Part 1 (La Crosse Mss AP, Audio 1134A/1): Original Collection, 1924-1983
Physical Description: 7.0 cubic feet (1 records center cartons and 15 archives boxes) and 1 tape recording 
Scope and Content Note

The League's GENERAL RECORDS are comprised of by-laws of both the state and local organizations, an early and incomplete La Crosse League history, a few clippings of League activities, fairly routine correspondence and inter-office memoranda, minutes and reports from regular membership, regular and special board of directors meetings, annual meetings, and State Council meetings; League policies and guidelines; recommendations about national and state LWV program; reports of the president, League, and committees to the state and national LWV; scrapbooks; and speeches, notes, and press releases.

State convention kits contain agenda, reports, resolutions, financial records, and other items sent to members in advance of each convention, and additional materials later collected at the meeting. Financial records include local League budgets and budget requests; fundraising and finance drive correspondence, lists of names, notes, clippings, and other papers; records of receipts and disbursements, often also listing members' names and dues; and treasurer's reports. While many of the financial record contain large gaps in information, the treasurers' reports are almost entirely complete from 1941 to 1979. Dues records are also found in many of the annual membership record books; together with membership lists and yearbooks, lists of officers, and records of a membership pilot project comprise the La Crosse LWV membership records, dating from 1924-1979.

Much of the League's work involved monitoring and studying the actions of governmental bodies. The collection includes a few observation reports, which members compiled after observing meetings of local governmental bodies, and letters and questions and answers from interviews with a few La Crosse state and national legislators. Files on program planning and advocacy strategy emphasize some of the League's work to maintain a presence in many local and state issues. League publications are a significant part of the collection. Local bulletins, found here with very few missing issues, provided members with meeting information and calendars, while state and national publications provided the data for use while studying topics suggested by the national and state Leagues. The files of state LWV statements, legislative summaries, position papers, and “Time for Action” flyers, national LWV “Action Alerts,” memoranda, National Board Reports, “Reports From the Hill,” statements, and press releases are scattered, but indicate which topics were chosen for study by the La Crosse League and how they incorporated the suggested material into the local studies.

There are also fragmentary records of a few committees, including the Community Development, Education, and State Program and Action Committees and the Department of Government and Economic Welfare. With other Leagues around the country, the La Crosse LWV celebrated the fiftieth, seventieth, and seventy-fifth anniversaries of the national organization. In each of the anniversary years, the files contain correspondence and other records mainly concerning fundraising and anniversary activities.

Files on LOCAL STUDY ISSUES are comprised of correspondence to inform or persuade local and state legislators, collected studies and reports, clippings, near-print “study materials” prepared by the state and national LWV, LWV policy statements, and reports on a wide variety of topics. Most topics were suggested or authorized by the state or national organizations, with a La Crosse focus. Topics gradually evolved to reflect the local league's increasing concern with contemporary topics of state and national scope. The topics studied include: administration of justice and juvenile justice; area planning, land use and zoning; civil and human rights; community care organizations; community development; conservation of natural resources, the environment and the Mississippi River Basin; state constitutional revision; county and state government; decriminalization of marijuana; education and school system reform; energy; the Equal Rights Amendment; housing; foreign aid; taxation and property taxes; martial property reform and welfare rights and administration. Included with the material on marital property reform is a script and tape recording of a slide-tape show, entitled “Law and Marriage.”

The La Crosse League was involved in the reapportionment battle between the City of La Crosse and the County of La Crosse from 1981 through 1982, and seven files contain a large amount of information on the highly charged disagreement. The fight included lawsuits and counter-suits over the changing of political boundaries undertaken by the City of La Crosse. The La Crosse League of Women Voters became involved in the fight when it attempted to help find an amicable solution to the dispute with both sides.

Health issues and health care also played a large role in many of the studies undertaken by the La Crosse League. Files in the collection concern health services in La Crosse and Wisconsin, health care forums undertaken by the League, heath services planning, and the 1982 merger of city and county heath care in the La Crosse area.

Series: General Records

By-laws and history

Clippings

Community Development Committee, 1976

State Convention kits, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1979

Correspondence and inter-office memoranda, 1960-1979

Education Committee, 1973-1974

Fiftieth anniversary celebration, 1969

Papers

Papers (continued)

Financial records

Budgets and budget requests, 1963-1978

Fundraising, 1950-1956, 1958, 1964

Finance drives, 1960-1962, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1970

Receipts and disbursements, 1928-1959

Receipts and disbursements, 1959-1966

Treasurer's reports, 1941-1979

Department of Government and Economic Welfare - reports, correspondence, 1939-1952

Minutes of meetings

Annual meetings - minutes and reports, 1951-1977

Board of Directors and regular meetings

1924 August-1933 April; 1938 August-1954

1955-1979 April

State Council meetings, 1970, 1974, 1976

Membership records

Lists, 1925-1976

Dues records and receipts and disbursements, 1924-1950

Membership booklets and yearbooks, 1946-1952, 1965-1966, 1969-1978, undated

Membership pilot project, 1971-1972

Lists of officers and members, 1929-1932, 1952-1963, 1975-1979

Telephone and office messages, 1971-1976

Notes and ideas

Observation reports, 1965, 1970-1971

Interviews and correspondence with officeholders

Milo G. Knutson, 1969-1975

Gaylord Nelson, William Proxmire, and Alvin Baldus, 1971-1975

Paul Offner, 1975

Virgil Roberts, 1972-1975

Vernon Thomson, 1961-1974

Photographs

Policies and guidelines

Action guidelines, 1957-1976

Policies

Nonpartisanship policy

President's Day, July 1969

Publications

La Crosse League bulletins

1957-1971

1972-1977

Other publications

State LWV publications

League statements, 1959-1978

Legislative summaries, 1973-1977

Manuals and guidelines, 1962, 1971, 1973

Position papers, 1950-1955, 1960, 1963, 1969-1970, 1972, 1974, 1976

“Time for Action,” 1955-1978

National LWV publications

“Action Alerts,” 1974-1979

Memoranda, 1963-1979

National Board reports: A Guide for Local and State Board Planning, 1973, 1975-1977

“Reports from the Hill”

1970 August-1975

1976-1978 January

Statements, 1967-1977

“Time for Action,” 1959-1975

Publicity workshop materials

Recommendations regarding National and State Program, 1959, 1961, 1968-1972

Reports

Annual reports of President and Committees, 1933-1950

Annual reports to State and National LWV, 1955-1976

Unit reports to State LWV, 1978-1979

State Board reports, 1975-1977

Scrapbooks, 1944-1971, 1972-1973, 1974-1975

Speeches and speech notes, 1964-1968

State Program and Action Committee, 1963-1971

Series: Local Study Issues

Administration of justice, 1958, 1969, 1971-1974

Area planning and land use, 1969-1973, 1975

Area planning and zoning, 1972-1973

Civil rights, 1964-1965, 1975

Community care organizations, 1974-1975

Community development, 1975

Conservancy districts, 1970-1971

Conservation, 1966-1967

State constitutional revision, 1960-1962

“Continuing Responsibilities,” 1960-1968

County government, 1955-1979

Decriminalization of marijuana, 1979

Education

1951-1975

Conference on Alternatives in Education, 1975 November

La Crosse schools, 1959-1974

Washburn School study, 1974-1975

Election Systems Project (Voting Rights meeting, 1972 August 1-2), 1972-1974

Electoral College, 1968-1970

Energy, 1977-1978

Environmental quality - conservation of water resources, 1955-1972

Equal Rights Amendment, 1975-1979

Fair housing, 1961-1967, 1974

Financing the LWV, 1974-1975

Food stamps, 1975-1977

Foreign aid, 1954-1966

Government (notes), 1974

Government Curriculum Kit material

State government finance, 1950-1963

Harborview Plaza Project, Civic Center Project, and urban renewal, 1968-1972

Health services and planning, 1971-1973

Housing, 1971-1979

Human resources, 1962-1970

Human rights, 1950-1970

Juvenile justice, 1955-1978

Legislative Study Committee, 1977-1978

Marital property reform, 1981-1983

Script for “Law and Marriage” slide tape show

Tape of “Law and Marriage” slide tape show

Mississippi River Regional Planning Commission, 1969-1975

Program on state position papers, 1968-1974

Public welfare, 1953-1962

Reapportionment, 1951-1967

Representative government and government structure, 1962-1979

State-local relationships (regarding state aids and shared taxes), 1965-1969

State-local relationships - The Wallace Report, 1977

Taxes, 1947-1968

Property taxes, 1972

Transportation - Citizens Committee on Transportation, 1973-1974

Transportation and mass transit, 1971-1974

Transportation studies, 1970

Unemployment, 1975

Veterans' bonuses, opposition to, 1951-1962

Welfare and welfare rights, 1974-1975

Part 2 (La Crosse Mss AP): 2004 Additions, 1947-2004
Physical Description: 5.0 cubic feet (13 archives boxes) 
Scope and Content Note

The League's GENERAL RECORDS are comprised of by-laws of both the state and local organizations, an early and incomplete La Crosse League history, a few clippings of League activities, fairly routine correspondence and inter-office memoranda, minutes and reports from regular membership, regular and special board of directors meetings, annual meetings, and State Council meetings; League policies and guidelines; recommendations about national and state LWV program; reports of the president, League, and committees to the state and national LWV; scrapbooks; and speeches, notes, and press releases. The collection includes correspondence and information from Lorraine Dahl, a member of the La Crosse League who led the state-wide League of Women Voters in the 1950s.

State convention kits contain agenda, reports, resolutions, financial records, and other items sent to members in advance of each convention, and additional materials later collected at the meeting. Financial records include local League budgets and budget requests; fundraising and finance drive correspondence, lists of names, notes, clippings, and other papers; records of receipts and disbursements, often also listing members' names and dues; and treasurer's reports. While many of the financial record contain large gaps in information, the treasurers' reports are almost entirely complete from 1977-1999. Dues records are also found in many of the annual membership record books together with membership lists and yearbooks, lists of officers, and records of a membership pilot project comprise the La Crosse LWV membership records, dating from 1954-1999.

Much of the League's work involved monitoring and studying the actions of governmental bodies. Files on program planning and advocacy strategy emphasize some of the League's work to maintain a presence in many local and state issues. League publications are a significant part of the collection. Local bulletins, found here with very few missing issues, provided members with meeting information and calendars, while state and national publications provided the data for use while studying topics suggested by the national and state Leagues.

There are also fragmentary records of a few committees, including the Community Development, Education, and State Program and Action Committees and the Department of Government and Economic Welfare. With other Leagues around the country, the La Crosse LWV celebrated the fiftieth, seventieth, and seventy-fifth anniversaries of the national organization. In each of the anniversary years, the files contain correspondence and other records mainly concerning fundraising and anniversary activities.

Files on LOCAL STUDY ISSUES are comprised of correspondence to inform or persuade local and state legislators, collected studies and reports, clippings, near-print “study materials” prepared by the state and national LWV, LWV policy statements, and reports on a wide variety of topics. Most topics were suggested or authorized by the state or national organizations, with a La Crosse focus. Topics gradually evolved to reflect the local league's increasing concern with topics of state and national scope. The topics studied include: domestic violence; financing education; foreign policy; gun control; housing; juvenile justice; land use and zoning; civil rights; the environment and the Mississippi River Basin; energy; the Equal Rights Amendment; sex equity and schools; and welfare reform.

Also included is a collection of records concerning the production of a book on the social and political history of women in the La Crosse area entitled For the Common Good. These files contain information on the writing, editing, and sales of the book created by the La Crosse League from 1991 to 1997. A copy of the book is enclosed in the files, and the book received many positive reviews from around the country.

The files on voter services contain information on numerous aspects of the League's work to involve as many people as possible in the political process. These topics include debates, forums, election problems, voting irregularities and many written responses from candidates involved in various election campaigns. The majority of these files include information from the 1970s through the 1990s.

The La Crosse League was involved in the reapportionment battle between the City of La Crosse and the County of La Crosse from 1981 through 1982, and seven files contain a large amount of information on the highly charged disagreement. The fight included lawsuits and counter-suits over the changing of political boundaries undertaken by the City of La Crosse. The La Crosse League of Women Voters became involved in the fight when it attempted to help find an amicable solution to the dispute with both sides.

Health issues and health care also played a large role in many of the studies undertaken by the La Crosse League. Files in the collection concern health services in La Crosse and Wisconsin, health care forums undertaken by the League, heath services planning, and the 1982 merger of city and county heath care in the La Crosse area.

Series: General Records

Advocacy strategies, 1977-1992

By-laws, 1979-2000

Evaluations, surveys and planning, 1990-1994

Financial records

Budgets, 1994-1996

Finance drives, 1947-1977, 1979-1996

Fundraiser: Equal Rights Amendment, 1973

Fundraising: Heritage Night and wrapping, 1987, 1990, 1995

Treasurer's reports, 1977-1980, 1983-1999

General policies, 1980

Goals and objectives, 1981-1982

Interest lists, 1970-1993

Lorraine Dahl: State Board information, 1954

Meetings and minutes

Annual meeting booklets, 1978-1991

Annual meeting booklets, 1992-1999

Annual meeting minutes, 1978-1999

Board meeting agendas, 1975-1999

Board meeting minutes, 1978-1999

Membership

Booklets, 1970-1985

Booklets, 1986-1999

Information, 1987-1995

Lists, 1954-1984

Non partisanship, 1974-1980

Office reports, 1969-1977

Organization, 1978-1994

Program planning, 1951-1998

Publications

Bulletins, 1977-1986

Bulletins, 1987-1999

Flyers, 1977-1988

Position papers, 1999

Press releases, 1970-1999

Press releases, 1990-1999

Publications, 1970-1990

Publicity, 1955-1990

Seventieth anniversary celebration, 1991

Seventy-fifth anniversary celebration, 1995

State Award, Marion Ramlow, 1987

State Board correspondence, 1950-1954

State Convention kits, 1989, 1995, 1997, 1999

State Council: La Crosse, 1970

Suffrage celebration, 1995

Series: Local Study Issues

Adolescents, services to, 1993-1995

Awards, 1982, 1995-1996

Campaign finance, 1973, 1994

Civil service and appointment powers of the Executive Branch, 1991-1999

Comparable worth, 1985

Conference on Children and Youth, La Crosse, 1950

Correspondence, 1977-1995

County booklet, 1991

County Executive Administrator booklet, 1990

County Executive information, 1996-1997

County government structure, 1990

Domestic violence, 1979-1980

Energy, 1977

Equal Rights Amendment, 1973-1980

Financing education, 1971-1994

Financing education, 1995-1999

For the Common Good

Book sales, 1996-2000

Editorial Advisory Board, 1994-1996

Education Fund financials, 1994-1998

Financials, 1996-2004

“For the Common Good,” 1996

Grants, 1991-1997

Guest book, 1996

League of Women Voters Education Fund application, 1994

Pledges, 1994-1995

Project manager expenses, 1995-1997

Publicity, 1994-1998

State Historical Society of Wisconsin Award, 1997

Timeline, 1993-1997

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Foundation application, 1994-1995

YWCA Corporate Award, 1997

Foreign policy, 1954-1968

Gun control, 1994-1996

Health Care

City-County Health merger, 1982

Forums, 1992

Health care, 1978-1999

Justice for All? , 1992-1993

Phase I, 1992

Phase II, 1993-1994

Housing, 1978-1980

Human needs, 1986-1988

Impact of federal and state mandates and state statutes, 1990

Intergovernmental cooperation, 1996

Juvenile justice, 1978-1995

Legislative studies, 1978

Library, 1980

Litigation, 1973-1985

Local appointments, 1978-1985

Marital property, 1978-1979

Marsh study, 1989-1991

Mental health, 1988-1991

Mississippi River Basin Study, 1959

National Election Services reporting, 1988-1998

Programs, 1970-1995

Reapportionment, 1981-1982

Reapportionment, 1981-1982 (continued)

Reapportionment, 1981-1982 (continued)

Reapportionment, 1987-1991

Safe drinking water, 1995

School census, 1955

Sex equity and schools, 1981-1995

Teen pregnancy, 1988

Transportation, 1975, 1978

Units, 1950, 1980-1989

Urban crisis, 1978-1980

Voter services

Attorney General debates, 1994

Candidate forums, 1988-1996

Debates, 1994

Election problems, 1976-1985

Fall elections, 1996

Forums and debates, 1993-1994

How to Run For Public Office, 1990-1999

Power Vote '90, 1990

Registration, 1976-1996

Responses, 1988-1990

Services, 1992-2001

Voting irregularities, 1984

Washington, D.C. Voting Rights, 1970-1980

Welfare Reform-W2, 1988-1997

Wetlands grant, 1998

Yellow Rose of Suffrage, 1996

Part 3 (La Crosse Mss AP, Audio 1134A/2-3): 2010 Additions, 1989-2009
Physical Description: 1.0 cubic feet (1 records center carton) and 2 audio recordings 
Scope and Content Note: Additions, 1989-2009, consisting of bulletins, correspondence, financial records, meeting minutes, and membership records, of the La Crosse County chapter of the League of Women Voters. Also included are two sound recordings and material the chapter collected and distributed on current political issues including immigration, campaign finance, and voting rights.

Bulletins, 2000-2009

By-laws, 2008

Correspondence, 2003-2006

Financial records

Audit, 2009

Finance drive, 2002, 2004

Treasurer's report, 2000-2004

Media, circa 1990s

Meeting minutes

Annual board minutes, 2000, 2002-2005

Annual reports, 2000-2008

Board agendas, 2002-2007

Board meeting minutes, 2000-2009

Meeting programs, 2003

Membership

Annual membership booklets, 2001-2007

Local members state activities, 1989, 1993

Membership recruitment, 2008

Mission and strategic planning, 2003-2004

Organizational history, 1995

Outreach

Longfellow Middle School, 2006

Open World, 2007-2009

Voters services, 2000-2009

Position statement, 2002

Programs, 2003-2009

Publicity, 2000-2008

Subject files

Local city campaign finance, 2000

Local county campaign finance, 2000

Local school campaign finance, 2000-2001

Local city-county library, 2003

Local county executive, 2002

Local dental coalition, 2005

Local health care, 2008

Local jail and mental health, 2006

Local natural step, 2009

Local planning, 2003

Local transportation, 2003

National immigration, 2007

National patriot act, 2003

National reproductive rights, 2003

State civil liberties, 2003-2004

State corrections, 2001-2002

State education, 2003

State energy, 2003, 2006-2007

State planning and zoning, 2003-2004

State voting rights, 2006

State water quality study, 2003

Audio recordings

Carolyn Castori on Newsmakers discussing the Help America Vote Act, 2004 January 26

League of Women Voters' forum on immigration, undated

Part 4 (La Crosse Mss AP): 2018 Additions, 1992-2018
Physical Description: 0.4 cubic feet (1 archives box) 
Scope and Content Note: Additions, 1992-2018, consisting of board and annual meeting materials including treasurer's reports, board agendas, minutes, committee reports, membership lists and newsletters.

Minutes and reports

1992-2002

2003-2009

2010-2014

2015

2016

2017

Minutes and reports, newsletters, 2018