Citizen Action Weekend 2025 Newsletter, Friday, June 13th
Friday, June 13th
Join Citizen Action Today!
Volunteer from home for our next Day of Action on the State Budget, Tuesday, June 17th, 5pm – 7:30pm!
We are joining our partners in calling Wisconsin voters and asking them to be connected with Governor Tony Evers office to tell him to veto any state budget that fails to: (1) Properly fund public schools, (2) Expands BadgerCare. (3) Funds child care, and (4) Builds no new prisons.
Attend Hands Off Medicaid Town Hall in Green Bay on Monday, June 16, 6:00 PM at the Brown County Central Library Auditorium.
Directly-impacted residents and advocates will speak at a community town hall event to discuss massive federal Medicaid cuts now being debated in Congress.
The event is in Green Bay at 515 Pine Street.
In May, the House of Representatives voted on a budget that cuts Medicaid by nearly a trillion dollars – that they’ll hand over to billionaires. These cuts will run people out of their homes, tank local economies, close rural hospitals, and cost lives. Now the vote goes to the Senate, with a goal of getting it to the President by July 4.
The town hall events will include a brief presentation from a Citizen Action of Wisconsin health policy expert, comments from local officials, testimony from directly-affected community members, and an open forum for questions and further testimony.
Wisconsin’s Medicaid program covers 1.2 million people. It contains BadgerCare, a health insurance program for low-income residents; FamilyCare and IRIS, which fund nursing home care and home healthcare services for seniors and people with disabilities; Birth to 3, which provides comprehensive services for infants with developmental disabilities, and several other programs serving vulnerable populations who would otherwise be excluded from healthcare infrastructure. It is also the largest payer of mental health services, one of the primary funders for substance use disorder rehabilitation, and a budgetary lifeline for hospitals and physicians serving rural and low-income patients.
The federal government funds 60% of Wisconsin’s $11 billion Medicaid budget. A cut of even 10% of federal support would require an additional $600 million of state money—a 15% increase in funding from general purpose revenue—or state cuts to Medicaid funding, which would remove people from the program or further reductions in payments to medical providers.
Citizen Action Driftless Organizing Cooperative Update
Upcoming Events:
Healthcare Action Team Meeting – June 16th at 6PM – in person at 2318 State Rd, La Crosse and on zoom) We will be discussing our current work to preserve Medicaid, the state budget and BadgerCare expansion, team roles and discuss a possible local campaign to hold our local hospitals accountable for their charity/community obligations (Fair Share Deficit). RSVP
Testimonial Prep Session for anyone wanting to testify for the Badger Hollow Wind Farm being proposed in the Driftless region – Thursday, June 19th – RSVP
Climate Action Team Meeting – TBD in July – please contact me if you are interested in joining
Juneteenth Celebration – Sat, June 21st at Riverside Park – We will have a booth and be making snow cones! Please let me know if you can take a booth shift or help make snow cones.
In solidarity, Kristie Tweed, Driftless Co-Op Organizer, 608-317-1331 or kristie.tweed@citizenactionwi.org
Speak Up for Rural Clean Energy: Support Badger Hollow Wind
The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin is currently reviewing an exciting renewable energy project: The Badger Hollow Wind Project. This is the first wind project proposed in Wisconsin in over a decade and the decision will set a precedent for future opportunities to lead.
Public comments can be submitted through June 26th and your support can make a real difference in shaping the PSC’s decision. There will also be two public hearings on June 24th at 2pm and 6pm. Please attend whichever time slot is more convenient for you and show your support for the project and its benefits for the surrounding communities. If you can’t attend the public hearing in person, you can also testify virtually during that time.
If you are able to testify in person or virtually, Citizen Action of WI has partnered with Greenlight America to present a virtual testimonial prep event on Thursday, June 19th at 6pm. We will share all the information you need and help you prepare a statement. RSVP
Testimonial Prep Session – June 19th at 6PM
Join Citizen Action of Wisconsin for a one-hour training on how to submit a powerful public comment and testify in support of the Badger Hollow Wind Project. The project is under review by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, a three-member body appointed by the Governor that has the final say on whether or not this clean energy project moves forward. Prep session will cover:
- What’s at stake with the Badger Hollow Wind Project
- What kinds of testimony matter most, including personal stories, local economic benefits, and support for landowner rights
- How to submit a strong written comment before the June 26 deadline
- How to testify (virtually or in person) during the public hearings on June 24 at 2 PM and 6 PM
- How you can stay engaged in future climate and renewable energy work in Wisconsin
RSVP for Training Session
For more information contact Kristie Tweed, Driftless Co-Op Organizer, 608-317-1331 or kristie.tweed@citizenactionwi.org
Citizen Action Southeast Organizing Co-op Update
👑 NO KINGS Protest – Saturday, June 14 at Noon
Cathedral Square for the NO KINGS protest.
We’re rising up against authoritarianism, racism, and corporate rule. Southeast Co-op will be there loud, proud, and united.
📞 Call Gov. Evers – Tuesday Phone Bank
We need Evers to include key Expanding BadgerCare and other priorities in the state budget—and we need to act fast. Join our Tuesday, 5pm phone bank to help flood his office with calls and push for a people-centered budget.
✊ Join the Fight: Medicaid & Climate Teams Forming
Want to do more than watch? Join our new Medicaid and Climate Justice teams. We’re gearing up for big statewide campaigns—don’t miss your chance to shape them from the ground up.
Reach out to Ruben Aquino to get plugged in: Ruben.aquino@citizenactionwi.org
Close Green Bay Correctional Media Event, Monday, June 23rd, Noon.
We’re holding a media event with WISDOM, Wisconsin Public Education Network, and Supporters of Incarcerated People (SIP) in solidarity to call on Gov. Evers to veto any budget that continues to invest in punishment over people.
Citizen Action in the News
Citizen Action held “Hands Off Medicaid” town hall meetings up north this week, in St. Croix Falls and Rice Lake. The St. Croix Falls event drew 75 people in a city of about 2,000.
See coverage of the Rice Lake event from Northwest Now. There was additional radio coverage, and may be more coverage from weekly papers in the region.
Attend No Kings Protest Saturday, June 14th, more than 50 in Wisconsin.
More than 50 protests are planned in communities across Wisconsin tomorrow as part of the national No Kings movement, the same day Trump is holding a massive military parade in Washington D.C.
President Trump wants tanks in the street and a made-for-TV display of dominance for his birthday.A spectacle meant to look like strength. But real power isn’t staged in Washington. It rises up everywhere else.
Listen to “Wealthy before public schools and healthcare” Battleground Wisconsin Podcast
As the State Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee takes up public education funding, education advocates call for the veto of any budget from the Legislature that does not adequately fund education. Will the Governor listen to his grassroots base, and fight for a budget that meets Wisconsin’s needs, or sign a partisan budget that shortchanges the people of Wisconsin?
We encourage listeners to stop by our table at the Wisconsin Democratic Party convention this weekend and pick up a sticker supporting a veto. We invite our listeners to volunteer for a Day of Action Phone Bank next Tuesday, June 17th, 5pm. We will be calling Democratic voters and encouraging them to be transferred to the Governor’s office to leave a message for him. We discuss other upcoming actions and events in support of winning key priorities in the state budget.
Tammy Baldwin rightly meets with Milwaukee parents and calls out RFK Jr for falsely claiming a federal team in Milwaukee helping with lead problem in schools, when that team was laid off. We review 2 more well attended “Hands Off Medicaid” Town Hall in Rice Lake and St. Croix Falls.
We close with a deeper dive into the current authoritarian moment Trump’s show of military force in LA to suppress largely peaceful protests reveals. We encourage attendance at the peaceful mobilization Saturday at No Kings Events, including 50 in Wisconsin.
Listen to the show.
Social media post of the week
