COUNCIL WEEK: Mac Kiel breaks down little free food pantries, homelessness and bike lanes

Mac Kiel is back in studio to preview committee and council week in La Crosse.

The holidays pack all the big meetings into one week, highlighted by discussions on deregulating little free food pantries, asking for new proposals for a downtown bike lane and parking plan, and tackling homelessness as the community marks the two-year anniversary of Pathways Home.

Kiel talks about her experience working with the homeless, as both La Crosse’s city council and county board — and the community — can attend a Pathways Home update at 6 p.m. Monday in the County Administrative Center.

Before that, we discuss how both committees will meet next Tuesday, with Judiciary and Administration starting at 4 p.m. and Finance and Personnel following at 6 p.m., before the full city council will take those recommendations to its 6 p.m. Thursday meeting.

We also talked about how the major zoning code overhaul affects the area, including the La Crosse River Marsh seeking a 500-foot “buffer zone,” plus a proposal to end council invocations, which Kiel explains.

The biggest topic, however, was the little free food pantries and the "Community Fridge" idea — allowing refrigerators as part of that plan.

We end the show with a quick talk on the council asking the Wisconsin DOT to develop alternative plans for 3rd and 4th streets downtown, which could include protected bike lanes or bigger sidewalks.

We note that the DOT has held 19 public meetings since 2024 on the Downtown Corridor Study and presented proposals to the council, which were apparently not good enough. The council postponed voting on those proposals for 90 days, ending next month.

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