Ethics Board: Don't do it again | Weekly Wausonian

Wausau news for the week of Oct. 15, 2025

Don’t do it again.

That was essentially the order handed down to Wausau Mayor Doug Diny Wednesday evening by the city’s Ethics Board.

The decision states that the mayor indeed violated the city’s ethics code when he removed an absentee ballot box from the steps of city hall (news which The Wausonian reported first). According to the decision, Diny knew the box was at the clerk’s discretion and removed it anyway.

The board orders Diny to “refrain from interfering” in the clerk’s administration of elections, including future placement of an absentee ballot box.

The order finishes a process that started in January when a group of residents filed a complaint against Diny. The Department of Justice launched an investigation last fall following Diny’s removal of the box. No announcements outside the hiring of a special prosecutor have come from the case, despite that going on for nearly one year already.

Diny in a statement said he read the decision but doesn’t agree with many of its conclusions. “I am very pleased that the City of Wausau can now move on from this issue,” Diny said in a statement.

Board Chair Calvin Dexter also discussed setting a meeting in November to start talking about developing new ethics rules, despite several board members already having served past the end of their terms in order to conclude the Diny case.

The Wausonian broke news that the village president in Kronenwetter resigned - well before other media outlets got it.

And, we looked at how the Wausau Business Incubator has turned around since COVID.

Pools will stay open: The city’s Finance Committee approved a plan to transfer expenses from the city’s flower baskets downtown and the Riverlife pier to room tax funds in order to free up money to not close one pool during the summer on a rotating basis. That frees up about $23,000, less than the $30,000 cited to keep all three pools open in 2026, but Parks Director Jamie Polley said it ought to be enough. The committee also took action to fund the city’s animal control program by eliminating a plan to study splitting the parks department from the county and added borrowing $2.5 million for the solar array at the Water Treatment Plant (though that cost could be defrayed by tax credits and grants, according to Public Works Director Eric Lindman). But it balked at borrowing $1.8 million to reconstruct 28th Avenue. Mayor Doug Diny clarified that the funding for 28th Avenue could still be approved by the city council.

1300 Cleveland Ave update plus Riverside place: Wausau leaders elected to contract with GEI Consultants this week in order to start cleaning up the former business incubator site at 1300 Cleveland Avenue. The Finance Committee elected to spend $17,500 through a budget modification to conduct the next steps in the cleanup process, which will involve additional testing and reporting. The site became controversial last week when some residents thought the city was considering an industrial use for the neighborhood site, though that turned out not to be the case.

Mayor threatens veto over budget, consultant: Mayor Doug Diny threatened to veto the city budget if the council doesn’t control its spending. In a press release Wednesday the mayor said he would also veto any spending on a consultant to boost the city’s odds of getting a referendum passed to increase spending to cover 12 new firefighter positions in the 2027 budget. “My reason for vetoing referendum-related proposals is that the council is considering no other alternatives besides raising taxes,” Diny wrote in the press release. A Committee of the Whole discussed hiring a consultant but did not take action.

Wausau School Board appoints new member: The Wausau School Board appointed a new member Monday night to fill the vacancy left by Jane Rusch’s departure. The board voted in favor of Charles Burger. Burger, who works in cyber security, was chosen from three remaining candidates, though one of them, former board member Cody Nikolai, dropped out of the race and instead endorsed Burger. Nikolai in his statement said some of the letters of support were “tacky and sexist” in their attacks on him. The specific results of the school board’s vote were not announced.

Consolidation was largely successful, but challenges remain: Wausau School District officials say the elementary school consolidation was largely a success but that some challenges remain. Space is tight in some areas, especially at Franklin Elementary School, according to a presentation from Assistant Superintendent of Academics Katie Colwell and Director of Elementary Education Julie Schell. There is also staff fragmentation at John Marshall and Franklin elementaries, meaning staff are being split through schools.

Around the metro

Kronenwetter appoints former Police Chief to president role: The village of Kronenwetter appointed a new village president after its former president resigned last week. The board unanimously voted Dan Joling, a current board member, to the role Monday. Joling, who once served as the village’s police chief, abstained from the vote. The Wausonian broke news last week that David Baker had resigned from the village president role on Thursday. The board is now seeking applications to fill Joling’s board seat.

Kronenwetter trustee arrested in K9 business: A village of Kronenwetter board member was arrested Tuesday in connection with his animal business. Police say Sean Dumais after a customer reported dismal conditions at his K9 Connections business. Police also arrested one of his employees. Eight dogs were seized following a search of the Schofield business, police say. The Wausonian broke news in 2023 that Dumais had been arrested on an outstanding warrant in Washington County related to child support.

Sponsored by

Entertainment

Jesse and the Medicine Men take the big stage at Bull Falls Brewery, Monk Gardens hosts a lighted stroll, iLuminate lights up the Grand Theater and so much more in our Wausome Weekend Guide:

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

Football: D.C. Everest continues to be unstoppable in conference play as it doubled up on SPASH Friday. The Evergreens defeated SPASH 28-13 en route to a 5-0 Wisconsin Valley Conference Record. If the Evergreens can hold off Eau Claire Memorial (1-4) Friday, it will finish the season undefeated in conference play and with the top spot in the conference.

Volleyball: Wausau West won only one of three matches at the Wisconsin Valley Conference meet as the season draws to a close. The Warriors beat Wausau East in three games but lost to D.C. Everest and SPASH. The Evergreens, meanwhile, won all three matches at the tournament, putting them tied with West for third in the conference. With D.C. Everest facing 2-7 Wausau East and Wausau West facing 6-3 Marshfield, the Evergreens have a strong chance of taking the lead the Warriors held over them all season and finishing as the top Wausau-area team.

Boys soccer: The string of clean sheets by the Evergreens came to a close Tuesday, but D.C. Everest continues its unbeaten streak. The Evergreens defeated Wausau East 7-1, now 8-0 and guaranteed to finish the season on top of the Wisconsin Valley Conference leaderboard. D.C. Everest will host No. 2 SPASH today (Thursday) before heading into the playoffs.

---

Email me at brian@thewausonian.com. And as always, thanks for subscribing to The Wausonian! If you haven’t subscribed yet, check out the free and paid options below to help support local journalism:

Interested in a group subscription? Keep your employees or management team informed with a group subscription with The Wausonian. Don’t let your team be left in the dark! Interested in 25 employees or more? Email me at brian@thewausonian.com for rates.