Yesterday in la Crosse
- President Trump campaigns at the Speedway, five years ago August 29, 2025WIZMnews.com A week before the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump held a late afternoon campaign rally on a chilly October day at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway in West Salem. Trump was the incumbent president running for a second term. He rode around the track in his limousine before the Oct. 27 speech, where he […]
- What do you remember about the Myrick Zoo? August 27, 2025WIZMnews.com Myrick Park was the home of a popular zoo in La Crosse for about 80 years. The facility opened in 1929, and was popular for its duck pond, the monkey island, and the bear enclosure. Occasionally, bears that had been kept at Myrick made news. In 1988, a 12-year-old bear named Roscoe, weighing 500 […]
- Carter, Clinton, Obama, Trump and Biden: the presidents and candidates that made summer trips to the Coulee Region August 15, 2025WIZMnews.com Western Wisconsin is a popular warm-weather destination for many, including U.S presidents and people running for the job. In August 1979, President Jimmy Carter traveled down the Mississippi River on the Delta Queen with his wife Rosalynn and daughter Amy. The Carters did not have an official stop in La Crosse, but they visited […]
- Showtime at the old courthouse, 60 years ago August 1, 2025WIZMnews.com Historic preservation was not a priority in La Crosse during the 60’s and 70’s. In those two decades, the city replaced its turn of the century post office, city hall, and courthouse with newer buildings, and took the old ones down. The domed courthouse was demolished in April of 1965 to make way for […]
- Tying an all-time record high, 30 years ago July 26, 2025WIZMnews.com On July 13th of 1995, the mercury soared to 108 degrees in La Crosse by 3 in the afternoon, and stayed at that temperature for another two hours. That triple-digit reading tied the highest temperature ever measured in the city, in July of 1936. Combined with high humidity, it felt like 121 degrees at […]
- Holy publicity stunt! The Caped Crusader showed up in the Coulee Region, in 1966 July 18, 2025WIZMnews.com The “Batman” TV show starring Adam West was a hit in the summer of 1966, and a movie version was about to open at La Crosse’s Rivoli Theater that August. To drum up publicity for the movie, somebody dressed as Batman was scheduled to appear somewhere in La Crosse…maybe at the State Bank, the […]
- Sparta’s Deke Slayton took his only space trip, 50 years ago July 11, 2025WIZMnews.com Donald ‘Deke’ Slayton, originally from Monroe County, was the only one of the seven original Mercury astronauts who did not get to fly in space in the 1960’s. His mission scheduled for 1962 was scrubbed, because he had a heart problem. When Slayton finally made it onto the crew of a joint American-Soviet mission, […]
- So, you think gambling is popular everywhere in Wisconsin? Wanna bet? June 28, 2025WIZMnews.com You can find about two dozen casinos, primarily operated by Native American tribes, all over Wisconsin. One place you won’t find a casino is La Crosse, because the local population has traditionally spoken out against organized gambling. There have been exceptions. In 1966, TV Bingo could be seen on some Wisconsin television stations, including […]
- Do you recall the school busing battle of the early 90’s? June 13, 2025WIZMnews.com The 1991-92 academic year was one of the most chaotic in the La Crosse school system, with school leaders and citizens arguing for most of the year about busing plans and socio-economic balance, and leading to attempts to recall six of the nine school board members. The proposal in La Crosse to equalize kids […]
- Sing us a song, Piano Man, if you can: Shows that didn’t happen in La Crosse June 6, 2025WIZMnews.com Remember when Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen did concerts in La Crosse, at the old Sawyer Auditorium? If you don’t remember, it’s because the scheduled shows didn’t actually happen. Fifty years ago, in the summer of 1975, the Tribune reported on music stars who were supposed to perform at the old auditorium, but cancelled […]