Local News
City celebrates renewal of Powell Park
Neighborhood kids helped La Crosse Mayor Tim Kabat and other local leaders cut a ribbon Thursday to celebrate a new look for Powell Park.
After that, the kids went back to the playground and the bouncy house and ate hot dogs.
The park once belonged to the family of former La Crosse Mayor Frank ‘Doc’ Powell.
Former city council member John Satory sometimes portrays Powell in public, and recalls one big party ‘Doc’ threw for kids, around election time.
“They went through thousands of gallons of lemonade and gave them candy and popcorn and everything,” Satory joked. “And he won the election after … bribing the children, (who went home) talking to their parents.”
Current La Crosse Mayor Tim Kabat led the ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday.
New playground equipment, shelters, and landscaping at the park highlight the $400,000 conversion of Powell Park from a baseball field to a playground. It was part of a city renovation project that included an upgrade of nearby Poage Park.
About half of the rebuild cost, $208,500 to be exact, was paid for with a HUD community development block grant.
