39 Comments
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James Force's avatar

My god! Will my yard sign get me in trouble?

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B.C. Kowalski's avatar

No, I think you'll be fine.

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Mongo765's avatar

Public relations tip: Don’t block a journalist when they are asking for your side of the story. If that’s true, it only makes them look worse and gives merit to the accusations from the public’s perspective. If you don’t want to answer the questions just ignore or refuse to comment.

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B.C. Kowalski's avatar

I was really surprised to learn I was blocked. And it looks like they do everything on Facebook. I couldn’t find a web site. I haven’t ever interacted with their page so I found it odd and surprising. Talking it over with my colleague, the only thing I could think of is that it was in response to my story about the Rosenberg campaign’s coloring book snafu. Rosenberg admitted it was an error not to include disclosures on it, so if that’s true I find that puzzling.

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Christine's avatar

You are not blocked and never have been blocked from the CFA page.

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B.C. Kowalski's avatar

I was as of last night. Now it appears I am not. Same search result but now it takes me to your page. I had tried multiple times before the story published.

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Christine's avatar

How did you try to contact CFA?

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B.C. Kowalski's avatar

Yes, please feel free to send a statement to that address and I will add it to the story as soon as I am able (I should have time between appointments in about an hour or later this afternoon). Thank you

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Christine's avatar

Will do.

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Christine's avatar

I will need your email. Thanks.

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Christine's avatar

I will send it to your email and it will be on our fb page as well.

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Christine's avatar

There are 5 or 6 people who admin that page. Why would we block you? I was a subscriber for over a year I think. Even Deb isn’t blocked from the main page. We just haven’t really ever had problems with anyone being mean or trolling until today actually. 🫤

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B.C. Kowalski's avatar

I really have no idea, and found it quite surprising. But I absolutely could not access the page, even this morning. Not until I saw you message could I access it. I could see it in search results but when I clicked on it, it said "content not available." Only after seeing your message and checking through the exact same method was I just now able to access it.

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Christine's avatar

None of the admins remember blocking anyone. Our blocked list has 2 people on it. I don’t know either one of them.

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faye buchberger's avatar

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/katie-mardi-gras?refcode=fb-20240208&fbclid=IwAR0TdyokZ1DgLdT6G4TZKRBwsrattumodjli6cbtGIxroL2vjusGXXhJakA

This is a link to order tickets for the event. It clearly states that CFA is hosting it, and donations will be used to support Katie. Sure looks like a fundraiser for Katie, hence the complaint. Can't wait to see the results of the investigation.

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Mark Hadley's avatar

They have no money? Looks like money involved to me.

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Cynthia M. Schaefer's avatar

Why did you not list all of the donation levels and not just $500 and $750? I recall a $25 level and reading that if that was beyond your means, no one would be turned away.

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Mark Hadley's avatar

Great article. You need to listen to WSAU Thursday podcasts — Meg with Kevin Hermening and Meg with Brian Shimming.

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Abrielle's avatar

https://nextdoor.com/p/CsX7FTmJZCy8?utm_source=share&extras=NTE1NTkxMDA%3D&utm_campaign=1709221405818

Saw this on NextDoor today and have to question how, in any world, this isn't a PAC ad...

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B.C. Kowalski's avatar

That looks like an individual making political speech. Different than when an organization does it. (Is it supposed to link somewhere? I might be banned from seeing it.) I guess we will see how the WEC ends up ruling on the case. One thing I might have noted in the story is that it might have been a good idea not to respond to my questions if there is an active complaint, though when I covered a complaint against Wausau School Board candidates, they did respond to me. I would imagine I will receive their response to the complaint when it's filed.

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Christine's avatar

You did not contact anyone in CFA. No one got any calls emails or messages from you Brian.

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B.C. Kowalski's avatar

Here is the email I sent to - it was the only one I could find for the organization, community4allmc@gmail.com, which was on the ethics complaint. I was unable to reach the Facebook page either, though today it appears I can. If you have an alternative email I am happy to direct my questions toward that, or feel free to contact be with a response and I am happy to add it to the story. Or I will probably report on the response to the ethics complaint if you or CFA would prefer to wait for that.

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Christine's avatar

We never actually created a webpage. The fb page is all we really use. I think that webpage was done by someone who doesn’t live here anymore. You have already published a story. Clearly, you had my personal email as I was a Wausonian subscriber for quite awhile. You and I have talked so I’m not sure why you wouldn’t have contacted me the way you have previously? Would you like me to forward our response to your email? I can just reply to the Wausonian notifications in my inbox, correct?

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Abrielle's avatar

I hear you - the individual was sharing a CFA post. Here's the direct link to their post on FB, if you aren't blocked from that. https://fb.watch/qwpji5rtZm/

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B.C. Kowalski's avatar

I'm blocked. CFA blocked me on Facebook, and I am really not sure what precipitated it. I can find their page in the search results but when I click on it, it goes to "content not available" or something like that.

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Abrielle's avatar

I'll take a video and email it. :)

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Debra Ryan's avatar

Brian- maybe they thought I was supplying you info on the ethics complaint. CFA kicked me off their FB site over 2 years ago. There were a few of Wausau supporters of CFA that were bullying and shaming me on their site...just before Christine kicked me off.

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B.C. Kowalski's avatar

I don't believe that they knew the ethics complaint existed prior to me reaching out yesterday for comment. I was blocked on Tuesday when I went to look at their Facebook page. My understand is that it was filed Tuesday and the group would receive a copy of the complaint about five days after that.

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Mark Hadley's avatar

Per Salm reply they only kicked two people off and she doesn’t know either. She surely knows you Deb Ryan!

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Christine's avatar

Deb you’re not blocked. You were blocked from WWAS-UP. For endless trolling and disrespecting people on that page. That page hasn’t been used for 2 years and it is not the CFA official page.

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Debra Ryan's avatar

Sure Christine, I supposedly did endless "trolling" while on the new to me FB page for under 20 minutes? Luckily, I did not share all the horrible comments made by some CFA advocates and Wausau neighbors.

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Debra Ryan's avatar

Hello- Just in the last few days, I shared to Brian Kowalski, WPR, Capital Times and Wisconsin State Journal my concerns that the Wausau area Nextdoor.com was being taken over by CFA....and becoming known imho as Community For Katie Only. I flagged content 2-3 times from Christine Salm since she seemed to be a neighbor representing CFA as an "entity" imho. Christine said on ND that CFA is "nothing official...just a Wausau neighborhood group" that seems to represent the entire city of Wausau? I am NOT aware of the ethics investigation and I had NO involvement in it. I had been wondering what CFA was really doing....so I am looking forward to this ethics investigation.

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Christine's avatar

Brian was never blocked…he didn’t contact CFA, they contacted him…anyhow here is the WEC ruling. Have a great day.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xMNVFLYKPIrNxPZZP2U2Ng7opdG6ASIJ

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B.C. Kowalski's avatar

I requested access to the file so I can't see it until you granted it. I reached out through the official CFA email which was not replied to and I was indeed blocked from accessing the page until after the story ran. The Facebook page came up in a Google search but displayed "Page not Found" when I accessed it. After your comments, I re-traced my steps through Google and found the same link (the color indicated I had recently clicked on it), which then took me to the CFA page.

But I am happy to report on the WEC's ruling, whatever it says.

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Christine's avatar

You were never blocked. You had my personal email and fb info as I subscribed to the wausonian. There was no active CFA email address or webpage. You should have access to the ruling now. Thanks for the heads up on the link.

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