Coronavirus

Rotary Lights gives out money collected at holidays

Published

3 years ago

March 23, 2021

You could call it “Christmas in March.”

The organizers of Rotary Lights handed out dozens of checks on Tuesday to local charities, distributing money that was raised during the holiday light display at Riverside Park last year.

Rotary Lights president Pat Stephens says the groups were invited to the Radisson for one big giveaway, because normally they would receive those checks during the year at regular Rotary Club meetings, but most local Rotary clubs have not met in person lately because of COVID-19.

The checks totalled about $90,000 in cash donations.

Stephens says 2020 was the best year for food donations yet, despite the pandemic, with 300-thousand pounds of food collected for 14 area pantries.

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.