PORTLAND, Ore. - Coming off a contentious election in 2020, the United States feels, to some, as divided as it has been in recent memory. But organizations want to bridge the gap through conversation.

America Talks, a two-day event talking place this weekend, kicks off the National Week of Conversation. America Talks will pair people up via video so that they can discuss their differences.

One Portland-based organization participating in the event, Crossing Party Lines, has been connecting folks since 2016. The group's co-founder and executive director Lisa Swallow said these conversations can break down barriers in eye-opening ways.

"We get a lot of people reporting back things like they're less anxious than they used to be because they see that the other side doesn't have it out to get them, is not trying to destroy the country," said Swallow. "We see them really getting a sense of connection."

Swallow said it's important for people to feel comfortable in these situations and believes creating community is as important as facilitating dialogue. The goal of the America Talks is to connect at least 20,000 people in at least 10,000 conversations.

Carol Hottle is a volunteer with Crossing Party Lines who describes herself as a moderate Democrat.

She said the first conversation she had in the group was about the Electoral College. Before she started talking, Hottle began to wonder how much she knew about the subject.

What she knows now is that in these conversations, people have to rely on their feelings, experiences and personal knowledge.

"As you stay real and as you stay accessible through being real, then you give other people an opportunity to connect with you, whether or not they agree," said Hottle. "They can ask you questions, you can ask them questions, you can agree to disagree, but you both leave with respect."

Butch Sisavic has been participating with Crossing Party Lines over the past year and described himself as a libertarian with conservative leanings.

He said there are advantages to the organization going virtual during the pandemic - it allows people from all over the country and world to participate.

With political conversations becoming increasingly toxic, Sisavic said he has felt more isolated, but groups like Crossing Party Lines give him hope for the future.

"We have to move forward and the way to move forward, at least to understand each other's side and take steps, [is to] try to find places in the middle that makes progress," said Sisavic.

America Talks takes place June 12 and 13. The National Week of Conversation is June 14 through 20.

Wisconsinites overwhelmingly voted 'yes' on a record number of school funding measures, according to a new Wisconsin Policy Forum study. The appeals essentially asked voters to increase their own property taxes to fund school operations across the state. Voters favored a record number 169 referendums, authorizing a record total of $4.4 billion in new funding for 145 school districts.

Denise Gaumer Hutchison, Northwest regional organizer with the Wisconsin Public Education Network, said districts are being forced to take their needs to the ballot box to fund gaps between prioritizing students and overdue bills.

"The first responsibility of our public schools across the state is to educate children and to take care of the kids and the families they serve, every single day," she said. "So, that means any available funds that public schools have they put toward educating children. And so, if that means a boiler has to be patched rather than replaced, that's what they're going to do."

Almost half of the state's 421 school districts passed a referendum in April or November. Hutchison blames the state for not adequately funding school priorities, from building maintenance, to student mental-health services. The state superintendent announced last week the proposed 2025-27 budget would include $4 billion more in spending for public schools.

Despite 78% of the ballot measures passing, Hutchson said the districts where voters turned them down are in dire need of support to keep their doors open. Regardless of whether taxpayers have children in public schools, she says, the focus should be on providing every Wisconsin student with a quality education.

"I want their experience in public schools to be as awesome as my 25 and 26-year-old's were. I want them to get to be able to participate in sports, in theater, in drama and DECA, and learn about the history of our state and our country, and think about what our state and our country can be," she continued.

The study found factors like inflation outpacing the state allocated per-student revenue limits, the loss of pandemic aid and staff competition in a tight labor market are all factors that contributed to the record number of referendums.


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The presidential vote was close in Nevada and with the results in, local organizations leaning more progressive believe the re-election of Donald Trump could put much of the progress made in the Silver State in jeopardy.

Shelbie Swartz, executive director of Battle Born Progress, said Nevadans should take Trump's campaign promises seriously. She called on leaders in Carson City and in Congress to "stand up for their constituents," whom she argued a Trump administration could target, from immigrants to people who identify as transgender.

"If your values change based on polling, if your willingness to fight for the dignity of all Nevadans does not extend to our transgender siblings, then those are not values," Swartz contended. "They're talking points drafted in pencil."

Swartz stressed she has faith in the Nevada Legislature to pass bills to uphold and protect the rights of Nevadans but added the biggest challenge will be seeing what can make it across Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo's desk. Last year, Lombardo, who endorsed Donald Trump, vetoed a record 75 bills passed by the Legislature's Democratic majority.

Trump campaigned on the idea of mass deportations and has doubled down on the threat since his win.

Leo Murrieta, executive director of the group Make the Road Action Nevada, said it is time for leaders who are ready to move beyond what he calls "fear-based policies," to advocate instead for immigration reform, including clearer, earned pathways to citizenship.

"It is time for leaders to see our community as an integral part of this country's fabric, not just a political talking point," Murrieta argued. "We are standing united with many other groups ready to resist any of the policies and any of the other threats that we're certainly going to face."

A new report from the American Immigration Council found a one-time mass deportation operation would cost the United States at least $315 billion to remove more than 13 million people.

California good governance experts are warning the expansion of presidential power under a second Trump administration could cast aside expertise and the public good to further purely political aims.

Over the past week, President-elect Donald Trump has nominated multiple candidates known more for their personal support for him than for relevant expertise.

Bill Resh, associate professor of public policy at the University of Southern California, said Trump appears to be following the blueprint set by Project 2025.

"Project 2025 puts into place principles such as loyalty, first and foremost, to the President as a criterion for placement into these agencies, and often with the intention of undermining those missions."

Supporters of President-elect Trump say voters have given him a mandate to govern as he sees fit. So far, he has nominated people strongly aligned with the oil industry to run the U.S. Interior Department and be Energy Secretary. He has nominated a climate change skeptic to run the Environmental Protection Agency, a television host with no executive experience as Defense Secretary, an election denier for Attorney General and a vaccine skeptic to run the Department of Health and Human Services.

Resh noted Trump has already suggested using recess appointments to avoid what could be bruising confirmation hearings for some of his nominees.

"His stars are aligned to consolidate executive power and bring what used to be either quasi- or fully independent agencies, that were not subject to political whims, to bring those agencies to heel toward his policy preferences," Resh contended.

This year, the U.S. Supreme Court found presidents cannot be prosecuted for most actions in office. And come January, both houses of Congress will be controlled by allies of President-elect Trump.