Local Collaboration Saved Lives
November 2025
Can local communities really make a difference in pushing back against misinformation? In a time when national politics feels more divided and dysfunctional than ever, it’s a fair question.
Let’s look at a story from La Crosse, Wisconsin. Between 1997 and 2006, eight young men, mostly college students, drowned in the Mississippi River after nights out with friends. It was a deeply unsettling pattern, and soon some people in the community began to suspect something sinister. Rumors swirled: Could it be the work of a serial killer?
Local law enforcement, on the other hand, pointed to alcohol as the primary factor. Their investigations detemined that the tragic accidents occurred after a night of drinking. The highest-risk areas for intoxicated people was along the Mississippi River at Riverside Park where the current is strong. Still, tension in the community was rising. People wanted answers.
That’s when something shifted.
The La Crosse Tribune joined forces with local TV and radio stations and the La Crosse Police Department to hold a community town hall. It was hosted at the Central High School auditorium, and it was packed. People were frustrated. Some questioned whether the police were doing enough. Others remained convinced that a killer was still out there.
Police presented facts, including FBI reports, but minds didn’t change easily. Still, something shifted. Attendees still left with questions, but also with a bit more openness to the idea that maybe, just maybe, the situation was more complex than they had assumed.
And that’s when the real change began. The community didn’t stop at conversation.
A pivotal step came from the three local higher education institutions: UW–La Crosse, Viterbo University, and Western Technical College. They formed a collaborative effort known simply as the “Tri-Campus” group. They met monthly. Faculty, staff, and the three CEOs attended. Importantly, student government leaders were active participants.
The colleges launched both internal and external awareness campaigns. They provided testimony at City Council and County Board meetings. Their involvement elevated the importance of the issue. When leading institutions speak together, the community listens.
Action quickly followed. The La Crosse City Council passed ordinances to curb excessive drinking, including banning late-night drink specials. The county partnered with the Tavern League to strengthen bartender training.
Students stepped up as well, posting signs in bars that read, “You wouldn’t leave your cell phone behind...why would you leave your friend?” They also created Operation: River Watch, a student-run patrol supported by the La Crosse Police, that monitored Riverside Park on weekend nights after bars closed. UW–La Crosse students took the initial lead, but all three institutions participated actively. Over a 15-year span, the patrol redirected an average of 700 people per year away from the water’s edge. Data like that goes a long way toward countering misinformation.
Then in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic halted almost everything, including Operation: River Watch. Tragically, two students drowned in the years that followed. Fortunately, the program, with hope for the future, has now been revived.
So what’s the takeaway? First, community collaboration, led most notably by the three higher education institutions, made a major difference. Over a fifteen year period, there were no drownings. Lives were saved.
But there are deeper lessons as well. Collaboration is an essential starting point, but it has to go beyond information sharing. Action is what ultimately creates change. In La Crosse, the town hall didn’t instantly change minds, but it opened the door to coordinated work that did.
Still, collaborative messaging also plays a crucial role. Without clear, unified messaging, especially involving trusted community leaders, efforts can easily devolve into finger-pointing, defensiveness, and Whataboutism. Messaging helps to create the environment that allows action to take root. Without it, many improvement efforts never make it to the action stage.
Of course, today’s world is different. Social media spreads misinformation at lightning speed. National political divisiveness often seeps into local issues, making some institutions hesitant to speak out. This is a real challenge. But the lessons from the La Crosse Tri-Campus effort remain relevant. While national cooperation may be rare, local collaboration is still very possible.
La Crosse showed us that. And in a noisy, divided world, maybe the most effective way to push back against misinformation is to start close to home...together.
Lee Rasch
