Monthly open thread: August 2023

It turns out I’m way behind on my Open Thread post. But that’s just because there were so many great stories to cover this month.

Easily the biggest was on the showdown at the library, the latest in what is becoming a common culture war battleground there.

But otherwise, we had some great stories in July, though it’s almost hard to remember stories from way back then in this fast-moving Wausau news environment.

It seems like a long time ago that we were covering the chaos in the Northwoods that was Kirk Bangstad’s battle with Oneida County:

And we still don’t know what happened to Cindy Schulz-Juedes, who died in prison a year after being sentenced in the killing of her husband. But we know it’s being treated as a homicide. It also led The Wausonian to be selected for an interview for a TV show on the murder and trial:

And it’s hard to believe this was still a July story, about the Wausau wealth manager convicted of defrauding seniors - and my own near brush with him:

Tidbits

WarJacks mascot: WSD has taken a lot of heat on the mascot issue (not to mention, the redistricting itself). It seemed like the most logical mascot choice, since it combines both mascots nice and neatly. Turns out, the principle users of the WarJacks logo is Wausau Youth Hockey, and it turns out, they’re not only OK with the district using the logo - they’re thrilled:

If chosen, it will be our honor to partner with the school district and together strive to create a cooperative, inclusive, and spirited environment. We will stand by our commitment to continue to bring Wausau together not only through hockey but as a community. Go Warjacks! (Seth Sierk, president of Wausau Area Youth Hockey)

Well that settles that.

Downtown doings: It’s been a couple of weeks since Wausau Opportunity Zone told us everything is fine at the mall redevelopment site while the main project kicking everything off has been delayed for at least a year due to lack of funding. Now the city council is holding a special meeting Monday, which includes a closed session, on a possible extension of their development agreement since now they won’t meet the deadlines spelled out in its deal with the city.

In case you’re wondering what happened:

This week’s question:

What are your thoughts on Minocqua Brewing Company and its owner, Kirk Bangstad? Was he wronged by the town/county, or is he causing trouble for himself? Or a little bit of both? For obvious reasons, I won’t weigh in on the comments other than with factual information. ¹

1. We just learned that Kirk Bangstad is suing the town and its officials in federal court, alleging they discriminated against him for his political views. More on this later.