Police evacuated buildings on both the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and the University of Minnesota campuses Wednesday afternoon in response to bomb threats.

At UW-La Crosse, police discovered a note alluding to a bomb threat in Sanford Hall, a five-story university residence hall that houses more than 260 students.

Cary Heyer, spokesperson for UW-La Crosse, said police and university officials asked students to evacuate between 1 and 2 p.m.

"Right away, we implemented our emergency management plan because it was a threat taken very seriously," Heyer said.

Campus security, the La Crosse Police, the La Crosse Police K-9 Unit and the La Crosse Fire Department searched and secured the building, but Heyer said they did not find a bomb or any other threatening device.

Heyer said the emergency response plan that went into effect Wednesday had been used before, though not recently. He added the university's response plan has not been changed in response to events on the Virginia Tech campus Monday.

"The plan we have hasn't changed in the last two days since the Virginia Tech incident," Heyer said. "I know it's been a while for sure, but I guess the plan we used today worked very well."

David Giroux, UW System spokesperson, said UW-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow was in Madison meeting with state legislators at the time of the threat but left immediately to return to La Crosse and assist his campus.

Students were allowed to return to Sanford Hall, Heyer said, but investigations are underway to determine who planted the note.

"Providing an environment that is safe and conducive to a positive learning environment remains our first priority," said Paula Knudson, dean of student development and academic services at UW-La Crosse, in a release from the university. "I am also grateful for the cooperation shown between the agencies and individuals who were involved in implementing our emergency plan. To them, I offer my heartfelt thanks."

Giroux added incidents at Virginia Tech this past week have created a heightened sense of fear on all college campuses.

"The UW System wants to assure our students and our parents that they have a secure environment for learning," Giroux said.

Another suspected bomb threat at the University of Minnesota caused the evacuation of eight campus buildings.

At 12:45 p.m., the threat surfaced in science and administrative offices at U of M. Students, faculty and staff were forced to leave, but according to U of M spokesperson David Ruth, the threat did not affect any student residence halls.

Ruth said the university police responded initially and were eventually helped by other law enforcement agencies.

Despite the threat, classes continued as usual, except for the buildings that were evacuated.

U of M Police Chief Greg Hestness said in a statement that the buildings had been searched thoroughly, but officers found nothing unusual.

Hestness said the buildings will remain under surveillance and, assuming no further incident, will reopen Thursday morning at the normal time.

"The university is grateful for the support of all the local, state and federal law enforcement agencies who assisted in this effort," Hestness said in the statement.

Hestness expressed concern for the students, faculty and staff, calling the incident a "stressful time," but added student safety was the first priority of the police department in the incident.

— Lynn Heidmann contributed to this report.