A clerk rebuke | Weekly Wausonian

Wausau news for the week of April 17, 2025

Clarification: All the bags from Kronenwetter’s election came to the county clerk’s office unsealed.

There was a problem with Kronenwetter’s ballots this past election: the bags they were supposed to be sealed in came into county offices unsealed.

The county clerk told The Wausonian it’s not something she has seen before.

On Wednesday the county’s canvas board investigated what happened and decided that proper procedures - putting the ballots in the bag, sealing them, and then signing the bag - didn’t happen as they were supposed to.

County Clerk Kim Trueblood and the other members of the canvas board crafted a letter to Kronenwetter explaining the lapse in process and why that matters. No recount was requested in the village but had there been, there would have been no proper chain of custody, and that ultimately could have led to a whole new election being held.

The canvas board approved that letter, which also contained a recommendation that all election officials, new and seasoned, undergo election process training.

This week we sat down with Mayor Doug Diny to talk about his first year in office - and yes, that includes the now infamous ballot box incident:

And before that, we look at a few extra stories from the week that didn’t make our weekly roundup:

What else in Wausau?

City still searching for training tower location: City leaders are still weighing where a fire training tower location could go. Wausau Fire Department Chief Jeremy Kopp recently presented a plan in partnership with Northcentral Technical College to build a fire tower for training, but the city needed to find a location. Kopp brought four potential locations to the city. The city’s infrastructure committee decided to seek more information for two sites: one on Enterprise Drive on the west side of town, and a site near the city’s west side fire station.

Wausau man sentenced in beating death in Stevens Point: A Wausau man who assisted in beating to death an elderly Stevens Point man will be headed to prison. Brandon Boehm, 22 of Wausau, was sentenced to 13 years in prison and another seven years of extended supervision for his role in beating 61-year-old Donald Mitchell Jr. of Stevens Point, along with Christian Emerson and Arlin Sangster. Sangster was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the crime and Emerson in February was sentenced to 10 years (with 10 years of extended supervision). Sangster went to jury trial before being convicted.

Construction began Monday on downtown streets: Construction on the city’s downtown streets began Monday as part of the mall redevelopment project. The project will see Washington Street reconstructed and transformed and turned into a two-way street, and in future phases Jackson and Third streets will be extended to wrap around the Foundry on Third building. The city designated the JC Penney ramp as free parking during the duration of the construction to help out downtown businesses during the work.

Around the metro

Kronenwetter didn’t tax enough the last two years: Kronenwetter has a new interim finance director - and that director, John Jacobs, discovered that the village didn’t tax its residents what it was supposed to in order to cover the village’s debt obligation, leaving a shortfall. Jacobs laid out a plan to the village board Monday night to fix the shortfall, which was $539,416 in 2024’s budget and $683,942 in this year’s budget. Jacobs proposed a series of budget amendments to get the village back on track, since they obviously can’t send out tax bills again. According to Jacobs, an error occurred related to the village’s TIF Districts and their relationship to the budget.

County could buy land for a new Highway Department: Marathon County’s HR, Finance and Property Committee in a joint session with the county’s Infrastructure Committee approved purchasing three parcels in Kronenwetter for a new highway department. The county has been looking to relocate the highway department for some time since the current site has fallen into disrepair and is crowded. The new site, if approved by the county board, would be located on Bus. Hwy. 51 near Wausau Tile. The parcels cost in total close to $800,000. Estimates show the county would actually save money building a new facility versus trying to rehabilitate the old one, especially since the county could also relocate the Mosinee facility to the Kronenwetter site instead of building that new as well. The county board will still need to approve the parcel purchases.

Aspen Street Apartments change ownership amid inspections concerns: A new owner has purchased the Aspen Street Apartments, which was in the middle of a process from the village of Weston’s inspection department to fix a number of deficiencies. A previous report to the village’s Community Life Public Safety Committee detailed water damage, growing mold and an overrun parking lot. The village’s inspection official told the committee that the new ownership might set back the process, though administrator Jami Gebert said the new owners would have been notified of the issues with the property. Inspection officials say there appears to have been a lot of work done to the parking lot as it looks dramatically improved.

Business

Venado Wine Bar is listed for sale: Venado Wine Bar is for sale, according to a listing on a real estate site, and the new Dudley Tower location closed in February. Juan Antonio Casarrubias, who along with Lesli Iverson owns Venado, confirmed the sale to The Wausonian and provided this statement: “Lesli and I came to Wausau seven years ago with the intention to exercise our talents for hospitality and professional interior design by building a business here. We started with just two Airbnb rental units and eventually grew to create our Onora Suites Boutique Hotel and our beloved Venado. While Wausau has been good to us, we feel it is time to put our efforts and talents to work in an environment where there is a larger audience so as to meet all of our professional and personal goals.” Casarrubias told The Wausonian they will be open from 12-8 pm Tuesday through Saturday until the business is sold.

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Entertainment

A musical based on Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5, Easter activities for the kids, African dance and much more this weekend in our Wausome Weekend Guide:

Looking for kids/family events? Check out the family-oriented listing from The Wausonian’s partner Wausau Mama, who puts together a weekly listing of children/family activities.

Sports

Softball: D.C. Everest is off to a blistering start in the Wisconsin Valley Conference. The Evergreens defeated Wausau East 7-2 Tuesday to improve to a 3-0 record, landing them the top spot in the conference. Wausau West is currently in third place at 1-1.

Baseball: Much like the softball team did, D.C. Everest got off to a strong start earning its first win 12-8 over Marshfield on Tuesday. They join Rapids and SPASH with a 1-0 record.

Other sports: Girls soccer and boys tennis kicks off today (Thursday) and next week we will feature their results as well.

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