Newsmakers, January 25, 2018

A city of La Crosse task force will study the idea of creating a new destination museum with a La Crosse area history theme.

Right now, the area’s history exhibits are displayed in multiple locations, and finding adequate storage for artifacts at the La Crosse County Historical Society has been a challenge.

The La Crosse City Council created a 10-member task force this month and gave the group $10,000 to research the possibilities.

La Crosse Mayor Tim Kabat said the only thing he would like to see addressed in the study making sure the city’s biggest draw — the Mississippi River — is given its due.

“What that’s meant for why native people lived here, why the European folks settled here — some connection to that river is something I look forward to,” he said.

The La Crosse County Historical Society, a keeper of some of the city’s artifacts, will likely be involved in the task force. Three years ago, the society moved to a donated old church on one of the city’s main arteries, but it hasn’t been an ideal property for a museum.

Executive Director and Curator Peggy Derrick said the task force needs to focus on a wish list for a new museum before worrying about location and cost.

“I’d start with a criteria of what we need like handicapped-accessibility, parking, what does collection storage need?,” she said. “Environmental controls for humidity and temperature are very important, and very hard to achieve.”

The La Crosse area is not currently known for attracting tourists who want information about the area’s history. Annual user surveys also show people who live in the La Crosse area don’t frequent what is now available for historic tourism. Derrick said a new museum could change that, but it can’t be designed with tourists in mind.

“Unless they’re going to Disney World, what tourists really respond to is authenticity,” she said. “This is only going to be authentic if La Crosse creates something for themselves and use it themselves and cares about it.”

Kabat will pick task force members in the next month. They will be expected to report on a variety of things including need, whether the museum would be built new or remodeled, what the cost could be, and how the project will be funded. Reports to the city are expected by fall.