Yesterday in La Crosse
The Kickapoo Dam stalled again, 30 years ago
In the fall of 1990, the stalled La Farge dam project was back in the news. A federal judge ruled in favor of the Army Corps of Engineers, in continuing a hold on that proposed dam on the Kickapoo. The ruling went against a former land owner and some local governments which wanted the dam completed. Construction was stopped in the 70’s over environmental concerns.
Wisconsin and Minnesota were voting for governors in 1990. Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin easily won a second term by defeating Assembly Speaker Tom Loftus. Minnesota’s race for governor was a bit wilder. Republicans nominated businessman Jon Grunseth to oppose Democratic incumbent Rudy Perpich. But Grunseth ended his campaign less than two weeks before the fall election, when he was implicated in a couple of sex scandals. Republicans quickly chose Arne Carlson as a substitute candidate, and he beat Perpich in November.
The TV networks tried sitcom versions of a few popular movies that fall…”Parenthood,” “Uncle Buck,” and “Ferris Bueller.” They all flopped, but Will Smith had a hit with “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” in 1990.
