SSE sign should stay

Wisconsin’s Department of Transportation has had a hard time winning friends in La Crosse. The state agency has a reputation as a bit of a bully, refusing to listen to locals and give them what they want. We have seen that in the fight over a possible new north-south cooridor in La Crosse, the debate over a roundabout on Cass Street, and with the renovation of Exit 3 on the northside. Well the DOT is flexing its muscle again, telling a longtime La Crosse business owner that his sign must come down. SSE Music owner Steve Earp have been told their iconic 100 foot sign advertising their business was improperly permitted years ago, and should be removed this spring. The DOT considers this sign, one of the most visible in La Crosse, to be an off-premise sign, which they say was built without proper permits. Earp has hired a lawyer to fight the DOT’s order, which they say would cost them at least $10,000 to remove the sign and reduce the store’s visibility. The sign went up forty years ago, before Earp even bought the building. It has stood there without problems since, and should be allowed to stay. If the DOT is concerned about its reputation, it would let this sleeping dog continue to lie.