Eight college-age men have drowned in alcohol-related incidents in the city of La Crosse, Wis., in the past nine years, but local leaders are unsure what to do about a drinking culture that's as deeply ingrained as it is deadly.

The Associated Press reported Oct. 22 that La Crosse, divided by three rivers, is home to three colleges and many bars. Drink specials, like $3 pitchers of beer, $1 shots, and $5 all-you-can-drink promotions, are common at downtown drinking holes that cater to students from the University of Wisconsin, Viterbo University, and Western Technical College.

Some officials see a fence along the city's riverfront as the answer to the drowning deaths; others want to address the local binge-drinking culture. But Mayor Mark Johnsrud says, "I'm not sure anything we do can prevent a future tragedy."

"The problem is the [drinking] culture is already up on a pedestal in this town," said Cathy Long, and University of Wisconsin senior. For example, La Crosse is famed for its annual Oktoberfest, where beer flows copiously for several days.

A task force that investigated the alcohol-related drownings in La Cross issued a series of 19 recommendations, including installing riverside barriers and limiting Oktoberfest to a single weekend. But only a few of the suggestions were adopted.

Johnsrud wants to install motion-activated lights near the river to alert drunks, and said community groups need to educate students about the danger of binge drinking, calling it a "behavior issue."