Close the TIF | Weekly Wausonian
Wausau news for the week of Dec. 11, 2025
Wausau city leaders in the past have tended to keep districts open when given the option.
That didn’t happen Tuesday.
The city council voted 6-5 (with Mayor Doug Diny breaking a 5-5 tie) to close District No. 7 instead of keeping it open for another year and using funding for affordable housing.
Several council members argued against keeping it open. Those included Council President Lisa Rasmussen, who told the council she felt the city had made progress toward affordable housing and that the city needed to start adding tax revenue to the tax rolls.
When a district is created, additional taxes generated in the district go toward that district instead and can be used for development projects in that designated area. Taxing jurisdictions (such as the city, county, state, etc) won’t get that additional tax revenue until the district closes.
Closing District No. 7 will add revenue at a time when the city is planning to hold a referendum to allow them to tax beyond state-imposed levy limits in order to pay for more firefighters, as the grants that initially funded them are set to run out.
Last year The Wausonian featured Chris Cantero, a veteran of the gaming industry who moved to Rib Mountain and started his own video game company. This week he launched the game and we caught up with him on how the development went:
And, subscribers learned this week about the county’s approach to developing the UWSP campus now that the university is moving to the NTC campus:
The next steps for the UWSP campus
County leaders last month were presented with two different options for the UWSP-Wausau campus now that the school is moving to Northcentral Technical College.
What else in Wausau?
Wausau man sentenced for fentanyl trafficking: A 40-year-old Wausau man is headed to federal prison for dealing fentanyl. Christopher Harter was sentenced to seven years in federal prison after he was caught with more than 80 grams of a fentanyl-heroin mix when a car he was a passenger in was stopped by the Central Wisconsin Narcotics Task Force in February.
City seeking new transit director: The city is now seeking a new transit director, after its previous director resigned in September. Arran Hersey resigned Sept. 19, The Wausonian first reported. The Wausonian later found that Hersey had been cited for drunken driving and driving the wrong way on Third Street in July, which ultimately led to his resignation.
Solar array project hits snag at committee: A project to build a solar array to power the city’s water treatment plant hit a snag Tuesday as the city’s Finance Committee voted down a plan to award a sole-source contract to Clark Dietz. New Finance Committee member Aaron pointed out that the city just passed a procurement policy, only for the committee to face a question going against that policy by seeking a sole source contract. Staff wanted the sole source contract because the design needs to be completed by July in order to qualify for a 30% tax credit, and Clark Dietz had done a lot of preliminary work on the array.
City to accept foundation loan to redevelop MBX property: The City Council Tuesday voted to accept a loan from the Judd S. Alexander Foundation to redevelop the former MBX property on the city’s west side. The city would use the $250,000, a potentially forgivable loan, to redevelop the property to its “highest and best use” which might include affordable housing. The loan is forgivable if the foundation is satisfied with efforts to redevelop the property. The property was historically an impediment to connecting the River’s Edge trail on that side of the river.
Two council members file non-candidacy: Two city council members have filed non-candidacy, according to the latest online records. Becky McElhaney, who once served as council president, and Chad Henke have filed non-candidacy, meaning they don’t intend to seek re-election. As of Wednesday, all other council members except for newly appointed council member Aaron Griner have declared their candidacy. No challengers have yet filed. Candidates interested in running for office need to take out paperwork from the clerk and file nomination papers by Jan. 6.
Around the metro
County, city see snow storm-related crashes: Marathon County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to 25 property damage complaints as a result of Tuesday night’s snowstorm, according to Sheriff Chad Billeb. Deputies also responded to two crashes. Wausau Police responded to four crashes in the time period between 5 pm and 5 am, Captain Melinda Pauls told The Wausonian. Wausau received 4 inches of snow as of 3 am Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service in Green Bay.
Evers signs law in Weston named for Weston teen: Gov. Tony Evers Monday in Weston signed into law Bradyn’s Law. The law, named for Weston teen Bradyn Bohn who took his own life in response to online sexual extortion, significantly increases the penalties for people who extort teens.
Four county board members file non-candidacy: Four current county board members have signaled that they don’t intend to run for office again next spring. John Kroll (1), Gayle Marshall (20), Thomas Rosenberg (21) and Jordan Reynolds (30) have filed non-candidacy. And so far four seats look like they will be contested next year. Interested candidates for county board need to take out paperwork and file nomination forms with the county clerk by Jan. 6.
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Entertainment
Mannheim Steamroller is one of several Christmas-themed events this weekend. But that’s only some of the weekend fun highlighted in Your Wausome Weekend Guide. Check it out!
Looking for kids/family events? Check out the full listing from The Wausonian’s partner Wausau Mama, who puts together a weekly listing of children/family activities.
Sports
Girls basketball: Wausau area teams got off to a tough start in the Wisconsin Valley Conference season as all three — Wausau West, Wausau East and D.C. Everest — lost their first games.
Boys hockey: Wausau West, as it typically has, got off to a strong start to the Wisconsin Valley Conference season, defeating Marshfield 8-1 last week. Perennial rival SPASH is also 1-0, setting up another rivalry this season. Winter storms shut down Tuesday’s games.
Girls hockey: The Central Wisconsin Storm remain 1-0 in its first-ever Wisconsin Valley Conference season after winter storms shut down games in the area. Girls hockey was added to the conference this year. Expect more on this from The Wausonian this weekend.
Junior league hockey: The Wausau Cyclones split another weekend series with the St. Louis Junior Blues last weekend. The Cyclones lost to the Blues 6-2 Saturday, only to come back and win 5-2 on Sunday. Wausau is now 12-8, good for third place in the NA3HL Central Division. They’ll host the Rochester Grizzlies Friday.
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Don't be fooled by Lisa Rasmussen no vote. She knows all her other spending yes votes will go against her next election. Thank you Mayor Diny for casting a no vote. Mary Ann must be having nightmares with this defeat! But, we still need to make sure there is no increased spending referendum in 2026. And, that the solar array never gets approved.