of La Crosse is asking for your ideas and input on county farmland preservation. This is part of the County's long range comprehensive plan. Please visit the comprehensive planning site at lacrossecounty.org/comprehensiveplan.(And don't forget to note the obvious - CAFOS and industrial animal products factories are incompatible with farmland preservation.)

Reminder: Advocate for PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

Ride the Scenic Mississippi Regional Transit (SMRT) bus from La Crosse to Viroqua for a day of sight-seeing, shopping, dining, and exploring. We’ll leave mid-morning from La Crosse. Jackie Eastwood, Transportation Planner with the La Crosse Area Planning Committee, will join us to talk about the SMRT and answer questions.

We’ll arrive in Viroqua at about 11 a.m. and you will choose what to do, where to go, and how long to stay There are two return trip options which have you back in La Crosse between 4:30 and 6:00 p.m. LATA will provide trip participants with talking points, so we can be SMRT advocates, too!

The bus costs $3 cash each way - pay with exact change on the bus. Bring your own lunch or eat at a restaurant. Other expenses will depend on what you choose to do, including

Driftless Books & Music		The Vernon County Museum ($)
Ewetopia		Parrish Music
Paper, Scissors, Stone		Second Time Around
The Drifting Boutique		Jaali's Dollies
Viroqua Public Market		Viroqua Food Co-op
Thoreau’s Garden		Gary's Rock Shop

and more!

Catch the SMRT Yellow Route to Viroqua:

•   9:48 - UWL (State St shelter between Iguana’s and Newman Center)     
•   9:54 - WTC (7th St. Academic Resources Center shelter)       
• 10:03 - Mayo Clinic shelter near building                         
• 10:08 - Gundersen Health (Founders’ Building entrance on 8th St.) 
• 10:16 - Shopko South

Return trip YOUR CHOICE:

• Yellow Route leaves at 3:24 p.m., back in La Crosse 4:22 - 4:50 p.m. or
  
• Blue Route leaves at 4:39 p.m., back in La Crosse 5:30 - 6:00 p.m.

THERE WILL BE WALKING or wheeling!

Wear comfortable walking shoes and dress for the weather.

Masks are required on public transportation.

Sign up by July 20: tinyurl.com/LATA2VIROQUA.

Questions? MTUFriends@hotmail.com or 608-315-2693

Black Student Leaders fundraiser

For more info, contact through Facebook page or call Hope Restores at 608-881-6418.

Second chance - SPEAK OUT FOR CLIMATE ACTION in the city budget

PLANET

 

 

MONEY

Only one person spoke about the fact that the proposed FIVE YEAR city budget has totally left out climate action at the public hearing on Monday, July 12.

You have a second chance to speak up. Please take it! If you need suggestions, please email couleeprogressive@hotmail.com.

If you cannot make this meeting, please EMAIL YOUR COMMENTS to the city council (zzcouncilmembers@cityoflacrosse.org) and mayor (reynoldsm@cityoflacrosse.org). 

---

Below are the links for the July 19, 2021 City Plan Commission Meeting at 6PM (Lifesize Planning Room #3). Members of the public may speak in person at the event or via the Lifesize link: https://call.lifesizecloud.com/9794361

Click to call from Mobile (audio only)   +1 (877) 422-8614,, 9794361#

Call in by Phone (audio only)   +1 (877) 422-8614

Meeting extension: 9794361#

To VIEW ONLY, click this link: https://stream.lifesizecloud.com/extension/9794361/0d016062-5436-4221-a814-2adab70cb22e

This meeting will also be held in person at the South Side Neighborhood Center - 1300 6^th St S, La Crosse, WI 54601.

July 19, 2021 Meeting Agenda:

http://cityoflacrosse.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&ID=873994&GUID=51BF6AF4-20B9-4D37-8117-3375067AA2B2

July 12, 2021 Meeting Minutes:

http://cityoflacrosse.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=M&ID=873993&GUID=318BE197-F0A2-4362-A131-47AC4EB9FDC9

Learn more about the budget here::

https://www.cityoflacrosse.org/your-government/departments/finance/budget/capital-improvement/2022-capital-budget

Fair Maps - July 18

 

The Wisconsin Fair Maps Coalition is working to end gerrymandering and fight for fair maps in Wisconsin's redistricting process, and we are doing our part! For the Our Wisconsin Revolution - La Crosse Chapter July Meeting, we will be joined by Abby from Wisconsin Conservation Voters who will lead us in mapping communities of interest as part of the process! 

To join this virtual meeting and mapping workshop, REGISTER HERE and the zoom link will be emailed to you!

Can't make it? Check out this helpful video to walk you through creating your own community of interest map, and be sure to follow the Wisconsin Fair Maps Coalition on Facebook to stay involved! 

Young Climate Leaders

 From WI Conservation Voters:

All across Wisconsin, young activists and community leaders are urging their communities to take climate action. Next Wednesday, July 14 from 6 to 7 p.m. you'll have a chance to hear from some of Wisconsin's leading voices in the fight against climate change. Our panelists' goals touch nearly every facet of addressing climate change, from pushing for fossil fuel divestment to state policy writing and creating local awareness about the effects of climate change here in Wisconsin.

Panelists include:

• Amanjot Kaur | Sunrise Movement Brookfield
• Molly McGuire | UW Divestment Coalition
• Nada Elmikashfi |Chief of Staff to Rep. Francesca Hong
• Stephanie Salgado | Youth Climate Action Team

We all stand to learn so much from leaders like our panelists, who are organizing and engaging decision makers at every level of government to protect their communities from the threats of climate change. To RSVP and save your spot, click here.

Wolf heart

 

“Who can’t see this decimation of the wolf as part of the continuing war on Indigenous cultures? What is happening to the wolf is a social justice issue for Indigenous people. The wolf has a vital role in so many of our cultures - in our clans, our songs, our ceremonies. Yet, our voices are ignored. Whenever the voices of any people are silenced, it is suppression. We are the First People of this land but always the last to be heard.” - Crystle Lightning, award-winning actress (Yellowstone/Trickster) and narrator of “Family.”  Ask Interior Secretary Haaland to protect gray wolves in response to requests from numerous Tribal Nations, Indigenous spiritual leaders and others. Gray wolves are still recovering across the lower 48 states, and are missing from the vast majority of their historic habitat. This year, several states have passed legislation or implemented management decisions that could push the species back to the brink of extinction. In Wisconsin, a February hunt resulted in the death of at least 216 wolves in just 60 hours, far exceeding the state’s allowed quota. In Montana and Idaho, governors recently signed a slew of bills aimed at reducing wolf populations by 80% and 90%, respectively. The laws enshrine unethical practices including lethal neck snaring, use of motorized vehicles to chase and kill wolves, baiting, spotlighting at night and other extreme measures. Significant reductions in Northern Rockies wolf populations means that healthy wolf populations will never be re-established in the Pacific Northwest and other places, as there will not be enough wolves to disperse across the landscape and form new packs in new areas.  In 2019, 120 Tribal Nations signed the “The Wolf: A Treaty of Cultural and Environmental Survival” to urge the U.S. government to protect wolves from extinction. However, the Trump administration’s decision to remove Endangered Species protections from gray wolves in the lower 48 states was formulated without the legally-mandated thorough and meaningful government-to-government consultation with Tribal Nations, and thus violates the federal-Indian trust responsibility.  The world is facing a mass extinction and biodiversity crisis. Under the Biden administration and Secretary Haaland's leadership, we can combat the loss of species, protect wildlife, and save nature.   SEND MY MESSAGE "Family" - A new short film asking Secretary Haaland to relist the wolf under the Endangered Species Act.