Yesterday in La Crosse
Where to put ice, ice, baby, 40 years ago
In 1980, a group headed by former UW-L hockey coach Lloyd Dresen planned to build an ice rink for the campus and community, for just $750,000. That was not long after a $2 million campaign for a rink at the university fell short of funding. There were already plans to build an indoor rink at Green Island, and proposals to put an ice rink in the new La Crosse Center were cut from the building budget to save money.
California Gov. Jerry Brown came to La Crosse to campaign for president in 1980. Brown was challenging President Jimmy Carter and Sen. Ted Kennedy for the Democratic nomination. Speaking at the Bodega downtown, Brown said Carter’s foreign policy was weak and disorganized, and he said if the president was nominated for a second term, Republican Ronald Reagan would almost certainly defeat him.
The Oscars were given out in mid-April of that year. The best picture award went to a divorce drama, “Kramer vs. Kramer,” and its stars Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep won their first Oscars. So did “Norma Rae” star Sally Field.