January 8: State Rep. Nate Gustafson and State Sen. Rachael Cabral-Guevara addressed several bills, including Gustafson's AB 899, which would dissolve the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) and require the secretary of state to assume the duties of the commission. Sen. Cabral-Guevara picked up where she left off at the December 2023 meeting, addressing (among other topics) the "Monday ballot processing" bill, SB 685, which she said was "dead" in its committee.
February 5: Ron Heuer, president of the Wisconsin Voter Alliance (WVA), addressed election integrity
March 4: State Sen. Andre Jacque spoke about the new legislative maps and also on his announcement (made earlier that day) that he will be running for U.S. Congress in the 8th District, to fill the seat of Mike Gallagher, who has indicated he would not seek another term.
April 1: Greg Hartjes, superintendent of the Appleton Area School District (AASD), spoke frankly of the district’s challenges and opportunities at the April 1 meeting of Fox Valley Initiative, which took place at FreedomProject Academy in Appleton. See a report about the meeting here.
May 6: Former Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel – the only announced candidate for Wisconsin’s 2025 State Supreme Court election – addressed the May 2024 meeting. Find a summary of the meeting here.
December 4: Wisconsin State Rep. Dave Murphy and State Sen. Rachael Cabral-Guevara addressed a wide range of bills pending in the state legislature. Rep. Murphy updated the 40-odd audience members on AB 553, which focuses on freedom of speech and academic freedom in the UW system. Sen. Cabral-Guevara addressed her position on abortion; allowing pharmacists to prescribe birth control; and the carbon calculator bill.
November 6: Thirty-five people attended the November 6 meeting of Fox Valley Initiative, held at Freedom Project Academy in Appleton, to hear a presentation by John Pudner, president of Take Back Our Republic Action Fund. He addressed several aspects of election integrity — including a couple interesting stories about election fraud in other states — and made the case for a special type of ranked choice voting known as Final Five Voting. Here are photos and a not-so-brief report.
September 11: Dan Lennington, deputy counsel for the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty and lead attorney in its Equality Under the Law Project. For a brief report with photos, click here: FVI September 2023 Dan Lennington. To download his PowerPoint presentation, click here: Dan Lennington PowerPoint
August 7: Brian Schimming, chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, said in order for Republicans to win elections in 2024, “we have to think like a majority.” He emphasized the importance of poll workers and the Bank Your Vote campaign as ways to do that. Here are photos and a brief report.
July 10: Scott and Cindy Schara discussed the tragic circumstances under which their 19-year-old daughter, Grace, died in an Appleton hospital. More than 70 people attended the Scharas' presentation. If you were unable to attend, we encourage you to watch Scott's PowerPoint presentation. We also encourage you all to watch Breaking the Oath, a new documentary film highlighting U.S. hospital murders in the name of COVID-19.
June 5: Associate Counsel Cory Brewer (left) of the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) discussed Restoring American Education at a Fox Valley Initiative meeting held at FreedomProject Academy and attended by more than 50 people. Here's a brief report with photos.
May 1: Randy Melchert, founder of Academy of Excellence, a “tuition-free, accredited, K–12, private, Christian, online academy.” Report with photos here.
April 3: listening session with four Appleton-area state legislators: Sen. Rachael Cabral-Guevara and Reps. Ty Bodden, Joy Goeben, and Dave Murphy. The four made opening remarks and then took questions from the audience. Report with photos here.
