Chippewa Valley Indivisible

On March 19, the Washington Post published a feature story on what was happening in western Wisconsin: angry voters demanding answers from representatives who wouldn’t face them.

The story — “Have You Seen My Congressman?” — centered on the growing frustration with Rep. Derrick Van Orden and other Republicans who had stopped holding public town halls. CVI’s Empty Chair listening session was at the heart of the piece.

For a grassroots group not yet two months old, landing in the Washington Post was a milestone. But the real story wasn’t the coverage — it was what the coverage confirmed: the Chippewa Valley’s demand to be heard wasn’t going away.

When organizers for a Tim Walz town hall in Eau Claire on March 18 asked the City Council for residents with healthcare stories to tell, the ask reached CVI — and CVI put forward member Kayanna Spooner.

Kayanna’s story — of navigating the healthcare system as costs climbed and coverage shrank — resonated far beyond that room. The event drew national attention from CNN, WPR, and MSNBC, and Kayanna appeared on The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell. Tim Walz himself shared her story on TikTok.

What started as a local town hall became a turning point: a CVI member’s voice reaching millions, and a reminder that the most powerful advocacy comes from real people telling the truth about their own lives.

On March 12, hundreds of Chippewa Valley residents gathered outside the federal courthouse in downtown Eau Claire for a Defend Democracy rally — one of the largest public demonstrations the city had seen in years.

The message cut across party lines: the institutions that protect everyday Americans — independent courts, a free press, the right to be heard — are worth defending. Speakers called on neighbors to stay engaged, stay visible, and keep showing up.

Coverage from WQOW, WEAU, and Volume One brought the story across the region. For CVI, still less than two months old, it was proof that the Chippewa Valley was ready to be heard.

On March 8, hundreds packed Altoona High School for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Fighting Oligarchy rally — and a CVI leader was the one who opened it.

Just days after Rep. Van Orden’s staff locked constituents out of his district office, Cyndi Greening took the stage to tell that story to a packed house. The message was simple: when your congressman won’t face you, you find a bigger room.

The rally drew coverage from WQOW, WXOW, WEAU, and was livestreamed nationally. For a group barely six weeks old, it was a sign of how fast CVI’s voice was carrying — from a locked office door to a national stage.

When Rep. Derrick Van Orden’s staff agreed to meet Eau Claire constituents at the public library on February 27, CVI members were ready — questions in hand, hoping to be heard. Then the staff canceled once word got out about the turnout.

CVI held the session anyway. People wrote messages to their congressman, then marched from the library to his district office to deliver them by hand. They were locked out.

The story traveled fast. Within days, CVI group leader Cyndi Greening was invited to open for Sen. Bernie Sanders at his Fighting Oligarchy stop in Altoona — there to tell the story of constituents who showed up only to find an empty chair. Within weeks, the Washington Post featured the western Wisconsin revolt against vanishing town halls.

And one of the constituents who showed up that day — Teresa Kriese — would go on to become one of CVI’s most powerful healthcare voices more than a year later. One locked door, and the organizing that grew from it.