Your County Connection

Welcome to County Connection, the official biweekly newsletter from your La Crosse County government. Send questions to ask@lacrossecounty.org.

Thank You Election Workers!

On Tuesday many election workers put in long hours to ensure voting was accessible, secure, and fair in our county and across Wisconsin. The team at the La Crosse County Clerk's Office helped to coordinate and lead the process to ensure every vote was accurately counted. County Clerk Ginny Dankmeyer and Deputy County Clerks Terry Foley and Jody Wickler (pictured) demonstrated their usual professionalism and dedication to ensure the process ran as smoothly as possible. Please join us in thanking all the election workers who showed up and worked hard, including county employees who served as poll workers. Find election results for La Crosse County here.

Help Name Hillview's New CBRF

The county is building a new Community-Based Residential Facility (CBRF) at Hillview and is looking for your help to name it. To submit your ideas, click here. You can also drop your suggestions in the box at the front desk of Hillview Health Care Center, where drawings of the new CBRF are on display. The deadline is Nov. 15. Hillview staff will use the submissions to develop a shortlist before a recommendation is made to the Veterans, Aging, and Long-Term Care Committee in December. The CBRF is part of our $19.6 million project to transform Hillview. We'll have more updates on the project over the coming weeks.

Pathways Home Update

An update from our Pathways Home team:

26 people from our Pathways to Housing list were housed in August/September.
Our 2025 budget proposes adding three peer support specialists to help people find and keep housing (three social workers will also move to our specialized unit).
A major ramp up in housing/shelter is planned in 2025. The goal is to ensure a bed can be offered to every unsheltered person by the end of next year.
Pathways Home is the joint city-county homelessness response plan that launched in January of this year. Watch for more opportunities to learn about the plan.

Employee Spotlight: Brooke Smith

"Behaviors are a form of communication," says Brooke Smith, Program Coordinator at The Oaks on the Hillview campus. Brooke and her team work with older adults who have dementia and challenging behaviors. "It's our role not to simply view the people we work with as being difficult, but to try and understand their needs." The goal at The Oaks, which is a 10-bed secured nursing home, is to help people stabilize so they can transition to a less restrictive environment. "It's rewarding work," adds Brooke, who has worked on the Hillview campus for 26 years. "I really enjoy the mentality of the staff here, which is to work together and help each other out."

Honoring our Veterans

The La Crosse County Board on Monday approved a proclamation to honor our veterans as we approach Veterans Day (Monday, Nov. 11). A total of 67 veterans work at La Crosse County across different departments. Please join us in thanking them for their service. Our La Crosse County Veterans Services Office supports all veterans in navigating the benefits they receive from their service. Please help us make veterans aware that they can call the office at (608) 785-9719 with questions about benefits.

Budget Public Hearing is Nov. 12

A public hearing on the county's 2025 budget will be held at 5 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 12. Following the hearing, the county board is expected to vote on the spending plan. We'll share an update on the budget in the next County Connection.

Celebrating Halloween

Check out some of the spooktacular costumes county staff wore to work to celebrate Halloween last week!

Help Shape the Future of Local Transportation

The La Crosse Area Planning Committee (LAPC) invites you to an open house on the long-range Metropolitan Transportation Plan currently being developed. This is an opportunity to learn about the plan and share your input on the future of transportation in our region.

Event Details:

Date: Wednesday, Nov. 13.
Location: La Crosse County Administrative Building, Room 1107
Address: 212 6th St. N., La Crosse.
Time: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Can’t attend? Your input is still valuable. Take the LAPC's online survey here.

Highway Team Visits Red Balloon

Highway Department staff brought some of their favorite toys to Red Balloon Early Learning Center recently. The team of Cathy Tschumper, Seaver Updike, Cain Kammel, Sid Moen, Ron Brueggen, and Jason Schwier made a lot of new friends and maybe even met some future colleagues. Thank you to the Red Balloon staff for the invite!

County's Economic Development Work Honored

La Crosse County was honored with a Triangle of Achievement Award by LADCO (La Crosse Area Development Corporation) at a ceremony last month for its work supporting the North Holmen Business Park. The award was given jointly to the county, XeteX (recognizing their new manufacturing facility at the park), Mathy Construction, Riverland Energy, Dairyland Power Cooperative, and the Village of Holmen. Since its inception, the business park has supported the creation of many jobs and a large expansion of the local tax base. The Triangle of Achievement is awarded annually to a local project that embodies collaboration.

Drug Take Back Day Success

The Sheriff's Office and Health Department collaborated to host a National Drug Take Back Day event on Oct. 26 in La Crosse. A total of 63.5 pounds of unused or expired prescription drugs were collected for safe disposal.