CORRECTED: City takes Plan B on homeless shelter | Weekly Wausonian

Wausau news for the week of April 10, 2025

CORRECTED: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the cost to run the shelter. The Wausonian is thoroughly embarrassed by the error.

The city of Wausau, after getting some matching funds from the county, reached out to see if any organization would be willing to run a homeless shelter for the city.

The city only got one response, according to a recent memo from Police Chief Matt Barnes. And that response wasn’t close to what the city was looking for.

So, the city’s police department is going to run one on its own. The City Council Tuesday approved two new limited-term positions: A shelter lead and a shelter advocate. They would then run a team of volunteers to operate the shelter, and Barnes says the city is close to signing a lease on a building to house the shelter.

That all became necessary after the city received a letter from Catholic Charities that they would no longer be able to run the shelter. That shelter will close May 1 and currently there isn’t another one in place. The new shelter would fill that gap until an outside provider can be found.

Barnes in a memo to the council said that two organizations have expressed interest in an upcoming request for proposals, so hopefully the city would only need to run the shelter until the end of the year.

Barnes estimates that the shelter will cost around $21,000 per month to run.

Readers this week got a look at central Wisconsin’s first ramen restaurant:

And our latest Full Court Press, which besides a month’s worth of civil cases also includes a story about fraud around a person I once wrote a turnaround story about:

Also the latest Ethics Board meeting hints that even once the board concludes its case, that this won’t be over:

What else in Wausau?

Parks, council approves new vendor for Riverlife concessions: Wausau has a new vendor for the Wausau Riverlife concession stand. The Parks and Recreation Committee and city council approved a contract with Wausau CMA to run the Riverlife Concession stand. The vendor will replace Briq’s, which announced last year it would no longer operate in the concession stand at the city’s flagship park. The new vendor will serve shakes, ice cream and pizza from the spot near the children’s playground. Dylan Alwin, who along with wife Christina will be running Wausau CMA, is the owner of Sawmill Trampoline Park in Rothschild. This year the business will open June 1 because they just signed the contract but in future years the concession stand will be open from May through October. Alwin says he hopes to add more fun things for kids to do to the business later on.

JC Penney ramp will be free during downtown street construction: Construction on the new streets around Third and Washington streets are slated to kick off April 14 - but many business owners in the downtown area are concerned about a loss of business from the roads being shut down. The city council unanimously approved designating the JC Penney ramp as free during the three months of construction. That resolution included an amendment that those with parking ramp passes would get a refund for those three months.

Wausau’s first college summer team has a name: Wausau’s first college summer team has a name: Wausau Ignite Softball. The name was announced at the Woodchucks Clubhouse. The new turf infield has already been laid down, and Woodchucks and Ignite owner Mark Macdonald says the field will be in use all but maybe three days the entire summer. The Ignite will take the field June 10 but the first women to take the field in Athletic Park’s 100+ year history when Mosinee plays Pacelli on April 24.

Around the metro

Man who killed girlfriend’s cat sentenced: A man convicted of killing his girlfriend’s cat in Schofield and then helping her search for it has been sentenced to probation. Judge Greg Strasser sentenced Andrew Gehr, 34, now living in Mankato, Minn. to 18 months of probation with a 60-day jail sentence (and credit for 45 days in jail already). The sentence also includes animal-related community service and he is not allowed to own pets. Gehr’s then-girlfriend told police she came home and only two of her three animals greeted her. He helped her look for the cat, Penelope, but she found it in the shed badly injured to the point it had to be put down. Gehr admitted to police the cat had bit him and he put Penelope in the shed after he attacked her. Public outcry and from the girlfriend’s family led prosecutors to seek a felony charge against Gehr. Gehr pleaded no contest to the felony charge of mistreatment of animals in February.

Mosinee police nab two juveniles in tire slashing spree: Mosinee police have identified two juveniles in connection with a series of tire slashings in Mosinee. A number of residents on Mosinee’s northwest side shared that they had their tires slashed over the weekend. Mosinee Police Chief Kenneth Grams told The Wausonian that police interviewed two suspects who they believe slashed 22 tires on 13 vehicles during the evening of Friday night into Saturday morning. Since the suspects are juveniles, he would only say they were young juveniles who will be referred to juvenile court for prosecution. Grams credited officer Jeff Southerland in the investigation and a number of residents who provided security footage in identifying suspects quickly.

Dam creating Lake Wausau needs $84M repair: Domtar hopes to replace part of the dam that creates Lake Wausau - but that repair bill is a steep one: $84 million. Domtar General Manager David Faucett says the one-third of the dam that needs replacement was built out of wood in 1964. A big part of the cost comes from the need to build a coffer dam in order to prevent the need for a drawdown during the 3-4 years the replacement will take, Faucett explained. The county’s Economic Development Committee voted to offer a letter for support for the project, which Domtar sought as it attempts to secure state and federal funding toward some of the cost of the dam. Faucett says Domtar’s owner will then commit $100 million toward improving the dams in Rothschild and Nekoosa. Domtar has maintained some success in the declining paper industry because it produces a unique type of paper other plants haven’t been able to replicate.

Mountain bikers get more details on Rib Mountain plans: Mountain bikers could have as many as 10 miles of trail to ride by the end of 2026. Outdoor Recreation Planner Mike Repyak told a crowd at the Central Wisconsin Off-Road Cycling Coalition’s annual meeting that work will begin in the spring of this year on scouting out good spots to build trails at privately owned land that will be purchased for the park. Future plans for that area include as much as 15 miles of total trail, plus concessions and even potentially a beer hall for the spot.

Business

Another restaurant is closing: There have been a string of restaurant closings and shifting around but Osso Buco became the latest to announce it’s going out of business. Osso Buco’s owners announced April 1 that they will be closing on May 17. One of the owners was offered an opportunity in Idaho and so they are moving. And no, they clarified, it was not an April Fool’s Day joke.

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Entertainment

There are still some tickets left for the BoDeans - plus jam band BAMM comes to Intermission, some easter activity at Willow Springs Garden and the East End Players cook up something special with Hadestown Teen Edition. Also, we added another performance to our guide from the Central Wisconsin Children’s Theater, so even if you already read our Wausome Weekend guide, it’s worth looking at again!

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

Alpine skiing: Two Wausau West students qualified for a regional competition in Colorado, school district officials say. Alber Hayek (sophomore) and Kate Hostetler (freshman) finished 5th and 30th in a field of 150 at a qualifying race in Ironwood, Mich. Hayek and Hostetler competed in the slalom, giant slalom and downhill events.

Softball: D.C. Everest started off the season strong - the Evergreens defeated SPASH 7-1 Tuesday in the first games of the conference season. West lost 6-4 to Merrill and Wausau East lost 16-1 in three innings to Wisconsin Rapids.

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