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La Crosse could soon ban balloon releases, after committee vote

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FILE - Nebraska fans release balloons following their team's first touchdown against Rutgers during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Lincoln, Neb. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz)

A pretty simple take from Mayor Mitch Reynolds on a potential ban on balloon releases in the city of La Crosse.

“This is really essentially just saying we’re not going to be littering by releasing balloons into the atmosphere,” Reynolds told the Judiciary and Administration Committee at its monthly meeting Tuesday.

The committee unanimously passed an ordinance to stop balloon releases at the urging of Reynolds.

“Balloons land in various places, not necessarily right where they were released from, but certainly in many other places,” Reynolds told the committee.

Experts say balloons can cause pollution when they inevitably come down. They also can be hazardous if ingested by animals.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis banned intentional balloon releases last summer, joining these states:

  • California
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Hawaii
  • Maine
  • Maryland
  • Rhode Island
  • Tennessee
  • Virginia

The production and release of balloons is also said to increase harmful greenhouse gases, and could cause power outages if striking electric lines.

The mayor also noted balloons can release harmful chemicals, and can be a health hazard if eaten by animals.

The balloon release ban moves on to the full city council for a vote at its Feb. 13 monthly meeting.

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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5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. Roy

    February 5, 2025 at 8:24 am

    Tell your kids to hang on tight to that birthday balloon or they could be in the slammer. Mitch always has his eye on the important things.

  2. Howard

    February 5, 2025 at 8:34 am

    Not that I disagree with some of his points:animals eating them ,trash issue. I can also say I’ve never seen a sky full of wayward balloons or a duck chomping on a deflated one. I have seen a lot more concerning things on the sidewalks in downtown La crosse. If this is passed will this be another law/ordinance the mayor orders the police not to enforce or to selectively enforce?

  3. Come On Man

    February 5, 2025 at 1:02 pm

    If you can’t follow up on your number one promise of solving the homeless / unsheltered problem like the campaign he ran on, I guess this was the next biggest issue concerning taxpayers in La Crosse.
    Congratulations Mayor.

    • Mike Hochertz

      February 5, 2025 at 5:28 pm

      Aw come on man….my hairy legs just turned blonde. True story…no joke the amount of money spent on the homeless situation has improved! Didn’t do anything for the homeless but the amount spent has improved/increased. Once we get a new dumbacrat mayor in office we will once again be burdened by what has been. I digress, I am going to go get some ice cream.

  4. Roy

    February 5, 2025 at 2:44 pm

    All signs point to Mitch pursuing a career as an environmentalist after this balloon caper.
    Think of it: Al Gore loses to George Bush in 2000, his political career sours. Gore invents the internet, then begins hugging trees. He declares flatulating cows pollute the air, then writes a book, “An Inconvenient Truth” and makes a movie. He’s now rich.

    Mitch turns off the town with his homeless crusade, his political career sours. He doesn’t seek re-election. Instead he gains a post on the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative, an environmental group and doesn’t write a book or make a movie but travels to India and Korea.
    Mitch is critical of the smell of City Brewery and demands the beer-maker douse the smell, an aroma Gottlieb Heileman hailed as “Dat’s Da Schmell of Bier, dumkopf”. Milwaukee’s Schlitz once called it “The Kiss of the Hops”. Mitch considers writing a book called “The Inconvenient Brewery.”
    Mitch then assails anyone who releases a helium balloon into the air saying “These balloon fragments will be the death of us”. Migrating Robins will crash into them. “If the Packers go to the Super Bowl next year, an errant Northeast wind will blow balloons all over Wisconsin, polluting the alfalfa crop. Keep those balloons below 7 feet. Keep posted.

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