Mayor's Welcome
Welcome to the City of Onalaska! You have found a great place to learn more about Onalaska.
Experiencing Onalaska in person is the best way to learn more about our city, but this website offers detailed information that can help residents and visitors alike. Onalaska is small enough that we can greet friends and neighbors at the grocery store, yet big enough to provide quality public services. It is surrounded by the natural beauty of the bluffs, coulees and river valleys and overlooks Lake Onalaska and the mighty Mississippi River.
Onalaska is located along a major transportation corridor, the I-90 corridor. This makes Onalaska a desirable location for local and regional businesses that in turn creates jobs for residents and attracts visitors. Onalaska offers professional public safety which yields lower crime rates and rapid responses to emergencies. We have excellent schools and value education. We pride ourselves in taking care of our infrastructure and supporting our important city services.
Onalaska has several unique public spaces that we’re proud of. The Onalaska Omni Center is a multi-purpose facility and ice arena that hosts regional hockey and ice skating events as well as weddings, meetings and conventions. Our recently built Great River Landing and Dash Park ties our downtown to the waterfront and is where our city originated. Our parkland, which includes 300 plus acres of parks as well as trails to our bluff tops for those wanting to enjoy the city from a higher perspective.
All these things are important, but what really makes Onalaska our Hometown is the people. We are a community where people have settled, flourished and continued their families for generations and where lifelong residents have built businesses from nothing but an idea. As we have grown, our population has diversified and we have welcomed new families and businesses to call Onalaska their home. By working together as a community, we have successfully blended the old with the new. Whether you are passing through, or here to stay, welcome to Onalaska.
Kim Smith, Mayor
City of Onalaska