A pair of new bridges for north La Crosse, 38 years ago

In 1980, the Wisconsin Transportation Commission granted the wishes of La Crosse city leaders by approving two bridges over the railroad tracks near the Amtrak depot.  One bridge would replace a metal viaduct on Rose Street.  The other would be a bridge on Copeland Avenue, where there was no bridge at the time.  Building of the new spans would be part of the plan to make Rose and Copeland one-way streets between the Causeway and Clinton Street.

A news producer on a Boston TV station came up with an April Fool joke that didn’t leave many viewers laughing.  For April 1st, producer Homer Cilley faked a story about a volcanic eruption outside Boston…by using clips of volcanic activity from Washington’s Mount St. Helens, and of President Jimmy Carter.  Even though the message “April Fool” was shown at the end, some people in Boston reportedly fled their homes.  Cilley was fired for the stunt.

In Wisconsin, La Crosse’s K-Mart store had a green-thumb sale.  A 20-inch lawnmower sold for $80.  And K-Mart had a special on bags of odorless cow manure, with a drawing of a smiling cow on the package, 38 years ago, yesterday in La Crosse.