Honoring Badge | The Weekly Wausonian
Wausau news for the week of July 2, 2026
One of the pioneering therapy dogs who helped children in Wausau schools died last week, according to the Wausau Police Department.
Badge, a therapy dog paired with one of the department’s school resource officers, Nick Stetzer, served in the role for years after becoming the first therapy dog in the department starting in 2017. Badge retired in 2024.
Badge could often get through to students when adults otherwise couldn’t. In one anecdote from a 2018 story your Wausonian publisher wrote, Badge helped a girl out of a bathroom who wouldn’t come out for any of the adults at the school.
Badge’s success inspired North Central Health Care to consider starting its own therapy dog program.
Wings Over Wausau was this weekend - but not everyone was happy about it. Read about the neighborhood survey that kicked off its own controversy:
Wings Over Wausau survey finds support despite noise concerns
A deafening roar on Thursday shook houses, scared pets and brought people outside of their homes and buildings to marvel.
And subscribers this week read about why The Wausonian got records from the local election - about four months too late. Here’s what we learned:
I finally got the campaign finance filings I requested four months ago
In February, The Wausonian reached out to various clerks with a pretty standard request: Campaign finance reports for the pre-primary filing period.
And, a parish is suing the village of Kronenwetter over a zoning change it believes could allow for mining — plus the other civil court cases filed in May, in our Full Court Press feature:
The church suing Kronenwetter | Full Court Press
Once per month, The Wausonian digs through the civil court filings in Marathon County to find the most interesting cases. It’s one of those Wausonian features that you only get here. Become a paid subscriber to see the whole post.
What else in Wausau?
Children’s Imaginarium names new director of operations: The Children’s Imaginarium in downtown Wausau announced that it has a new director of operations. Amy Forst joins the organization after 20 years in the non-profit sector, a press release says. The Children’s Imaginarium brings a children’s museum experience to downtown Wausau.
Around the metro
Residents get details about wind farm project: The Marathon County Alternative Energy Local Impact Committee hasn’t yet taken any action related to a proposed wind farm in the southwest corner of Marathon County. But residents learned more details about the project. Alliant Energy spokesperson Ben Tanke told the Committee last week that the project is likely to be 28-30 turbines, though the exact number hasn’t been decided. And the company has given the Public Service Commission 180-days notice because it plans to include turbines that are more than 600 feet tall. The committee’s role is not to approve or reject the project, Chair John Robinson explained, but to gather concerns and suggest potential actions to the county’s Executive Committee. Residents continue to express frustration about the wind farm and it’s potential impacts on noise, property values and setbacks from people’s homes.
County health department raises alarms about heatwave: Marathon County’s health department warned this week about the area’s heatwave and its potential dangers. Several municipalities set up cooling centers as temperatures on Tuesday reached more than 90 degrees Fahrenheit paired with a heat index of 109. All Marathon County Public Library branches along with Bridge Street Mission and Open Door were designated as cooling centers for residents without air conditioning who needed to escape the heat.
Kronenwetter parks committee meets for first time: The village of Kronenwetter held its first-ever parks committee meeting Monday. The committee elected Aaron Myszka as its first chair, and the committee next will take a tour of the village’s parks. The village board approved the formation of the committee in June.
Entertainment
Fourth of July weekend tends to be light on events that aren’t, well, Fourth of July-themed. And hey, that’s because it’s the nation’s birthday and we like to celebrate that! See all of our Fourth of July events plus more in Your Wausome Weekend Guide.
Celebrate Fourth of July in style | Your Wausome Weekend Guide
Fourth of July weekend tends to be light on events that aren’t, well, Fourth of July-themed. And hey, that’s because it’s the nation’s birthday and we like to celebrate that! See all of our Fourth of July events plus more in Your Wausome Weekend Guide.
Sports
College softball: Wausau Ignite ended its three-game win streak Sunday with a 13-5 doubleheader loss to the Madison Night Mares, as the Ignite continue to turn their second season around. The Ignite are now 8-9 in the Northwoods Softball League, good for third place. That’s a big change from early June, when Wausau sat in last place. They start a four-game road trip in Grand Forks today (Thursday).
College baseball: The Wausau Woodchucks have now won eight of their last nine games, including Tuesday’s 13-2 win against the Wisconsin Rafters. Incredibly, the Woodchucks finished in second place in the Great Lakes West division, with the Madison Mallards taking the top spot. Tuesday’s game gave the Chucks their first win in the second half of the season as of Tuesday.
Email me at brian@thewausonian.com. And as always, thanks for subscribing to The Wausonian! If you haven’t subscribed yet, check out the free and paid options below to help support local journalism and stay on top of Wausau news:
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