Wausau news | What will be dropped from the Wausau School District referendum? Find out next week
The Weekly Wausonian for the week of Jan. 13, 2021
The Wausau School Board Monday night considered a few items to remove from its $182 million proposal. Those included:
$6.8 million for LED lights, which would save on energy costs
$8.4 million for classroom displays and furniture
$15.3 million for separate gyms and cafeterias in the elementary schools
$1.8 million for community rooms and STEAM labs
$18.6 million for high school work (wouldn’t cut secure entrances, athletic turfs and lighting).
After plenty of discussion, the school board generally decided it wanted some things cut but left it to district officials to come up with exactly what based on the discussion. The decision came because many on the board believe the public won’t go for such a high price tag.
The district next week in special session will consider those plans and make a final decision on what to cut.
What else in Wausau news?
The Wausau Fire Department received approval from the city council to apply for a grant that could help pay for nine new firefighters. The department is now seeking 12 new firefighter positions because call volumes have substantially increased while staff has remained stagnant since the 1970s. (See this week in data below.)
Two Riverlife Projects got some approved changes. T. Wall has now been approved to perform due diligence (performing soil tests and such) on an apartment complex and commercial building. (There had been some hangups on the company being able to get site access to do the work.) And, a new agreement for the Riverlife condo project was approved — this time without a planned amphitheater. That will be worked out in a separate agreement but city leaders warned it had better happen, since that was a big selling point of the project in the first place.
This week in data
Total call numbers are in and 2021 had the highest numbers on record (but close to 2019). Here is the updated graphic:
Business
The Garden Pancake House is slated to open in February in the former Perkins restaurant site. The restaurant sat empty since 2019 and the pair of Chicago entrepreneurs gutted and renovated the building.
Entertainment
If you think of jazz in Wisconsin, one of the first names that ought to come to mind is Janet Planet. The Fox Cities-based performer has been entertaining audiences with her sultry, smooth voice for 35 years, and two of her albums have been under Grammy consideration, including her latest Under the Venus Moon (featured below). So you definitely shouldn’t pass up the opportunity to check out this show 4 pm Sunday at the First Presbyterian Church.
But if some driving punk is more your style, then you’ll want to check out this show with The Cryptics 8 pm Sunday. They’re on their XL Tour and this band has toured all over the country with their late-90s style power punk. Joining them is local band CASHED and Elms. How often do you get to see a punk show on a Sunday?
Remember sports cards? All the rage now is in NFTs, but back in the day we used the paper versions. And now there’s an event celebrating not just all things sports cards, but also collectible card games like Magic: The Gathering and Pokemon. Come down Saturday to the Elks Lodge in Stevens Point to check out the first-ever Center of the State Sports Card Show. 9-3.
Sports
Wausau West hockey remains undefeated this season, with a perfect 5-0 record in the Wisconsin Valley Conference. The Warriors on Tuesday blasted past Merrill/Newman/East, shutting out the team 11-0. West’s two goalies, Colin Mertes and Adam Prokop, are first and second in the league for goaltending with 84 saves between them. West will host Marshfield on Tuesday, 7 pm.
Wausau West girls basketball trails Wisconsin Rapids with a 4-0 undefeated record in the Wisconsin Valley Conference (Rapids is 5-0). The Warriors narrowly defeated SPASH Tuesday, 51-49, to hold its perfect conference record. The Warriors have been bolstered this season by their defense, holding opponents to an average of 42 points per game, the lowest of the Valley. The Warriors host Rapids at home 7:15 pm Friday.
Thank you for reading The Wausonian. Any tips or corrections, reach out to me at keepitwausome@gmail.com. This weekly summary will always be free, but consider becoming a paid subscriber to see all The Wausonian’s content!
