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Police sweep homeless out of downtown, and that's the new policy | The Weekly Wausonian

Wausau news for the week of April 20, 2023

B.C. Kowalski

Apr 20, 2023

Wausau police last week swept homeless encampments out of the downtown area, including under the Scott Street bridge — and that change is permanent, police officials tell The Wausonian.

Police, along with parks and public works officials, cleared out the encampments so WPS could install a flood gate. The flooding posed a danger to those folks, Deputy Chief Matt Barmes told The Wausonian.

But, Barnes says, that’s now the policy. The encampments were a violation of the city’s no camping in parks and 11 pm parks closing ordinances, so police will be enforcing that going forward.

Read the full story here:

The Wausonian

Police, city sweep homeless encampments out of downtown

I took a walk down to the Wisconsin River Thursday evening, making my way from Kickbusch Plaza (named after Wausau’s first mayor on the site of his store) to the Scott Street Bridge. The homeless encampments are completely gone, as if they’d never existed in the first place…

7 months ago · B.C. Kowalski

The Wausonian also looked at spending in the School Board Election, including how much was spent per vote:

The Wausonian

Did Wausau's school board race buck a larger trend?

In the wake of COVID there was a strong push to get conservative candidates elected to the Wausau School Board. That push came out of fall COVID protocols stricter than districts surrounding Wausau’s, which led to one of the biggest flights of students from the district Wausau had seen for some time (that was largely erased the next year, as the trend reverted to the trendline enrollment had been on prior to COVID…

7 months ago · B.C. Kowalski

And, The Wausonian plans to start using Substack’s Notes feature to share more up-to-date news and other observations:

The Wausonian

A note about Notes: Substack's newest feature

I’ll start by saying I didn’t see what all the fuss was about when Elon Musk took over Twitter. In a lot of ways, I actually thought it got better. I kept hearing about how it had become a hellscape somehow (always presented without evidence). But my experience didn’t match that at all…

7 months ago · B.C. Kowalski

What else in Wausau?

Sidewalk cafe expansion: The city’s Public Health and Safety Committee Monday OK’ed expanding sidewalk cafes citywide. It had been a hit in the downtown area — but if the council approves it, any restaurant in the city will be able to apply to have its own sidewalk cafe, as long as it leaves four feet for crossing.

McClellan ramp, it was nice to know ya: City leaders signal that the McClellan Street ramp is likely coming down. The project was included in $46 million of project amendments to the city’s TIF districts. The council hasn’t yet approved the amendments, and those amendments only allow for the projects; it doesn’t guarantee they’ll happen.

Bee helpers: The city looks like it will once again institute No Mow May, allowing residents to leave their lawns grow to help pollinators. Like last year, doing so won’t require signs. After May residents have a few days to mow before possibly getting a ticket.

Around the metro

Missing teens turn up dead: A pair of teens declared missing last weekend from the Lincoln County/Oneida County border have been found dead in Oneida County, Police Officials say. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office says the teens were found in the Oneida County Forest near the town of Enterprise. Exposure is believed to play a role in their deaths but officials are still investigating.

Calming Kronenwetter: Dan Mahoney, who served as the village of Plover’s administrator for years until retiring, has taken over as interim administrator of the village. The village is still searching for a permanent administrator following the departure of Richard Downey last year. Kronenwetter did have a candidate, one who’d apparently had trouble getting along with employees at past jobs, a Wausonian investigation found.

Missing Weston woman: The Marathon County Sheriff’s Office says they are searching for a missing Weston woman. Deputies say they found 47-year-old Tara Jane Sullivan’s cell phone in Ringle, and went to her Weston home to return it to her. She wasn’t home and deputies discovered suspicious circumstances around her absence. Off-duty Wausau Police Officers later found her vehicle abandoned on Highway 29. Shawano County Sheriff’s Deputies began a search of the area. Sullivan is 47, 5’7”, 128 pounds and has green eyes. Police aren’t sure about her current hair color. More information about what to do if you have information about her can be found here.

Business

Pizza recall: Stoney Acres issued another recall of its frozen pizzas. This time the Stoney Pepperoni sold at Golden Harvest, Sawmill Brewing Co. and the Wausau Farmers Market were recalled because they weren’t inspected properly, according to DATCP. No one has become sick from consuming the pizzas, DATCP pointed out.

Entertainment

Tuesday, April 25: Born in Uganda, residing in Kenosha, Ben Mulwana and his four-piece set bring a unique blend of storytelling with an Afro-soul rock flavor. Check out his performance at The Grand. 8 pm. More info and tickets on the event page.

Sunday, April 23: There’s nothing like sitting back and enjoying a cocktail after a hard workout, and this Sunday at Timekeeper you can do both! Belle Force Barre will host a yoga sessions at Timekeeper Distillery. $25 includes the class and a cocktail. More details at the event page.

Saturday, April 22: Hey, sometimes you just want to get your headbang on. Cruisin’ 1724 has you covered with their melodic but heavy brand of metal. Expect them to blow the roof off the place. 8 pm. See the event page for more.

Friday, April 21: On the other hand, the opposite of metal maybe is country music, and then Jerry Schmitt and the Schmittkickers is probably a good bet. This local musician is a Nashville recording artist and quite the songwriter - go don your cowboy boots an 10-gallon hat and head on down to The Garage. 7 pm. More on the event page.

Looking for kids/family events? Check out the family-oriented listing from The Wausonian’s partner Wausau Mama, who puts together a weekly listing of children/family activities.

Available for iOS and Android

Sports

Softball: D.C. Everest is starting off what looks to be a banger of a season. The Evergreens are now 4-0, good for first place in the Wisconsin Valley Conference. The Evergreens beat Wisconsin Rapids 6-2 Tuesday to remain undefeated. Addison Kluck contributed two of those wins on the mound, and currently has an ERA of 1.08, third amongst pitchers in the league (as of April 13).

Baseball: Wausau area teams are off to a rough start this season. Wausau West and D.C. Everest are tied for third, each with 2-1 records. The Evergreens shutout Wausau East Tuesday 9-0 to pull even with West.

Girls soccer: D.C. Everest is off to a good start, winning its first game of the season Thursday. The Evergreens defeated SPASH 2-1 to go 1-0 in the Valley Conference.

Boys tennis: D.C. Everest won all four singles and all three doubles matches against Wisconsin Rapids Tuesday to pull into first place (2-0) in the Valley Conference.

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