Table for river protection

From Kathryn at Sustain Our River:

We need to keep advocating for our federal agencies and NGOs because this is the budget debate time. Oct 1st is the new budget for 2026. 

I am asking for people to take shifts this weekend for 1-2 hours to table at the Bass Tournament inside Loggers Field at Copeland Park on Saturday and Sunday  Contact 

I have been to another bass tournament and it was like a festival. At our booth we will be asking people to sign petition, letter, and/or postcard to restore federal funds to USGS Science Center on French Island and Fish and Wildlife Service for the Refuge.  We have a some photo booth fun planned also. We will be inside Loggers stadium which sounds good to me because they have real bathrooms! No mud because we're on astro turf!

Read more about it at https://www.facebook.com/events/662573706869136 

Duties: 

• If you can, bring some individual wrapped candy to give out.
• Wear a name tag from your group, if you have one.
• Wear a PFD if you like—as a way to indicate we are a group. The life jacket is intended to add fun and bring attention to our booth

At the booth:  Fish and waterfowl mounts,  petitions, letters to sign, postcards to sign, and photo booth fun 

Questions: Contact Sue Schultz 608-792-0931 or Marc Schultz 608-792-1445 or Kathryn 608 780-0607

Climate Action Now

From the Sierra Club:

If you’ve been thinking about going solar, buying an electric vehicle, or upgrading your home with cleaner, more affordable energy -- now is the time to act.

Federal clean energy tax credits are still available -- but not for long.

Don't miss out on savings for solar, heat pumps, electric vehicles (EVs),

and more!

With the clean energy tax credits, choosing rooftop solar, heat pumps, or electric vehicles can save you thousands of dollars up front -- while helping lower your monthly energy bills for years to come. Switching to clean energy will also protect clean energy and manufacturing jobs, reduce air and water pollution, and make our energy grid more reliable.    Unfortunately, Trump's disastrous budget law is eliminating tax credits that make this clean energy switch affordable, and many of these federal incentives have new deadlines that expire soon. There are just a few months left to access these benefits, so you need to act fast before it's too late! EV Credits: Federal tax credits for eligible vehicles are available through September 30, 2025, with up to $7,500 for new vehicles and $4,000 for used vehicles. EV Charger Credit: Looking to install a home charger? Get up to $1,000 back on your taxes until June 30, 2026. Residential Clean Energy Credits: Claim 30% of the total cost of solar panels, battery storage, and geothermal systems if you buy by December 31, 2025.  Energy Efficient Home Upgrade Credits: Make home energy upgrades, like insulation, windows, or efficient electric appliances, by December 31, 2025 to claim the credit. Heat pump systems: up to $2,000 in credits for energy-efficient heating and cooling. Insulation, air sealing, and weatherization: up to $1,200. Electrical panel upgrades: up to $600 to support electric appliances and EV chargers. Home energy audits: up to $150 to help identify where you can save the most on energy costs. ### If you live in the City of La Crosse and meet Focus on Energy income requirements, you may be eligible for free upgrades including an energy audit, sealing and insulating, upgrades to electrical service, and heat pumps. For a family of one, gross income, line 9 on the 1040 form, must be at or below $60,150. See this page for more details about income eligibility: https://focusonenergy.com/income-qualified and read more about the city's partnership with the award-winning Green Homeowners United here: https://www.greenhomewi.com/lax La Crosse County residents can still join the Grow Solar group buy program to have solar installed on your home or business with reduced-price, bought in bulk, panels. There's a virtual Solar Power Hour information session on September 17. Sign up for info and a free assessment here: https://www.growsolar.org/la-crosse/

New Community Review Board Form

From La Crosse County

Civilian Review Board Launches Community Form

The La Crosse County Civilian Review Board (CRB) has launched a new Community Report Form, offering residents a safe and accessible way to share personal experiences with law enforcement. The form is now live at lacrossecounty.org/crb. Purpose: Created to support transparency, healing, and accountability, the form is part of the CRB’s mission to strengthen public trust through advocacy, outreach, and data collection. Residents can use it to describe interactions with law enforcement that left them feeling harmed, disrespected, profiled, or unheard. Reports may be submitted anonymously and are not shared with law enforcement unless requested by the person submitting. “This isn’t about assigning blame or determining guilt—it’s about creating a space for people to be heard,” said members of the CRB. “When people feel silenced or dismissed after an encounter with law enforcement, they need somewhere to turn. This form is one way to start that conversation.” About the CRB: The CRB does not conduct investigations, impose discipline, or override law enforcement decisions. It is an independent, community-based body formed by the La Crosse County Board following the recommendations of a Study Committee that included law enforcement, judicial representatives, social workers, educators, and community members. How Information is Used: Data from the forms will be used to identify trends and guide discussions with public safety partners. The CRB meets monthly. As appropriate, it shares anonymized data with the La Crosse County Judiciary and Law Committee and participating law enforcement agencies: the La Crosse County Sheriff’s Office, La Crosse Police Department, and Onalaska Police Department. Annual reports will be published to support ongoing transparency and community education. Learn more at lacrossecounty.org/crb.

August 27 - Brad Pfaff Corn Roast

It's time for Brad Pfaff's Annual Old-Fashioned Corn Roast! with guests  Rep. Ro Khanna, Lt. Governor Sara Rodriguez, and many more! 

Wednesday, August 27 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the La Crosse Interstate Fairgrounds in West Salem!

Contributions gratefully accepted (but not required) here!

Stop letting businesses put pig poop in our water

From Crawford Stewardship Project:

Help stop another preemption of local control!  Our Wisconsin legislature is threatening to make CAFO Operations Ordinances illegal...we need all hands on deck to stop this!

This is a call to support the efforts of Sustain Rural Wisconsin Network (SRWN) to protect local control at the statewide level. Crawford Stewardship Project is a co-founding member of SRWN, a statewide coalition of partners working to hold Big Industrial Ag accountable for their impacts on our family farms and rural communities.

Our communities have the inherent right to self-governance in defense of public health and safety. Current regulatory structures for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) have a singular focus on water quality, (and even that is lacking), leaving it up to local governments to protect public priorities including air quality, biosecurity, fire safety, disaster-mitigation, property values, road impacts, etc.  A growing number of Wisconsin counties and townships have put protections in place by passing Operations Ordinances. These are not bans, but through extensive study and public debate between area stakeholders Operations Ordinances put protections in place that have passed in both liberal and conservative municipalities. They are a basic and appropriate exercise of our democratic process and local control.  Operations Ordinances raise the bar on industrial livestock operations by asking them to address community concerns and behave as good neighbors. Big Ag's Madison lobbyists want to outlaw local ordinances, and they've tried this before: last year SRWN stopped the state from making these ordinances illegal through a concerted campaign that resulted in 900+ messages to the Governor!  Good work team! We need to pull together again. With your support, SRWN can retain our own lobbyist to help make our rural voices heard in Madison and protect our health and property. Grassroots action has gotten us far, but a lobbyist helps make sure we can be at all the right meetings, have an inside scoop on the Capitol as things develop, and can go in to meetings with all the insights we need to be effective.  Whereas CSP works primarily at the local level, SRWN is a coalition of grassroots groups working to take our local voices to the state level in Madison. SRWN has a statewide goal of raising $10k to retain a lobbyist, you can click here to contribute to SRWN's work protecting Operations Ordinances from current threats at the state level.