Climate Day of Action

The Union of Concerned Scientists AND Citizen Action of Widconsin invite you to join a clmate day of action hosted by Citizen Action of Wisconsin and the Midwest Building Decarbonization Coalition.

Join the Wisconsin Climate Day of Action at Capitol in Madison next month to advocate for investing in clean energy jobs, protecting our health, and guaranteeing the right to a safe and sustainable future.

Science advocates like you will have the opportunity to speak directly with elected officials, share your story, and advocate for affordable energy, clean air and water, and an actionable climate plan that puts people first.

Wisconsin Climate Day of Action at Capitol
Tuesday, November 11
9:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. CT
Wisconsin State Capitol, 2 E Main St., Madison

RSVP now for the day of action!

The day will be centered around energy accountability and affordability, specifically these three key priorities:

• Climate Accountability Act—to create a Wisconsin climate plan
• Green Amendment—to establish a constitutional right to clean air and water
• 2% Utility Rate Cap—to keep bills affordable for Wisconsin households

All lobby day attendees will have a preparation session and then a scheduled visit with their elected officials in both the House and Senate. The day will include a light breakfast, briefings and lobby training, testimony prep time, a press event with guest speakers, scheduled lobby visits, and lunch.

Don't wait—take a minute to RSVP now! We hope to see you there.

Save the Northside Library

November 4 at 4 p.m. at the Main Library auditorium,  there is a public input session before the Library Board regarding their plans for 2026. Due to budget issues they are considering closing the North Side Library.

Library Director Dawn Wacek recently appeared on WIZM to discuss the issue. Listen hear. According to the WIZM summary, "One of those options is to close the north side library branch. Other options include cuts to staff, services and hours — all of which may likely happen, regardless of the fate of the north branch library." [emphasis added]

The North Side Library may serve fewer people than the main branch, but it is an important community "third space" that helps strengthen the neighborhood. This area of La Crosse is also a high non-driver area (in some block groups, 40% or more are non-drivers) meaning if the neighborhood space closes, chances are good people will not use the far away alternative. With hourly evening bus service the transit "time tax" would be too great.

Many individuals and some groups have offered to volunteer to keep this space open if personnel costs are an issue (they are). Some of us grew up during a time when there were only one or two librarians and some volunteer helpers who shelved books, helped you find something to read, and checked you out. For many, that is preferable to having no library or one that is not accessible.

Of course if you work or have no car, Tuesday at 4 p.m. is not the greatest chance to give feedback. This library is accessibke using the MTU at least.

If you can't attend the meeting, please email using the Library Board's feedback form and/or sending emails to the director and board members. Find that information here: https://www.lacrosselibrary.org/about/boards

Immigration

From League of Women Voters: 

Issues surrounding immigration are much in the news and producing a wide spectrum of public responses. The LWV has identified Immigration as a social issue to impact through education and advocacy. Please join us for November’s Lunch and Learn when we welcome Ben Sonsalla, Immigrant Advocate for Catholic Charities. Ben will present an overview of immigration in the US, current issues in the Coulee Region, his work with Catholic Charities, and suggestions for actions we can take to support our neighbors who are immigrant workers.

Registration will reserve lunch and provide a Zoom link for virtual attendance. The public is welcome to join us for lunch or at no cost to attend the 12:00 p.m. program only. A recording of the program will be posted on our website a few days after the live event.

Lunches must be reserved and paid for by the end of the day Wednesday, 11/5. Pre-paid lunches are nonrefundable.

Save the SMRT

From La Crosse Area Transit Advocates:

At the September 8 La Crosse County Board planning meeting, the County Administrator recommended ending the four-county Scenic Mississippi Regional Transit service (SMRT) at the end of 2025 citing low ridership and a budget deficit.

Since December 2012, this rural public transit system has been available to serve not only tens of thousands of non-drivers, including seniors, youth, people with disabilities, those who can't afford to own a car, and members of the Amish communitiy, but also many others who prefer the SMRT because it is safer, more social, and less expensive than driving - students, workers, patients, people going to visit friends and family, shoppers, and those connecting with Amtrak.

We believe the proposal to end the SMRT has been made without enough concern for these riders and the far-reaching benefits of the service and without enough research into how the system could be improved to address the issues outlined. We strongly urge the County Board to fund the SMRT in 2026. 

We encourage everyone who understands that public transportation is an essential right to sign our petition, contact our County Board, and, if possible, attend a public hearing to speak for the SMRT.

Information about SMRT

• 2013 SMRT begins - Wisconsin Public Radio story, interview with Peter Fletcher
• 2021 Article: Success Story - RideSMRT: Increasing Transportation Options in Rural Areas
• Connecting Rural Communities - SMRT Bus celebrates 10 years (2022)
• Peter Fletcher describes SMRT at Sustainability Chat (2023)
• La Crosse County's SMRT page

You can listen to the audio of the September 8 County Board planning meeting where the plan to stop the SMRT at the end of 2025 was presented (starts at 31:09). The minutes of the meeting are here; they include a summary of some of the numbers mentioned in the audio. The presentation slides are here. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vEkG_8xSI7dHoNZ_bD66BhyGuDjqRX26/view?usp=sharing

If you haven't yet, please sign the petition at https://tinyurl.com/savethesmrt

Please contact - meeting, phone call, or email - your county board representative. Your personal SMRT story will have an impact. If you can't meet with your rep. in person or by phone, please email CountyBoardSupervisors@LaCrosseCounty.org

Ask your organization, club, faith group to send a letter supporting the SMRT, too!

IF YOU CAN, PLEASE COME TO AND SPEAK AT the THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6 SMRT PUBLIC HEARING

AT 4:30 p.m. at the County Administration Building, 7th & State Street, La Crosse

AND/OR the

MONDAY NOVEMBER 10 Budget Hearing at 5 p.m.(full board will be there) 

 

 If you plan to speak, please arrive BEFORE the meeting start time to sign in!

Learn more about the issue at https://tinyurl.com/savethesmrtpage

Native American Heritage Month

Here are a few online opportunities for learning, connecting, supporting.

Native American Heritage Month resources from the American Writers Museum.

Gather (2020) - GATHER follows the stories of natives on the frontlines of a growing movement to reconnect with spiritual and cultural identities that were devastated by genocide.

Alaska's Vanishing Native Villages (2025) - A look inside Alaska Native villages fighting for survival against climate change. With the Howard Center at ASU, FRONTLINE examines why communities are relocating and why they’re struggling to preserve their traditions.

Native Nations - From Ancient Cities to Today. Tuesday, November 4 at noon. 

In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, award-winning historian Kathleen DuVal discusses her new book, Native Nations: A Millennium in North America, tracing a thousand years of Native history—from the rise of ancient cities and the arrival of Europeans to today’s ongoing fights for sovereignty. Thomas Donnelly, chief scholar of the National Constitution Center, moderates.

Register for link: https://constitutioncenter.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DfZUJxoZQ1u8OCNKXcEdpA#/registration

Menominee Lands and Ways of Knowing, November 6 at Noon. 

Dr. Annie Jones and Jennifer K. Gauthier will share historical and contemporary information about Menominee lands as well as about Menominee knowledge systems that have been passed down for generations. Understanding place and relationships to the environment are at the heart of Menominee ways of knowing. A few guiding systems and their contemporary applications will be shared. Register: https://www.wiwic.org/event-details/native-american-heritage-webinar-series-menominee-lands-and-ways-of-knowing

Menominee Agriculture from Past to Future. Thursday, Nov 13 at Noon. Miranda Wasinawatok will share archaeological insights shaped by both personal experience and academic training to highlight the significance of Menominee agriculture in Wisconsin. While earlier narratives framed ancestral Menominee as primarily hunter-gatherers, archaeological evidence has supported a long-standing agricultural tradition, which Miranda has been fortunate to witness in reshaping understanding. Miranda will discuss how the archaeological record informs strategies for food sovereignty and strengthens connections to ancestral knowledge. Register: https://www.wiwic.org/event-details/native-american-heritage-webinar-series-menominee-agriculture-from-past-to-future

The Menominee Forest - History, Managemamebt and Cultural Burns. Thursday, November 20 at Noon. This presentation explores the techniques the Menominee use today to maintain the health and productivity of the Menominee forest. It will also examine the tribe’s complex history of government interactions, the historical and current use of fire, and past management practices that have shaped the Menominee Forest into what it is today. Come and listen to McKaylee Duquain as she presents on the history of the Menominee forests and the current management of the forests. Register: https://www.wiwic.org/event-details/native-american-heritage-webinar-series-the-menominee-forest/form