The fur was flying over feral cats, 15 years ago

In 2005, a La Crosse area man was asking the Wisconsin DNR for permission to shoot stray cats, if they could be defined as an ‘unprotected species.’  Mark Smith’s proposal would be put to the state’s Conservation Congress, held every April.  Cat defenders quickly rose to object to the shooting plan, including a group called ‘Alley Cat Allies’ and a website ‘dontshootthecat.com.’  

Fourteen people were running for mayor of La Crosse that winter, following John Medinger’s decision not to seek a third term.  The top finisher in the February primary was former alderman Deak Swanson.  Coming in second was city council president Mark Johnsrud, who went on to win the April election.  

New movies in the early weeks of 2005 included the figure-skating comedy ‘Ice Princess,’ the animated ‘Robots,’ and ‘Are We There Yet?’