Yesterday in La Crosse
Burying the hatchet over Bad Axe, 30 years ago
In 1990, a special ceremony took place in Vernon County, where the State of Wisconsin formally apologized to native American tribes for the Bad Axe Massacre of 1832, during the Black Hawk War. Tribal leaders from the Fox and Sac nations were invited to accept the apology. Hundreds of Indian warriors, along with women and children, were chased into the Mississippi River and shot during that battle. Vernon County was originally named “Bad Ax County” in the 1850’s.
Mark Johnsrud was challenging two other candidates for the 95th District Assembly seat to two debates. Johnsrud was facing David Olson in the GOP primary to pick an opponent to Democratic incumbent John Medinger, and Johnsrud wanted to debate Medinger and Olson before the September primary. Both Medinger and Johnsrud went on to become mayors of La Crosse.
At the movies in 1990, you could see “Back to the Future, Part 3,” “Die Hard 2,” “Pretty Woman,” and “Total Recall.”