Diny's veto stands | The Weekly Wausonian
Wausau news for the week of June 13, 2024
The city council needed one vote to change in order to reverse the first mayoral veto in 10 years. And after about an hour of discussion Tuesday evening, that didn’t look likely.
Mayor Doug Diny’s veto of a city council resolution that would have earmarked $100,000 and sought proposals to develop plans for the north RiverLife area stood as the vote remained the same. The council voted 7-4 to override the veto, but needed one more vote to have the supermajority necessary to do so.
Critics of the veto both advocated for the planning, which would eventually help the city get a lot of that land on the tax rolls; and the veto itself, which they said silenced a clear majority of the council’s voice.
The veto is the first since three mayors ago. Mayor James Tipple vetoed a sober server ordinance in 2014, according to The Wausonian’s research. No vetoes happened under Robert Mielke or Katie Rosenberg.
Diny said he issued the veto because the city needed to better mind its spending and that it had other priorities. And city land in its already planned-for areas, including the main RiverLife area and the southern RiverLife area, mostly still need to be developed.
Subscribers this week read our monthly Wausau Tavern Report, a humerous look at the serious shenanigans that go on after dark:
Hold my beer: The monthly Wausau tavern report
It’s that time of the month again. We at The Wausonian think Wausau is pretty interesting after dark, and this monthly tavern report gives us an inside look. This post is available only to paid subscribers of The Wausonian. April calls Getting rough in here:
And another heated board meeting involving Monk Gardens, though see the below news item for the latest:
The Monk Gardens controversy is far from over
Editor’s note: I meant to publish this Tuesday morning and was pretty sure I had done so. Yet, I discovered that never happened and it remained in my draft folder. So I am publishing it today. My apologies. It’s been a bit of a rough week, recovering from a tailbone injury. I wrote this piece entirely laying on my side.
What else in Wausau?
Monk Gardens director resigns: Breaking on Wednesday, Monk Gardens Director Darcie Howard has resigned from her post. That comes on the heels of a controversial name change and Howard’s combativeness with other community members and leaders in the aftermath.
Committee punts on animal control shakeup: The city’s Human Resources Committee punted Monday on a decision to shake up the city’s animal control program. Right now the city has one full-time animal control officer who works daytime hours Monday through Friday — but proponents of the change want to replace that position with several part-time CSOs that can work a more flexible schedule. And, they say, with the loss of a $17,000 contract from Everest Metro, the new arrangement will save money. But advocates for the full-time position say the city would lose a lot of experience and with less training, animals and those responding could be in trouble. Others counter, saying it’s mostly officers not trained in animal control responding right now, since most of the calls happen on nights and weekends.
Around the metro
High-speed chase suspect held on $100k cash bond: The man police say led them on a chase from Mosinee to Wausau last week is now being held on a $100,000 cash bond. Justin Allen Phillips, 21, is slated to appear in Marathon County Court for a preliminary hearing on June 17.
One dead, one hospitalized following Lincoln County crash: A 51-year-old Rhinelander man is dead and a 20-year-old Crandon woman was hospitalized following a two-vehicle crash in the town of Skanawan Sunday evening. Authorities have now released the names of those involved: George Rouman of Rhinelander was pronounced dead at the scene; Alexia Zuk was airlifted to Aspirus Wausau Hospital, treated and since released.
Stratford woman, immigrant announces run for Assembly: Trine Spindler, a farmer and Danish immigrant announced she is running for the 86th District Assembly seat. She’ll face off against John Spiros and Donna Rozar.
Kronenwetter officer on leave following incident: A village of Kronenwetter Police Officer is on leave following a traffic stop that turned into a fatal crash Tuesday night. According to the DOJ, the officer attempted to pull over the driver of a vehicle near Highway 39 and Maple Ridge Road when it took off instead, eventually hitting a semi-truck headon while traveling in the wrong direction. The suspect was treated with serious injuries. The officer is on administrative leave per department policy as the DOJ investigates the crash.
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Business
Blackash goodbye: Blackash Urban Goods and Clothing has closed for business after holding a storewide clothing sale.
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Entertainment
Friday, June 14: Kevin Troestler is one of my favorite country/blues players who plays a lot around the area. The guy can really lay down a country guitar lick or a great blues phrase with the best of them. Troestler cites influences such as Stevie Ray Vaughn and the Allman Brothers Band, and that influence can definitely be heard in his work. The Appleton-based musician has several albums to his name, plays festivals across the country and is well worth checking out when he’s in town. Plus, plenty of taps from Whitewater’s Brewing operation help add to the fun. 8 pm. Check out the event page for more.
Saturday, June 15: Ready for a challenge? Considered the toughest mile in the Midwest, Ironbull’s Solstice Summit features a race to reach the top of Rib Mountain in three different categories, from a fun run to a challenging ruck division where you must carry at least 10 pounds on your back to the summit, climbing up rocks toward the top of the ski hill. I did that division last year, and it’s definitely a challenge — about halfway up no one is really running anymore. It’s just too steep. If you want to challenge yourself in a course with 700 feet of climbing in a single file, you can still sign up at ironbull.org (find “Soltice Summit” under the “events” tab). (And if you really want to challenge yourself, you can do all three categories as one thing, called the “triple bypass.’’) Packet pickup is 4-6:30 pm, races kick off with a kids run at 5 pm. See the event page for more info.
Saturday, June 15: Sometimes you just want to jam out to some really heavy music. Newer Wausau band Wings of Halcyon got what you’re looking for. Fronted by Melissa Rae Hartl, formerly of The Hartless, they’ve been spreading their wings playing throughout the Wisconsin music scene. Wings are joined by Embers Rise and Purging Paradise for a show that ought to blow the roof off the Polack Inn. 9 pm. $5. See the event page for more.
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
Girls soccer: D.C. Everest Girls Soccer made it all the way to the Sectional championship match before falling to Kimberly 4-0 — the opposite of their typical score throughout the year as the Evergreens typically shut out their opponents. That loss came after a narrow shootout win over Hudson (6-5—3-0).
College baseball: The Wausau Woodchucks went nine straight games without a loss before finally falling to the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders 4-3 June 6. But the Chucks’ record remains stellar, 12-3 on the season and leading the Northwoods League’s Great Lakes West division.
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I wish you a speedy recovery!