La Crosse, Wisconsin

[8] 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.[citation needed] 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.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.[11][12] In 1841, 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.In 1841, he built a temporary trading post on Barron Island (now called Pettibone Park), which lies just west of La Crosse's present downtown.In 1844, a small Mormon community settled at La Crosse, building several dozen cabins 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.[16] 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 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.[19] 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.[36] The city has a variety of religious traditions and communities, including Catholicism, Protestantism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodox, Judaism, Unitarian Universalism, and Islam.The city is also home to St. Rose of Viterbo Convent, the mother house of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, and the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.Other religious groups within the city include: the Congregation Sons of Abraham, a Jewish synagogue; the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of La Crosse, which has held services since 1951;[44] the Islamic Society Othman Bin Afaan; and the Hmong Faith Alliance Church.[54][55] Local sculptor Elmer Petersen has created sculptures that are exhibited throughout the downtown area, including La Crosse Players and the Eagle in Riverside Park.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.[63] 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.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 was erected.An extensive marsh, a natural floodplain created by the La Crosse River, divides the city between north and south.[71] Mitch Reynolds defeated Vicki Markussen in the 2021 La Crosse Mayoral election, succeeding retiring incumbent Tim Kabat.[77] In the United States Congress, Republican Derrick Van Orden has represented La Crosse as part of Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district since 2023.Additionally, Democrat Steve Doyle currently represents suburban La Crosse County in the 94th Assembly District.Beginning in the early 20th century, however, increasing car ownership led to a decline of the privately run streetcar system.[citation needed] The La Crosse Municipal Transit Utility bus service, with routes reaching out to the suburbs, served over one million users in 2007.This line provides the track on which the La Crosse Amtrak station is located, served daily by the Empire Builder between Chicago and Seattle or Portland.[102] Railroad tracks owned by Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) pass through La Crosse providing freight service.[citation needed] Jefferson Lines serves La Crosse with one daily bus each way running between Minneapolis and Milwaukee via Rochester and Madison.[103] In addition, Badger Bus offers service on Fridays and Sundays during the school year between Madison and Minneapolis via La Crosse.[citation needed] In recent years, the city discovered PFAS in the groundwater on French Island, WI as a result of fire fighting foam used at the La Crosse Regional Airport.[107] Two major regional healthcare facilities are located in La Crosse: Gundersen Health System and the Franciscan Skemp Medical Center.[108][109] In 2014, Gundersen Health received the Healthgrades America's 50 Best Hospitals™ designation, placing the system among the top 1 percent of hospitals nationwide.