Latest news with #Eau
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Money for Chaos Waterpark passes doesn't come from county's tax levy
EAU CLAIRE — Money spent by Eau Claire County at Chaos Waterpark and Action City was and is 100% reimbursed by the state through Children's Long-Term Support (CLTS) program. This is the message Eau Claire County's CLTS Supervisor Amanda Gaetz stressed is one of the most important points she wants the public to understand about the money being spent not just for the waterpark passes but for the entire CLTS program. 'I just want to make sure that it's very clear,' Gaetz said. 'It's our expenses, [such as] the waterpark passes, [that] are fully reimbursed. They do not come out of Eau Claire County's tax levy budget.' Concerns that the county had spent $68,000 between January and April had been expressed by County Board Supervisor Michele Skinner of District 11 at the last county board meeting. Eau Claire County Director of Human Services Angela Weideman sent out a memo clarifying why the funds could not be used for rent, utilities, groceries, and other basic household expenses, but further clarification of the memo specifies that these expenses are reimbursed by the state. 'Ultimately, the way that we set our rates with the state allows our full costs of the program to be reimbursed,' Behavioral Health Division Administrator at Eau Claire County Department of Human Services Luke Fedie said. 'Reimbursement means reimbursement. There is no fiscal benefit to the county based on provider or provider cost.' He specified that the property tax levy — the portion of funds the county intends to raise from its portion of property taxes — is used to pay for what is called a 'maintenance of effort' or MOE, which the county pays the state. 'That's $359,970,' Fedie said. 'There are pushes from counties to eliminate the maintenance of effort because it is burdensome on the county to have that. Each county has a different maintenance of effort. That MOE stays consistent by the state regardless of program spending. So none of the CLTS program expenses contributed to the department's overage in 2024.' Fedie stressed how important CLTS is to disabled children and their families. 'This is a really vital part of what we do at Human Services,' he said. 'This is really meant to make sure that every child has the opportunity to thrive, connect with others, reach their fullest potential, and ultimately remain in the community. One of the things that's important to consider with the CLTS program is that each of these children reach a level of care where they could potentially be placed outside of the home.' He said that one of the goals of CLTS is to enable children to remain in the community, with their families. When it comes to choosing between the YMCA passes or Chaos Waterpark, Weideman said 'that families have some choice in who they work with to try to meet the needs of their children. The YMCA is a wonderful place and often has swim lessons, lanes blocked off for lap swim. That can make the pool unavailable to children and families to use. Timing may matter for some families.' To learn more about what CLTS one family in the region, see the article titled 'A mother talks about the value of CLTS for her disabled son' published in the June 6 edition of the Leader-Telegram.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
City of Eau Claire begins in-person absentee voting; anticipating high election turnout
EAU CLAIRE — With early voting beginning today, Deputy City Clerk Eric Gilge said they are getting ready for the last election of 2025. 'We are anticipating pretty high turnout, based on just the volume of mail-in absentee ballot requests that we have gotten, interests that we have seen and our general estimate based on previous April elections, we are estimating around 60% to 70% overall turnout across the city,' Gilge said. 'Which is high; much higher than the February election,' he said, noting the state judicial races, city council and state referendum questions that will be on the ballot. While the city will be organizing a place for in-person absentee ballot voting, this will be different from the drive-thru ballot voting which was used during elections during the 2024 cycle. Instead, voters will be guided towards the elections office, similarly to how they did it during this year's spring primary back on Feb. 18. 'We are doing in-person absentee voting, where people will have to park in that parking lot, where the 'drive thru' voting used to occur, and then come into the election's office through the door in the alley that is between the City Hall,' said Gilge. 'There will be signs out there that will direct people which door to go in. 'If they are registered, they just need to bring in their voter ID and they basically fill out the same paperwork that an absentee voter would otherwise fill out… We will then process it with the rest of our absentee ballots on election day. If they are not registered, as long as they bring in proof of residence they can register right there in the office and also do their in-person absentee voting in the office.' Gilge said it is typical of municipalities to create an opportunity for folks to come in and do in-person absentee voting, as it is usually done in the city clerk's office which they are essentially an extension of. In-person absentee voting will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, from this week, today through Friday, and from next week Monday through Friday as well. The last day for voters to do in-person absentee voting is Friday, March 28. Election Day is April 1. Gilge also said anyone from the city who requested and received a mail-in absentee ballot can return it by mailing it or by dropping it off at the city ballot return box, a red return box right behind Eau Claire City Hall.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Stand up for our lives': Winnipeg vigil honours trans, non-binary people who recently died in U.S.
The glow of lit candles illuminated a transgender and non-binary flag displayed at a Winnipeg vigil, along with the faces of community members mourning the loss of three people in the U.S. who organizers say recently died as a result of transphobic violence. The vigil, which was held on the steps at the Manitoba Legislative Building on a cold Friday evening, honoured the lives lost south of the border and, according to organizers, reinforced the need for Manitobans to stand in solidarity against harmful rhetoric parroted in Canada. "Our trans kids deserve to grow into trans adults and our trans adults deserve to grow into trans elders. We deserve to live," said Charlie Eau, who co-organized the vigil on behalf of Trans Manitoba, a non-profit dedicated to transgender outreach, equity and advocacy. Eau was among roughly 20 people who joined to underline the kind words from the families and communities shared on social media in remembrance of Sam Nordquist, Tahiry Broom and Elisa Rae Shupe. Nordquist, 24, was a transgender man from Minnesota who was killed while travelling in New York. Investigators found Nordquist's remains on Feb. 13 and believe he was subjected to physical abuse between December 2024 and February 2025, according to a news release from the New York State Police. Broom, 29, was a transgender woman who was shot near an apartment complex in Michigan on Feb. 9, a news release said. Shupe, who was a non-binary person, army veteran and the first U.S. citizen to change their legal sex to non-binary, committed suicide on Jan. 27, and left a note explaining their reasons. Railing against the racism and anti-trans agenda of the country they served, Shupe wrote: "You cannot erase non-binary and transgender people because you give birth to more of us each day." Eau said it's both terrifying and dangerous how a "rapid onslaught of targeted hate" has affected the gender-diverse community in the U.S. and the way this rhetoric is influencing the political atmosphere in Canada. Last month U.S. President Donald Trump repealed 78 executive orders made by his predecessor, Joe Biden, including those combating discrimination against 2SLGBTQ+ rights. Trump declared that the U.S. will only recognize two sexes, male and female, and signed orders ending gender-affirming care for people under 19 years old, which was recently blocked by a federal judge, and barring transgender women from women's sports. When asked last month about Trump's executive orders, federal Progressive Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said he was "only aware of two" genders, adding that he believes the government should let people "make their own personal decisions." There are at least 100,000 people in Canada who have reported being transgender or non-binary, according to the 2021 census. Poilievre and Manitoba PC leadership candidates Wally Daudrich and Obby Khan are politicians "who openly parrot the rhetoric of American politicians who are targeting queer and transgender people in ways that are impacting our lives, our jobs, our ability to be employed and housed and educated," Eau said, pointing to Khan's role in the PCs' parental rights campaign in the 2023 election. In 2021, Wally Daudrich referred to U.S. assistant health secretary Rachel Levine as a trans woman, as a "man dressed in woman's clothing. "It's a really scary and precarious time for trans and non-binary people across Turtle Island regardless of the border," Eau said. Trevor Kirczenow co-organized the vigil to remember the victims. He said it's unfortunate to see transphobic rhetoric and policies from U.S. politicians influence Canadians leaders. (Santiago Arias Orozco/CBC) Trevor Kirczenow, a transgender man who helped organize the vigil, said it's unfortunate to see Canadian politicians use harmful language toward the gender -diverse community in ways that threaten their livelihood, well-being and safety. "I think words are important and when we hear our leaders, our politicians speaking like that, it affects our community and it affects the way that trans and non-binary people are treated," he said. Both organizers planned the vigil to remember the victims and remind Manitobans that transgender people deserve to be respected, valued, cared for and seen as equal. The vigil was also meant to show transgender people that they are loved and supported within their community, despite harmful beliefs that say otherwise. "We are here to remember them and I don't want any more people to have their lives ended in that same way," Kirczenow said. Miguel Stamato attended the vigil in Winnipeg to honour the lives of three recent victims of transgender violence in the U.S. (Santiago Arias Orozco/CBC) Miguel Stamato held up a sign calling for justice at the vigil saying that he was deeply saddened by the stories of those who died in the U.S. "It's hard to come across ideas that believe that some people should have less rights than others, and it's just so repressive. It's a sad thing to think and I hope that a year from now we'll look back at this as a horrible time and remember things not to be repeated," Stamato said. Steph Adamob said they attended the vigil for the people who couldn't be there to show support for the victims, and to try to be the adult that they needed while growing up. When navigating anti-2SLGBTQ+ rhetoric, Adamob said it's been helpful to have a "thick skin because you will get comments, you will get questions, you will find yourself in situations where you're not comfortable." Adamob said it's also helpful to have a sense of humour and be surrounded by a community filled with love and encouragement during challenging times. "We're gonna get through this together," they said. "We are a strong and vibrant community."
CBC
22-02-2025
- Politics
- CBC
'Stand up for our lives': Winnipeg vigil honours trans, non-binary people who recently died in U.S.
The glow of lit candles illuminated a transgender and non-binary flag displayed at a Winnipeg vigil, along with the faces of community members mourning the loss of three people in the U.S. who organizers say recently died as a result of transphobic violence. The vigil, which was held on the steps at the Manitoba Legislative Building on a cold Friday evening, honoured the lives lost south of the border and, according to organizers, reinforced the need for Manitobans to stand in solidarity against harmful rhetoric parroted in Canada. "Our trans kids deserve to grow into trans adults and our trans adults deserve to grow into trans elders. We deserve to live," said Charlie Eau, who co-organized the vigil on behalf of Trans Manitoba, a non-profit dedicated to transgender outreach, equity and advocacy. Eau was among roughly 20 people who joined to underline the kind words from the families and communities shared on social media in remembrance of Sam Nordquist, Tahiry Broom and Elisa Rae Shupe. Nordquist, 24, was a transgender man from Minnesota who was killed while travelling in New York. Investigators found Nordquist's remains on Feb. 13 and believe he was subjected to physical abuse between December 2024 and February 2025, according to a news release from the New York State Police. Broom, 29, was a transgender woman who was shot near an apartment complex in Michigan on Feb. 9, a news release said. Shupe, who was a non-binary person, army veteran and the first U.S. citizen to change their legal sex to non-binary, committed suicide on Jan. 27, and left a note explaining their reasons. Railing against the racism and anti-trans agenda of the country they served, Shupe wrote: "You cannot erase non-binary and transgender people because you give birth to more of us each day." Eau said it's both terrifying and dangerous how a "rapid onslaught of targeted hate" has affected the gender-diverse community in the U.S. and the way this rhetoric is influencing the political atmosphere in Canada. Last month U.S. President Donald Trump repealed 78 executive orders made by his predecessor, Joe Biden, including those combating discrimination against 2SLGBTQ+ rights. Trump declared that the U.S. will only recognize two sexes, male and female, and signed orders ending gender-affirming care for people under 19 years old, which was recently blocked by a federal judge, and barring transgender women from women's sports. When asked last month about Trump's executive orders, federal Progressive Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said he was "only aware of two" genders, adding that he believes the government should let people "make their own personal decisions." There are at least 100,000 people in Canada who have reported being transgender or non-binary, according to the 2021 census. Poilievre and Manitoba PC leadership candidates Wally Daudrich and Obby Khan are politicians "who openly parrot the rhetoric of American politicians who are targeting queer and transgender people in ways that are impacting our lives, our jobs, our ability to be employed and housed and educated," Eau said, pointing to Khan's role in the PCs' parental rights campaign in the 2023 election. In 2021, Wally Daudrich referred to U.S. assistant health secretary Rachel Levine as a trans woman, as a "man dressed in woman's clothing. "It's a really scary and precarious time for trans and non-binary people across Turtle Island regardless of the border," Eau said. Trevor Kirczenow, a transgender man who helped organize the vigil, said it's unfortunate to see Canadian politicians use harmful language toward the gender -diverse community in ways that threaten their livelihood, well-being and safety. "I think words are important and when we hear our leaders, our politicians speaking like that, it affects our community and it affects the way that trans and non-binary people are treated," he said. Both organizers planned the vigil to remember the victims and remind Manitobans that transgender people deserve to be respected, valued, cared for and seen as equal. The vigil was also meant to show transgender people that they are loved and supported within their community, despite harmful beliefs that say otherwise. "We are here to remember them and I don't want any more people to have their lives ended in that same way," Kirczenow said. Miguel Stamato held up a sign calling for justice at the vigil saying that he was deeply saddened by the stories of those who died in the U.S. "It's hard to come across ideas that believe that some people should have less rights than others, and it's just so repressive. It's a sad thing to think and I hope that a year from now we'll look back at this as a horrible time and remember things not to be repeated," Stamato said. Steph Adamob said they attended the vigil for the people who couldn't be there to show support for the victims, and to try to be the adult that they needed while growing up. When navigating anti-2SLGBTQ+ rhetoric, Adamob said it's been helpful to have a "thick skin because you will get comments, you will get questions, you will find yourself in situations where you're not comfortable." Adamob said it's also helpful to have a sense of humour and be surrounded by a community filled with love and encouragement during challenging times.
