Baldwin, Wis. — More than 80 members of GROWW (GrassRoots Organizing Western Wisconsin) 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.
Rather than asking candidates to make immediate commitments on specific policies, members focused on where candidates saw room for negotiation and partnership. GROWW members also asked candidates, if elected, to commit to meeting regularly with members throughout their terms so that conversations around the agenda continue long after Election Day.
“This wasn’t about finding perfect agreement,” said Juliet Tomkins, Chair of GROWW’s Board of Directors. “We are here to find alignment, build public relationships, and begin negotiations around the state-level changes we know people in Wisconsin need. This Town Hall is the beginning of a longer relationship with whoever is elected.”
Throughout the town hall, members shared personal stories illustrating the challenges facing western Wisconsin families and the reasons they have chosen to organize.
For Menomonie resident Caitlin Doerr, years of dealing with mold, failing appliances, rising costs, and limited housing options left her feeling frustrated and powerless before she found community through GROWW’s housing organizing.
“That feeling of hopelessness changed when I was invited to attend a GROWW listening session on housing. I realized how common our experiences are. It’s not right that corporations can get away with putting profit over people, and it’s not right that communities like mine have few tools to hold them accountable.”
The Town Hall was just one step in a broader organizing strategy GROWW members are pursuing to build the power necessary to advance their agenda in Madison.
Over the next several months, GROWW members will launch a major healthcare listening campaign across western Wisconsin, knocking on more than 4,000 doors through deep canvassing conversations focused on healthcare affordability, access, and the future of care in rural communities.
The effort was highlighted during the Town Hall by GROWW member Sox Morgan, who shared their experience losing health insurance as a teenager and the devastating impact that medical costs had on their education and future.
“Health care is why GROWW is knocking on [4,000] doors in western Wisconsin,” Morgan said. “We are talking to voters and elected officials about the changes needed to make sure everyone can live with dignity.”
This coming weekend, many of those same members will join hundreds of residents from across Wisconsin for Uniting West Wisconsin: A Regional Response to Data Centers, a two-day event featuring comedian Charlie Berens and community leaders organizing around hyperscale data center proposals emerging across the state.
Organizers say the event reflects growing concern over proposals that often emerge through negotiations taking place largely outside public view, raising questions about transparency, local control, water resources, energy demands, and community decision-making.
Meanwhile, GROWW members will spend the summer considering official endorsements in state legislative races as part of their effort to build the governing relationships necessary to move their agenda forward in the 2027 legislative session.
“The people in that room Saturday aren’t just GROWW members and voters, they’re the future constituents of the people seeking to represent western Wisconsin in Madison,” said Reba Krueger, Communications Manager for GROWW. “For too long, wealthy special interests and powerful corporations have had more influence over our state government than the people who actually live here. GROWW members are organizing to change that. We’re building the kind of people power that means legislators know they have to answer to regular families and take action on the issues we’ve been struggling with for decades, from the corporate consolidation hollowing out our family farms and local economies to the housing crisis squeezing our communities, as well as new challenges like hyperscale data centers that will shape western Wisconsin for generations.”
Organizers say the Town Hall is best understood not as a standalone event, but as one milestone in a longer organizing arc that includes issue campaigns, leadership development, candidate engagement, endorsements, and direct advocacy with elected officials.
Following the 2026 election, GROWW members plan to continue building relationships with elected officials while organizing with people across western Wisconsin before bringing members to Madison in 2027 to advocate directly for legislative action.
