French Island News

On behalf of the board of directors of the Onalaska/Holmen Emergency Food Basket, I would like to thank the U.S. Postal Service letter carriers,especially the Onalaska branch, for once again sponsoring the 2008 ...

Local tourism officials say they expect a good summer, although rising gasoline and food prices are pinching consumers.

A Bangor man is facing charges after police said he left his three young children in a La Crosse hotel room while he went out drinking, then crashed his car. via Channel3000

A Bangor man is accused of leaving his small children at a hotel while he went out drinking, before crashing into a car, and then running from police. via WEAU-TV Eau Claire

“I served on the La Crosse County Board of Supervisors from 1976 to 1978. Did not seek re-election due to work and family commitments. Now retired, I have the time and want to serve again, i.e., I can and I want to.”

A primary vote will be held Tuesday to sort out candidates for La Crosse County Board in Districts 13 and 25. via La Crosse Tribune

“You often hear retirees refrain: 'I don't know how I had time to hold a job before.' There is truth to this. When I get up in the morning, there is nothing planned, but by nightfall I'm not half done with what I wanted to get done.”

We often hear from - and about - snowbirds, those people who spend a large portion of winter in warmer locales. via La Crosse Tribune

“It's either that or send endless e-mails to all my acquaintances and drive them crazy”

Jay Bowers has lived for decades in a farmhouse outside Onalaska, but some of his closest neighbors are in south La Crosse. via La Crosse Tribune

“It doesn't say where the clerk has to be.”

Most county, municipal and school election ballots for April were set Wednesday, the deadline for candidates to file their nominating petitions. via La Crosse Tribune

TOWN OF CAMPBELL, Wis -- Campbell fire officials praised firefighters for saving a family pet while battling a potentially dangerous fire that forced 15 people from a French Island apartment building Saturday ... via Fire Engineering

Mark Allen's Journal Click here to see the latest in Mark Allen's Journal. With love, laughter, music and memories he shares these stories with you. via WTHI-TV Terre Haute

“The coot eats the snail, they get infected by these parasites and then when they get enough of the parasites in their intestines, it basically sucks the juices out of their intestines and the birds die”

Wildlife experts say snails are killing tens of thousands of coots and other waterfowl near French Island. via WEAU-TV Eau Claire

“It's pretty sad when you see a sick one. They can't swim. They can't dive”

The coot slipped from an eagle's talon and plunged into the water near Broken Gun Island, while the waterbird bobbed to the surface of Lake Onalaska but barely moved as two eagles circled overhead.

'He's probably sick and they know it,' said Calvin Gehri, a biological technician with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's La Crosse District. 'It's easy pickings around here.'

The coot was just one of thousands of waterfowl to sicken after eating faucet snails that carry an intestinal parasite. If a predator doesn't get them first, the birds die from blood loss, shock from a chemical imbalance or a stomach infection. There's no way to save them. Read more

Local police are requesting your assistance in locating a suspect and vehicle involved in a high speed chase from French Island into La Crosse early Saturday night. via WXOW-TV La Crosse

“I know the people in the condos behind me are happy to have it gone. It's always been there, well now it's gone”

Another development in the story from French Island, which gained national attention. via WXOW-TV La Crosse