A veto has been vetoed | Weekly Wausonian

Wausau news for March 13, 2025

Last week Mayor Doug Diny issued a veto of a resolution passed 10-0 by the city council calling on the federal government not to make cuts to Medicaid, which would impact city residents on BadgerCare.

On Tuesday, that veto was overridden.

The city council voted 9-0 to override the mayor’s veto. Becky McElhaney abstained, and Chad Henke was not present for the vote.

Diny said when the resolution was brought back to the council floor that his veto didn’t have anything to do with the topic specifically, but that he felt the city council should be focusing exclusively on city business.

But council members argued Tuesday that it is city business, as cuts to Medicaid would impact Wausau residents. As many as 23% of Wausau residents rely on Medicaid in some form, the resolution’s author, Council Member Sarah Watson, said Tuesday.

Council Member Victoria Tierney said as much in talking about why she would be again voting for the resolution. “It affects our community when people can’t get the help they need,” she said prior to the vote.

Readers this week saw the next story in our series around housing. We dug up some data I think folks found interesting:

And always popular with subscribers is our Full Court Press, our look at notable civil cases in Marathon County. The latest installment:

What else in Wausau?

City Council approves Habitat for Humanity proposal: An affordable housing proposal approved by the city’s Economic Development Committee last week got the OK from the Wausau City Council Tuesday. Under the plan, Habitat for Humanity will develop a lot on Jefferson Street the city currently owns. That plan will include $125,000 from Community Development Block Grant funds, a much better deal than a previous proposal with a private developer that would have cost the city several hundred thousand dollars. Habitat will buy the lot for $1,000 from the city.

Police department seeks proposals for 365 homeless shelter: The Wausau Police Department this week released a request for proposals to run a 365-day homeless shelter in the city. The city and county will jointly fund the program as the County Board approved spending up to $200,000 to get the shelter running. The Wausonian reported on the Wausau/Marathon County homeless shelter partnership last week. Proposals are due by March 28.

Around the metro

County searching for medical examiner with morgue set to open: Marathon County is searching for a chief medical examiner as the county looks to open its regional morgue, called the Forensics Science Center, later this year. County leaders started working on the project in 2015, and work began on the project in 2024. The new regional morgue not only saves Marathon County time and money traveling to one of three facilities capable of performing forensic autopsies in the state, but it will service many other Wisconsin and Midwest counties for which the new facility will be much closer.

Marathon County Health Officer resigns: Marathon County Health Officer Laura Scudiere resigned recently, The Wausonian learned. Marathon County Administrator Lance Leonhard confirmed to The Wausonian that Scudiere verbally resigned with him effective March 1. “I am in the process of developing a plan of action with respect to recruiting a new Health Officer and anticipate presenting that plan to the Board of Health at its upcoming meeting,” Leonhard said in a statement to The Wausonian.

Kronenwetter taps John Jacobs as new interim finance director: The village found itself without a finance director last year when Lisa Kerstner put in her resignation. The village in January hired John Jacobs in January, a recent newsletter explains. Jacobs worked for 17 years as the Weston Finance Director, and co-ran J Gumbos downtown, which closed in 2019 after the owners fell behind in rent. Jacobs currently works for a non-profit and a local healthcare facility as well, according to the newsletter.

Lincoln County Correction officer charged with assaulting an inmate: The state Department of Justice announced this week that it is charging a former corrections officer in Lincoln County with assault. According to the new release, Jason Meister of Pearson was seen on camera on Feb. 28 assaulting an inmate to the point that he needed to be hospitalized, with two broken ribs and a cut above his eye. Meister was fired as a result of an internal investigation.

Kronenwetter appoints new clerk: The village of Kronenwetter appointed Jennifer Poyer as its next clerk. The board named Poyer, who previously served as the village’s communication specialist, to a two-year term to fill the role left by Bobbi Jo Birk-LaBarge who resigned last year.

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Entertainment

A band from the early 2000s reformed and is playing its first Wausau show back; a creative performer with a knack for storytelling is coming to The Grand; and the perfect band for St. Patty’s Day is headed to Uncommon Pints. All that and more in this week’s 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

Boys basketball: Wausau West defeated season rival D.C. Everest in their first round of WIAA playoffs Friday, but the Warriors then lost their game the next day. The Warriors beat the Evergreens 61-45 on Friday but fell to Eau Claire Memorial 53-25 Saturday. Wausau East is still alive in the Division 2 bracket, defeating Merrill 52-50 and Menomonie 68-35. The Lumberjacks will take on New Richmond today (Thursday) in Ashland in the sectional semi-final.

Boys hockey: Wausau West lost its state semi-final game Friday. The Warriors dropped the game 8-4 against Notre Dame, but made it the farthest of the Wausau area teams in the tournament, and farther than conference rival SPASH, which went undefeated on the season. Tomahawk won the Division 2 State Championship Saturday.

Girls hockey: The Central Wisconsin Storm after a barnburner of a season made it to the state championship but fell short in the championship game. The Storm defeated Eau Claire North 4-3 in overtime to advance to the championship. But the Storm was unable to score against DePere, which racked up an 8-0 win against Central Wisconsin.

Junior hockey: The Wausau Cyclones will host the first game of the Fraser Cup Friday against the Rochester Grizzlies. The Cyclones finished 33-11-2-1 in the central division, just behind West Bend Power. The Cyclones then head to Rochester for game two and, if needed, will host a third and final game at Marathon Park Sunday. See more information in the event guide, linked in this post, for more.

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