A long climb ahead for River Drive project | The Weekly Wausonian

Wausau news for the week of Aug. 13, 2026

Marathon County leaders this week put the brakes on a proposed climbing gym along the Wisconsin River — but they haven’t shut the door on the idea.

A joint session of the county’s Human Resources, Finance and Property and Extension, Education and Economic Development committees decided not to accept at this time a proposal from New Heights to develop a climbing gym at the county’s River Drive buildings.

But, the county committees didn’t say no either.

Committee members said they wanted more detailed information on investors for the project, a market analysis and where their revenue projections come from. Others questioned the ask, which would see the property go to the gym for $1.

The Wausonian wrote about the New Heights Climbing Gym project recently — the project also includes a fitness center and an events space.

And some asked about TIF funding. The property isn’t technically in the boundaries of TIF District No. 12, but it’s close enough that a boundary amendment could add it. Randy Fifrick told The Wausonian they’d discussed TIF with the proposers but confirmed to the publication that no commitments have been made and that including the project in District No. 12 would require a boundary amendment.

The New Heights proposal was the only one received for the county properties that once housed the city/county parks department, the planning and zoning department and veterans affairs. Six developers went along on the first walkthrough, but New Heights was the only one to attend the second.

The county has been shrinking its building footprint for the past few years, moving out of the River Drive properties and the Social Services building on Thomas Street.

When The Wausonian learned there was a suspected shooting and later a related suspected chase, we got the court filings — and then we went a step deeper than other media to learn what really happened:

And a couple of weeks ago, readers read about former Wausau Daily Herald reporter Brian Reisinger’s book Land Rich, Cash Poor, and his views on AI and farming, plus looked at how farming educators are looking at the technology. But we wanted to go deeper, so we sat down with Adam Baumann, aka The Digital Farmer, to learn how it’s helping his business.

And, paid subscribers get a new feature — a look at the week ahead. This is the first edition:

AND. We looked at the coming plans to address what is expected to be a more than $1 million shortfall next year.

What else in Wausau?

Firefighters respond to two structure fires simultaneously: City firefighters responded to two fires simultaneously last week. In a press release late Wednesday, firefighters responded first to a fire at 4:52 pm in the 4800 block of Rachel Lane, and then another at 5:07 pm in the 800 block of 13th Drive. No one was hurt in either fire, though two firefighters were taken to a hospital to be evaluated and released. The apartment in the Rachel Lane building was vacant and being remodeled, so no one was displaced. And no one was inside the home on 13th Drive.

City to post for new HR director this week: City officials hope to put out word that they’re looking for a new HR director this week. Mayor Diny told the HR Committee the city plans to post for the position. That came as the city’s HR Committee debated whether it ought to reclassify a position before the new director starts. The committee approved the reclassification of an HR specialist to a generalist. And it approved some structural changes to the Public Works and Utilities departments, a move that is expected to save $9,000. HR is currently at half staffing with two open positions.

Second case filed against suspect in shooting, high-speed chase: A man accused of shooting someone from a vehicle at M&R Station and later leading police on a high-speed chase is now facing a new slate of charges, according to online court records. A case filed Friday — separate from the case filed Wednesday — has suspect Jacob Lo facing charges of fleeing an officer, two charges of first degree recklessly endangering safety and fleeing an officer and casing bodily harm or property damage. Lo after a Friday hearing is being held on a $250,000 cash bond. The Wausonian publish a story on Lo and his alleged high-speed chase with police that started in Wausau and ended up in the southern metro area, with more details about the chase and stop than other media outlets reported on.

Around the metro

County could see less revenue as net new construction weaker than expected: Marathon County leaders now believe they might have less tax dollars to work with as administration works on the 2027 budget. Net new construction in the county was expected to be 1.65% — but preliminary figures from the state Department of Revenue are only projecting 1.54%. Municipalities in Wisconsin are limited in how much they can raise their levies by the amount of increase in net new construction. That could become crucial as the county develops next year’s budget.

Highway XX and Terrebonne intersection could get four-way stop: The county’s Infrastructure Committee last week recommended turning the Highway XX and Terrebonne intersection into a four-way stop. The move comes as traffic is close to the threshold requiring one, and as a concerning number of crashes occur there. Officials say there is also more development expected in that area. There were 13 crashes at the intersection in the past five years, and five of them resulted in injuries. The move will still need to be approved by the county board.

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Business

Usage not as robust as expected at the Forensic Science Center: Use of the new Forensic Science Center hasn’t grown as quickly as county officials hoped, and as a result the center is planning to operate with one physician instead of two. Officials said onboarding outside counties has been slower than anticipated, while business from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula has not developed as hoped. Tissue procurement agencies also haven’t generated the volumes initially expected. The county’s Public Safety Committee Tuesday recommended eliminating the deputy chief medical examiner position — the center’s second physician position — and replacing it with a senior administrative assistant as part of the proposed 2027 budget. A second physician could be added in the future if case volumes grow enough to support one.

Entertainment

Log Jam is one of those events that is unique to this area - it gives you a chance to pretend it’s the 1800s or earlier. Andy Z and the Spankin’ Monkees brings its outstanding blues, rock and rockabilly style to Cheeks Bar and Grill. And Monk Gardens is about to throw one heck of a garden party. And that’s only some of the events in Your Wausome Weekend Guide. Enjoy!

Sports

College baseball: The Woodchucks finished their season 43-23, yet remarkably it wasn’t enough to earn a playoff bid as the Chucks dropped their final two games to the Minnesota Mud Puppies Friday and Saturday. Losing Friday ended the Chucks’ chances. The Woodchucks finished second in both the first and second halves of the season, and despite having the best overall record in the Great Lakes West division, couldn’t earn a playoff bid. The Woodchucks took second to the Mallard in the first half, and the Lakeshore Chinooks in the second. Since two different teams won the first and second half, the option of earning a spot by having the best overall record wasn’t available.

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