Jimmy Carter dies at age 100 — campaigned twice in La Crosse in 1976 before winning the White House

Former President Jimmy Carter has died, two months after his 100th birthday.

Carter, who was also a governor of Georgia, is the only U.S. president so far to reach 100.

He served a single term in the White House from 1977 to 1981, which was marked by economic trouble and a hostage crisis in Iran.

Carter, a Democrat, campaigned in La Crosse twice during his successful 1976 run for the White House.

During his presidential term, Carter and family members rode down the Mississippi River on the Delta Queen paddlewheeler.

On that 1979 trip, Carter spoke about the nation’s energy needs during a company picnic at the 3M factory in Prairie du Chien, Wis.

Both of Carter’s stops in La Crosse took place at UW-La Crosse, including a Cartwright Center speech just before the Wisconsin primary in April of ’76.

The longest-lived U.S. president died Sunday, more than a year after entering hospice care at his home in the small town of Plains, Georgia. That’s where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died at 96 in November 2023, spent most of their lives, the Carter Center said.

Businessman, Navy officer, evangelist, politician, negotiator, author, woodworker, citizen of the world — Carter forged a path that still challenges political assumptions and stands out among the 45 men who reached the nation’s highest office.

The 39th president leveraged his ambition with a keen intellect, deep religious faith and prodigious work ethic, conducting diplomatic missions into his 80s and building houses for the poor well into his 90s.

Most U.S. presidents in recent years have included the La Crosse area in their travels, and Jimmy Carter was no exception.