Open Thread: November

Have your say on Wausonian stories and anything else going on in the the Wausau Area

Hey guys, it’s time for another open thread! This is your chance to have your say about any of the stories we’ve shared in The Wausonian, or anything else going around in the Wausau area. Or even stories affecting Wausonians, such as inflation.

Sorry I won’t be able to get a Weekly Wausonian this week as I’m in Dubai for a conference. I’ve included a short breakdown of some news going on in this post.

For the open threads, comments are allowed by everyone regardless of subscriber status (normally only paid subscribers are allowed to comment).

Here are some of the stories we ran in November:

A Kronenwetter board member is suing his own village over zoning

County budget ends lower, but many cuts left on the table

An interesting caveat to the above story: The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued a statement to the Marathon County Board telling it to not consider a plan to funnel funds from the Nurse-Family Partnership program to a religious organization, and saying that the board cut down the funding for NFP to only $140,000.

The Wausonian responded that the board had not cut funding to that level. It reduced the amount to $600,000. And, after double-checking with county leaders, there was in fact no such plan. (Something along those lines had been alluded to during the public comment for the budget but nothing was brought up in that regard in the meeting or any county meeting since.

FFRF issued a correction in response to The Wausonian’s pointing that out (I assume they heard from the county too, since I had asked county leaders about the open letter).

UPDATED: Is Gender Queer going to get the library canceled?

That panned out to a small extend. More on it in the budget story (I didn’t include the budget battle coming because it was concluded in the above story about the budget) but basically some folks pitched removing another $350,000 from the library’s budget, which changed to $69,000 after a amendment to the amendment by Vice Chair Craig McEwen. That came after the original budget already reduced the library’s budget by $350,000.

A big part of this came out of a slate of books that area conservatives say don’t belong in the children’s section. Gender Queer kicked things off (detailed above) but there are others being reconsidered in the catalogue, and now challenged.

And of course, one I thought might be a bit controversial. I interviewed the mother of a transgender child. Again, this was driven by curiosity; which is what drives my journalism in the first place. When I heard Kayleigh’s story, I knew immediately it needed to be a story for The Wausonian. Why? She’s not a political activist; just a mother trying to care for her child the best she could. She shared her struggles in coping with it, and her family’s. And her struggles aren’t over — more issues come up later in her son’s life that she has no idea how she will deal with. With more and more youth identifying as transgender, I think it’s important to get this perspective. There is plenty left as a society for us to figure out about this issue.

Finding Sam

An abbreviated Weekly Wausonian

Meth Ring: A Wausau man is facing federal drug charges. David Needham faces charges of possessing meth with intent to distribute. An Appleton man was also arrested. Needham was arrested last summer and was indicted this week.

Fatal crash: A Marshfield woman was killed in the town of Easton Monday. Joy Danielle Moravec was struck on Highway J near where it intersects with Highway Z. The driver was a 33-year-old Wausau man, and police say neither distraction nor drugs or alcohol were a factor in the crash.

Book decision: Two books that were challenged by library patrons will remain in the juvenile section of the Marathon County Library. The library board this week voted to keep Making a Baby by Rachel Greener and You be You! The Kids Guide to Gender, Sexuality, and Family by Jonathan Branfman in the children’s section. Patrons challenged their inclusion in the library because of their graphic nature.

Best entertainment bet:

Friday, Dec. 2: It’s that one event you just can’t miss, because it kicks off the holiday season! Check out the annual holiday parade starting at Marathon Park and snaking its way down to the 400 Block, with numerous Christmas themed floats. Plus, check out the tree-lighting ceremony with Mayor Katie and check out the warming party that runs from 5:30 to 8:30 pm in the Great Hall (cool edition this year). Check out all the event details here.

Thanks for all our new subscribers, and of course the subscribers who have stuck with this publication. The Wausonian keeps growing and I appreciate everyone’s support. If you’re new here, you can subscribe for free to get a weekly news update, and then a paid subscription to see all the content The Wausonian offers.