A new site for Red Granite Charter School | The Weekly Wausonian

Wausau news for the week of Dec. 21, 2023

Dec 21, 2023

It’s our last weekly newsletter for 2023. The Wausonian takes off from the weekly Wausonian for the week of Christmas, but there might still be a story or two we publish that week. Happy holidays everyone and we will see you in 2024!

One of the fallouts of the school board scrapping the Wausau School District’s restructuring plan is that Red Granite Charter School - a new outdoors-based school - suddenly found itself without a home.

The school had been planning to start up in the Hawthorne Hills Elementary School in 2024 — one of the schools that would have been consolidated under the district’s plan. But the restructure’s scrapping left that up in the air.

Monk Gardens to the rescue. It turns out Monk Gardens was looking to expand its school offerings that began with its Sprouts pre-school program. So the partnership was a perfect fit. Under the plan, Red Granite will start on a two-acre site in the 30-acre Monk Gardens grounds and will build a modular classroom on the site.

The Wausau School Board gave its nod of approval Monday night.

This week The Wausonian published a story about a major increase in overdose deaths in Marathon County and about how a couple of recent controversies led Wausau leaders to consider a different committee process. Consider a paid subscription to support local journalism and see all the content we publish.

What else in Wausau?

Price (lack of) appreciation: City leaders are considering a change to the way certain agenda items work their way through committees, stemming from two incidents. One is the purchase of land for a piece of real estate assessed at less than half the sale price. The second is a pair of positions some felt was rushed through the HR Commitee - that committee put a hold on it. That’s led some to say the Finance committee has a little too much post. Check out the above story for more details. (An update: A city official sent an appraisal the city receiving showing a value more in line with purchase price. But looking at other commercial and residential properties and how much more they’re selling for compared to their sales prices, it still seems high.)

Three contested seats: There will be at least three contested city council races this spring, assuming everyone turns in their nomination papers by early January. In District 3, Terry Kilian (mother of incumbent Tom Kilian) will face off against former County Board Member William Harris; in District 4, Deb Weiss (who started the alternative farmers market) will face off against Tom Neal (who held the seat previously; and in District 10, challenger Victoria Tierney will take on incumbent Dawn Herbst.

Digging the city… literally: Frontier Communications will be digging up the city installing fiber next year, according to city officials. And they’re trying to figure out how to slow it down. City leaders say it takes a lot of staff time to mark water and sewer lines and on an aggressive timeline, it’ll take staff away from other work too much. Bug Tussel also plans to dig fiber in the industrial park area, officials say.

Abandoned license: City officials plan to issue a formal complaint against Campus Pub that most likely will result in its liquor license being revoked. The pub has been closed for several months and city laws require that a business using a liquor license remain open. The same person owns Homestead on 52, and that business appears to be for sale, according to a post on the business’ Facebook page.

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Around the metro

Chief resignation: Everest Metro Police Chief Clayton Schulz, the subject of a sexual harassment complain earlier this year, announced he will be retiring early next year. And investigation found the claims against Schulz were unsubstantiated, but that some of Schulz’ behavior was unprofessional and that he didn’t work well with people. Read the full story of the investigation into Everest Metro Police Chief Clay Schulz here.

Business

Baking success: Last week The Wausonian told you about a Ukrainian couple opening up a bakery on Scott Street. Well, we sat down with the couple on Monday and they’ve been selling out every day since opening Saturday when they customers lined up an hour before they even opened. Anastassia and Anton Chistiukhin, who had a lot of success with a gift box business while in Ukraine, came here to escape the war started by Russia and are now building a business downtown. So far, their unique Ukrainian desserts are a hit with Wausonians.

Entertainment

Saturday, Dec. 23: Max Koepke very quickly became a local favorite back when he was a teenager from D.C. Everest High School. Koepke moved away for college, but the singer/keyboardist/guitarist usually plays out whenever he returns to town. This time he will play at The Garage, which is becoming a hotbed for music. And, if you miss him Saturday, he’ll play again at The Garage next Thursday, Dec. 28. See The Garage’s Facebook page for all the event listings.

Anytime: Wausau area filmmaker Jarrod Crooks last year debuted his fifth feature film, The Big Gift. Now, it’s available on Amazon! From the description: “An unemployed father must do whatever he can to make sure his son receives the gift he wants for Christmas. But when Santa steps in demanding his name be on the gift, the battle between an average father and father Christmas begins.” Rent the film and help support local filmmaking. And like much of the people who watched in the theaters last year said, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by this family-friendly Christmas movie. Check out The Big Gift for rent here (where you can also watch the trailer).

Saturday, Dec. 30: If you feel like some western-themed fun, bantr has you covered with its Midnight Rodeo. Celebrate with the Jerry Schmitt band, Western-themed drinks, Cowboy games and an atmosphere of the old west in the way only bantr can do. Free. 8 pm. Check out the event page for more.

New Year’s Eve/Day quick hits: A great one for the kids is the Noon Year’s Celebration, which features a balloon drop and other goodies for the kids (it’s technically on Saturday; Granite Peak’s New Year’s Eve celebration, which includes fireworks on the ski hill and music by Max Koepke; and a great New Year’s Day hike at the Iola Winter Sports Club.

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

Boys basketball: Wausau West is now 1-1, best of the Wausau area teams, in the Wisconsin Valley Conference after falling to Stevens Point 46-32 Friday. West is third in the conference; Wausau East and D.C. Everest are tied for fourth with 1-2.

Girls basketball: It’s not looking great for any Wausau area team. Wausau West leads them with a 1-2 record; Wausau East 1-3; and D.C. Everest at 0-4.

Boys hockey: Wausau West still leads the way for Wausau area teams in hockey, but fell to second place behind SPASH after losing 5-2 to the rival Panthers last Thursday. West and SPASH have long enjoyed a strong rivalry, which both teams typically at the top of the conference.

Girls hockey: Hoping to have good news here, but the Central Wisconsin Storm logged a pair of losses recently, bringing their undefeated streak to a close. The Storm lost 2-1 to Hudson and then 4-1 to River Falls. That still leaves the Storm with a 7-2 record.

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