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Observer Corps
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The League has been a champion of government transparency since our founding in 1920. It is one of our core principles and a vital part of our mission.

Members of our local League’s Observer Corps (OC) volunteer to monitor local government boards and committees. Their purpose is to understand and shine a light on issues of importance to our area, especially those related to positions adopted by the LWV of Wisconsin. The League Lens shares a snapshot of what is happening in county, municipal, and school district governance as reported by our OC members.

We welcome new members to our Observer Corps team. If you have an interest in observing a La Crosse area government entity—municipal, county, or school district—visit our Observer Corps page for more information about how to get involved.

JULY 2025 LEAGUE LENS

Virginia Crank, Editor - 8/9/2025

School District of La Crosse Board of Education: July 21 Video

The July La Crosse School Board meeting offered an overview of the new Equalization Aid program which aims to maintain educational quality across the state by reducing inequities based on where children go to school. This reduction would be achieved through the creation of a fund that is split across the state’s 421 school districts using a formula that includes each district’s student enrollment and property values. The intention is that the poorest districts receive the largest share of the fund and the wealthiest receive the least.

The Board also heard a report on the District’s Youth Apprenticeship Program which offers high school juniors and seniors the chance to both work in a potential career and earn course credit. The program offers 16 career exploration pathways with community partners, and students can earn course credit for working up to three course periods per day at their apprenticeship site. The program has grown in the past five years from 3 student participants to 98.

Observers: Rosemary Bodnar and Jeam Hammons

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City of La Crosse Common Council 7/10 Meeting Video and Materials

The Council’s July meeting included approval of two resolutions allocating funds related to downtown security and homelessness. The first resolution authorizes contingency funds to hire a security firm to oversee city parks (Burns, Cameron, and Riverside) and parking garages overnight on weekends. The resolution includes provisions for additional training of the private security guards and requests written reports, shared with the Common Council, to include specifics about referrals to social services.

The second resolution authorized a pilot Pathways Held Leases program funded by a grant from Mayo Clinic Health System. The pilot plans to assume the cost of housing for five "low needs" unsheltered individuals. Recipients of the assistance will be expected to contribute up to 30% of their income to offset the city's costs. Some council members expressed concern that the “to-be-determined” amount listed for damages and missed rent payments might be inadequate, but the Council voted to move forward without delineating that potential program expense at this time.

Observer: Nora Garland

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Campbell Town Board Agendas and Minutes

The July meeting of the Town of Campbell Supervisors resumed discussions from the June meeting of the incorporation process and of water quality research. The planner working on their application to incorporate expects to complete the application in August,and the application fee of $30,000 has been submitted. The work related to drilling a new well to access a new aquifer is still in progress; estimated completion is October 2025.

Observer: Stephanie Davis

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La Crosse County Health and Human Services Board

The July meeting of Health and Human Services highlighted the Mobile Medical Team, which is two county health workers who dedicate their Wednesdays to mobile support services such as access to insurance and other health services and medical services such as vaccines. Additionally, the committee reported that the County has accepted a $350,000 grant to work on a deflection program for opioid abuse, meaning intervention before incarceration with mental health services, which is a Pathways Home priority. Finally, the committee noted that staff and police are working together on a new ordinance to control the sale and use of
hemp-derived unregulated products to people under the age of 21.

Observer: Mary Kessens

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La Crosse County Judiciary and Law Committee

The July meetings of the Judiciary and Law Committee featured extensive discussion of the county jail facility. Representatives of Alternative Solutions Associates, Inc., described how they evaluated current county jail usage and interviewed key stakeholders, including the sheriff, county administrators, jailers, inmates, mental health, probation and programming staff, and the Judiciary and Law Committee. They presented three options for modifying the jail space to better manage special populations but strongly recommended moving all of the women inmates into the currently unused Pod K. This move would provide better housing for the women inmates and free up space for inmates who have special needs or need direct supervision.

Observer: Chris Haskell

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La Crosse County Criminal Justice Management Council

The CJMC’s July meeting returned to their ongoing discussion of mental health and inmate support services. They first reviewed data and information from the SIM (Sequential Intercept Model) Mapping report for La Crosse County, a program that focuses on what happens to people after their incarceration. Sixty-six representatives from the county participated in a SIM workshop last October, and one finding was that La Crosse has many resources that are not connected or coordinated. Three work groups will develop action plans and give quarterly reports to CJMC.

CMJC also reported that it will use grant funds of $350,000 to hire a full-time social worker, offer $100,000 in housing support, and develop deflection programs for identifying who would benefit most from intervention before entering the criminal legal system. As most (96%) incarcerated people will stay in our community after serving their sentence, the SIM program seeks to integrate existing resources to identify key characteristics and service gaps for these individuals interacting with the criminal legal system.

Observer: Sally King

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