La Crosse Tribune back issues from December 2001:
CenturyTel to hire 200 more workers
Dec 01, 2001; ... CenturyTel announced Friday it plans to hire 200 employees at its La Crosse Midwest Region headquarters in the next six months - bringing its local workforce to approximately 850. CenturyTel executives said growth in the markets it currently serves and its recently announced plans to ...
Gundersen raising rates 11.5 percent
Dec 01, 2001; ... Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center is raising hospital rates by an average of 11.3 percent and its clinic charges by an average of 7 percent effective Jan. 1. The average combined rate for the hospital and clinic will be about 9 percent. Franciscan Skemp Medical Center earlier announced ...
The giving season
Dec 02, 2001; ... Despite - or maybe because of - the horrible events of Sept. 11, people appear to be contributing more to local charities in the waning months of 2001. Groups that rely on charitable donations had feared the tremendous outpouring of support for victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks ...
Bucking the trend
Dec 02, 2001; ... The recession and Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have dampened consumer spending in the Coulee Region. But unlike some other Wisconsin counties, La Crosse County hasn't seen its sales tax collections dip below last year's levels, at least through the third quarter. La Crosse County did see ...
Summit leaves leaders hopeful
Dec 02, 2001; ... A group of Coulee Region officials who attended last week's state economic summit think they made a strong case with state leaders that investing in health care partnerships here will pay off in the long run. Peter Hughes, vice president of marketing, planning and community service at ...
Last barges of season head downriver
Dec 03, 2001; ... ST. PAUL - A towboat named Phyllis has pushed the last barges of 2001 downstream from St. Paul, ending the upper Mississippi River's shortest-ever shipping season. Prolonged spring flooding on the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers delayed the season's start until May 11, the latest on ...
In the zone
Dec 03, 2001; ... An application is in the works for a technology zone to help increase high-tech jobs and investment in the La Crosse area. Local officials say it is very important that the La Crosse area be in one of eight technology zones that are expected to be designated by the Wisconsin Department ...
BUSINESS OF THE WEEK: Breaking the mold
Dec 03, 2001; ... ONALASKA, Wis. - Rows and rows of shelves are lined with both finished and unfinished ceramics at John Kent's ceramics studio and retail store at 100 S. Second St. in Onalaska. Santas, angels, Christmas trees, snowmen and Nativity sets line some shelves at Ceramics by John Kent, while ...
Mobil Oil site is on agenda
Dec 03, 2001; ... After years of negotiations, a purchase agreement for the city to buy the former Mobil Oil site goes to the La Crosse Common, Council this month. The agreement would be between Exxon Mobil Oil Corp. and the city's Redevelopment Authority. The City Plan Commission will consider it ...
Developer proposes $20 million project for former Mobil Oil site
Dec 06, 2001; ... A La Crosse, area developer has proposed building a $20 million, two-building office complex on the former Mobil Oil site off Copeland Avenue. Jon Sopher, who is developing a 24-acre property next to the Gundersen Lutheran Onalaska Clinic, revealed plans for his proposal to the ...
La Crosse County Board seeking supervisors
Dec 05, 2001; ... A fax is going around La Crosse that could be confused with those dubious "Earn Money Fast" offers: "LA CROSSE COUNTY RESIDENT? NEED A PARTTIME JOB?" The fax continues, "$325/MONTH INCLUDING HEALTH INSURANCE. PAID MILEAGE TO/FROM WORK. WORK 7-20 HOURS/MONTH. NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY, 35 ...
CBA in La Crosse dealt severe blow
Dec 05, 2001; ... After weighing the pros and the cons, then trying to separate themselves emotionally from the issue, Bill and Diane Bosshard came to the same conclusion: It is not the right time to jump back into minor-league basketball. The Bosshards, who are former owners of the Continental ...
Developers eye property south of Shelby Mall
Dec 08, 2001; ... City officials have met with representatives of some Mormon Coulee Road property owners on a potential new retail development south of Shelby Mall, Mayor John Medinger confirmed. "There is a desire to put some kind of a shopping center out there," Medinger said. "They want annexation, ...
Retailers: 6-lane Hwy. 16 would help
Dec 07, 2001; ... Harry Miyamoto was dying, his blood staining the snowcovered slope in a battlefield half a world away from his native Hawaii. At 9 p.m. on Jan. 10, 1944 , a .31-caliber machine gun bullet ripped through the right chest of the 26-year-old lieutenant from D Company, 100th Infantry. The La ...
City Brewery to uncork profit
Dec 10, 2001; ... A year after new owners took over, the number of employees at the City Brewery has grown to about 250. And there have been some new developments in the past several weeks. The former G. Heileman Brewery has started producing limited amounts of some former Heileman products for U.S ....
Secrets of success
Dec 10, 2001; ... The number of employees at the City Brewery has increased to about 250 in the year since 12 investors bought it from Jim Strupp and John Mazzuto. One of the 12, City Brewing Co. President Randy Smith, said last week that he expects additional growth in production and employment in 2002 ....
LaCrescent couple plan to expand cheesecake business
Dec 10, 2001; ... Tom Wright of rural La Crescent, Minn., has been making cheesecakes at his home for friends and relatives for more than 10 years. Now, he and his wife, Cindy, have put their talents to work in a full-fledged business, Pine Creek Ridge Cheesecakes. Since September, they have been using ...
Bus fares going up Jan. 1
Dec 11, 2001; ... The cost to ride the bus in the La Crosse area will go up when the new year arrives. The Municipal Transit Utility board voted unanimously Monday to raise most bus fares and pass prices starting Jan. 1. But the board did heed requests to hold down the cost on passes for seniors ...
City, union at impasse
Dec 14, 2001; ... The city of La Crosse is preparing to go to arbitration on contracts with at least 225 union employees, Personnel Director Jim Geissner told the La Crosse Common Council Thursday. Negotiations with the Service Employees International Union, Local 180, which has about 225 members, are at ...
Jury awards UW-L prof $290,000
Dec 14, 2001; ... MADISON - An assistant professor hied this fall at the University of WisconsinLa Crosse was awarded $290,000 Wednesday by a federal jury that found that while she was a visiting professor at UW-Milwaukee the school denied her tenuredtrack faculty positions because she spoke out about ...
Council endorses talks with St. Joseph
Dec 12, 2001; ... St. Joseph will be allowed to send wastewater to La Crosse's treatment plant if the La Crosse Common Council agrees with its Committee of the Whole. The committee voted 14-2 Tuesday for the city to enter negotiations on accepting wastewater from the St. Joseph Sanitary ...
Airline passenger numbers rebounding
Dec 16, 2001; ... The fear of flying was apparent in September at the La Crosse Municipal Airport as numbers of airline passengers dropped dramatically after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But passenger numbers are climbing again, and in October and November, the number of people getting on planes began ...
Health insurance premiums soaring
Dec 17, 2001; ... Employees will pay more for their health care, health insurance and prescription drugs in 2002, and for some it could be a lot more. Most health insurance premiums will increase by double-digit percentages next year, and employers will pass more of those costs on to their ...
Center nearly in the black
Dec 18, 2001; ... With one month to go, La Crosse Center officials say the center could end the year in the black, though a $115,000 deficit had been budgeted for 2001. Center Director Art Fahey told the facility's board Monday that it had a profit of $10,790 for November, and for the first 11 months of ...
Two busy days
Dec 18, 2001; ... If you were mailing Christmas gifts Monday, you probably had to wait in line. Monday was expected to be the busiest day of the year for the U.S. Postal Service. "This is definitely the busiest day," said Joe Martinez, officer in charge at the La Crosse post office. "We believe people ...
McCallum optimistic about economy
Dec 13, 2001; ... Even though Wisconsin is facing a $1.3 billion deficit, Gov. Scott McCallum expressed optimism about the budget and the economy Wednesday in La Crosse. "As a state and a people we can come out stronger if we adjust and make the right moves," said McCallum, keynote speaker at the La ...
Valley Pride seeks payments
Dec 13, 2001; ... NORWALK, Wis. - Valley Pride Pack Inc. is going back to court to try to force its lender to pay employees and cattle suppliers who were left unpaid when the company shut down in August. The company, owned by Rick Stewart, reopened in early November and now has approximately 95 workers ....
HABCO loses copyright case
Dec 13, 2001; ... MADISON - A federal jury Tuesday awarded a Pennsylvania software company $660,000 after finding that La Crosse accounting firm Hawkins, Ash, Baptie & Co. and its computer subsidiary, HABCO Inc., infringed on three software copyrights held by the Pennsylvania company. After a four-day ...
Smoke-free dining on the table
Dec 13, 2001; ... ONALASKA, Wis. - Just as restaurants are not allowed to serve dirty water or moldy food, there should be an ordinance to protect the air in such facilities. That's the opinion of members of the Smokefree Air For Everyone Coalition, who would like to see an ordinance making restaurants ...
Business reform goal of 'next economy' bill
Dec 13, 2001; ... A proposal to ease some regulations on Wisconsin businesses would help attract new businesses, retain current ones and bring back to the state some businesses that have left, regulators and a representative of the State Bar of Wisconsin testified at a legislative hearing ...
$3.4 million sparta motel to open in May
Dec 18, 2001; ... A ground-breaking ceremony was held Monday for an 80room, $3.4 million Holiday Inn Express motel that tentatively is expected to open Memorial Day weekend. Steve Peterson, tourism and economic development director for the city of Sparta, said in an interview that he thinks other ...
UW-L picks Eastern Illinois dean as provost
Dec 18, 2001; ... An assistant professor who rose through the ranks at Central Michigan University is the new provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Elizabeth Hitch, dean of the College of Education and Professional Studeis at Eastern Illinois ...
Merger might alleviate woes of Catholic school system
Dec 20, 2001; ... The closing of Holy Trinity School in La Crosse next fall is among the options, that officials at Coulee Catholic Schools will consider as they try to strengthen the system's financial position amid declining enrollment. John Carlucci, administrator of Coulee Catholic Schools, said ...
Westby plant may need upgrade
Dec 20, 2001; ... WESTBY, Wis. - The city of Westby might face a major upgrade of its wastewater treatment plant after the state ordered that its treated discharge meet more stringent water standards within four years. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources said the stricter requirements in the ...
Cheesemaker fined $500,000
Dec 20, 2001; ... MADISON - A Trempealeau County cheese manufacturer was fined $500,000 in federal court Wednesday for selling 555,163 pounds of imitation cheese products in 1995 and 1996 that contained an animal feed supplement. Whitehall Specialties, Inc., of Whitehall Wis., purchased 4,500 pounds of ...
OSHA proposes $250,000 in fines against Black River Falls company
Dec 20, 2001; ... BLACK RIVER FALLS, Wis. - The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Lunda Construction Co. of Black River Falls for allegedly exposing workers to unsafe levels of lead on a Milwaukee project, and has proposed $250,000 in penalties. In a press release, OSHA alleged that ...
County puts 6-month moratorium on building communication towers
Dec 21, 2001; ... Cell phone and other wireless technology companies will have to wait six months to build new towers in unincorporated areas of La Crosse County. The County Board on Thursday approved a six-month moratorium on new tower construction so zoning officials can finish work on a new ordinance ...
Board room to get $110,000 makeover
Dec 21, 2001; ... La Crosse County, which recently laid off four workers, will spend up to $110,000 to renovate its board room. La Crosse County Board supervisors, from their circa 1965 chairs that will soon be on their way out the door, voted Thursday to use recently discovered state money to fund most ...
Area retailers brace for last-minute rush
Dec 22, 2001; ... Last-minute Christmas shoppers filled area stores Friday, on the eve of what could be the busiest weekend of the season. And some store managers and owners said sales are up from last Christmas season, despite the slower economy. "I think, in general, it's been pretty good," ...
Judge sets Doerflinger deadline
Dec 22, 2001; ... The legal battle over the Doerflinger building might be quiet until April and won't go to trial until next fall. On Friday, Vernon County Circuit Court Judge Michael Rosborough granted a stay on the city's suit against 400 Main Street Partners LLC at the request of the developer's ...
BUSINESS OF THE WEEK: Swiss Valley
Dec 24, 2001; ... MINDORO, Wis. - A $6.2 million expansion and renovation of the Swiss Valley Farms Co. cheese plant in Mindoro, Wis., has been completed, allowing the plant to increase production and employment. A ground-breaking ceremony was held in September 2000 for the project, which was completed ...
Cable rates going up
Dec 28, 2001; ... Cable TV viewers in La Crosse and surrounding areas will see an increase in their bills from Charter Communications as of Feb. 1, 2002. Customers with the expanded basic option will be charged $5 more per month - an increase from $37.95 to $42.95 before taxes and the franchise ...
Heating bills expected to drop
Dec 28, 2001; ... Barring a repeat of last year's record-setting cold or an unforeseen spike in fuel prices, the cost of heating homes should drop this winter. Average homeowners will see an estimated 37 percent decrease in their natural gas bills for this heating season, considered to be November through ...
DESIGNS ON THE FUTURE
Dec 31, 2001; ... The La Crosse office of the architecture, design, planning and program management firm Gensler has moved into new quarters whose interior design blends the past with the future. Seventeen people work in the Gensler information solutions office, which occupies the fourth floor of the ...