Go out and move your car every hour, a plan 34 years ago

In the summer of 1985, the latest parking dilemma for downtown La Crosse was whether 2 hour free parking was too long.  The city already had removed its curbside parking meters in the early 80’s, as a way to battle competition from Valley View Mall.  Downtown businesses proposed a one-hour limit, to prevent workers from hogging parking spaces which could be used by customers.  Opponents of the one-hour plan argued that the time span was too short for visits to a lawyer or doctor.   

‘Remember Hiroshima’ was the theme of a day-long peace event at La Crosse’s Riverside Park, marking the 40th anniversary of the first dropping of an atomic bomb on Japan during World War Two.  The observance ended at sunset with a planned float of hundreds of paper lanterns with glow sticks inside on the Mississippi.  The lantern float proved to be a popular event that continued for several summers afterward.  

The Milwaukee Bucks announced that they would not visit the La Crosse Center for an exhibition game in the coming NBA season, after four years of playing at the new La Crosse arena.  One big reason for taking La Crosse off the team’s schedule was distance.  The Bucks just didn’t get many fans traveling 3-and-a-half hours from La Crosse to Milwaukee for their regular home games in 1985, 34 years ago, yesterday in La Crosse.