Join us for ARRL Field Day! Setup:  Fri June 26, 2026 Operation: Sat June 27 & Sun June 28, 2026 Location:  33516 Grosbeak Ave., Camp Douglas, WI More details below:

Thank you to everyone that participated in the 2026 MVARA Raffle Fundraiser. Proceeds from this fundraiser make it possible to help cover some of our expenses, including the maintenance of our emergency communications bus. The Prize Drawing was held on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, at 6pm, at the Onalaska American Legion. For a list of prize winners and more information, see the MVARA Raffle Fundraiser page.

On April 9, 2026, MVARA set up its Emergency Communications Bus at La Crescent Montessori & STEM School, located at 1116 South Oak Street in La Crescent, MN. Club members arrived at 12:45 PM for setup, and students and teaching staff toured the bus from 1:15 PM to 2:15 PM. The weather was beautiful, and both students and staff greatly appreciated the visit. We had about 70 students tour the bus, and there was strong interest in amateur radio —several even had the opportunity to participate...

Message from the MVARA President: I want to personally thank everyone who came out to the 2026 MVARA Spring Fever Swap Meet, held on Saturday, March 7th, from 8am-Noon, at the Holmen American Legion. If you attended, donated items to sell, helped with setup and teardown, worked the admission table, sales during the event, worked the bus display, helped with VE testing, or were a part of organizing the event, you all are greatly appreciated. It was great to watch the MVARA team come together...

The 2026 MVARA Christmas Party was held on Saturday, January 24, 2026, from 3-6 pm (food at 3:30pm) in the Event Room at Corky's Pizza, 25 S. Walnut St., La Crescent, MN.  We enjoyed a delicious pizza buffet with salad, breadsticks and soda.  I hope that everyone who attended had a good time. Big thank you to Wayne K0WLO for handling the arrangements with Corky's Pizza for our party.  Thank you Scott KA9FOX for running the gift exchange and drawings.  Thanks Dan W9FCC for the pictures of our...

The MVARA "Christmas In The Park" event took place on Saturday, December 20th, 2025, from 10am until 2pm, at the Apple Blossom Overlook Park in La Crescent, MN.  The goal of the event was to just enjoy operating ham radio together in a casual atmosphere.  All area ham radio operators were encouraged to attend. By all accounts, the event was a success.  Those in attendance said it was a lot of fun, and it is hoped that other similar will take place.  Thank you to those that came out to have a...

MVARA took the bus to the Wisconsin ARES/RACES conference in Wisconsin Rapids on October 11, 2025.  We setup our "B1" bus and a tower trailer. There was a lot of interest, with many visitors inside the bus taking pictures, and lots of questions. I would say nearly all of the 50 plus people who attended the conference visited our setup. Our HF radio and antenna setup was working great -- we were making contacts all over the world on 10 meters with 100 watts and the Tune-A-Tenna dipole at 55 ft....

MVARA participated in the Simulated Emergency Test (SET) on October 4 - 5, 2025. This nationwide exercise is the chance to test our emergency-operating skills and the readiness of our communications equipment and accessories in a simulated emergency-like deployment. The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), the National Traffic System (NTS), the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES), SKYWARN, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network...

Sunday September 28th, 2025 The Mississippi Valley Amateur Radio Association was formed in 1990. To celebrate our 35th Anniversary, the MVARA hosted a celebration picnic on Sunday, September 28th, 2025, from 1pm-5pm.  The picnic took place at the Weiser Memorial Park Community Building at 1817 County Road 6 in La Crescent, MN. All current and past MVARA members and their families were invited to attend. Brats, hot dogs and cake was provided by the club, with members providing additional dishes...

Touch-a-Truck event at Hintgen Elementary School: MVARA participated in the La Crosse "Touch a Truck" event (AKA "Night of Wheels") at Hintgen Elementary School, at 3505 28th Street S, La Crosse, WI., on Thursday Sept 18th from 4:30 to 6:30 pm, with our "B1" Emergency Communications Bus. Attended by Craig N9ETD, Tom WA9TS, Rob W9LUP & Jason N0MOE, with Bill N9FDE working his radio from his house. We had good traffic on the bus and many kids were able to get on the air with Bill. Overall a...