The Louisville Catbirds were a basketball team of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) who played in the mid-1980s.
59-754: The Catbirds played two seasons in 1983–85 in Kentucky before moving to La Crosse, Wisconsin , in which the team would reach the CBA finals three times, winning twice (1990 and 1992). Head coach Flip Saunders led to the defeating Eric Musselman's Rapid City Thrillers team both times. Vincent Hamilton , Andre Turner , Tony White , Dwayne McClain , Carlos Clark , and Bill Martin helped the Catbirds achieve their franchise's first title in 1990. Two years later, Vincent Hamilton , David Rivers , Mark Davis , Kenny Battle , Derrick Gervin , and Brian Rahilly took La Crosse to
118-665: A Roman Catholic school district affiliated with the Diocese of La Crosse , which includes Aquinas High School and Aquinas Middle School . Another Roman Catholic school, the Providence Academy , is independent from the district and has no affiliation with the Diocese. Lutheran private schools in La Crosse include First Lutheran School, Immanuel Lutheran School, and Mt. Calvary-Grace Lutheran School, which are part of
177-570: A bachelor's degree or higher. The city has a variety of religious traditions and communities, including Catholicism , Protestantism , Anglicanism , Eastern Orthodox , Judaism , Unitarian Universalism , and Islam . La Crosse is the episcopal see for the Roman Catholic Diocese of La Crosse . The Cathedral of Saint Joseph the Workman serves as the seat of the Diocese. The city is also home to St. Rose of Viterbo Convent ,
236-491: A center for the brewing industry and other manufacturers that saw advantages in the city's location adjacent to major transportation arteries, such as the Mississippi River and the railroad between Milwaukee and St. Paul, Minnesota . Around the turn of the 20th century, the city became a center for education, with three colleges and universities established in the city between 1890 and 1912. Similar to cities across
295-537: A few miles (kilometers) south of Myrick's post. Although these settlers relocated away from the Midwest after just a year, the land they occupied near La Crosse continues to bear the name Mormon Coulee. On June 23, 1850, Father James Lloyd Breck of the Episcopal Church said the first Christian liturgy on top of Grandad Bluff . Today, a monument to that event stands atop the bluff, near the parking lot at
354-728: A four-round bout against Nick DeLong of Long Beach, Calif. After his parole late last year, he played with the Louisville Catbirds of the Continental Basketball Association. Another Louisville Catbirds player was Wiley Brown , a player (and later assistant coach) at the University of Louisville who played tight end for the Philadelphia Eagles for two seasons. Former University of Kentucky player Dirk Minniefield played for
413-546: A natural floodplain created by the La Crosse River , divides the city between north and south. The area is protected as an important wildlife habitat and watershed to the Mississippi River. Several biking and walking paths cross through the marshland which is also used for canoeing, fishing and trapping. On the southern end of the marsh lies Myrick Park. The park was named after the city's first European settler: Nathan Myrick. It has many recreational amenities as well as
472-558: A nature center and environmental education department. Hunting and fishing are very popular all seasons of the year and the Mississippi and other rivers, sloughs, creeks, lakes, the Upper Mississippi River Wildlife Refuge and hilltops and valleys with public woodlands are available to sportsmen and families. The city government employs a weak mayor form of the mayor-council system . The mayor
531-406: A population of 139,627. La Crosse's economy serves as a regional educational, medical, manufacturing, and transportation hub for Western Wisconsin producing a gross domestic product (GDP) of $ 9.7 billion as of 2022. The city is a college town with nearly 20,000 students and is home to the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse , Viterbo University , and Western Technical College . Furthermore,
590-474: A regional technology and medical hub. In 2016, Mayor Tim Kabat and former Mayor John Medinger issued a proclamation apologizing for La Crosse's history as a sundown town that discriminated against African Americans. La Crosse is located on the western border of the midsection of Wisconsin , on a broad alluvial plain along the east side of the Mississippi River . The Black River empties into
649-577: A scenic overlook. More permanent development took place closer to Myrick's trading post, where stores, a hotel, and a post office were constructed during the 1840s. Under the direction of Timothy Burns , lieutenant governor of Wisconsin, surveyor William Hood platted the village in 1851. This opened it up for further settlement, which was achieved rapidly as a result of promotion of the city in eastern newspapers. By 1855, La Crosse had grown in population to nearly 2,000 residents, leading to its incorporation in 1856. The city grew even more rapidly after 1858 with
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#1732798438038708-454: A second championship. The team defected following the 1993–94 season. One of the notable Catbird players was Tom Payne , the first African-American basketball player at the University of Kentucky . A New York Times article told a story of this player: "Tom Payne, a 7-foot-1-inch former professional basketball player who spent 11 years in a Kentucky prison after a rape conviction, is scheduled to make his boxing debut at Los Angeles on June 14 in
767-470: A temporary trading post on Barron Island (now called Pettibone Park), which lies just west of La Crosse's present downtown. The following year, Myrick relocated the post to the mainland prairie, partnering with H. J. B. Miller to run the outfit. The spot Myrick chose to build his trading post proved ideal for settlement. It was near the junction of the Black , La Crosse , and Mississippi Rivers. In addition,
826-545: A total enrollment of 6,139 students. As of 2021, the district has 16 separate facilities, providing a total of 20 elementary, middle, high, and charter school programs. In 2021, the school district proposed to consolidate the district's largest high schools, Central High School and Logan High School , into a new facility. This plan was voted down in a district-wide referendum in November 2022. Catholic private schools in La Crosse include La Crosse Aquinas Catholic Schools ,
885-459: Is a city in and the county seat of La Crosse County, Wisconsin , United States. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River , La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population was 52,680 as of the 2020 census . The city forms the core of the La Crosse–Onalaska metropolitan area , which includes all of La Crosse County and Houston County, Minnesota , with
944-646: Is almost coterminous with the 95th Wisconsin State Assembly District and is represented by Democrat Jill Billings . Additionally, Democrat Steve Doyle currently represents suburban La Crosse County in the 94th Assembly District. La Crosse is part of the State Senate District 32 and is represented by Democrat Brad Pfaff . Source: The La Crosse area is served by the School District of La Crosse , which as of 2022, has
1003-562: Is also home to two churches affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America; Bethany Church, and Neighborhood City Church. Christ Church of La Crosse , the city's Episcopal church , is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . St. Elias Antiochian Orthodox Church , the city's Eastern Orthodox Church , is listed on the city's local register of Historic places. Other religious groups within
1062-539: Is composed of high ridges dissected by narrow valleys called coulees , a French term. As a result, the area around La Crosse is frequently referred to as the "Coulee Region". La Crosse's location in the United States' Upper Midwest gives the area a temperate , continental climate . The warmest month of the year is July, when the average high temperature is 85.4 °F (29.7 °C), with overnight low temperatures averaging 64.5 °F (18.1 °C). January
1121-500: Is elected at-large, while the 13 members of the Common Council are elected per aldermanic districts. Mitch Reynolds defeated Vicki Markussen in the 2021 La Crosse Mayoral election, succeeding retiring incumbent Tim Kabat. Kabat served as Mayor from 2013 to 2021. Both the city and county of La Crosse have voted Democratic in every presidential election since 1988. In the 2016 Presidential Election, Hillary Clinton won by 52% of
1180-614: Is land and 2.08 square miles (5.39 km ) is water. Surrounding the relatively flat prairie valley where La Crosse lies are towering 500-foot (150 m) bluffs , one of the most prominent of which is Grandad Bluff (mentioned in Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain ), which has an overlook of the three states region. This feature typifies the topography of the Driftless Area in which La Crosse sits. This rugged region
1239-932: Is the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse's free weekly paper. Free weekly tabloids include the Foxxy Shopper and the Buyer's Express. Regional magazines, including the Coulee Parenting Connection and the Coulee Region Women , are also produced in the city. The La Crosse Regional Airport , (KLSE) located on French Island , provides direct scheduled passenger service to Chicago through American Airlines regional carrier Air Wisconsin . Sun Country and Xtra Airways provide charter service to Laughlin , Elko, Nevada , and other destinations. The airport also serves general aviation for
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#17327984380381298-533: Is the coldest month, with high temperatures averaging 27.4 °F (−2.6 °C), with the overnight low temperatures around 10.5 °F (−11.9 °C). La Crosse has 13 voting districts (wards). Neighborhoods within the city include: As of the census of 2020 , the population was 52,680. The population density was 2,427.3 inhabitants per square mile (937.2/km ). There were 24,221 housing units at an average density of 1,116.0 per square mile (430.9/km ). The population living in college or university student housing
1357-620: Is the largest farmer owned organic collective in North America. Organic Valley markets milk and various dairy products as well as organic beef, pork, chicken, and turkey products under the Organic Valley or Organic Prairies brand. With 1,800 farmer-owners across the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom, Organic Valley markets its products in all 50 states and exports to 25 countries. Organic Valley
1416-635: The Kickapoo River Basin area near the cooperative's headquarters which was built in 2004. Organic Valley comprises nearly 2,000 farmer-owners located in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom that specialize in sustainable, organic agriculture practices. Organic Valley has become the world's largest independent Cooperative of organic family farmers and one of the nation's largest producers and distributors of organic produce, dairy, soy, and eggs. It also markets its line of beef , pork , turkey , and chicken products under
1475-938: The Night Train of the NIFL . In the winter season, the Coulee Region Chill was a junior team in the North American 3 Hockey League at the Green Island Ice Arena. Additionally, the area's only ski hill, Mt. La Crosse, opened in 1959 and has 19 slopes and trails. The ski hill is home to Damnation! , Mid-America's steepest trail. The University of Wisconsin–La Crosse 's Eagles compete in NCAA Division III . The university's 10,000 seat Veterans Memorial Field for football (turf field) and outdoor timed track opened in 2009 and hosts
1534-1005: The Northwoods League play at their home field at Copeland Park on the north side of La Crosse in the summer months. In 2017, the La Crosse Showtime began play in the American Basketball Association at La Crosse Center. In the past, the La Crosse Center has been home to the Catbirds and the Bobcats of the CBA , as well as the River Rats of the IFL , the Spartans of the IFL and
1593-602: The WIAA Wisconsin high school outdoor track and field state championships. The La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway , located in nearby West Salem , is the first and only paved NASCAR -sanctioned asphalt stock car racing track in Wisconsin. Riverside Park is situated on the riverfront of downtown La Crosse near the Blue Bridges . It hosts events such as Riverfest, Fourth of July fireworks, Oktoberfest , and
1652-463: The 10 largest employers in La Crosse were: La Crosse and the surrounding communities form a regional commercial center and shopping hub. In the northeastern region of the city lies the area's largest shopping center, Valley View Mall . The surrounding area includes numerous big-box stores , and many restaurants. Other shopping centers in the La Crosse region include Three Rivers Plaza, Marsh View Center, Shelby Mall, Jackson Plaza, Bridgeview Plaza, and
1711-620: The City of La Crosse. In the 2012 presidential election , Barack Obama won 65% of the city of La Crosse and 58% of La Crosse County. In 2014, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ranked La Crosse as one of Wisconsin's top performing Democratic cities. In the United States Congress, Republican Derrick Van Orden has represented La Crosse as part of Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district since 2023. The city
1770-669: The La Crosse Area Lutheran Schools organization and affiliated with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod . The region's largest Lutheran high school, Luther High School is located in Onalaska, Wisconsin . La Crosse is the home of three regional colleges and universities. The University of Wisconsin–La Crosse is the region's leading public university. Western Technical College is a public community college located in
1829-568: The La Crosse Community Theater has won both regional and national acclaim. The city is home to the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps , a member of Drum Corps International . Other arts sites include Viterbo University Fine Arts building, UW–La Crosse Art Gallery and Theater, and the La Crosse Center, which hosts national performers. Local sculptor Elmer Petersen has created sculptures that are exhibited throughout
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1888-423: The La Crosse area is home to the headquarters or regional offices of Kwik Trip , Organic Valley , Mayo Clinic , Gundersen Health System , Gensler , La Crosse Technology , City Brewing Company , and Trane . La Crosse County is a top ten tourist destination in the state with $ 433 million in travel-related spending generated in 2023. The first Europeans to see the region were French fur traders who traveled
1947-596: The La Crosse region. The city is served by several major highways and Interstate, including Interstate 90 , U.S. Highway 14 , U.S. Highway 53 , U.S. Highway 61 , Wisconsin State Highway 35 , Wisconsin State Highway 16 , and Wisconsin State Highway 33 . The Mississippi River Bridge , also known as the Cass St. bridge and the newer Cameron Street bridge (photo with blue arch) both connect downtown La Crosse with La Crescent, Minnesota . These two bridges cross
2006-626: The Louisville Catbirds after being cut by the NBA's New Jersey Nets . This article related to sports in Louisville, Kentucky is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a basketball team in Kentucky is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse ( / l ə ˈ k r ɒ s / lə- KROSS )
2065-483: The Mississippi River in the late 17th century. There is no written record of any visit to the site until 1805, when Lt. Zebulon Pike mounted an expedition up the Mississippi River for the United States. Pike recorded the location's name as "Prairie La Crosse". The name originated from the game with sticks that resembled a bishop's crozier or la crosse in French, which was played by Native Americans there. In 1841,
2124-461: The Mississippi River, as does the Interstate 90 bridge located just northwest of La Crosse, connecting Wisconsin and Minnesota. In 2012, the City of La Crosse was the first city in Wisconsin to pass a Green Complete Streets ordinance. This ordinance requires that when roads are reconstructed the needs of stormwater management and the safety of bicycles and pedestrians are taken into account in
2183-493: The Mississippi north of the city, and the La Crosse River flows into the Mississippi just north of the downtown area. Just upriver from its mouth, this river broadens into a marshland that splits the city into two distinct sections, north and south. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 23.79 square miles (61.62 km ), of which, 21.7 square miles (56.20 km )
2242-877: The Organic Prairie brand. Products are marketed in all 50 states, Canada, China, Japan, and 22 other countries. In March 2016, construction was completed on a second 200,000 square foot office building on the Cashton campus in order to accommodate continued growth of the organization. The building is large enough to accommodate roughly half of the cooperative's total employees. Organic Valley purchased Farmers Cooperative Creamery in McMinnville, Oregon 2016. It merges 72 co-op members in Oregon and Washington. It opened in August 2017 and received $ 350,000 in funds from
2301-585: The Rotary Lights. Several steamboats make stops along the river in the park, including the American Queen , La Crosse Queen , and Julia Belle Swain . The park has walking/running trails. The park was previously home to a controversial Statue of Hiawatha . Long standing public debate about whether the statue was offensive or presented a caricature based on stereotypes of Native Americans eventually led to its removal in 2020, nearly 60 years after it
2360-668: The State. In 2021, a major fire at the McMinnville Creamery resulted in evacuation order for residents in a 1/2 mile radius due to presence of ammonia at the plant. The fire destroyed the main building, but the plant was rebuilt and resumed operation in May 2022. In March 2017, Organic Valley announced the creation of Organic Valley Fresh, a 50:50 joint venture with Dean Foods to expand the brand's presence by leveraging Dean Foods' extensive distribution network. Later that year,
2419-501: The Village Shopping Center. Downtown La Crosse has experienced a resurgence in recent years, providing shopping, farmers' markets, hotels, restaurants, and specialty shops. La Crosse has over 30 active arts organizations. The Pump House Regional Arts Center hosts visual arts exhibits throughout the year plus its own series of jazz, folk, and blues performers. The La Crosse Symphony is the city's regional orchestra and
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2478-762: The city include: the Congregation Sons of Abraham, a Jewish synagogue ; the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of La Crosse, which has held services since 1951; the Islamic Society Othman Bin Afaan; and the Hmong Faith Alliance Church. La Crosse is the home and current global headquarters of several corporations and organizations, including: Corporations founded and formerly headquartered in La Crosse include: As of 2012 ,
2537-424: The city. La Crosse is also home to Viterbo University , a Roman Catholic private institution. The Health Science Center exists as a combined effort of all the La Crosse medical centers, universities, and government agencies with a goal of advancing students in the medical fields. La Crosse's largest newspaper is the daily La Crosse Tribune which serves the Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa regions. The Racquet
2596-476: The completion of the La Crosse & Milwaukee Railroad, the second railroad connecting Milwaukee to the Mississippi River. During the second half of the 19th century, La Crosse grew to become one of the largest cities in Wisconsin. It was a center of the lumber industry, for logs cut in the interior of the state could be rafted down the Black River toward sawmills built in the city. La Crosse also became
2655-417: The country, La Crosse saw population stagnation in the latter half of the 20th century as a result of suburbanization. Since 1966, La Crosse has seen its population grow by 10.73%, while its area, miles of sewer, and miles of water mains each grew by more than 50%. La Crosse remains the largest city on Wisconsin's western border, and the educational institutions in the city have recently led it toward becoming
2714-723: The downtown area, including La Crosse Players and the Eagle in Riverside Park. It also hosts a yearly St Patrick's Day Parade as well as Irishfest La Crosse in August The La Crosse Center , a convention center and arena located in downtown La Crosse on the Mississippi River, hosts a variety of sporting events, concerts, exhibits, and shows. The city annually hosts Oktoberfest USA , an Oktoberfest celebration first established in 1961. The La Crosse Loggers (baseball) and La Crosse Steam (softball) of
2773-454: The first white settlement at La Crosse was established when Nathan Myrick , a New York native, moved to the village at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin to work in the fur trade . Myrick was disappointed to find that because many fur traders were already well-entrenched there, there were no openings for him in the trade. As a result, he decided to establish a trading post upriver at the then still unsettled site of Prairie La Crosse. In 1841, he built
2832-426: The median income for a family was $ 66,928. Male full-time workers had a median income of $ 43,438 versus $ 37,215 for female workers. The per capita income for the city was $ 27,398. About 7.9% of families and 22.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over. Of the population age 25 and over, 93.9% were high school graduates or higher and 36.5% had
2891-873: The mother house of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration , and the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe . An independent catholic school district in the city, La Crosse Aquinas Catholic Schools , is also overseen by the diocese. Protestant churches in the city include Lutheran, Evangelical, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and independent traditions. The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod has five churches in La Crosse: First Lutheran Church, Grace Lutheran Church, Immanuel Lutheran Church, Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church, and St. John's Lutheran Church. La Crosse
2950-478: The new design. The same year, the city passed the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan to guide improvements to the transportation network for those walking or cycling in the city. By 2018, La Crosse had 7.7 miles (12.4 km) of on-street bike lanes , 17.1 miles (27.5 km) of paved bike paths , and 12 miles (19 km) of unpaved paths. As of 2021, however, La Crosse had no protected bike lanes, while bike infrastructure has generally gone unmaintained through
3009-404: The organization nearing $ 30 million in the latest 2019 earnings. Restructuring also led to a mixture of nearly 100 layoffs and retirements including the departure of 14 farmer-members. The McMinnville creamery was fined $ 26,574 in 2019 by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality for illegally dumping milk into the storm drain causing a creek to turn white for 3/4 of a mile. The same plant
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#17327984380383068-410: The organization opened a new 23,000 square foot CALF (Conversion & Labeling Facility) building on the Cashton campus to accommodate growth of producing, cutting, packing, and labeling products. In 2019, total annual sales for Organic Valley reached an estimated $ 1.1 billion. However, milk supply and demand issues along with shifting consumer taste resulted in year-over-year profitability losses for
3127-403: The post was built at one of the few points along the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi River where a broad plain, ideal for development, existed between the river's bank and the tall bluffs that line the river valley. Because of these advantages, a small village grew around Myrick's trading post in the 1840s. In 1844, a small Mormon community settled at La Crosse, building several dozen cabins
3186-537: The trail does not follow a dedicated multi-use path. The La Crosse River Trail and the Great River State Trail pass through the northern edge of the city. These trails combine to form one continuous trail from Trempealeau to Reedsburg . They are rail trails built on the former roadbed of the Chicago and Northwestern Railway . Organic Valley Organic Valley ( OV ) is an organic food brand and independent cooperative of organic farmers based in La Farge, Wisconsin , United States. Founded in 1988 and it
3245-527: The winter months. A new bikeshare system debuted in downtown La Crosse in April 2021 through a partnership of La Crosse Neighborhoods, Inc and Koloni, an Iowa based bikeshare company. It is hoped that this service will be expanded across the city in the near future. The system has grown each year from 8 bikeshare stations and 40 bikes available for use in 2021, to 10 stations and 50 bikes in 2022 and to 15 stations and 75 bikes in 2023. The interstate Mississippi River Trail passes through La Crosse. However,
3304-399: Was 3,897. The racial makeup of the city was 85.6% White , 4.9% Asian , 2.9% Black or African American , 0.5% Native American , 1.2% from other races , and 4.9% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 3.2% Hispanic or Latino of any race. According to the American Community Survey estimates for 2016–2020, the median income for a household in the city was $ 46,438, and
3363-430: Was erected. Pettibone Park is located on Baron Island, across the river from Riverside Park and the downtown area. The island was originally part of the state of Minnesota. The land was transferred to Wisconsin and eventually the City of La Crosse following a border dispute that was resolved in 1919. Today the park has a variety of recreational facilities, including a beach and disc golf course. An extensive marsh ,
3422-426: Was fined $ 12,600 and received eight citations for similar violations in 2018. George Siemon, one of the founding farmers of CROPP, was the CEO of Organic Valley for more than 30 years. Once a member of the National Organic Standards Board , Siemon helped set the standards not only for Organic Valley, but is best known for his leadership in organizing farmers and building market support for organic agriculture across
3481-485: Was founded in 1988 under the name 'CROPP (Coulee Region Organic Produce Pool) Cooperative. What began as a group of Wisconsin family farms selling their produce soon expanded into the production and local distribution of vegetables , and dairy products . The brand name "Organic Valley" was soon adopted, and the abbreviation "CROPP" was adjusted to Cooperative Regions of Organic Producer Pools. The original CROPP farms were located throughout southwest Wisconsin, primarily in
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