Solar pause | The Weekly Wausonian

Wausau news for the week of May 30, 2024

The city’s Finance Committee this week hit the pause button on allocating American Rescue Plan funds for a new solar array to power the city’s water treatment plant.

The array, in the works for years, would ultimately save the city money in energy costs. The $2.6 million array would pay for itself in 12 1/2 years, and would last for 30 years, greatly decreasing the amount the city pays to power the plant.

The Finance Committee considered allocating $800,000 of ARPA funds to help pay for the array, but held off for more information about where the remaining money would come from.

A city task force recently made recommendations for what kind of array to build, taking into account concerns from neighbors about unsightliness and tree removal.

Readers this week also read our followup story on the challenges Peter Kampfer faces as Kronenwetter’s new administrator:

What else in Wausau?

Paramedic convicted of assault faces new charges: Clifford Heiser prompted a press conference to address allegations, which he was later convicted on, that he assaulted a female patient in the back of an ambulance. Heiser now faces new charges of failing to register as a sex offender. Heiser has been bound over for trial and will appear in court June 18 for a pre-trial conference.

RiverLife Development: The city council approved seeking proposals for a plan for the north RiverLife area. The city then would presumably hire a consultant from those proposals to develop the plan. But not everyone on the city council was on board with that. Some said it amounted to needless spending when city leaders had decided to clamp down on spending. City Planner Andrew Lynch said the development department already has the money budgeted. The plan would help facilitate the right future development for that area, which would be less dense than the main RiverLife area.

T. Wall Groundbreaking coming: Not much has been happening on the Wausau Center mall site despite promises of a May groundbreaking. But city leaders told The Wausonian Wednesday that T. Wall was expected to close on the mall site that very day, with an official groundbreaking ceremony expected to take place today (Thursday). T. Wall’s Nick Patterson said T. Wall would break ground on May 15 at the February Economic Development Committee meeting, but city leaders say they’ve been working on a by-the-end-of-May timeline.

Around the Metro

Monk blowback: Monk Botanical Gardens reversed its decision to change its name to Wausau Botanical Gardens after near-universal public outcry, but that hasn’t stemmed the blowback. Weston’s Tourism Commission denied a $10,000 grant to Monk Gardens following a heated exchange with several members. “I want to vote for you, but you’re telling me I don’t know as much as anyone in the room,” said Dino Corvino, one the commission’s members. Read The Wausonian’s full Monk Botanical Gardens grant story here.

Pride aside: The Weston Tourism Commission also denied a $1,500 grant to the Wausau Pride event, but the village of Weston’s president later overrode that decision, The Wausonian discovered. Mark Maloney told The Wausonian a letter from Wausau Pride organizer Tiffany Rodriguez changed his mind.

Plane of WI fighter pilot found: Authorities found the plane of World War II fighter pilot Richard Bong in the jungles of Papua New Guinea. The Lockheed P-38 Lightning, which Bong named Marge after his future wife, crashed in 1944. Bong survived but later died in 1945 during a Lockheed test flight. Bong was from Superior and grew up in Poplar. As a side note, your Wausonian editor’s late grandfather served on an airfield that Bong flew out of during World War II.

County finance director retiring: Marathon County has begun searching for a new finance director after its current director is retiring. Kristi Palmer is retiring in June, Marathon County Administrator Lance Leonhard confirmed to The Wausonian. Palmer served in the role for 23 years.

Easton double homicide investigation: Marathon County officials announced Wednesday they’re investigating an apparent double shooting in the town of Easton just east of Wausau. Deputies say someone told authorities they saw a suspicious person parked outside of the house and when deputies investigated, they found a 63-year-old man and a 53-year-old woman dead from apparent gunshot wounds. Authorities are withholding identification of the victims until next of kin can be notified.

Business

New food truck: The Palmetto Grill is a new food truck that’s been serving outside of the Grand Avenue Artifactory. The new food truck advertises itself as soul food and looks to be pretty tasty from photos seen online. Check them out here.

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Entertainment

Thursday, May 30: I’m a pretty big history nerd, so this one caught my attention. Join a local historian as he goes through the architectural history of our downtown churches. Most of these churches were built between 1850 and 1912 and were “woven into the fabric of Wausau” according to the event description. The history of churches is the history of a big part of social life in the area. It’s free, but make sure to bring your walking shoes. 6:30 pm. Starts at Unitarian Universalist Church at 504 Grant St. See the event page for more.

Saturday, June 1: This annual event is becoming a summer mainstay, and keeps growing. Stop down to the 400 Block and show pride in who you are, or support your LGBTQ friends and neighbors. The 400 Block this day transcends into a rainbow flag extravaganza with multiple vendors and information booths (11:30 am-2:30 pm); a teen pride event at Whitewater Music Hall (1-4 pm) which includes a teen-only open mic and a family friendly drag show; and a big Wausau Pride at Night drag show at the Central Wisconsin Convention and Expo Center in Rothschild. The Wausau Pride at Night featured performer is Sapphira Cristal, who appeared on the 16th Season of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Check out the event page for more information.

Fri.-Sun., May 31-June 2: One of my big fascinations is with ocean travel around the turn of the century. Erik Larson’s book on the Lusitania, which many people forget in favor of the Titanic (German U-boats sinking the Lusitania led the U.S. into World War I) is one of my all-time favorite books. This tale, put on by the Wausau Community Theatre, tells the tale of the ocean liner SS American, and the misadventures and mayhem of its quirky passengers and crews. Besides comedic situations, the musical is known for its wide-ranging musical numbers and it is worth checking out for that alone. Fri., Sat. 7:30 pm, Sun. 2 pm. If you miss it, the shows run Thurs.-Sun. next week as well. (Same showtimes, but the Thursday show is at 6:30 pm. $25. Discounts for students, military and seniors. Check out the event page for more.

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.

Sports

Boys baseball: Wausau East defeated Menomonie Tuesday to move on in the playoffs. They will take on SPASH today (May 30). Wausau West lost to Eau Claire North 12-0 and D.C. Everest played Wednesday afternoon. Our post last week incorrectly put the basketball results in last week’s post.

Softball: D.C. Everest made it all the way to the sectional semi-finals, but lost to New Richmond 1-0 Tuesday. The Evergreens were the last Wausau area team alive in the playoffs.

Boys tennis: D.C. Everest finished third place in the Eau Claire Memorial sectional, behind Menomonie and host Eau Claire Memorial. D.C. Everest’s Ted Kitchell is seeded 30th in the singles state tourney bracket and no Wausau area tennis player made the doubles bracket.

Girls soccer: D.C. Everest is off to a blistering start with an 8-0 win over Chippewa Falls Saturday. Wausau West and Wausau East were eliminated from the first round of the tournament.

College baseball: The Wausau Woodchucks are off to a blistering start, winning against back to back games against the Green Bay Rockers 7-5 in both games. That puts the Chucks at 2-0 on the season.

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