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Gov. Evers in La Crosse, promoting violence prevention

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Crime and gun violence around Wisconsin are receiving special attention from the governor’s office with a La Crosse-based treatment program in the spotlight.

Gov. Tony Evers went to Emplify Health (Gundersen) in La Crosse on Thursday to hear from professionals in the community about offering more help to victims of abuse. Wisconsin state Sen. Brad Pfaff (D-Onalaska) and Assembly Rep. Jill Billings (D-La Crosse) also took part in the roundtable discussion.

“If we want to have a strong society, we want to make sure that people are safe,” Evers told reporters. “If they need the help in protection, they should get it.”

Stephanie Young, a manager of crime victim services at Emplify, told the governor more state money could help supply workers to assist crime victims at the hospital.

“We need funding that will pay for staff positions,” Young said. “A lot of funding doesn’t want to pay for staff time, but you need those support people to connect those survivors to resources.”

Young also wants funding to pay for training of staffers dealing with victims of violence. She’d like staff to be able to make livable wages.

Evers recently announced formation of a state Office of Violence Prevention in the wake of a Madison school shooting that saw a 14-year-old student killed, as well as a teacher. The shooter, a 15-year-old girl from the school, also injured six others before taking her own life.

Evers is committing $10 million to get the project.

The governor also visited Chetek and Kenosha to discuss anti-violence programs Thursday.

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.

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4 Comments

4 Comments

  1. John

    January 17, 2025 at 6:04 am

    Why so much more violence with teens than in n the 80’s and 90’s? Medications they are putting kids on? Video games they are allowed to play? No belief in God? No dual parents in the household, too many divorces/single parent homes?

    I am a firm believer when someone chooses to do damage to themselves or others they will find away. Guns, knives, cars, bats, etc. Our society is failing and it’s from all the things listed above. I’m 40 years old with kids of my own. Society is a great example for us as parents to show our kids what not to do and what is not right. God save us.

  2. Kevin

    January 17, 2025 at 7:26 am

    If we want to have a safe society, we must respect life, we must respect others, we must be able to exercise self-discipline and self-control. There is a hierarchy in the universe, God, Family/Country, Ourselves. ‘I AM THIRD, not first, third, after everyone else.

    Make a safe society, how are the ideologies of a Tony Evers going to make a ‘safe’ society? He doesn’t teach or espouse anything, that I have heard, that strengthens the fabric of society, which is the family. The policies our government sycophants have destroyed absolutes (God, truth, life), so who do we get to answer too and more importantly who do we get answers from? The answer is us, the relativist, and at times the actions relativists produce, are horrid.

    Evers and company work to remove the tools they perceive as the cause of violence; they can’t address the actual cause of violence because they would have to admit it is them, then where would they be?

    John nailed it above, our society won’t address those items though because to do that, we would have to actually do some work and change our behaviors.

  3. walden

    January 17, 2025 at 2:43 pm

    Evers has been in office for 6 years. What previous actions has he taken to reduce violent crime?

    And he is not specifying any actions in this new plan…true to his sort his only claim to “progress” is spending money…in this case $10 million.

    • Roy

      January 18, 2025 at 2:19 pm

      That’s because liberals believe the solution to all problems is to throw money at them..They don’t even really care where the money lands or who gets it. It shows movement and something they can report when they run for re-election. “In 2025, I began an anti-violence program targeted at the prevention of violence and the hiring of experts who can counsel grief-stricken children when violence happens to their friends.” “Joining me at the conference were Assblm Jill Billings and Sen. Pfaff, both of whom are resolute in their determination to find solutions to the problem of violence in our schools.” “Together with Assbmn Billings, Senator Pfaff and that other new one who didn’t show up..Jazmine? no Johnson..Assmblmn Johnson together..we will work to find solutions to this crisis. I won’t rest until..(no, that was another Democrats speech 4 years ago)”

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