For WXCO News,
The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa held a community forum Monday night after recent reports of immigration and customs enforcement activity on the reservation.
According to the Wisconsin Examiner, tribal leaders have raised alarms after reports that Native Americans were picked up or questioned by ICE during enforcement operations in the Twin Cities.
Tribal chairwoman Liz Arbuckle spoke about the stress the community is facing.
It's unnerving.
We've seen native people picked up in Minneapolis.
We've heard those stories.
We've seen those stories.
So we are unnerved.
So a little extra preparedness, thoughtfulness, kindness, it won't go amiss.
That's for sure.
Arbuckle says that tribal IDs are free for enrolled Bad River members and can be updated if needed.
Other tribes may also offer similar services.
They also highlighted statewide resources such as the Native American Rights Fund, the ACLU of Wisconsin, and Legal Action Wisconsin, which can help tribal members understand their rights and create personal safety plans.
State Representative Angela Stroud of the 73rd Assembly District spoke about ICE activity across the region.
You know, it's targeting urban areas, but it's not limited to urban areas.
Rural areas are also being affected.
And so it's not that we know they're going to come, but we need to be prepared because it's happening throughout our region, even if it's.
focused on Minnesota right now.
Transit Equity Day is held on February 4th, Tawn or the birthday of Rosa Parks, whose refusal to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger in 1955 sparked the over-year-long Montgomery bus boycott, a crucial moment in the civil rights movement.
Phil Swanhorst is the Eau Claire Transit Commission chairperson and a former Eau Claire bus driver and shared his thoughts on the history of Transit Equity Day in Eau Claire.
And this is the 10th year since I attended a conference in Washington, D.C.
to create February 4th.
Why February 4th?
We wanted an activist that believed in equity and transportation and who better than Rosa Parks and her birthday is February 4th.
So 10 years ago we created that and by we it was unions, it was management, it was Ireland, it was South Africa, it was European countries.
In its proclamation declaring February 4th as Transit Equity Day, the Eau Claire City Council highlighted the importance of public transit as an essential service for residents to access things like health care and employment, as well as its importance in addressing climate change.
Swan Horse also shared his thoughts on what future progress could look like for public transit in Eau Claire.
Continued applicable ADA compliance.
Believe it or not, we build our buses, our transfer center.
Our accommodations are very ADA compliant.
When we drop off at some schools, some healthcare facilities, some older churches, they are not ADA compatible.
So the future would be to have our community be ADA.
To honor Transit Equity Day, a local nonprofit, Jonah, covered all bus fares on Wednesday so residents could ride for free.
Each bus also had a rose in the front seat to honor Rosa Parks.
The roundtable at the Altoona City Hall covered a wide range of topics, most notably the state of affordable housing and the increased costs for health care and child care.
Following the discussion, Governor Evers said he'd like to use part of the state's budget surplus to increase funding for local governments and schools to prevent even more property tax increases.
Eau Claire City Council President Emily Berge attended the roundtable, reiterating an increasingly common call for more shared revenue from the state.
Berge says increasing property taxes is one of the few remaining tools municipalities have to address the needs of their community, like school funding or repairing potholes.
Governor Evers again highlighted the state's budget surplus as a way to provide a bit more support for local governments.
Like many communities struggling to address funding needs with limited revenue sources, Chippewa Valley residents have seen massive property tax increases over recent years.
Much of that increases the result of school referendum proposals, forcing residents to choose between the property tax hike or potential layoffs and program cancellations by school districts.
Another challenge for the Badgers.
Hi, I'm Mike Clemens with sports.
Men's College basketball tonight.
The Wisconsin Badgers host Michigan State at the Coles Center in Madison.
The Spartans ranked 10th in the nation.
That doesn't seem to phase Wisconsin.
Who beat number eighth ranked Illinois on the road in overtime Wednesday.
Nick Boyd transferred to the Badgers last spring.
Head coach Greg Gardin, why Boyd has been such a great addition.
He's a winner.
and he's won everywhere he's been and that's why he wanted to come to Wisconsin because he could coach I've been to a final four and I want to get to more.
In Green Bay, the UWGB Phoenix beat Purdue Fort Wayne 76 to 49 at the Crest Center.
The Phoenix now 15 and 12 and 10 and 6 in the conference.
A big turnaround from this time a year ago.
Head coach Doug Gottlieb.
Last year, February 13th, we lost our 21st consecutive game.
NBA, the Bucks beat the Thunder won 10 to 93.
The Bucks won five of their last six heading into the All-Star break this weekend with sports on Mike Clemens.
A little patchy fog this morning.
Then we're headed into a really nice day and a nice weekend.
Today, mostly sunny.
We'll get to the low to mid 40s for a high this afternoon.
Tonight, a little patchy fog partly cloudy down into the upper teens to low 20s tomorrow.
Mostly sunny with a high again in the low to mid 40s.
I'm your
urologist, Sean Cable.