Loss of an LWV Leader - Lonni McCauley

Lonni's Celebration of Life will be held on Wednesday, August 30, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. at the Coon Rapids Civic Center, 11155 Robinson Drive, Coon Rapids, MN 55433.  Here's a link to her full obituary.  Following are memorials from League of Women Voters and Mediation Restoration Services.  

Lonni McCauley will be missed.   She joined LWV Upper Mississippi River Region at our organizing meeting on October 25, 2015.  Traveling to Dubuque with her close friend​, DeeAnn Christensen,  Lonni brought her love of the Mississippi and her host of talents to LWV UMRR.   Lonni passed away August 4, 2023, leaving a big hole in the work of LWV UMRR and our hearts.

Lonni was a member of the LWV UMRR Board, serving as our first Action Chair until 2022.   She was also on the Board of LWV ABC in Minnesota, where she served as Program Co-chair.  

Lonni McCauley moderating a candidate forum in 2022.

In 2017, Lonni organized a meeting as part of the Minnesota 25% by 2025 initiative.  Here, the League of Women Voters Upper Mississippi River Region, in cooperation with 13 other organizations, sponsored a Community Water Conversation at Anoka Ramsey Community College.  About 75 people attended, including members of the public, water professionals and elected officials.  This meeting was part of the Governor’s series of meetings with Minnesotans on how to reduce water pollution by 25% by the year 2025.   Lonni organized this meeting and led discussions, building awareness of LWV UMRR in the community.   (Blog post at this link.)

Born and raised on a farm in Southwestern Minnesota,  Lonni was an ardent supporter of soil health movement.  In her role with LWV UMRR, she worked with Land Stewardship Project to sponsor seminars for absentee landowners.   This is important because about half of farm land is rented, and the owners can have a big say in the farming practices that are used.  (Read about it in this blog post.)These sessions came to a close when the world shut down in 2020.   

In 2020, Lonni put her local connections to good use, organizing a series of monthly articles for the local newspaper.  Here, leaders in the water community in the northern Twin Cities were invited to provide columns on water topics.  These articles ran monthly for two years, April 2020 to May 2022 in the Anoka County Union, providing an opportunity for water agencies and non-profits to share information about their work and raising local awareness of League of Women Voters' work in water.  (Here's a blog post introducing the series.)

Lonni had many illustrious careers before she began working with LWV UMRR in 2015, including a stint as Mayor of Coon Rapids, a suburban city on the Mississippi in the Twin Cities.  Her ties to the community were strong and she advocated for climate solutions to be implemented in her city.  This blog post describes work that she and others instigated to change city ordinances and urge the city toward developing a stronger environmental ethic.  May of 2023, a presentation was given to LWV ABC on the success of their efforts.  Lonni gave a short presentation on the Coon Rapids Regenerative Energy Taskforce.  Guest speakers Kari Rehrauer (Coon RapidsCouncilmember) and Olivia Dorow Hovland (Coon Rapids Sustainability Planner) presented a program on the Coon Rapids Energy Action Plan recently approved by the city council.  You can see the video of this meeting at this link.  

Lonni's vibrant energy, keen intellect and dry wit were well known among League members, and we will miss her.  We offer condolences to Lonni's family and friends.  The work that Lonni fostered with LWV will continue.  If you wish to make a memorial donation to remember Lonni and support the mission of LWV Upper Mississippi River Region that was so important to her, visit the LWV UMRR donation page at this link.  

​We will share a link to other obituary information here when it becomes available, including memorials to other causes as the family determines.   A notice from Mediation and Restorative Services follows these pictures.  

Lonni pressing a point at the 25% by 2025 workshop.

Lonni with good friend, DeeAnn Christensen, at an LWV event.

Lonni getting a new perspective through Buddy Holly's glasses at his memorial site in Clear Lake, Iowa.

Memorial Notice from Mediation and Restorative Services:

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Lonni McCauley, founder of Mediation and Restorative Services. She passed away on August 3, 2023.

Lonni McCauley founded MARS in 1987 to meet a community need for alternative dispute resolution in Anoka County. Thousands (I think it would be in the thousands) of people in our community have accessed free conflict resolution services over the past 36 years, repairing harm and making our community more peaceful. We can truly say that we, and the many individuals who have used our services, would not be where we are today without Lonni’s passion and drive.

Our hearts go out to Lonni’s family during this difficult time. 

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