Mac Kiel on north branch library closing, city budget react, revamping downtown and rezoning

Mac Kiel in studio discussing the closing of the north branch library, the two downtown La Crosse plans, public outreach and rezoning. 

Before bringing Kiel in, though, began the show with a quick rant about the future of downtown La Crosse and what that might look like, as the city council last week postponed plans for 3rd and 4th streets. That future includes that Wisconsin DOT plan, plus a consultant plan near the Oktoberfest grounds that could include a public market, but also perhaps making Pearl Street for pedestrians only and how we want people to get from the River Point District to the south side. 

After that, Kiel joined and we picked things up right there, continuing that conversation, as she explains a bit about the consultant plan. 

After that, we hit on the 2026 budget passing Monday and public outreach that some council members did online after that — plus public outreach in general, from city council to our state legislators.

The second half of the show, Kiel — who is on the La Crosse Library Board — explains her process for voting to close the north branch.

Lastly, she talks about the city’s complete revamp of zoning and what that could mean for everything for developers and home owners.

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