Our new friend Jim Rowen at The Political Environment has been blogging about the Great Lakes Compact in Wisconsin, and the politics surrounding its passage, since February 2007. For many of us, the Compact elicits an easy, “Sure, I think the Compact is important. Let’s pass it! I love the lakes!” But once you delve into the eight states, complicated implementing legislation that varies from state to state, amendments, diversions, permits and pending Congressional re-districting after the census in 2010 – it starts to get a little muddy.
Never fear, Jim has been keeping it all straight. For instance, here’s a great summary of the bill Wisconsin just passed that will untangle the web of complexities and make you go, “hmmmm.”
And here’s a list of Compact-related resources he’s compiled, from around the region.
We’ve got Jim in Wisconsin, and the Great Lakes Blogger in Minnesota (and watching the region at large). Who else is doing this in other states?
The Great Lakes Town Hall is based out of Madison, Wisconsin. It is an online forum for residents all over the Great Lakes region to come together, read and respond to daily and weekly essays, vote in opinion polls, post announcements and more.
The Town Hall is unique in that it’s almost entirely user-driven. There is a new guest writer each week from a Great Lakes community, organization, or agency. The users can respond to essays and carry out a discussion or conversation. They are able to voice their opinions and generate new ideas with their fellow users.
To learn more about the Great Lakes Town Hall, visit http://www.greatlakestownhall.org . Anyone, whether they live in the Great Lakes basin or not, is always welcome to register and join in on the discussion!