Plans progressing for Rib Mountain and other Wausau news

The Weekly Wausonian for June 30, 2022

Things got a bit quiet around work to retool the master plan for Rib Mountain State Park. But now the Department of Natural Resources has released its ideas for what the park could become.

The DNR is taking public input on the upcoming proposals. You can leave your comments here through today. Here is what they’re thinking of adding to the park:

• Trails for recreational biking and hiking, single-track mountain bike riding and winter fat biking

• Adding more hiking trails and a parking area at Grouse Lane (which leads to the Turkey Vulture trails

• Adding a multi-use trail for cross-country skiing. 

• Allowing bouldering in designated areas and allowing technical climbing (with ropes and gear)

• Adding a small rustic camping area 

• Constructing a nature center 

• Improving the amphitheater area to allow for more uses

What’s left out? Downhill skiing. Which might seem odd since Granite Peak wanting to expand is what started this whole idea of revamping the master plan from scratch in the first place. According to the DNR’s report, they’re waiting for a report on climate change’s impact on downhill skiing before making any recommendations.

The DNR will take public input and develop its draft plan in spring 2023.

This week The Wausonian released a story for everyone. We reviewed central Wisconsin’s newest music venue — in Mosinee. Lamplight Sessions brought the Nashville Sound of Daniel Donato and they did not disappoint; neither did the new venue.

The area's newest music venue... in Mosinee?

What else in Wausau news?

• Wausau School Board member Ka Lo resigned from the board this week — through the media. Lo sent out a press release about why she was resigning, citing a toxic board. But according to district officials, as of Wednesday she still hadn’t submitted a resignation to the district. She was not present for a meeting held Monday.

• Police arrested a man on charges of his seventh offense of drunken driving. The man, Gregg Kandutsch, allegedly knocked over a utility pole and urinated in public, helping lead to his arrest.

• A sports brand owned by Bain Capital bought Eastbay’s Team Sales division. The division is meant to strengthen BSN Sports’ brand, company leaders say. Sources tell The Wausonian that some employees are being offered jobs and some aren’t — and some of those offered jobs are being offered demotions. Eastbay Retail will remain as it is.

• A new Community Outreach position created under the police department to work with homeless individuals in Wausau has received 40 applicants — nearly twice as many as the city received for several open officer positions. Many applications came in from out of state, Police Chief Ben Bliven says, and many have impressive qualifications. The position is meant to be the civilian version of a police officer who worked with the homeless previously.

Around the metro

• Weston residents are being told to limit water usage (particularly with lawn watering) while another village well has been shut down. Wells Nos. 3 and 4 in the village have been shut down as levels of PFAS, dangerous chemical byproducts from many everyday items, have been found in the wells. Weston officials hope to treat well No. 4 for PFAS in August.

Entertainment

• Friday, July 1: The Wausonian covered the very first show at Lamplight Sessions, a new music venue in Mosinee. A little more than a week later, the new venue will host the Resonant Rogues, a folk/bluegrass duo from Asheville, NC. They’ll be joined by Lou Shields, an old-school bluegrass player armed with a lapsteel guitar that shows off his slide guitar technique. The combo is liable to blow you away. 6:30 pm. See the event page here.

• Thursday, June 30: I remember the first time I went to State Park Speedway, with my best friend, his dad and a bunch of our friends when I was in elementary school. There’s something about being at the actual race track, the roar of the cars drilling into your soul. This Thursday the speedway will give that thrill to new youth with its Youth Night. Kids will not only get to watch the race but also can race around on the track themselves on bikes during the intermission. Top finishers can get prizes. Check out the Speedway’s event page for more details.

• Fri-Sun, July 1-3: Riverfront Rendezvous is kind of a big deal in Stevens Point. And this year is no exception with some great musical acts, horseshoe tournaments, lumberjack shows, petting zoos and more. Far too many bands to name, though Here Come the Mummies always draws a crowd, and local act Third Wheel will take the stage. Check out the Rendezvous’s Facebook page for all the details.

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 Woodchucks dropped a tight game to the Lakeshore Chinooks Tuesday, dropping the Chucks to 14-16. Wausau is tied for fourth place in the division with the Madison Mallards. The Woodchucks played a game at Athletic Park against Green Bay Wednesday night past Wausonian deadlines. Then the Chucks won’t play at home until June 7, when they host the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters.

• WAOW had this pretty cool story about Stefen King, a Wausau native (no, not novelist Stephen King) who just finished the 200-mile Lake Tahoe Ultramarathon. Three years ago King could barely run a mile. But this past weekend he completed the 200-mile Tahoe 200, which features a total of 40,200 feet of ascent/descent. For King, that meant 83 hours of running. Dang. It’s a good segment and you should check it out.

Ain’t it cool?

• Full Stack Economics is one of my favorite reads. Telling stories about the world through data is one of my favorite things. This recent piece is a good example of their work. They broke down a number of charts that show things are actually getting better in a number of areas many say are getting worse. Many things such as television sets are actually quite a bit cheaper than their counterparts, for instance; and TVs specifically are actually cheaper in real dollars, before even adjusting for inflation. Some of things, such as tuition, have grown out of control. Check out Full Stack Economics here.

• Also a cool new thing: If you pull up The Wausonian on your Substack app, you can have a voice read the text to you. It’s pretty cool! I tried it out last week and it’s impressive how accurate the tone is, considering it’s an AI reading it. It almost sounds like a real person recorded it. Try it out!

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