Kronenwetter administrator placed on leave | Wausau news
Kronenwetter administrator placed on leave | Wausau news
New interim administrator named as village sheds staff in this week's Wausonian, for July 14, 2022
Village Administrator Richard Downey has been placed on administrative leave, and no one is saying why.
The village held a closed session in May to discuss Downey’s performance, but President Chris Voll said it was routine to bring the new board up to speed. But that more meetings would likely be coming.
A new interim administrator has been named — Duane Gau, who helped oversee the transition when Brokaw dissolved and became part of Texas and Maine.
Meanwhile, reporting by The Wausonian reveals a village in turmoil. A dozen staff have left in the past two years, and many positions have seen multiple people come and go. The village is on its third public works director since 2020.
The Wausonian has been investigating the situation in Kronenwetter, and releasing what we’ve found as we’ve found it to paid subscribers as part of a series called Big Trouble in Little Kronenwetter. See the first of three posts (part III was released earlier this week) here:
What else in Wausau news?
City leaders say they will be taking down the city’s absentee ballot box after the state’s supreme court ruled they aren’t legal. The county’s Republican Party Chair earlier demanded absentee ballot boxes be removed following the ruling.
A man accused of vandalizing a number of downtown businesses now faces new charges. Paul Kreft is accused by police of vandalizing Angelo’s Pizza, Subway, Thirve Eatery and The Boys and Girls Club of Wausau. Kreft faces at least one felony charge for the incident.
The Wausau School Board seat Ka Lo said she was resigning from will remain empty since she resigned via press release, not sending an actual resignation letter. The district is unable to fill the seat unless she officially resigns. Her seat was empty during Monday’s meeting.
Wausau leaders say they’re working with T. Wall Enterprises under a new legal entity called The Foundry to develop two of the five phases of the mall redevelopment project. But a document obtained by The Wausonian reveals that T. Wall nearly brought legal action against the city over its handling of Riverlife/site access. More on this later in the week.
Around the metro
City and county leaders hired the same firm in order to redesign their websites. The new sites, besides looking better, will allow better access, quicker updates and be easier to use. The site will cost the city around $47,000 over five years. The two saved money by going with the same company.
Business
Miss Basil? A new restaurant called Osso Buco has opened in the former Basil location at 2106 Schofield Avenue. The Wausonian hasn't tried it yet, but word is it’s pretty tasty. The chef and owner of Osso Buco was trained in New York and worked at some of the top restaurants in Beverly Hills before opening up his own place here in Weston.
The owners of Half Moon Hill farm announced a new event venue called Mead Hall. The farm, known for locally raised lamb as well as producing mead, a wine made from honey, are holding an event in August to celebrate the opening.
Entertainment
Thursday, July 14: OK, my first thought when reading this event name was “um, what?” That was also my reaction to reading the description. It’s called Wance in Wausau, and since you’re about to ask, apparently “wancing” is dancing while you walk. According to the Facebook event, 11 have said they’re going and 195 are interested, so I guess there are more than a few wallflowers at this “wance.” Whatever, we can wance if we want to, Wausau!
Friday, July 15: I still remember the first time I heard 20 Watt Tombstone — I called it badass swamp blues rock. Reverend Meantooth is the solo act from the frontman of 20 Watt, Tom Jordan, and he’s just as badass as his full band. Think a heavier, modern version of ZZ Top and you get a sense of this musician. They don’t play a ton around here since they tour a lot. So when they do, make sure to check it out. Below is a video with him and Cole Holiday:
Saturday, July 16: The Paddle Pub Crawl is super cool of course, but if you want an experience a little more up nort’, you might want to check out The Pirate Paddle up on Lake Alice in Tomahawk. Hop between some bars along the lake, enjoy the northwoods beauty of the Tomahawk area, and do your best pirate impression! It should be a fun time, meet them at 11 am to launch at 11:30 am. Arrrr, batten down the paddle! (Best I got, sorry.) BTW, fun fact, this was started by a gal up north named Tina whose tiktok account, The Wandering Soul, has 21,000 followers. It’s pretty fascinating.
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
The Wausau Woodchucks have turned the season around in the second half of the Northwoods League. The Chucks pitched a shutout Tuesday to earn their fifth straight win, putting them above .500 ball for the first time in the season as a whole. Jack Wenninger earned the win, pitching six strong innings and striking out six to push the Chucks 6-0 over the Green Bay Rockers. Wausau is now solidly in second place in the Great Lakes West division.
Ain’t it cool?
I’ve been a little lax on this segment, where I share some random cool things to delight and entertain. This week, I’m sharing World’s Biggest Pacman. I loved Pacman as a kid and this browser-based game is a collection of fan-based Pacman mazes you can play in your browser. The coolest thing? They’re all connected, so basically you go through the portals to the next maze on the map. Too bad it only works on desktop.
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