Lt. Gov. Barnes recognizes community service groups during La Crosse visit

Wisconsin’s Lieutenant Governor observed the Martin Luther King holiday by visiting with black student leaders in La Crosse.

Mandela Barnes stopped Monday at the “Hope Restores” office, near the Copeland Avenue bridge.

One of a dozen Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate in Wisconsin, Barnes also visited La Crosse Lighthouse respite center and spoke with Gundersen Health System employees on the south side during a sidewalk demonstration outside the hospital.

Lt. Gov. Barnes told reporters that most people in the area might not know about the services that Hope Restores can provide local residents.

“We like to highlight the work that sometimes goes unnoticed,” Barnes said. “We got a lot of young folks in here, and change in this country, change across the entire globe has always been driven by the younger generations, and too often they don’t feel supported, they feel ignored.”

Joined by Wisconsin state Sen. Brad Pfaff, Barnes talked about the value that Hope Restores can provide.

“The work that we do to uplift marginalized communities will impact the greater society, and I think that’s what our focus should be,” Barnes said.