Code for Eau Claire Seeks Civic-Minded Hackers

Tom Giffey |

Are you a coder, a civic-minded person, or perhaps both? Then Code for Eau Claire should be on your radar. The newly formed organization, a local brigade of Code for America, bills itself as “a group of developers, designers, data geeks, and idea-makers who help local government and civic organizations inform and engage the community, promote open policies, and build technology-based solutions that address everyday challenges in our area.” Volunteers are interested in topics such as open data, data visualization, and creating civic apps, and Code for Eau Claire’s idea list includes creating an aggregator for city committee agendas, building a city budget visualizer, and making an interactive bike map. While “code” is right there in the name, you don’t have to be a programmer to get involved: Code for Eau Claire is also looking for community organizers and municipal partners. The group will be holding its kickoff Hack Night at 6:30pm Monday, Jan. 18, at a yet-to-be-determined location. To learn more, visit codeforeauclaire.org, facebook.com/codeforeauclaire, or email organizer Aaron Salmon at aaronusalmon@gmail.com.