Last summer, when the La Crosse Tribune reported the news that O.J. Evenson has died, the story started: “In a small town, two of the most important people are the mayor and the newspaper publisher O.J. Evenson wore both those hats in his adopted hometown of Independence.”
Evenson, who was publisher and editor of the weekly Independence News Wave for 45 years and, for 22 of those years, was also mayor — died July 2, 2005. Family and friends of Evenson remembered Evanson as being dedicated to Independence, as well as being a great storyteller.
City Hall and the newspaper can sometimes be at odds, but Evenson joked that he was totally unbiased, his daughter, Karla Stanek, told the Tribune, And Max Baertlein, a veteran city council member, said Evanson handled his dual roles quite well.
“The council never quibbled about it. He never tried to smokescreen them,” he said. “I almost think he was the mayor first. He could have been mayor a lot longer if he’d wanted.”
The Holmen native and World War II veteran bought the Independence paper in 1957. He and his wife, Delores, and their family ran the newspaper many years, until Evenson was 77 and sold to the Whitehall Times.
