Subpoena sunrise | Weekly Wausonian

Wausau news for the week of July 31, 2025

After an underwhelming response to inquiries by the city’s ethics board, the board is considering issuing subpoenas to some witnesses who didn’t respond.

That’s the latest in the Mayor Doug Diny/Ballot Box complaint as questions remain about the Department of Justice’s criminal investigation into the incident, which has yet to yield any results one way or another.

Ethics Board Chair Calvin Dexter bristled at the response, or lack thereof, Tuesday during the ethics board meeting. Of the 12 people they sent orders to, five didn’t reply, many others said they had no contact with Diny about the ballot box and some, such as the police chief and public works director, called the order overly broad and that they were not comfortable responding.

City Council President Lisa Rasmussen was the only one to provide a response of much substance. And little new was learned about the facts of what actually happened, which largely hasn’t been in dispute anyway.

The board now set a date for the hearing - that will take place 10 am Friday, Sept. 5, and could last much of the day. There are several meetings before then, and Diny’s counsel is likely to subpoena the city clerk and city attorney.

If the board comes to a conclusion about the complaint following the hearing in September, the process will have gone on for seven months - four months longer than it took the board to weigh the complaint against Deb Ryan. That process took four meetings to reach a conclusion (plus a fifth to address a letter Ryan’s attorney sent the board); so far, the Diny complaint has seen seven meetings and likely to have 11 before the complaint is concluded.

Readers have probably driven by it so many times they don’t even notice it anymore - but new developer Tyler Tate took on one of the most challenging properties in Rib Mountain.

What does it take to rebuild from a fire? In his first story for The Wausonian, Evan J. Pretzer spoke with the owner of Day’s Bowl-A-Dome to learn what it took to rebuild after a fire shut the place down in February.

What else in Wausau?

District has buyer for remaining closed elementary schools: On the heels of the Wausau School District announcing that it sold the former Hawthorne Hills Elementary school building, the district announced this week that it also sold the former Hewitt-Texas and Grant elementary school buildings. All three buildings are currently under purchase contracts and none of the sales have officially closed yet.

Around the metro

County leaders seek proposals for former campus dorm: Marathon County leaders voted recently to seek proposals for what to do with the former UW-Marathon dorms. The dorm building hasn’t been used for some time and is in rough condition. The decision comes on the heels of the Ethiopian Community Development Council to buy the dorms for $1 to fix up the property and create a new headquarters for the organization while potentially provide living quarters for new refugees. But members of multiple county committees thought it more fair to seek out a proposal to give others a chance to make their case as well.

Flooding concerns at Crane Meadows Golf Course: The Weston Village Board referred to its attorney a plan to compensate Crane Meadows Golf Course for flooding that occurred last year as a result of a retention pond overflow. According to the owner of the golf course, issues with a retention pond that was part of the Weston Avenue reconstruction project caused more flooding than usual on the course, with hole No. 9 underwater for a week. That resulted in lost revenue and in costs, including to pump the water out. The owner of the course is asking for the village to reimburse half the costs, or $24,413, saying he is not litigious and wanted to handle the situation amicably. The board voted to have the village attorney draft an agreement for that dollar amount.

Another board member resigns from Weston: Another board member has resigned from the village of Weston. Jamie Weiland resigned at the start of the village board meeting last week. Weiland cited a lack of transparency on the board, behind-the-scenes decision-making and that the board is now more than 50% appointed following her departure. She said she was bullied and dismissed for having different views. Fellow board member Jim Pinsonneault resigned in a similar manner earlier this year. The Wausonian reached out to Village President Mark Maloney for comment on the allegations but did not receive a response.

Weston considering charging residents, businesses a fire fee: Weston leaders are considering charging a fire fee to residents and business owners to make up for a shortfall in the service. According to village packet materials, without the fee, the village would need to reduce the amount it pays for fire service by $120,000 to $214,000, putting the funding at around 2013 levels. Under one example formula, a residential property owner would pay roughly $52 in fire fees on their tax bill, whereas a business such as Abby Bank would pay $835. The board took no action on the fee, instead referring it back to committee for more review. They also plan to have public information sessions to help people understand the fee.

Business

The new Bull Falls Brewing Co. opened its biergarten this week, the first step toward eventually opening completely. The Wausonian sat down with the owners ahead of Saturday’s opening to find out what they have in store - and they think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the changes.

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Entertainment

The funky jazz of the Mark Quinn Band is coming to Stoney Acres; plus an architectural amble, jazz on the river, pizza in the orchard and more in your Wausome Weekend Guide.

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

Mountain biking: Quinlin Bock (27) took first place in the Wausau24 24-hour mountain bike race. Bock finished 21 laps. Ian Kangas (19) finished second with 20 laps in 23 hours and 40 minutes and Ean Dalton (21) finished third with 20 laps in 24 hours and 31 minutes. On the women’s side, Tatum Dalton (18) finished took first place in the Solo division with 17 laps. Cara Feller (35) took second with 14 laps and Meira Kalbas (18) finished third with 12 laps. Riders competed to finish the most number of laps in 24 hours and if the laps are tied, the rider with fastest overall completion time decides the finish order. The rest of the Wausau24 results, including 12-hour and 6-hour race results, can be found here.

College softball: With one game to go for the season, the Wausau Ignite have started to add to the win column, but it won’t be enough to finish outside of last place. The Ignite lost their last home game 13-7 against the Minot Honeybees, putting the team at 12-29 for the season. That leaves the team three and a half games outside of second-to-last place La Crosse, meaning with one game to go, the Ignite’s last-place position is locked.

College baseball: The Wausau Woodchucks added a pair of wins to their stats, including a blistering 19-0 win over the Lakeshore Chinooks on the road, to maintain a two-game lead over the Madison Mallards and hold on to first place in the division. The season continues until Aug. 9 so the Chucks need to keep their second-half division lead or keep their win percentage higher than Green Bay if they were to give up the top spot to Madison before the end of the regular season.

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