La Crosse, Wisconsin

La Crosse, Wisconsin
La Crosse, Wisconsin
	Seal
	Location in the state of Wisconsin
Counties	La Crosse County
Government
• Mayor	Mark Johnsrud
Population (2000)
• City	51,818
• Metro	126,838
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (Central)
Website	www.cityoflacrosse.org

La Crosse is the county seat of La Crosse County, Wisconsin.Template:GR The city, which lies alongside the Mississippi River, is known primarily as a college town and commercial center for the surrounding area.

The population of La Crosse was 51,818 at the 2000 census, which makes it the 12th largest city in Wisconsin by population (8th largest excluding cities which are part of the metropolitan areas of Milwaukee and Chicago). Together with surrounding communities, the La Crosse metropolitan area was, according to the 2000 census, home to 96,592 people. The city forms the core of, and is the principal city within the United States Census Bureau's La Crosse Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of La Crosse County in Wisconsin and Houston County, Minnesota (composite 2000 population: 126,838).

Geography

Grandad's Bluff in La Crosse

La Crosse is located in western Wisconsin, on a broad alluvial plain along the east side of the Mississippi River. The Black River empties into the Mississippi north of the city, and the La Crosse river flows into the Mississippi just north of the downtown area. Prior to 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 57.4 km² (22.2 mi²). 52.2 km² (20.1 mi²) of it is land and 5.2 km² (2.0 mi²) of it (9.12%) is water.

Surrounding the relatively flat prairie where La Crosse lies are towering bluffs, one of the most prominent of which is Grandad's Bluff (mentioned in Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain). This feature typifies the topography of the Driftless Area in which La Crosse sits. This rugged region is composed of high ridges dissected by narrow valleys called coulees. As a result, the area around La Crosse is frequently referred to as the "Coulee Region".

Several cities are located in the immediate vicinity of La Crosse, including Onalaska, Wisconsin, Holmen, Wisconsin, West Salem, Wisconsin, and La Crescent, Minnesota across the Mississippi River.

Transportation

View of the Cass St. Bridge, which cross the Mississippi River, from the Port of La Crosse

The La Crosse Municipal Airport provides scheduled passenger service to Minneapolis through Northwest Airlink and Mesaba Airlines, and to Chicago via American Eagle Airlines. The airport also serves general aviation for the metro area.

On the Mississippi River, cargo is transported to and from the area using towboats, primarily moving dry bulk cargo barges for coal, grain, and other low-value bulk goods.

The Mississippi River Bridge, also known as the Cass St. bridge, also connects downtown La Crosse with La Crescent, Minnesota. These two bridges cross the Mississippi River.

Railroad tracks owned by Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) pass through La Crosse providing freight service. The La Crosse (Amtrak station) is located on the North Side in La Crosse, and is a stop for the Empire Builder providing cross-country passenger rail service.

The city is served by several major highways, including Interstate 90, U.S. Highway 14, U.S. Highway 53, U.S. Highway 61,and Wisconsin State Highway 16.

Also, La Crosse boasts an efficient MTU bus service which has routes reaching out to the suburbs and mall areas.

Demographics

As of the census Template:GR of 2000, there were 51,818 people, 21,110 households, and 10,217 families residing in the city. The population density was 993.4/km² (2,573.4/mi²). There were 22,233 housing units at an average density of 426.2/km² (1,104.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.58% White, 1.56% African American, 0.51% Native American, 4.65% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.36% from other races, and 1.31% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.14% of the population.

There were 21,110 households out of which 22.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.1% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 51.6% were non-families. 37.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the city the population was spread out with 18.8% under the age of 18, 24.4% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 17.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males.

File:DSC00167.jpg

View of the Mississippi River from Riverside Park

The median income for a household in the city was $31,103, and the median income for a family was $43,047. Males had a median income of $30,996 versus $22,076 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,650. About 7.8% of families and 17.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.5% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.

Neighborhoods and Districts

La Crosse is made up of 17 districts also with different neighborhoods.

North Side
South Side
French Island
Washburn Neighborhood
Shelby
Medary

Zip Codes: 54601, 54602, 54603.

Economy

La Crosse is the original home and international headquarters of several businesses, including the Trane air conditioning company (acquired by American Standard in the 1980s), the City Brewing Company, Pearl Street Brewery, Kwik Trip, CenturyTel, S&S Cycles, Gundersen Luthern Medical Center, Franciscan-Skemp Medical Center, Badger Corrugating Company, The Company Store, FirstLogic (now Business Objects), La Crosse Technologies, and Logistics Health Incorporated. The La Crosse Footwear Company also originated in the city, but has since relocated its headquarters to Portland, Oregon.

Media

La Crosse's leading newspaper is the La Crosse Tribune. The Second Supper, a satirical newspaper, is also published in La Crosse.

La Crosse is well served by television and radio. La Crosse's major network television affiliates are ABC affiliate WXOW and CBS affiliate WKBT and Fox affiliate WLAX.

Shopping

La Crosse and the surrounding communities form a regional commercial center and shopping hub. In the northeastern part of the city lies the region's largest shopping center, Valley View Mall. Surrounding the mall lies including numerous big-box stores, and many eateries. Other shopping centers in the La Crosse region include Three Rivers Plaza, Marsh View Center, Shelby Mall, Center 90, Bridgeview Center, and the Village Shopping Center. Downtown La Crosse has contiuned to grow in recent years providing shopping, many hotels, restaurants, specialty shops, and the Mississippi River.^[1]

Convention Center

The La Crosse Center is an 9,000 seat multi-purpose arena built in 1980 in downtown La Crosse.

The Center is also a convention center offering 21,600 square feet of exhibit space, a 45 foot ceiling height, a 60-by-40-foot stage, two locker rooms and three dressing rooms. There is also a 14,935 square foot North Hall which can open up to the arena to be used in combination, and a 38,740 square foot South Exhibit Hall. All three venues total 75,275 square feet of exhibit space. The complex also contains 9,432 square feet of meeting room space in five meeting rooms, which can be divided into nine meeting rooms.^[2]

While both exhibit halls and the arena are used for trade shows, conventions, meetings and banquets, the arena is also used for sporting events, concerts, circuses, ice shows and other events.

Education

La Crosse is home to three regional colleges and universities. These include the public University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and Western Technical College, as well as the Roman Catholic Viterbo University.

For primary and secondary education, the La Crosse area is served by the School District of La Crosse with 21 elementary, middle, high, and charter schools. La Crosse Central High School and Logan High School are the two public high schools serving the La Crosse area. With a total enrollment of 7,213 students in 2006, making it the 16th largest school district in the state. The La Crosse School District has 635 teachers of which 73% hold a masters degree or higher. The 2006 operating budget for the school district was $87,126,387 this was comprised of 40.6% local funding, 53.4% state funding, and 5.9% federal funding.

Also, La Crosse is served by a Waldorf School, Three Rivers School [1].

In addition, La Crosse Coulee Catholic Schools, a Roman Catholic school district affiliated with the Diocese of La Crosse, is centered in the city and includes Aquinas High School, and Aquinas Middle School.

Another Roman Catholic school, the Providence Academy, is independent from Coulee Catholic Schools and has no affiliation with the Diocese of La Crosse.