January 20, 2026 News Update
Empower Voters, Defend Democracy
The League shall not support or oppose any political party or candidate. | Welcome to 2026! We've got a lot of work ahead.
This is an exciting year with three elections ahead! Mark your calendars and make a commitment to vote in every election this year. Your participation makes all the difference. Make sure your friends vote too!
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April 7 - Spring Election
August 11 - Partisan Primary
November 3 - General Election
Make sure your voter registration is up to date: Visit myvote.wi.gov
Find important deadlines for the Spring Primary and Spring election here: Voter Deadlines
Want to vote by mail? Request your absentee ballot. | Know Your Protest Rights
January 22, 2026 6-7:30 pm
Webinar by ACLU of Wisconsin | As First Amendment Rights are under attack, it is important for us to know our constitutional rights in order to express our ability to exercise those rights, including the right to protest the actions of our elected and government officials. This training aims to provide education and resources related to protesting and safely exercising your right to do so under the First Amendment.
Register* to join us on Thursday, January 22nd via Zoom Webinar.
*By registering for this training you are acknowledging and agreeing to all community guidelines upheld by the ACLU of Wisconsin.
Respect ALL shared experiences as presented:
—Personal details shared here stays here -- no screen shots or video recording
—What's learned here, leaves here responsibly and with care
—No use of inappropriate language, hate speech, unproductive comments
If any of these incidents occur, the training will be paused and individuals will be removed.
Understand that this training does not constitute legal counsel and is for education purposes only
Please note: The material presented in these trainings are geared towards an adult audience. If you are a young person or parent of a young person who may be interested in participating in this training, please feel free to reach out to development-engagement@aclu-wi.org prior to registering.
Date and Time
Thursday, January 22, 2026, 6:00 PM until 7:30 PM
Location
Zoom Webinar (link to be sent the morning of the event)
Community Event
Registration is required
| Meet & Greet
February 5, 2026
Java Vino - 4:30 to 6:30 pm | Please click on the link to RSVP to this event. There is no charge, we just need to let Java Vino have some idea of how many people may attend and plan for staff, etc.
| February 11 , 2026
6:30 pm - 8 pm
Webinar - sign up below |  | With the dramatic increase of AI applications, cloud services, and crypto-mining, data centers are proliferating across the country (and world), and Wisconsin is not immune. Data centers promise to be a boon to local economies, including employment opportunities and large increases in local tax revenues. And yet there are questions. What we do know from locations that now have data centers is that there are a number of concerns that should be addressed sooner rather than later. The questions include whether there will be long-term employment opportunities vs near-term construction jobs, demand on local water resources and the impact on local electrical capacity. Local revenues are also questionable at this point since current locations with data centers have not recouped the promised resources. In addition to these questions, there are additional concerns that have been pushed into the background like noise and light pollution, increased electrical bills, ecological degradation.
In a recent WPR article [3], which is one of several over the past 6 months or so, it was noted that concerned citizens were raising the alarm and criticizing the non-disclosure agreement over a proposed $1.6B data center in Menomonie for which the City Council has already annexed and rezoned around 300 acres of farmland. The city estimates that the data center would use about 75,000 gallons of water per day. Data centers typically feature non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) that may obscure energy and water designs and usage. In a recent report [4], it was noted that “Researchers in Virginia found that at least 80% of local governments that approved or were considering data center projects had signed NDAs with the companies involved.” This means that a lot of negotiations and information are out of local community hands.
Registration is required for this webinar presentation, a collaborative event of increased interest.
| La Crosse Healthcare Townhall
February 4, 2026
Black River Beach Community Center | Join Aron Newberry for a Healthcare Town Hall. We'll share healthcare stories and discuss how we can fight for affordable, accessible care for all. It's a great chance to connect with neighbors who care about fixing our broken healthcare system.
I look forward to seeing you all there!
Aron Newberry, Driftless Region Organizer
Black River Beach Neighborhood Center-La Crosse
1433 Rose St.
Wednesday, February 4
6:00-7:30 PM
All links to other websites are provided for the public convenience only. LWVLA exercises no control of the information or opinions contained on such sites. Provision of these links on the LWVLA site does not indicate an endorsement of their contents by LWVLA . | January Book Club
January 26, 2026 |  | Turning away from the privileged world of the "eminent Victorians," Gertrude Bell (1868—1926) explored, mapped, and excavated the world of the Arabs. Recruited by British intelligence during World War I, she played a crucial role in obtaining the loyalty of Arab leaders, and her connections and information provided the brains to match T. E. Lawrence's brawn. After the war, she played a major role in creating the modern Middle East and was, at the time, considered the most powerful woman in the British Empire.
In this masterful biography, Janet Wallach shows us the woman behind these achievements–a woman whose passion and defiant independence were at odds wit the confined and custom-bound England she left behind. Too long eclipsed by Lawrence, Gertrude Bell emerges at last in her own right as a vital player on the stage of modern history, and as a woman whose life was both a heartbreaking story and a grand adventure.
~ Goodreads
Monday, January 26, 2026, 6:30 PM until 8:00 PM
RiverPlace Apartments meeting room
1 Riverplace Dr.
La Crosse, WI 54601
| February Book Club
February 23, 2026 | Her beauty almost certainly saved her from the rising Nazi party and led to marriage with an Austrian arms dealer. Underestimated in everything else, she overheard the Third Reich's plans while at her husband's side and understood more than anyone would guess. She devised a plan to flee in disguise from their castle, and the whirlwind escape landed her in Hollywood. She became Hedy Lamarr, screen star.
But she kept a secret more shocking than her heritage or her marriage: she was a scientist. And she had an idea that might help the country fight the Nazis and revolutionize modern communication...if anyone would listen to her.
A novel based on the true story of the glamour icon and scientist whose groundbreaking invention revolutionized modern communication.
| LWV La Crosse Vote411 Team
Join our volunteer team! Vote411 (www.vote411,org) is committed to ensuring voters have the information they need to successfully participate in every election. LWV La Crosse publishes non-partisan voter information for La Crosse County for local elections such as country . city council, municipal and town boards, and school boards.
Vote411 volunteers commit a few hours in mid-February to personally email contact and invite about ten local candidates to participate in our local Vote411 election guide. Volunteers receive candidate contact information and messaging materials. Contact Deb Lutjen and Ina Felsheim if you would like more information or would like to join our team. Vote411@lwvlacrosse.org.
To see all our teams follow this link | Keep It Going: Civics Champions
An Opportunity to Engage
Reply by Friday, January 23 | Since the December Lunch & Learn Program on civics education, several members have expressed interest in keeping this topic alive and learning more. Kathie Tyser, Chris Haskell, and Nora Garland are proposing a "follow-up study/interest group." If you are interested in exploring possibilities, please contact us by Friday, January 23 at voterservices@lwvlacrosse.org
Sample topics that have been mentioned are:
1. Learn more about the Wisconsin Civics Games
2. Learn more about the News Literacy Project - perhaps offer a community session on media literacy, including misinformation and disinformation.
3. Provide a resource webpage for area teachers on local opportunities for student civic engagement. | Observer Corps and League Lens | Read news from local sources. Find the latest League Lens here. Our observer corps continues to provide important information about government in action. Our page can be found at the link below. Be more engaged in how our local communities work.
| Sparta Free Library
Our Constitutional Crisis
Feb. 2, 9, and 16 | The Sparta Free Library will show each of the three segments of the Issues Briefing 2025. The dates and times are listed on their website, and here, for your convenience.
February 2 - 1:00 to 3:00 pm - Executive Branch
February 9 - 1:00 to 3:00 pm - Legislative Branch
February 16 - 1:00 to 3:00 pm - Judicial Branch
There is no cost and no registration. Please consider using this opportunity to see these important briefings if you have not done so before.
Sparta Free Library
124 West Main St
608-269-20I0
spartalibrary.org | April 7, 2026 Election
Wisconsin Supreme Court
Interview with Maria Lazar February 4 |  | Interview with candidate Chris Taylor was held December 6, 2025.
Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJeU1WjBUSU
Interview with candidate Maria Lazar
Wednesday, February 4, 2026
5:00 to 6:30 p.m.
This event will be in the Harvey Hall Theater, UW Stout campus, 721 Third Street East, Menomonie, WI 54751.
Candidate Chris Taylor is currently Judge of the WI Court of Appeals for District IV, based in Madison.
Maria Lazar is Judge of the WI Court of Appeals for District II, based in Waukesha.
If other candidates emerge for the open position on the WI Supreme Court, we'll invite them to interview as well.
Event co-sponsors are the Menard Center for the Study of Institutions and Innovation at UW-Stout, Community Conversations of Northwest Wisconsin, and League of Women Voters-St. Croix Valley Chapter.
Livestream by Eye on Dunn County, an online community news website: Maria Lazar - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGD4t6HuDEA
Questions are welcome at morlockjan@gmail.com.
Clicking on the link above for Maria Lazar will enable you to set a reminder to watch on the day if you wish to. | League of Women Voters of Wisconsin
asking for volunteer election observers. | LWVWI is now recruiting election observers to monitor the April 7 Election. We'd love it if you could help recruit observers by sharing this information with your networks. This is going to be a wild year, and it'll be so important to have election observers around the state ready to defend voters' rights. Any help you provide helping spread the word is appreciated. Below is a sample blurb you can use and the link to where people can find more information about the opportunity.
We need your help. LWVWI is recruiting volunteers from across the state to serve as election observers for the April 7th Election. Volunteer election observers help ensure we have a fair election by watching for signs of voter disenfranchisement and intimidation, and by monitoring the way Wisconsin’s election laws and procedures are being applied. Even if you only have a couple of hours on Election Day, you can still make a difference. Sign up to be an election observer today!
Learn more and sign up to volunteer here: Sign Up Here
Note: Volunteer sign up will close on March 16th.
| Please Help
WisEye Fundraiser | WisconsinEye Launches GoFundMe Campaign
For the past 18 years, WisconsinEye Public Affairs Network has provided a window into the workings of Wisconsin's state government, including thousands of hours of spin-free coverage of news conferences, interviews, campaigns, elections, and related civic events. WisconsinEye's funding is no longer sustainable and they need to raise a critical $250,000 to allow state Capitol programming to resume.
If you value WisconsinEye’s window into state government, please consider joining the movement to save WisconsinEye.
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Unite and Rise 8.5
League of Women Voters Wisconsin
| | Stepping up to run for office is one of the most powerful ways to shape the future of your community. Local leaders drive real change, our democracy is strongest when new voices and fresh perspectives show up. If you’ve ever thought “I wish things were different,” this is your chance to be that change. We’ve got the tools and resources to help you get started. Find the LWVWI Run for Office Toolkit HERE. | Empower voters. Defend democracy.
| Help Spread the Word
Like, Follow, and Share Our Content on Social Media: | Contact Us:
website: lwvlacrosse.org
email: lwvlawi@gmail.com
PO Box 363
La Crosse, WI 54601
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