Current and coming events

There are many events coming up that will help us build and grow a strong, diverse, caring community.  PRIDE in the Park, last weekend, is a great model for community and inclusion.  Here are two more:

The community is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with programs, speakers, and concerts at UWL, Viterbo, and the La Crosse Public Library starting September 20 and continuing through mid-October.

Learn more at this UWL web page: https://www.uwlax.edu/calendar/?e=31043

 

Hmong New Year will be September 21 & 22 at Veterans' Memorial County Park near West Salem. Get all the details at the HCCC Facebook page.

-ALL GENERAL PARKING is $30 at the La Crosse Speedway, Interstate Fair Grounds

-PARKING AT VETRERANS MEMORIAL PARK IS FOR PRE-PAID, RESERVED PRIORITY PARKING FOR ONLY VENDORS, ATHLETES, DANCE, STAFF, AND VOLUNTEERS! WILL OPEN UP TO PUBLIC WHEN AND IF PARKING IS AVAILABLE!!  

 

You can reach Vets Park by bicycle on the La Crosse River State Trail OR along the Highway 16 multiuse trail that connects Valley View Mall to West Salem.

Week Without Driving (September 30 through October 6) is a national event that encourages us to consider our transportation environment, how it affects millions of non-drivers, and how it could be better. Take the WWD Challenge - try to go a week without driving a personal vehicle - OR participate in our local WWD Bingo. MTU fares will be FREE during the week. Fares on the SMRT are FREE ON October 1 with a WWD Bingo Card!

 

Local WWD events include 

- an online book talk hosted by the La Crosse Public Library-

- a day trip on the Scenic Mississippi Regional Transit bus from La Crosse to Prairie du Chien

- an informal Transit Talk at the October 4 Cameron Park Farmers Market

- a Transit to Trails event hosted by the Coulee Region Sierra Club

- a Teaching Safe Biking clinic hosted by the Wisconsin Bike Fed

Learn more about these and other local events at https://tinyurl.com/LaXWWD24.

Taking a break

 

We are taking a break during August. I will try to update the calendar occasionally. Vote.

Watch the meteor showers.

Predicted peak: The peak is predicted for August 12, 2024, at 14:00 UTC. So the mornings of August 11, 12 and 13 are probably your best bet.

When to watch: The moon will be a 1st quarter and 50% illuminated during 2024’s peak of the Perseid meteor shower. So the best time to watch for Perseids will be starting around midnight until dawn. This shower rises to a peak gradually, then falls off rapidly. And Perseid meteors tend to strengthen in number as late night deepens into the wee hours before dawn. The shower is often best just before dawn.

Bicyclists are not squirrels

As the city of La Crosse prepares to pass its new Bike/Ped master plan, we can celebrate a step forward in making spaces safer for those who walk and cycle AND we can be frustrated that many previous plans meant to make walking & biking safer and more comfortable are still sitting unfinished on a shelf (next to the many plans promising better bus service). And we can wonder why making relatively small changes takes so long and must be studied seemingly indefinitely.

Not only do these delays and slow-walking of  needed changes mean fewer children will grow up riding bikes for transportation and fewer adults will ride because there are not safe places on busy direct-route streets, they also mean more people who do ride are at risk of injury or death from speeding, inattentive, sometimes hostile drivers.

On August 11, in Colorado and virtually, there will be a ride in honor of a cyclist killed by a car for lack of good infrastructure and for lack of appropriate  penalties for drivers all across the country. (Let's face it, drivers  speed and text and drive aggressively because, in many states, hitting a squirrel or a bicyclist with a car is treated about the same.)

Read the story of Magnus and why many national groups are taking up this cause from Streetsblog. 

"Shortly after Magnus died, the Colorado Department of Transportation announced the emergency installation of rumble strips on the road where he was killed, which despite being known locally as the 'Diagonal Highway' or Colorado 119, [Magnus' father] Michael says counts among Boulder's most popular cycling routes. That announcement was soon followed by a star-studded press conference in which Gov. Jared Polis and Sen. John Hickenlooper appeared personally to unveil plans for a new protected bike lane along the stretch.

"A roadside memorial for the site where Magnus White died is viewable on Google Maps.

"Michael spoke at the event as well, but his comments weren't all celebratory. He'd been told that because of the challenges of finding funding and approving a design for the project, the bike lane would take a total 16 years to complete — nearly as long as Magnus's life on Earth."

If you happen to be in Colorado on August 11, join the ride in person, but if not, join the virtual ride (instructions here) and then pay attention to our local plan - what's there and what's left out and what's already been sitting on the shelf - and push for better.

It's Walz. Let's go.

On Monday's @Progs4Harris organizing call, more than 100,000 people heard from politicians, union leaders, social justice organizers, anti-war activists, climate action advocates, students, elders, workers, parents, DNC uncommitted delegates, and more about why this election is make or break, life or death for the causes and programs we have been working for for decades. 

Now, the ticket is set with today's announcement that Minnesota governor Tim Walz will be the vice presidential candidate. And, it seems they are finally listening to people who want a robust, real campaign that speaks to the issues people feel.

Time is short and stakes are huge. 

Michael Moore gives a how-to lesson in his podcast episode, 93 Days to a Better World. Gaslit Nation has teamed up with Indivisible and Sister District to do weekly phone banking into "Republican-hostage states," and has a new, updated 2024 Survival Guide with many more actions and ideas. Third Act, Progressive Tunrnout Project, Vote Forward, and other groups facilitate postcards and letters to voters programs to increase voter turnout. And the Harris campaign has donation and volunteer info at it's web site.

Progress 2025 must trump Project 2025. Bodily autonomy for women must win over governmental menstrual surveillance. Stronger climate action has to kill off drill, baby, drill. Fair taxes and enforcement has to beat more tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations. Full, protected LGBTQ+ rights have to prevail over plans to "gut queer and trans rights." Addressing the immigration issues at their source must not yield to xenophobia, lies, and hate. Union and worker rights have to be upheld, democratic institutions strengthened, and fair elections protected.

Act now before it's too late.

More: https://www.progressivesforharris.com

August 7 - 19th Century Black La Crosse

 

Learn about the rich history of Black Americans in the La Crosse area during the 19th century at this Enduring Families Project program at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, August 7 at the La Crosse Public Library. 

Registration link coming soon!