Shrinking the city council? That wouldn’t do any good, 45 years ago

In May of 1972, a study committee in La Crosse ended six months of research into the ideal size of the common council.  The council had 21 members at the time, and the committee recommended that it be shrunk to nine members, at the most.  And most council members seemed to be against a reduction.  The study suggested that a large council made it hard to pinpoint responsibility for decisions at City Hall.  Eventually, the council was reduced to 17 members…and this year, the number dropped even lower, to 13.
 
The spring musical at UW-L was being boycotted by a student group.  ‘La Raza Unida’ was a group of Latino students on campus.  They protested the production of ‘West Side Story,’ about rival street gangs in New York, because the Puerto Rican characters were not played by Latino actors. 
 
And the ‘High Quiz Bowl’ show on Channel 8 finished its first season in a dramatic way.  Viterbo and First Federal sponsored the weekly contest between area high schools.  The ’72 championship game between Houston, Minnesota and Eau Claire Memorial came down to a sudden-death tie-breaking question, with Houston scoring the winning points.  Forty-five years ago, 1972, yesterday in La Crosse.