☀️ Rise & shine! 🌟 Let's kick off the week with a smile!

☀️ Good morning, neighbors. ☀️

Welcome to Good Morning, Coulee—where we start your morning right. (don’t talk to me ‘till I’ve had my gm coulee)

I hope that your weekend was great.

Let’s start the week off right and send you on your way to a happy, healthy, and productive day.

i’m feeling pumped. let’s do it. 👇

🎶 Song of the Day

Wisconsin pines, collaborating with the day glow vibes

*If you want to listen along as you read, scroll to the top right of this email and click “Read Online”.

💬 Today’s Thought

🏡 In the Community

Today, I want to highlight an organization called La Crosse Lighthouse.

I could tell you what La Crosse Lighthouse is—or I could let the expert do it. Abigail Spanjers, the Executive Director at La Crosse Lighthouse, described it this way:

We are a Peer Run Respite offering 1-7 night stays to individuals navigating mental health, substance use or other life interrupting challenges. We are an alternative to hospitalization and other systems based supports.

Guests at the respite have the opportunity to connect with others that have navigated similar challenges. Together we explore ways to break cycles and define what wellness looks like for each of us. Our unique perspectives come from a place of lived experience.

The staff at the respite have a deeper understanding of what it's like to experience a variety of challenges which allows us to connect with others on a different level. We have successfully changed the course of our lives and accept each person exactly as they are. Wellness looks different for everyone and having a space to be authentic without fear of judgement or repercussions allows all of us to define what we want life to look like and explore different ways to get there.

La Crosse Lighthouse has adopted a flat organizational structure, which has allowed them to cut administrative costs and operate as efficiently as possible—with the goal of helping as many people as possible.

Here’s a video to explain exactly what they do and how they do it.

Despite their lean operation, La Crosse Lighthouse has a funding problem.

La Crosse Lighthouse depended on funds from a DHS grant that were expected to be available through 2026—but ARPA funds were being used to fund the grant, and those expire this year. That means that barring a last-minute large infusion of funding, La Crosse Lighthouse will close late this year.

If you would like to contribute to this cause to lengthen their runway and available time to provide help to those in need, see the info below or click here for more information.

📰 Quick Hits

• Vendor applications for Market on the Mississippi are now open (Link)

• Aquinas secures a victory over Central (WXOW)

• Four area fire departments respond to La Crescent area house fire; Chimney possible cause (WXOW)

• Shelters in La Crosse area see increase in attendance numbers (WEAU)

• La Crosse area sees only 2 red bulbs in this year's "Keep the Wreath Green Campaign" (WXOW)

• City Council President Chris Kahlow running for mayor (WXOW)

• La Crosse American Legion Post 52 hosts S.O.S. breakfast to benefit the Legion Honors Squad (News 8000)

📆 What’s Happenin’

📚 Tales for Twos Story Time & BabyBop Story Time @ Onalaska Public Library // Today, 10am & 12pm

Tales for Twos: Join us for story times full of books, movement, songs, and fun. Tales for Twos story times are designed for our friends who are age two with lots of caregiver participation. Tales for Twos Story Times last approximately 20 minutes. No registration required.

BabyBop: Join us Mondays at noon for story times designed for our friends ages 0-23 months. We offer 20 minutes of caregiver and baby fun and bonding with books, bounces, songs, and rhymes followed by 15 minutes of unstructured play and read time. No registration required.

🗣 The Charmant Unplugged @ The Charmant Hotel // Tuesday, 6pm

Join us on Tuesday, January 7, from 6 PM to 8 PM at the Lobby Bar and Lounge for an evening of live music with the talented Zeke Fitzmaurice. Part of our Charmant Unplugged series, this performance promises soulful melodies and acoustic charm, all set in an intimate, welcoming atmosphere. Pair the music with expertly crafted cocktails and delicious small bites for a night that’s sure to leave a lasting impression.

🍻 Korean BBQ Night with Dimensional Brewing Company @ Fork & Fable Crafthouse // Wednesday, 5pm

As we kick off our 2025 event season, we wanted to do something new and special with something loved and known! So, we have decided on doing our incredibly popular Korean BBQ and pairing it with a newer brewery to Fork & Fable, but also one so darn good that we do the legwork to go and pick it up!

We are so incredibly happy to present the La Crosse area with Dimensional Brewing Company out of Dubuque, Iowa! Dimensional is the real deal! They make incredibly good beer across the spectrum of styles and flavors! It was difficult to select just three to bring to our tap lines for this event, but we believe we have some real winners! The Beer:

• Hit the Double Vol. 2 Hazy IPA

• Maple Builder Brown Ale

• Garage Beer Kolsch

Are you a venue, event, bar, or restaurant owner, manager, or organizer? Don’t be shy. Let’s get to know each other! If you have an event that our readers would love, email me!

❓ Would you…

🌤 Weather

Question…Do You Enjoy this Newsletter?

If you do, please consider sharing it with friends, family, or other community members. Do that 3 times—and I’ll shout out your birthday!

The first milestone in our referral program is a birthday shoutout—pretty sweet, right? Play your cards right and there might be a bumper sticker in it for you somewhere down the line. 😉

😀 A Bit of Good News

Tomah Health Welcomes its 1st Baby of 2025

🏈🏀 Local Sports

1/2

Winona Girls Basketball @ Faribault // L 45-69

Luther Girls Basketball vs. Cashton // W 59-37

Onalaska Boys Basketball vs. Luther // W 69-46

Winona Boys Basketball vs. Faribault // L 61-77

Luther Girls Basketball vs. Cashton // W 59-37

Winona Girls Hockey vs. Albert Lea // L 0-6

1/3

Central Girls Basketball vs. Marshfield // W 53-43

Holmen Girls Basketball vs. Wausau West // L 46-51

Onalaska Girls Basketball @ Arcadia // W 45-40

Aquinas Girls Basketball @ McDonell // W 69-32

La Crescent Girls Basketball @ Chatfield // L 37-55

West Salem Boys Basketball @ Arcadia // W 63-53

Central Boys Basketball vs. Aquinas // L 40-59

Luther Boys Basketball @ Sparta // L 54-68

La Crescent Boys Basketball vs. Chatfield // W 67-65

1/4

Luther Girls Basketball vs. Durand-Arkansaw // L 44-50

Logan Boys Basketball vs. Eau Claire // W 66-64

West Salem Boys Basketball @ Verona // L 78-96

Central Boys Basketball @ Breck // L 34-74

La Crescent Boys Hockey vs. Lourdes // L 0-2

La Crescent Girls Basketball vs. Lake City // L 46-60

Winona Girls Hockey vs. Red Wing // W 12-0

Winona Boys Hockey @ Red Wing // W 3-2

1/7

Central Girls Basketball @ Tomah // 7:15pm

Luther Girls Basketball @ Viroqua // 7:00pm

Logal Boys Basketball @ Aquinas // 7:15pm

West Salem Boys Basketball vs. Galesville // 7:00pm

West Salem Boys Hockey vs. La Crescent // 7:00pm

West Salem Girls Basketball @ Galesville // 7:00pm

Holmen Girls Basketball vs. Eau Claire North // 7:15pm

Logan Girls Basketball @ Chippewa Falls // 7:15pm

Onalaska Girls Basketball @ Sparta // 7:15pm

La Crescent Girls Basketball vs. Wabasha // 7:15pm

Onalaska Boys Basketball vs. Sparta // 5:45pm

Holmen Boys Basketball @ Chippewa Falls // 7:15pm

Central Boys Basketball @ Tomah // 7:15pm

La Crescent Boys Basketball @ Wabasha // 7:15pm

Winona Girls Hockey @ Mayo // 7:15pm

Winona Boys Hockey @ Lourdes // 7:00pm

🎶 Live Music

1/11

7:00pm // Genzie’s Gameday Pub // Spunky Bumpkins (covers, classics)

8:00pm // Popcorn Tavern // People Brothers Band ($15 Cover) (rhythm, soul)

That’s it, folks. Thank you for reading this morning and I hope that you have a fantastic Monday.

Good Morning, Coulee is just getting started. Thank you all for your support and for joining us each morning.

❤️

Have something to say? You know what to do.

📥 👇

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