AI to Help Manage Non-Emergency Calls

What’s new: Soon, up to 75,000 non-emergency calls to the La Crosse County Public Safety Communications Center will be managed by Artificial Intelligence (AI). This shift will free up staff and resources to focus on 911 emergencies. La Crosse County will be among the first in Wisconsin to use AI for this purpose.

Testing: The county board approved funding for the pilot project, which is expected to go live later this year. To train the AI system, the county's Emergency Services Department will provide recordings of 1,000 non-emergency calls. All non-emergency calls to police departments in La Crosse County are routed through the Public Safety Communications Center, which also provides dispatch and other support services for pre-hospital medical, fire, and law enforcement agencies across the county.

Human interaction: David Steinberg, La Crosse County Emergency Services Director, believes many callers won’t realize they are speaking with AI once the system is live (it will also be proficient in Spanish). However, he emphasized that callers will be able to request to speak with a person at any time. In cases where the AI determines a non-emergency call should be treated as an emergency; the call will be transferred to a staff member.

Staffing: No jobs will be eliminated due to the introduction of the AI system. Steinberg explained that the AI will only handle non-emergency calls, which can range from someone inquiring about a burn permit or making a noise complaint. This will allow telecommunicators to focus on their primary role: managing 911 emergencies. Over 100,000 non-emergency calls were handled by Steinberg's team in 2024. With the ongoing tight labor market, the AI system is expected to ease staffing pressures.

Cost: The total annual cost of the AI program will depend on call volume, but it is estimated to be around $80,000. Steinberg anticipates the system will be operational before the summer.

County Funding At Work

Grants: In late 2023, La Crosse County awarded nearly $500,000 in grants to over two dozen daycare providers outside the city of La Crosse.

Impact: The American Rescue Plan Act funding is helping these providers enhance their businesses, ultimately supporting families in need of quality daycare.



Picture: One recipient, Great Outdoors Learning Center, LLC, in Holmen, used their grant to purchase outdoor furniture (pictured), storage, a solar-powered outdoor shower for children to wash up after play, and other outdoor learning equipment. Thank you to Great Outdoors Learning Center for sharing this image of county dollars at work!

Blood Drive is Feb 6-7

Please sign up for our next county blood drive, which is Thursday, Feb. 6, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and Friday, Feb. 7, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Health and Human Services Building (300 4th St. N, La Crosse). Donations support local hospitals and save lives. You can sign up for an appointment on Feb. 6 here, or Feb. 7, here. Walk-ins are also welcome. The drive is public, so please invite friends and family to donate.

Record investment: The county is hitting the gas on highway construction in 2025, with a record $14.1 million allocated to fund improvements across 11 miles of county roads.

More miles, better roads: The county's highway construction budget has increased by 137% since 2019. This has resulted in more miles being repaired annually, and an improvement in county highway conditions. La Crosse manages 280 miles of county highways (county highways are lettered roads).

What they said: “Our highway system is essential for businesses and residents,” said County Board Chair Tina Tryggestad. “It’s great to see historic county investments improving our roads.”

Details: Learn more by reading a story on county highway spending in the La Crosse Tribune here, or on the county website by clicking here.

Free SMRT Rides on Feb. 5

The La Crosse County Board approved up to $250,000 last week to help attract an additional airline to the La Crosse Regional Airport. These funds may be used as part of a Minimum Revenue Guarantee (MRG), a common tool employed to attract airlines by ensuring a revenue floor if ticket sales fall short. Currently, American Airlines is the sole carrier at the La Crosse Regional Airport, offering three daily flights to Chicago. Adding a new service could boost the local economy. It's expected that the county's investment will be matched by other local contributions. You can read the resolution approved by the board here.

Who's ready to cozy up with a good book? Win prizes for reading this winter with La Crosse County Library’s annual reading program for adults (18+), which runs January 21 through March 1. To participate, pick up a Reading Record at any of our locations. Read or listen to three books, then return the completed bookmark to the Checkout Desk to choose an item from our gift basket. You'll also be entered into our grand-prize drawing for a $50 gift card to Barnes & Noble and our annual Snow Place Like Home mug! The winners will be announced the first week of March (one entry per person for all County libraries).

Workshop: Justice and behavioral health professionals, including several county staff, joined together for a two-day Community Mental Health Mapping workshop in La Crosse last week.

Goal: The workshop explored how individuals with behavioral health disorders enter and move through the local justice system. The goal was to identify opportunities to redirect or connect these individuals to appropriate support services instead of the justice system. 

Pilot: La Crosse County has been chosen as pilot for this program, which uses the Sequential Intercept Model. The workshop was led by consultants from the National Center for State Courts through a State Justice Institute grant supported by Chief Justice Annette Ziegler and Director of State Courts Hon. Audrey Skwierawski. Stay tuned for updates on the project.