- Housing Justice
Menomonie city leaders and GROWW celebrate new rental ordinance
MENOMONIE, Wis. (WEAU) – Menomonie city leaders and residents gathered in celebration of the new SHIELD ordinance going into effect on July 1.
This ordinance was approved back on February 2, after large support from GrassRoots Organizing Western Wisconsin.
On July 1, Mayor Matthew Crowe and City Council President Cody Gentz spoke about SHIELD’s benefits for Menomonie alongside renters who say they’ve struggled against harmful property conditions in the city.
Gentz said SHIELD protects renters by creating proactive rental property inspections.
If a landlord doesn’t correct dangerous conditions after an inspection, the renters on the property may be able to pay less rent.
Gentz said SHIELD also aims to protect tenants from potential retaliation for complaints.
“Really the goal is to help hold some of the landlords around town that don’t take care of their properties, hold them accountable, and give tenants a tool to protect themselves from very dangerous conditions,” Gentz said.
Tom Flug, a Menomonie renter, said he knows just how dangerous poorly maintained properties can be.
“I was just running upstairs, and my foot slipped through a crack,” Flug said. “The bottom tread is cracked. My foot slipped down into it all the way, and I tipped over and pulled my ankle off my leg.”
After years of surgeries, Flug still walks with a cane. He said he hopes SHIELD will keep injuries like his from happening to anyone else.
Gentz said he will continue to work to improving housing in the Menomonie.
Charlie Berens Talks Data Centers At Eau Claire Event
Comedian Charlie Berens has been touring the region for several months – and came to our neck of the woods this past weekend – departing from his staple Midwest accent-heavy shtick to bring a different kind of messaging to audiences.
Berens, best known for “Manitowoc Minute,” is a UW-Madison alum and former journalist who has become a vocal critic of data center development. With over 10 million followers across social media platforms, Berens has taken his town hall-style tour to over a dozen communities since 2025.
On Saturday, June 13, Berens was the keynote speaker of “Uniting West Wisconsin: A Regional Response to Data Centers” at the Eau Claire Event District.
Roughly 600 people filled the local venue to learn more about hyperscale – developments which often spark pushback from nearby residents regarding environmental- and transparency-related concerns – and how to organize against them, per the event’s focus.
- GROWW Wide
Charlie Berens headlines event against data centers in Wisconsin
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) -Popular comedian Charlie Berens and grass roots organizations are working together to oppose data centers.
This weekend the groups hosted a free event for western Wisconsinites to learn more about data centers. The event was held at the Eau Claire Event Center and featured food, live music, and entertainment.
Titled “Uniting West Wisconsin: A Regional Response to Data Centers” the event was organized by Great Lakes Neighbors United, Grass Roots Organizing Western Wisconsin (GROWW) and Chippewa Valley Indivisible alongside other individuals and groups.
Star Observer: At first-ever GROWW Town Hall, western Wisconsin residents organize to shape the next legislature
More than 80 members of GROWW gathered Saturday alongside eight candidates for the Wisconsin Legislature to begin what organizers describe as a long-term effort to win a state-level change for western Wisconsin communities.
Candidates represented communities from Hudson and River Falls to Menomonie, Mondovi and Chippewa Falls, spanning Assembly Districts 28, 29, 30, 67, 68, 75 and 92, as well as Senate District 23.
The first-ever GROWW Town Hall marked the public launch of a member-led legislative strategy that began with a year-long process of debating, refining and ratifying a statewide agenda centered on healthcare, housing, agriculture, public education, local control and economic security for regular people. The event brought candidates and community members together to discuss the agenda, identify opportunities for partnership and begin building the relationships necessary to advance legislation in the years ahead.
- Rural Wisconsin vs. Corporate Ag
WQOW: Western Wisconsinites demand state action to protect family farms, rural communities
Tuesday morning, dozens of western Wisconsin farmers gathered to raise awareness about the impacts of a controversial factory farm expansion project.
- Rural Wisconsin vs. Corporate Ag
Residents speak out against expansion of Western Wisconsin factory farm
Residents are speaking out against the expansion of a factory farm in Western Wisconsin.
Tuesday, people could be seen with signs saying, “people over profit” and “small farms not factory farms” in front of the state Department of Administration building on Clairemont Avenue in Eau Claire.
- Housing Justice
Menomonie city leaders and GROWW celebrate new rental ordinance
MENOMONIE, Wis. (WEAU) – Menomonie city leaders and residents gathered in celebration of the new SHIELD ordinance going into effect on July 1.
This ordinance was approved back on February 2, after large support from GrassRoots Organizing Western Wisconsin.
On July 1, Mayor Matthew Crowe and City Council President Cody Gentz spoke about SHIELD’s benefits for Menomonie alongside renters who say they’ve struggled against harmful property conditions in the city.
Gentz said SHIELD protects renters by creating proactive rental property inspections.
If a landlord doesn’t correct dangerous conditions after an inspection, the renters on the property may be able to pay less rent.
Gentz said SHIELD also aims to protect tenants from potential retaliation for complaints.
“Really the goal is to help hold some of the landlords around town that don’t take care of their properties, hold them accountable, and give tenants a tool to protect themselves from very dangerous conditions,” Gentz said.
Tom Flug, a Menomonie renter, said he knows just how dangerous poorly maintained properties can be.
“I was just running upstairs, and my foot slipped through a crack,” Flug said. “The bottom tread is cracked. My foot slipped down into it all the way, and I tipped over and pulled my ankle off my leg.”
After years of surgeries, Flug still walks with a cane. He said he hopes SHIELD will keep injuries like his from happening to anyone else.
Gentz said he will continue to work to improving housing in the Menomonie.
Charlie Berens Talks Data Centers At Eau Claire Event
Comedian Charlie Berens has been touring the region for several months – and came to our neck of the woods this past weekend – departing from his staple Midwest accent-heavy shtick to bring a different kind of messaging to audiences.
Berens, best known for “Manitowoc Minute,” is a UW-Madison alum and former journalist who has become a vocal critic of data center development. With over 10 million followers across social media platforms, Berens has taken his town hall-style tour to over a dozen communities since 2025.
On Saturday, June 13, Berens was the keynote speaker of “Uniting West Wisconsin: A Regional Response to Data Centers” at the Eau Claire Event District.
Roughly 600 people filled the local venue to learn more about hyperscale – developments which often spark pushback from nearby residents regarding environmental- and transparency-related concerns – and how to organize against them, per the event’s focus.
- GROWW Wide
Charlie Berens headlines event against data centers in Wisconsin
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) -Popular comedian Charlie Berens and grass roots organizations are working together to oppose data centers.
This weekend the groups hosted a free event for western Wisconsinites to learn more about data centers. The event was held at the Eau Claire Event Center and featured food, live music, and entertainment.
Titled “Uniting West Wisconsin: A Regional Response to Data Centers” the event was organized by Great Lakes Neighbors United, Grass Roots Organizing Western Wisconsin (GROWW) and Chippewa Valley Indivisible alongside other individuals and groups.
Star Observer: At first-ever GROWW Town Hall, western Wisconsin residents organize to shape the next legislature
More than 80 members of GROWW gathered Saturday alongside eight candidates for the Wisconsin Legislature to begin what organizers describe as a long-term effort to win a state-level change for western Wisconsin communities.
Candidates represented communities from Hudson and River Falls to Menomonie, Mondovi and Chippewa Falls, spanning Assembly Districts 28, 29, 30, 67, 68, 75 and 92, as well as Senate District 23.
The first-ever GROWW Town Hall marked the public launch of a member-led legislative strategy that began with a year-long process of debating, refining and ratifying a statewide agenda centered on healthcare, housing, agriculture, public education, local control and economic security for regular people. The event brought candidates and community members together to discuss the agenda, identify opportunities for partnership and begin building the relationships necessary to advance legislation in the years ahead.
- Rural Wisconsin vs. Corporate Ag
WQOW: Western Wisconsinites demand state action to protect family farms, rural communities
Tuesday morning, dozens of western Wisconsin farmers gathered to raise awareness about the impacts of a controversial factory farm expansion project.
- Rural Wisconsin vs. Corporate Ag
Residents speak out against expansion of Western Wisconsin factory farm
Residents are speaking out against the expansion of a factory farm in Western Wisconsin.
Tuesday, people could be seen with signs saying, “people over profit” and “small farms not factory farms” in front of the state Department of Administration building on Clairemont Avenue in Eau Claire.