Yesterday in La Crosse

In November of 1974, Wisconsin Governor Patrick Lucey spoke in the new North Hall of UW-L, now called Wimberly Hall. Democrat Lucey was seeking a second term, and told students he could not support a tuition cut approved by the Board of Regents, because that would put more burden on taxpayers to fund the colleges, […]

A newspaper story in November of 1974 called the jobless rate in La Crosse County “chronically high.” The rate was around 8-10% with thousands of people unable to find work.  The story blamed labor walkouts and plant closings for the bad local economy, specifically pointing to the closings since the late 50s of three La Crosse […]

In April of 1973, the immediate La Crosse area received 16 inches of snow in just 36 hours. It was the third biggest snowstorm on record in the city, behind snowfalls in 1959, and 1971. In Prairie du Chien, three cars collided on snow-covered Highway 18, near the Old Rock School. Six people from the […]

“Everybody gets to go to the moon” was part of the lyric of a popular song in 1969, but only three men actually got to take the trip. The first manned landing on the lunar surface happened on July 20th, 1969, a Sunday. Neil Armstrong took those first steps on the lunar surface during the […]

Nov. 22 in 1963 marked the last time that Americans woke up with a president who would not be alive by the end of the day.  President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie had gone to Texas on a political trip when the president and Texas Gov. John Connally were shot while riding in […]

In the summer of 1962, the La Crosse County Board okayed plans for a brand new courthouse and jail, to be built a couple of blocks up the street from the existing courthouse built 60 years earlier.  The expected cost, just over 2 million dollars.  Even at that price, the county was looking for ways […]

It may be an Olympic year, but it’s not a leap year.  February 29th in history has been memorable on occasion.  On that day in 1940, “Gone With the Wind” won the Oscar for best picture…and a big band hit was number 1 on the charts:     On February 29th, 1940, ”In the Mood” […]

In 2017, Central High School won its first state basketball championship since 1925. The final score of that game was 55-53, against Cedarburg — a very high-scoring contest compared to March of 1925, when the La Crosse High School defeated Shawano at Madison in what one newspaper described as a game with ‘cautious playing’ on […]

In early 1990, Amelia’s restaurant opened on the upper level of the new terminal at the La Crosse Municipal Airport.  Owner Jerry Kulinski said nothing on the menu was over $5.  The name Amelia’s might remind people of pioneering female pilot Amelia Earhart…while some of the sandwiches served there included an “Orville and Wilbur burger” and […]

The Maple Leaf Parade of 1988 in La Crosse fell just a month before a presidential election, and it drew a frequent presidential contender. Republican Sen. Bob Dole walked with several Wisconsin members of his party in the parade, including Senate candidate Susan Engeleiter, who was running to succeed retiring Democrat William Proxmire. Dole had […]

A week before the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump held a late afternoon campaign rally at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway in West Salem. Then-candidate Trump rode around the track in his limousine before the Oct. 27 speech, where he called challenger Joe Biden “soft” and “weak” and accused the Democrat of wanting to delay […]

You’ve heard of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871…but there was another large fire, in Wisconsin, on the same day, yesterday in La Crosse.    October 8th marks 150 years since devastating fires caused death and destruction in Chicago…and in the woods of northern Wisconsin, at Peshtigo.  Strong winds have been blamed for causing small […]

In 1970, the Tivoli Restaurant off Highway 35 and the Rivoli Theater downtown were both busy places in La Crosse.  The Rivoli was celebrating 50 years in business in 1970.  As for the Tivoli Gardens, that’s not around any more.  It was on the George Street extension between La Crosse and Onalaska, about where you’d find […]

During the summer of 1956, a committee planning a ramp on Market Square met at the Hotel Stoddard, and was told that a lack of downtown parking was keeping customers away from city businesses.  The panel heard that shoppers from Black River Falls and Whitehall were going to Eau Claire instead of La Crosse, and […]

In 2003, the Minnesota DOT had a public meeting in the La Crescent area to discuss long-range transportation plans. One project high on the local list was a plan to make the Dresbach interchange safer. Some deadly crashes had occurred over the years at the intersection of Highway 61 and I-90, near the bridge that […]

In the summer of 1985, Madison’s Freedom from Religion Foundation launched its first effort to have a 10 Commandments marker removed from La Crosse’s Cameron Park. It was the most prominent complaint anyone had made about the stone monument since it was installed in to honor volunteers who battled the 1965 flood. About 800 people […]

During La Crosse’s Riverfest in 2010, a Missouri company called Swifty’s Swine featured hogs racing around a track.  Race watchers could cheer for their favorite animals, with names like Brad Pig and Kevin Bacon.    The Puttin’ on the Lips competition at Riverfest was back, after a year off.  The lip-synch event based on a popular TV show […]

Saturday, July 4th, 1970, La Crosse dedicated a 6-floor City Hall, which is still La Crosse’s main office building today.  It replaced the City Hall that stood for nearly 80 years at the corner of 6th and State, now part of the post office parking lot.  La Crosse’s oldest living mayor, 86-year-old Gus Boerner, cut […]