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La Crosse city council votes to remove Russian flag from airport that represents sister city of Dubna

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The Dubna, Russia, flag hangs among the eight other sister cities to La Crosse at the La Crosse Regional Airport. (Contributed photo).

On display at the La Crosse Regional Airport are the flags of eight countries, representing the city’s sister cities.

When Russia invated Ukraine, however, the Dubna, Russia, flag hanging at the airport bugged some people.

After a long debate last night at the La Crosse city council’s monthly meeting, that flag will be removed while the war continues.

The decision was not part of a resolution already on the agenda to support the people of Ukraine.

Chris Woodard, on the city’s International Committee, was a sponsor of the resolution to support Ukraine, but opposed the flag’s removal.

“Removing it, I believe, would be a slap in the face to them,” he said of Russian citizens, “while they are struggling (in) this time of turmoil, as well.”

The council vote will not affect the official sister city bond between La Crosse and Dubna. A city flag representing Dubna is expected to temporarily replace the Russian national banner.

Chuck Hanson, who heads the La Crosse-Dubna friendship group, was not in favor of the change.

“The Russian flag doesn’t just represent (Vladimir) Putin,” Hanson said. “It represents all the people of Russia, and it represents the people of our sister city.”

The day before the meeting, Mayor Mitch Reynolds discussed on La Crosse Talk PM the idea of removing the Russian flag from the airport.

“To be fair, we don’t actually have a policy for how we decide to severe these relationships — that was never created,” Reynolds said. “That’s something that we’re actually looking at, right now — understanding how that happens. At what point do we decide that these relationships are damaged by the actions of the dictators that are essentially running the government?”

Reynold said it would be up to the International Committee to decide on whether to sever ties with Dubna.

The vote to take down the Russian flag was 10 to 2.

Council member Doug Happel said there is precedent for such a change, noting that La Crosse renamed Berlin Street to Liberty Street during World War I, because the U.S. was at war with Germany.

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.

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2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Yvonne Johnston

    July 4, 2022 at 10:49 am

    Shame on La Crosse for removing the Russian flag. The people of Dubna aren’t to blame for Putin invading Eukraine.

    • William Hayman

      May 2, 2023 at 8:58 pm

      Dubna is a main center of military industrial production. The corporate headquarters and manufacturing plant of MK Raduga Co which manufactures missiles including the hypersonic missiles killing innocent men, women, and children in Ukraine! In February the Russian Federation Defense Ministry announced and celebrated the opening of a new manufacturing facility in Dubna producing 6 models of drones for the Russian military (and export) to continue the unprovoked attack on Ukraine. The people of Dubna are supporting the murder of innocent Ukrainians!! The sister city relationship with Dubna must end. Another former sister city of Dubna is no more as it is located on the Crimea peninsula and was invaded first by “little green men” that turned out to be the Wagner Group soldiers followed by Russian soldiers….
      Where are the “good” people of Dubna? Saying LaCrosse supports Ukraine, flying the Ukrainian flag while maintaining a sister city relationship with the people building and profiting from the weapons raining down on and killing innocent Ukrainians is absolutely the definition of hypocrisy!!!

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