Join us for an informative discussion about Wisconsin’s water heritage and a new initiative to cover the Mississippi River basin. Journalists and speakers will deliver short updates on their reporting/topic followed by a question-and-answer session and discussion about water quality, environment, sustainability.
A cosponsored event with:
SPEAKERS & PANELISTS
Bennet Goldstein
Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk reporter for Wisconsin Watch
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Bennet Goldstein reports on water and agriculture as Wisconsin Watch’s Report for America representative on the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk — a collaborative reporting network across the Basin. Before this, Goldstein was on the breaking news team at the Omaha World-Herald in Nebraska. He has spent most of his career at daily papers in Iowa, including the Dubuque Telegraph Herald. Goldstein’s work has garnered awards, including the Associated Press Media Editors award for an explanatory feature about a police shooting in rural Wisconsin, and an Iowa Newspaper Association award for a series that detailed the impacts of the loss of social safety net programs on Dubuque’s Marshallese community. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Madeline Heim
Mississippi River basin reporter, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Report for America corps member
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Madeline Heim is a Report for America corps member covering environment and agricultural issues for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She is a member of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, a collaborative network that reports on issues across the basin. Born and raised in southeastern Wisconsin, Madeline came to the Driftless region for a job at the Winona Daily News after graduating from UW-Madison in 2018. She moved to Appleton in 2019 to cover health and science issues for the Appleton Post-Crescent, where her coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic earned top honors from the Wisconsin Newspaper Association. She began her role at the Journal Sentinel last summer and is based in Madison.
JC Nelson
Acting Center Director, U.S. Geological Survey's Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
JC has been with USGS since 1998 when he started as a student. He has held several roles at USGS, including his role as Midcontinent Region Science Coordinator. JC's focus as science coordinator is science and partnership building across the 11 USGS science centers and states that make up the Midcontinent Region. His science background is in the geospatial sciences and incorporating data and mapping into other research including water quality, native mussels, migratory birds, and many other research themes. JC has lived in La Crosse most of his life and enjoys all that the Coulee Region has to offer.
Lee Donahue
Town of Campbell Supervisor
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Lee Donahue has worked at every echelon of government. In the 1980’s she taught blind clients how to secure government contracts on federal property. She is a Department of Defense award winning broadcast journalist for the US Army. As a non- commissioned officer she served as a public affairs professional and training developer in 13 countries.In 2020 she became a Town of Campbell supervisor, she focuses on addressing PFAS and other contaminants in tap water and the environment.
Amy Smith
La Crosse Urban Stormwater Group, Fishers & Farmers Partnership, Habitat for Humanity of the Greater La Crosse Region
Amy works with a number of local organizations focused on water issues including La Crosse Urban Stormwater Group, Fishers and Farmers Partnership, and Habitat for Humanity of the Greater La Crosse Region. As the Sustainability Director for Habitat for Humanity La Crosse, her work allows her to manage local and regional conservation projects and groups.