Posts by johnston@eauclairechamber.org

Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce Interns (1997-Present) The Chamber began the Governmental Affairs internship with UW-Eau Claire in the 1997-98 school year and has now had a total of 30 interns fill this position. While the internship is structured the same for each of us, every year is different because politics never stay the…

May 8th, 2023 On Monday, May 1st, the Menard Center for Constitutional Studies held a panel on the Future of Free Speech on Campus. Speakers Donald Downs, professor emeritus at UW-Madison, and Amna Khalid, associate professor at Carleton College attended the event in person, while Greg Lukianoff, the President and CEO of the Foundation for…

April Eggs & Issues: State of the City – Altoona April 25, 2023 The April Eggs & Issues on April 21st, was focused on the city of Altoona, and was held at the River Prairie Center. The event highlighted the accomplishments of the city, and their plans to tackle challenges in the coming years. City…

February 25, 2023 On Friday, February 17th, City Council President Terry Weld and City Manager Stephanie Hirsch led a “State of the City” for the city of Eau Claire. The “State of the City” highlighted both what the city has done in the past year, and what this year might hold including accomplishments, problems, and…

Even though the November general election has just passed, it is time to get ready for the spring elections. The filing deadline to run is January 3rd, and candidates begin to circulate nomination forms in December. The candidates that will be running for office will officially be known on January 4th, 2023. Unlike the partisan…

The Wisconsin Supreme Court is made up of seven justices that are elected to non-partisan positions. Each term on the court last 10 years, and under state law there can be only one Supreme Court election each year. Current Justice Patience Roggensack’s term expires in July 2023, and she is not seeking reelection. The Wisconsin…

December 18, 2022 The December 16 Holiday Legislative Breakfast took place on the stage of the RCU Theatre at the Pablo Center at the Confluence. Fittingly, state funding for the Confluence Project was a major area legislative priority in the 2015-17 state budget. On Friday, December 16th, the Eau Claire Area Chamber held its Eggs…

The Eau Claire City Council recently finalized the 2023 city operating budget, which includes the mill rate number. The mill rate is used to determine property taxes. One mill is the same as $1 in property tax levied per $1,000 of a property’s assessed value. Mill rates are used to cover expenses in the city…

Eau Claire School Board Spring Election Information The Eau Claire Area School District will be electing two board members in the Spring 2023 election. The school board is made up of seven members who serve nonpartisan three-year terms. The Eau Claire Area School Board’s Vice President Lori Bica and Treasurer Phil Lyons both have terms…

November 16, 2022 Wisconsin had many close races in the 2022 midterm elections. Many races were decided by margins of less than 2%. The Secretary of State race in particular has yet to be called with Democrat incumbent Doug la Follette currently ahead of Republican Amy Loudenbeck by less than 8,000 votes. Neither the Republican…