Mobilizing To Protect Privacy: A Community Action Series

Privacy training series for advocates

September 28

6:00pm

The Civil Liberties & Rights Team is proud to announce that the LWV Colorado has taken a strong interest in the issue of privacy and mass surveillance and has asked our team to host a 5-session online training series. The first session on August 24th was very popular: you can view the recording here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x18TIqu1U9s

Environmental Impact of Data Centers

Data centers' energy and water challenges

Thursday, Sept. 17

4:00 - 5:15pm

Zoom (register here)

Session 2 of the Environmental Team's series on the Environmental Impact of Data Centers: Impactful Issues, Mitigation, and a Look to the Future

Thursday, Sept. 17. Zoom at 4:00. Open to all.

Register from the calendar: link to event

We are educating ourselves in order to become knowledgeable advocates. In this session we dig into two of data centers' most resource-intensive environmental challenges: energy demand and water usage.

We'll also examine the mitigation strategies being deployed today, from renewable energy sourcing to more efficient cooling technologies, and be alert to where the industry may be headed next.

IC Book Club

Reviving American clothing manufacturing

September 9, 2026

In person: 10:30am - 12:00pm

Epic Egg, 1477 E. Eisenhower Blvd, Loveland
Zoom meeting: 7:00 - 8:30pm
(register here)

Please join us for a lively discussion of our September book on September 9, 2026:

American Flannel: How a Band of Entrepreneurs Are Bringing The Art and Business of Making Clothes Back Home by Steven Kurutz (2024)

The little-engine-that-could story of how a band of scrappy entrepreneurs are reviving the enterprise of manufacturing clothing in the United States.

For decades, clothing manufacture was a pillar of U.S. industry. But beginning in the 1980s, Americans went from wearing 70 percent domestic-made apparel to almost none. Even the very symbol of American freedom and style—blue jeans—got outsourced. With offshoring, the nation lost not only millions of jobs but also crucial expertise and artistry.

Dismayed by shoddy imported “fast fashion”—and unable to stop dreaming of re-creating a favorite shirt from his youth—Bayard Winthrop set out to build a new company, American Giant, that would swim against this trend. New York Times reporter Steven Kurutz, in turn, began to follow Winthrop’s journey. He discovered other trailblazers as well, from the “Sock Queen of Alabama” to a pair of father-son shoemakers and a men’s style blogger who almost single-handedly drove a campaign to make “Made in the USA” cool. Eye-opening and inspiring, American Flannel is the story of how a band of visionaries and makers are building a new supply chain on the skeleton of the old and wedding old-fashioned craftsmanship to cutting-edge technology and design to revive an essential American dream. (Penguin Random House)

Please join us on the second Wednesday of each month.

Morning contact: Annette DeMartine: ademartine@prolynx.com

Evening contact: Pat Skrentny-Lamb: pskrentnyamb@gmail.com

Next IC Book Club Meeting: October 14 - Stand by Cory Booker (2026)

Colorado Citizen Observers

From influence to infrastructure: what AI is changing, and the data centers making it possible.

Colorado Citizen Observers (CCO) is a nonpartisan civic project, led by the League of Women Voters, that trains community members to attend, observe, and document local government meetings. Building on the League’s longstanding Observer Corps, CCO shares original, accurate reporting on local proceedings to strengthen government transparency and encourage civic participation across Larimer County and other Colorado communities.

Here’s the latest digest from the CCO feed — two recent posts on AI’s influence and the data center landscape and legislation shaping it.

Interested in learning more? Subscribe to our Substack feed or fill out our interest survey here: here.

Is Media Ruining America? Recordings Now Available!

Series recordings on spotting misinformation

Constant exposure to news is enough to make your head spin, particularly when you consider the fact that some of that news is FAKE!

The goal of our 5-part series, Is Media Ruining America? is to help you become a discerning news consumer who can easily spot misinformation.

Recordings of each part of this 5-part series are now available to League members and the public. You can find them on our website, at https://lwv-larimercounty.org/content.aspx?pageid=22&clubid=320226&moduleid=709518.

The series includes

• a discussion of history of fake news,

• tips on how to recognize bias,

• tips on how to spot fake news,

• a discussion of the impact of AI on our democracy, and

• an expert panel that helps tie together all of the above.

Please share this information with anyone interested in becoming a better news consumer.

Membership News

League name tags now available

Order by September 3

League Name Tags - The necklace name tags will continue to be available at League General Meetings this year. For members who would like to have a magnetic name tag, the cost is $10. If you would like to order one, please send your name and request to Linda Mahan at membership@lwv-larimercounty.org by September 3. When the tags are ready for pickup members will be notified and payment will be through our League’s website.

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Membership Renewal Time

Renew Using the Correct Email

 

Renewing Your Membership? Be Sure to Use the Correct Email Address!

Many members with a September renewal date have been receiving renewal notices from the LWVUS Member Portal. When you renew, please be sure to use the email address in your profile on the League's website. This email address is also your logon ID for the LWVUS Member Portal. If you use a different email address, the system will treat you as a new member.

Need more information on how to renew? Contact Linda Mahan membership@lwv-larimercounty.org.

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