FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SUPERIOR, WISCONSIN—Progress North, a recently-formed community organizing group based in Superior and Ashland, held its public debut via virtual event on Saturday, October 3. During the hour-long event aptly called, “Attention, please!”, the leadership team unrolled the organization’s mission, vision, and focus: work that connects the people of Northern Wisconsin around the shared values of equity, people-centered democracy, and the common good.

In a year that has redefined how people relate to one another, the group says there is a clear call for decency, respect, and a return to valuing all people equally regardless of differences. In her welcoming remarks, Director Shawnu Ksicinski elaborated, “While we have had many conversations that have lifted up the issues that folks face, we have also discovered that to continue to engage people and to bring new folks in, it’s not enough to just be against something.  We need to stand for something and put forth a vision for a future where everyone not only has what they need to survive, but what they need to thrive.”

Progress North set out this year with three primary goals:  to connect with people across Northwest WI around shared values and a shared vision for what is possible, to connect with organizations that share their values and desire for grassroots change in local communities, and through that work to build more long-term progressive infrastructure in the region centered in dismantling systems that perpetuate gender oppression, white supremacy & corporate power.

As dozens of interested people across the region logged in to learn more, local leaders from Superior to Ashland joined the meeting to address the audience and lend their encouragement. Beth Meyers, candidate for re-election in Wisconsin’s 73rd Assembly District, Nick Milroy, candidate for re-election in Wisconsin’s 74th Assembly District, and Tricia Zunker, candidate for election in Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District all delivered remarks as election day approaches.

To accomplish their work, the leadership team says they have a clear path to the better future they envision—and it begins with overcoming the sense of inevitability that the way things are now reflects the way they will always be. A society where everyone can earn a good living and have a good life, schools can be properly resourced so that every child can pursue their dreams, and families can reliably receive the care they need to get and stay well is not only possible, Ksicinski says, but it’s what our communities need and deserve.

As the event concluded, the active and vibrant canvassing and volunteer staff that works with Progress North delivered a clear call to action for interested parties to join their work, which has already been measurably successful. Thousands of calls and text messages have been deployed within the targeted region of Ashland, Bayfield, Douglas, Price, and Sawyer counties. The canvassers reminded the audience that while the focus may be on November 3rd now, this work means concentrating on more than one issue or election cycle. The response has been positive—but their work is far from done.

Progress North is an independent project, fiscally sponsored by TakeAction Minnesota, with a primary focus of connecting individuals and organizations in Northwest Wisconsin across race, class, gender, sexual orientation, generation, and geography.

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Pictured in the enclosed photo (top left to bottom right): David Mettille, Communications Manager; Jade Livingston, Regional Organizer; Cheyenne Otto-Defoe, Lead Organizer; Shawnu Ksicinksi, Director.  Photo by Abby Goodell.

For more information regarding Progress North or the members of its leadership team, please visit progressnorth.org or contact Communications Manager David Mettille at david.progressnorth@gmail.com