Yesterday in La Crosse

Putting the “no” in “casino,” 24 years ago

Published

5 years ago

February 6, 2019

In 19995, a plan by the Lac du Flambeau tribe to turn the Holiday Inn on the pike into a $50 million casino was shot down in a La Crosse County referendum. Local churches were among the leaders of the anti-gambling campaign, along with restaurant and tavern owners who worried that a casino would take customers away from them. Another casino proposal five years later, offered by the Ho-Chunk, also was defeated at the polls.

Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole announced his plan to run for president again in the 1996 election, against incumbent Democrat Bill Clinton. Republican Dole had visited La Crosse during his 1988 campaign. Dole suggested that former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Colin Powell was on his short list of possible running mates, along with former HUD secretary Jack Kemp. The GOP would nominate Dole in ’96, and Kemp would join him on the ticket.

And La Crosse’s Pump House celebrated Valentine’s Day with a production of the romantic musical “The Fantasticks” by Pegasus Players…24 years ago, 1995.

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Related Topics:Bob Dole casino Lac du Flambeau

Brad Williams

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.