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A year after Navy’s LST was in La Crosse, Viking cruise vessel continues Riverside Park tradition

Published

2 weeks ago

September 2, 2024

Brad Williams

FILE - The Higgins boat is docked in front of the LST-325 at Riverside Park on Sept. 1, 2023 (PHOTO: Rick Solem).

Labor Day in La Crosse has now become a big boat holiday for the city.

The Viking cruise line began its service to La Crosse two years ago on Labor Day, and it has included a stop for the holiday on its schedule each year since.

The Viking Mississippi docked at Riverside Park on Labor Day, Sept. 2, 2024 (PHOTO: Brad Williams)

The Viking Mississippi was docked at Riverside Park for much of Monday. That ship will be back in the city next week, as well.

The Mississippi was the very first from the Viking line to stop at La Crosse in September of 2022, also on Labor Day.

Four Viking cruise ships have several more stops in the city this season, between now and late October.

Last Labor Day, a Viking ship shared the riverfront with the LST-325 Navy vessel, which had visited the city for about a week.

FILE – Aboard the Navy’s LST 325 heading into La Crosse on Aug. 29, 2023 (PHOTO: Rick Solem)

The American Melody stops Thursday in La Crosse, and the Symphony and Serenade ships are set to be in Riverside Park later this month.

A few weeks this year, the Viking ships have been docked at Riverside Park on Thursday night, during the Moon Tunes concerts.

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.