Business

Riverboats still expected to plan many stops in La Crosse for 2020

Published

4 years ago

October 27, 2019

Brad Williams

Old Man River got too high, too often in 2019 for riverboats to have a normal touring season.

About one-third of the 22 planned paddlewheeler stops in La Crosse this year had to be cancelled because of flooding.

At the Explore La Crosse agency, Janet Dahl says some newer cruise boats may be able to clear bridges more easily during high water than older ones, like the American Queen.

Many cruises on the Upper Mississippi are called off if the boats can’t get much farther north than St. Louis.

Dahl still hopes to get about 20 scheduled paddlewheeler stops in La Crosse next year.

The city park department hopes to improve the Riverside Park dock for those boats, and possible future stops by the Viking cruise line.

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.