Wausau news: Homelessness hits Wausau conciousness again

The Weekly Wausonian for May 5, 2022

The city’s Liberation and Freedom Subcommittee last week announced it is seeking information about police reports of increased numbers of homeless people in the community, and increased police calls because of activity from those homeless people.

The Wausonian spoke to a number of downtown business owners and got mixed results - from yes, there is much more activity downtown to no, haven’t seen anything, and comments in between.

Some controversy arose from comments about the fact that Wausau has strong services for the homeless and that is drawing people here. The Wausonian also spoke to some law enforcement folks and it turns out, there is some truth to those statements. But as always, of course, the truth is much more complicated.

Read the full report below:

The complications of Wausau's homelessness problem

What else in Wausau news?

• The Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service is sending out a diversity and inclusion survey. The premise, according to WIPPS’ staff, is that despite all the controversy around A Community for All last summer, there really isn’t data around how people in the county feel about diversity and inclusion issues. Find the survey here.

• The second phase of the Riverlife development has hit a snag. The city’s Economic Development Committee Tuesday decided to give the developers an extension on their deadline as the project is plagued with worker shortages and supply chain issues. The condos were supposed to have started already.

• Speaking of Riverlife, the city will be seeking out another developer for the third project after things fell apart with the previous developer, T. Wall Enterprises. Since opening up the development area along the Wisconsin River, the development has one project completed: A high-end apartment complex that took three developers to complete.

• Rumors abound about the demise of the mall redevelopment project. But inside sources tell The Wausonian that announcements are coming soon on the project. T. Wall Enterprises is slated to build the first development on the former mall site.

• Another wave of refugees could be coming to the Wausau area, the Ethiopian Community Development Council director says. Adam Van Noord says refugees from counties such as Somalia and Congo, as examples, could be headed to Wausau and other central Wisconsin communities, generally with ties to the area. So far the city has welcomed 71 refugees from Afghanistan, fleeing the area after the U.S. withdrew from the country.

Around the Metro

• The village of Weston will be turning wells Nos. 3 and 4 back on after a new set of tests for PFAS revealed levels below the Department of Health Service’s new recommendations. Weston in March had announced it had shut down the wells due to finding PFAS, a category of chemicals dangerous to human health, in its water. Wausau found PFAS levels exceeding new state recommendations in all six of its wells.

Entertainment

• Saturday, May 7: Jonesing to get your veggies on? Fear not — the farmers market is back! This Saturday is the opening day of the Wausau Farmers Market. Get all your baked goodies, veggies, honey, coffee, maple syrup and all of those local goodies starting bright and early at 7 am. (Your Wausonian editor is up by that time but doesn’t prefer to leave the house until later.) See the event page for more details and a map to the place.

• Friday, May 6: Ever want to try salsa dancing? Well, you’re in luck (I’m just assuming you said yes) because Miami salsa and dance instructor Jackie Danza will be leading a session at Whitewater Music Hall starting at 7 pm. The Whitewater folks assure us that in addition to her 12 years as a teacher, she is outgoing and very nice. Is she related to Tony Danza? We don’t know! But she will be the boss of this session. Check out Whitewater’s event page for more details.

• Thursday-Saturday, May 5-7: The Crooked Queen is at it again with her plot to host a Spring Market! OK, all kidding aside, The Crooked Queen is a pretty cool business in Merrill that hosts these big sales with all kinds of reclaimed crafts and other decor for your home. It’s so popular they have it spread over three days. I’ve been there personally and can attest there is some pretty cool stuff ; the kinds of things people with better style than me would decorate their homes with. Be sure to check out their Facebook page for the details and directions.

Sports

Wyatt Massey

• Wyatt Massey won the WausaUltra Backyard race, in which runners run a 4.187-mile loop every hour on the hour until only one person can start. Last year local ultra-athlete Andrea Larson won. Massey is a faith/religion reporter at the Chattanooga Times, according to his Facebook profile. Score one for the press. Mariana Grohowski won the women’s Double Down (2 laps of 4.187) and Justis Heckendorf won the men’s.

• D.C. Everest Girls Soccer is undefeated in the Wisconsin Valley Conference. The Evergreens shut out Wausau East 8-0 Friday to improve to a 6-0 record, the only undefeated team in the Valley. Jenna Baumann scored a hat trick plus one (four goals) and Ava Hopper added a pair in the win. Everest’s Mackenna Kampmann only needed to make two saves in the net in the Evergreen’s shutout win. East will host the Evergreens today (Thursday).

• D.C. Everest boys tennis is tied for first place in the Wisconsin Valley Conference. The Evergreens are 2-0 on the season, as are SPASH and Wisconsin Rapids.

• Wausau West golf holds the lead in the Wisconsin Valley Conference, with 13 total points on the season. D.C. Everest Baseball (3-1) holds the top position of area teams in the Valley with third; and D.C. Everest Softball (5-3) holds the highest spot of area teams in the Valley Conference at 4th.

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