Our monthly newsletter, The VOTER, provides information on League programs and events, and updates on our advocacy efforts, among other topics.
Lissa Staley, Communications Chair
Articles for the Voter are due the Friday after the monthly Board of Director’s meeting held on the second Tuesday of the month.
THE VOTER
FEBRUARY 2025
Calendar of Events
Tuesday Topics
February 4 | Noon | Marvin 101BC at Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library
Dale Somers will discuss the history of the Grand Army Republic, which was a national association of Union Civil War veterans. Join on Zoom.
President’s Perspective
This new year brought a record snowfall – the likes of which we’ve not seen in years. And due to the snowfall, January’s Tuesday Topics was cancelled and our speakers will be rescheduled.
As you know, the 2025 legislative session has begun. I encourage you to contact members of the Shawnee County legislative delegation, by phone or email, regarding proposed legislation. Included below is their Statehouse contact information.
Local Observer Reports
Tuesday Topics Summary
Enjoy this repeat reminder of the December presentation, when Jeanne Klein spoke about the history of women’s suffrage in Kansas and the mural celebrating the lives of the women who spearheaded the efforts and persisted until their goal was accomplished. View the recording of her presentation. Read the article on the library’s website. It’s perfect timing since January 29, 2025 Wednesday at noon at the Kansas Capitol is the Dedication of the Kansas Suffragist Memorial Mural Dedication!
Book Club Updates
- February 14 The Bodies Keep Coming, Dr. Brian Williams
- March 14 The Woman They Could Not Silence, Kate Moore
- April 11 Grandma Gatewood’s Walk, Ben Montgomery
- May 9 Bone of the Bone, Sarah Smarsh
- June 13 The Serviceberry, Robin Wall Kimmerer
- July 11 By the Fire We Carry, Rebecca Nagle
- August 8 Everyone Who is Gone is Here, Jonathon Blitzer
- September 12 Washington: a Life, Ron Chernow
- October 10 The Girl with the Louding Voice, Abi Dare
- November 14 James, Percival Everett
- December 12 Talk about books for 2026 and in general
Membership Update
The LWV-US is Implementing a New, Centralized Membership System
For the last couple years, the LWVUS has been planning and designing a new centralized membership system which shifts some of the responsibility for membership from local leagues to the US League. The new system will roll-out starting in early February 2025. Because we recently completed our annual membership renewal process, most of the changes won’t affect us for nearly a year.
However, there is one change happening soon that you need to be aware of. There will be a member portal for all League members as a part of the new system. Each member will have access to his or her personal information on this web portal. You will receive an email from LWVUS during the first week of February asking you to log into the portal and to complete a short survey with questions about demographic information that the LWVUS hopes will allow it to have a better idea of who its members are. The information requested is not currently in the League’s membership database. Only the LWVUS will have access to this information. Our local league has included a few questions on the survey also, such as your areas of interest. We will have access to the answers to those questions.
Your userid for the portal will be your email address. You won’t need to set up a password to use on the portal. Each time you go to the login page, you will enter your email address and the platform will send a code to your email. You will use that code instead of a password.
The email from the LWVUS will also explain the portal and how to access it. If you have questions after reading the email or after logging in, please contact me and I’ll try to help.
There are obviously many other details about the new system which I’ll address in upcoming editions of the Voter.
Allan Foster, Membership Chair
LWV Board Highlights
-
The study committee on climate submitted a draft position statement to the Board, which will be voted on by the membership at the Annual Meeting in April. Informational meetings on the position statement will be held in the coming months.
-
The Board created a standing committee on Climate Change.
-
LWVUS took over membership fee collection for all local leagues effective February1, 2025.
-
The League will conduct voter registration presentations in several high schools this Spring.
State League Action Alerts & Newsletter
Stay informed of State League of Women Voters articles & news.
