Entertainment

Water skiing show during La Crosse Riverfest is off because of Mississippi flooding

Published

2 days ago

July 1, 2024

The high river level has forced the cancellation of one Riverfest event this week. The River City Water Ski Team will not be able to perform on the Mississippi during the festival, because of the continuing flood level.

The predicted flood crest in La Crosse has been changed again, and is now expected to happen on the 4th of July, when the Mississippi could rise to 14.9. On Sunday night, there was a forecast of a crest happening today, at the level of 14.7, but the river was just about to that level by late morning. The water is expected to start dropping by Friday.

FILE – River City Waterski Team members help an adaptive skier on the sit-down ski (PHOTO: River City Waterski Team)

Riverfest officials have said a river stage of 8 feet is ideal for the ski shows, but water higher than that could pose a hazard. The water skiing program had been scheduled for Saturday afternoon at Riverside Park.

All other Riverfest events are still on, as scheduled. The fest runs from Wednesday through Saturday at Riverside Park.

Brad Williams

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.