Anthony’s Day fundraiser planned at Myrick Park this month, celebrating life of 19-year-old who was murdered in 2020

Friends and relatives of a 19-year-old man, who was shot and killed at a downtown La Crosse tavern, will raise money in his honor later this month at the Nature Place — formerly Myrick Park.

Anthony’s Day on Aug. 20 will honor Anthony Fimple, shot three years ago by an armed man who he had turned away at the entrance to the former Twisted Moose bar on 3rd Street.

Anthony’s father, Gus Fimple, joined WIZM’s La Crosse Talk on Tuesday and said the dispute which led to his son’s death could have been solved in different ways but wasn’t afraid to do what was right in asking the man to leave the bar.

“Anthony wasn’t the biggest kid in the world, but he had a heart, the heart of a lion,” Gus Fimple said, “and the guy was, I think, what, 6-3, 260 — he was a big dude.”

La Crosse Talk airs weekdays 6-9 a.m. Listen on the WIZM app, online here, or on 92.3 FM / 1410 AM / 106.7 FM (north of Onalaska). Find all the podcasts here or subscribe to La Crosse Talk PM wherever you get your podcasts.

Timothy Young of Spring Grove, Minn., was sentenced to 35 years in prison for the 2020 shooting of Anthony Fimple.

Gus said Anthony was weeks away from entering the Navy when he was killed.

Jake Amundson, a friend of Anthony’s, who has organized the yearly fundraiser, was also in studio. He said people are eager to volunteer to work on the event.

“Every single one of those people, we did not pay them to be there,” Admundson said. “They volunteered that, so that goes into further proving the point that if we all just try to help each other, it’s outstanding how many people will show up.”

The third annual Anthony’s Day will raise money for the Anthony Fund, as part of the La Crosse Community Foundation. The celebration starts at 11 a.m. and features food, games, skateboarding, and eight musical acts, among other things.