Email from 1000 Friends of Wisconsin What's Happening in Dec. View as Webpage - Dec. 2025 And ... We're Hiring! We’re excited to announce we're hiring 3 new employees! We're building our team for the 2-year, statewide housing campaign! The new team will lead an effort to affect policy change at the State Capitol, advocating for more housing affordability and housing choices around Wisconsin. See the full position descriptions in our latest news post ... An Update From Rethink 794 In the I-794 Lake Interchange study, WisDOT is considering alternatives to address the deteriorating infrastructure in the corridor. Rethink 794, a pro-removal campaign & coalition, is conducting a series of walk/roll audits along the corridor, sponsored by 1000 Friends. The goals of the walk/roll audits are to assess the bike-ped and multimodal conditions at street level and facilitate community discussion in envisioning what's possible for the corridor. Led by volunteer Taylor Korslin & 1000 Friends' Transport policy Analyst Raphie Torralba, the first of the series took place on November 18th and covered a western segment of I-794, adjacent to the Marquette Interchange. A hefty discussion ensued with most of the group after the walk, meeting at Stone Creek Cafe. A report of preliminary findings from the walk-audit is now available to view! Read the full report here. Also, The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), in coordination with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), is issuing a Notice of Intent (NOI) to solicit comment and advise the public, agencies and stakeholders that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be prepared to evaluate transportation solutions for the Lake Interchange on I-794. Learn more on the Study webpage. You can provide public comment on this prior to 5th Jan. News From Northern WI A Historic Rematriation On Friday, October 31, 2025, the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration returned Marywood Retreat Center in Arbor Vitae, Wisconsin, to the Lac du Flambeau band of the Lake Superior Chippewa. This is the first known Catholic land return to a Tribal Nation as an act of repair for colonization and residential boarding schools, and the first rematriation done by women religious. See the press release and stories in the media ... Photo: (Rematriation, photo taken by FSPA)  Only 15 Spots Left for the Madison Housing Coalition Building Event! Join the Madison for More Neighbors team for an evening of networking with other advocates and local leaders pushing for policy change and better practices in Madison. Learn about our housing work in and help shape the campaign's future priorities through cafe conversations. This event is free and light refreshments will be served by House of Flavas. RSVP is required to attend: RSVP here! APBP Webinar - Featuring Our Community Transportation Academy w/ Jen Walker et al. December 17, 2 - 3 PM CST Building Capacity and Engagement Through Community Transportation Academies The Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP) will feature our very own Community Transportation Academy program in their final 2025 webinar series! 1000 Friends' Community Programs Manager, Jen Walker, is excited to share this innovative work with a national and international audience. She will be joined by Michael Kelley from BikeWalkKC, and Jenna Thomas of Bike Cleveland. Together they'll share what many in this network already know: Transportation Academies are a powerful way to equip diverse local cohorts with more tools to advocate for transportation systems that work for everyone. Join us to learn more or to add your experiences, comments, and questions to the chat. The webinar is free for APBP Members in the 'Advocates' category. There is a cost for APBP Member professionals ($50) and students ($25); and a slightly higher cost for non-Members. Learn more and register here.  Miss the Beltline PEL Study Public Meeting? There's Still Time for Input! Did you happen to miss the online Beltline (Hwys 12/14/18/151 in & around Madison) PEL Study Public Involvement Meeting on 4th Dec.? No worries! You can still provide input until 15th Jan. via this form. Even though there are proposed additions to the bicycle & pedestrian network, some additional transit stops, and some additional safety features, the current, Preferred Strategy Package still includes possible travel lane expansion 'to accommodate growth'. When 1000 Friends Executive Director Trevor Roark asked the Project Manager (at this 4th Dec. meeting) about incorporating the Safe Systems Approach, in part to try and assist Madison in meeting its Vision Zero goals, the answer proved insufficient (it was a bit a of a dodge) by saying it hasn't and suggesting this could still be included in the NEPA analysis. Safe Systems Approaches must be incorporated from the beginning of any study, planning, or design to prove effective. Otherwise, actual safety becomes a peripheral element left far behind LOS (Level of Service), a dangerous outcome of traffic engineering we've all seen in the U.S. for the last 100 years. At one point in the presentation, the presenter mentioned that about 60% of all auto trips were using the Beltline to get from one place in the City to another (I.E. local traffic). Nowhere during the presentation did a presenter or representative say that transit routing/iteration expansion was considered and evaluated 'to accommodate growth'. Instead, the typical capacity expansion (travel lane expansion) was suggested as a possible or likely option. Unfortunately, the actual online public meeting presentation that was held on Dec. 4th is not included on the WisDOT website. Instead, they re-recorded this slide show with a narrator and mislabeled this as the Dec. 4th meeting. Please consider providing your input prior to 15th Jan. You can also find more info and sign up for updates on the Study web page here.  1000 Friends Staff Retreat to MKE Day 1 The first week of Dec. brought cold to Wisconsin, but us 1000 Friends staff brought our warm hearts and minds to Milwaukee for our first retreat as a new staff! With a quick meetup at MKE’s Intermodal train station, our feet took us east along I-794 to chat about some of that advocacy work Raphie is leading (Rethink 794) as part of WisDOT’s Lake Interchange Study, and of course, fun discussions on non-work-related items. The Public Market was a perfect space to hang out mid-afternoon, with 2 of us never seeing this place before. A delicious late lunch led to good conversation and a deck of cards. Thanks to Rory for leading us in some new card games! I’d say Jen & Raphie dominated! Read more about Day 1 & Day 2 of our retreat ... Photo: (1000 Friends Staff, from left to right: Trevor Roark, Rory Swanson, Raphie Torralba, & Jen Walker) Happy Holidays! Wishing you a "Happy Holidays" from our small, but mighty, team here at 1000 Friends of Wisconsin! During the holidays, we're especially grateful for people like you that follow, support, and advocate for our programs and initiatives - reaching across the state in rural and urban communities alike. And yet, if it wasn't for the many supporters across this fine state, we couldn't do this earnest work we're passionate about. In the spirit of this giving season, please consider supporting our team with a financial gift to 1000 Friends today. The quickest and easiest route: via Credit Card The next easiest: via mailing a check made out to "1000 Friends of Wisconsin" - P.O. Box 25, Stevens Point, WI 54481 Other, more impactful ways to give: qualified charitable distributions, CSW workplace giving, corporate donations, stock, and more *And if you're already a member of 1000 Friends or donated in the past, we're very thankful for your support! Sincerely, Trevor Roark (Executive Director) Photo: (1000 Friends Staff, photo taken by a stranger) 1000 Friends of Wisconsin 608-259-1000 | 1kfriends.org  We work remotely, so please contact us via email: Trevor Roark Address: 1000 Friends of Wisconsin PO Box 25 Stevens Point, WI 54481 Winter is here! Let's try our best at walking/rolling, bicycling, and bussing when conditions are safe! Learn more about our Community Transportation Academies. Follow 1000 Friends Online DONATE NOW 1000 Friends of Wisconsin | P O Box 25 | Steves Point, WI 54481 US Unsubscribe | Constant Contact Data Notice