Daytime council meetings might be easier…59 years ago

In 1958, La Crosse Mayor Milo Knutson suggested having city council meetings in the morning or afternoon, when other city offices would be open and the council could get quick answers to important questions.  Knutson’s proposal came after two months in a row of council meetings that went past 1 in the morning…including one session that lasted until 2:20 a.m.  Until recently, La Crosse Council meetings began at 7:30 p.m.  They now start earlier, at 6 p.m.

The secretary of agriculture was coming to the Coulee Region for a tour.  Ezra Taft Benson had a busy schedule one October weekend.  Benson met with La Crosse reporters late on a Friday night at the Hotel Stoddard.  The secretary would then get up with the cows on Saturday, with a 5:30 a.m. stop at the Bernard Pralle farm on Highway 16…now the site of Target, Kohl’s, and Best Buy.  Benson also had a major farm address in front of the Alma Post Office, and another speech at the state college in River Falls.

The State Bank of La Crosse held an open house to show off its newly redesigned building.  It was the first major remodeling for the State Bank in the 45 years since it moved to 4th and State.  The open house happened in 1958, yesterday in La Crosse.