In 1977, a taxpayers committee in La Crosse County was looking into the idea of a county executive, which didn’t go over too well with county...
On New Year’s Eve of 1966, Bing Crosby hosted the “Hollywood Palace” variety show on ABC. On that night’s show, Bing became the first person to...
In late 1973, Mayor W. Peter Gilbertson said he was thinking of entering the governor’s race the following year. Gilbertson had just won his second term...
Just before Thanksgiving of 1977, a referendum for a new convention center in La Crosse passed by a 2-to-1 margin…with about 6700 people voting “yes.” The...
The city of La Crosse may be named after the game of lacrosse, but it seems bowling was played here before lacrosse was. The La Crosse...
Thanksgiving of 1963 came six days after the assassination of President John Kennedy. The U.S. TV networks aired only news programming for four days after the...
In 1972, Wisconsin was among several Midwestern states considering a state-run lottery. Observers were betting on Illinois or Michigan becoming the first state in the region...
On this day in 1975, the freighter Edmund Fitzgerald sank in 75 mph winds on Lake Superior, less than 20 miles from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. ...
In November of 1969, the Interstate Commerce Commission was holding hearings on whether to let the Milwaukee Road end its afternoon “Hiawatha” run between Chicago and...
In November of 1977, downtown La Crosse was still the city’s main shopping area, with the big stores open on Friday nights. The Downtown La Crosse...
In the fall of 1965, Greek organizations at La Crosse State ran a week-long campaign, asking for people around the city to donate cookies to be...
In 1981, the air traffic controllers union went on strike, and the Reagan White House fired the strikers. One result of the strike and dismissals was...
By the fall of 1976, La Crosse had spent years trying to decide what to build in the old warehouse district between 2nd Street and the...
The old 1965 courthouse and jail in La Crosse is now being converted to housing. That building replaced an old jail at 10th and Zeisler Streets…and...
In late 1966, Dairyland Power announced plans for another generator at the site of its nuclear plant in Genoa. The $18 million plant would use steam...
The presidential campaign was winding down on Halloween of 1976, with election day on November 2nd. For the first time ever, an incumbent U.S. President (Gerald...
It happened the night before Halloween, 1938. “The Mercury Theatre on the Air” on CBS Radio broadcast a new version of “The War of the Worlds,”...
Fifty-three years ago, the Portland Cement Association of Milwaukee was running newspaper ads in La Crosse touting the long life of a street made of concrete. ...
In 1958, La Crosse Mayor Milo Knutson suggested having city council meetings in the morning or afternoon, when other city offices would be open and the...
Just before Halloween, in 2015, the Wisconsin DNR announced that it had built new condos for brown bats that had been living in the old I-90...