Lax Jail Population Going Down As Weather Gets Warmer

The start of spring sometimes means trouble for the La Crosse County jail, with more people getting arrested and locked up.

But not so far this spring. Captain Steve Anderson at the county jail says the daily population average is down by about 30 inmates from the March numbers. About 180 prisoners have been in the jail this week.  Anderson is concerned about a rise in the numbers of inmates with mental health problems, or drug issues, who are occupying beds.  He says the high number of inmates going through detox has the jail nurses ‘running…ragged,’ having to add more work to their normal jail duties.