Carol Lukens, D1 Alder

04/02/2026

Please be aware of the risk of scams and monitor loved ones that are especially vulnerable.

🚨 SCAM ALERT – WAUSAU COMMUNITY 🚨

Fraud is now the #1 case type investigated by Wausau detectives—up 100% from the last year. That trend is continuing into 2026, and the losses are staggering.

💔 In just the first few months of this year, we are seeing victims—especially those over 65—lose tens of thousands… and in some cases hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Phishing attempts aren’t rare—they’re constant. And they’re hitting us all.

💻 They show up as a pop-up warning on your computer.
📩 They come through emails that look legitimate, warning your account has been compromised.
📱 A text message urging you to act quickly.
📞 Or a phone call that sounds real—even claiming to be law enforcement.

From there, the pressure starts.

You’re told your money is at risk… or tied to criminal activity… and you need to act fast to “protect” it. Victims are being directed to move money, buy gift cards, convert funds to Bitcoin, or even hand cash to someone in person.

Let’s be clear: that is fraud.

🚫 No legitimate business or law enforcement agency will ever ask you to move money, pay with cryptocurrency or gift cards, or avoid arrest by making a payment.

If you get a call like this, hang up.
If you see a message like this, don’t engage.
Take a moment, verify it through a trusted source, and talk to someone you trust before taking action.

⚠️ If it feels urgent, secretive, or just doesn’t sit right—it’s a scam.

Let’s look out for each other—especially those most vulnerable in our community.

04/02/2026

The Sustainability, Energy, and Environment Committee (SEEC) of the City of Wausau is proud to be partnering with UW-Extension and the Marathon County Public Library on a free gardening class starting this month. As part of its last work plan, one focus area of SEEC has been community food systems.

Local, integrated community food systems provide several sustainability benefits, including:
- Reduced carbon foodprint - cutting down on "food miles" the distance food travels from farm to table, reducing carbon emissions associated with transportation, refrigeration, and processing.
- Reduced packaging - reduction in plastics and other food packaging.
- Opportunity for closed loop systems - composting, nutrient rich soil opportunities.
- Water conservation - ability to use rainwater and recycled water.
- Reduced chemical use - more control over the process, allowing the avoidance of pesticides and other chemicals.

The class is free and you can attend any number of sessions that you like! No need to attend all.

Please see below and share with others you know who may be interested!

Marathon County Public Library and Extension Marathon County offer free gardening classes for adults starting April 9.

04/02/2026

REFERENDUM LISTENING SESSION ON APRIL 6TH AT THE LAKEVIEW CONFERENCE CENTER

The Wausau Fire Department wanted to host sessions in all districts, if possible, so they've added an additional Community Listening Session to be held here on the Southeast Side.

The listening session will be held on April 6th, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. in the Wisconsin Room of the Lakeview Conference Center. The fire department will provide factual information about the upcoming referendum and answer any questions you may have.

You can reach the Wisconsin Room by entering the Lakeview Conference Center through Door 31, circled in red near the bottom of the map below.

Please share this with others.

Thank you!

03/30/2026

Follow-up to recent snowstorm:

After the recent historic snowfall, I want to take a moment to thank everyone in District 1.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation during the snow emergency, and for doing your part to help keep streets clear and safe. I’ve heard and read many stories of neighbors helping neighbors—clearing driveways, checking in, and lending a hand—and that truly reflects the strength of our community.

I also want to thank our Public Works crews, who worked long hours under difficult conditions to keep our city moving.

At the same time, I know that experiences can vary during a storm like this. As we move forward, I want to make sure we learn from this event and continue to improve where we can.

If you experienced challenges or frustrations—whether it was snow removal, communication, timing, or anything else—I would appreciate hearing from you. Your feedback will help me better understand what worked, what didn’t, and how we can prepare more effectively for future storms.

If you can share your thoughts by either private messaging me directly or by email at [email protected], I would sincerely appreciate it.

Thank you again for your patience, your cooperation, and the care you show for one another. It truly makes a difference.

03/30/2026

Happy Monday!

Eight days until the spring election on April 7th!

Here you can access a step-by-step guide to voting in the City of Wausau: https://www.wausauwi.gov/your-government/clerk/elections

To vote in Wisconsin, you must be registered. To see if you’re registered at your current address, check online at https://myvote.wi.gov/en-US/RegisterToVote

You have to REGISTER if:
- You’ve never voted in Wisconsin before;
- You’ve moved since the last time you voted in Wisconsin – even if you just moved across the street or to a new apartment in your building;
- You changed your name (by marriage, divorce, etc.) since the last time you voted. (If you changed your name you must first update your name IN PERSON at the Social Security Office and at the DMV. Then you can register to vote);
- You haven’t voted in four years or more (and have been taken off the voter registration rolls); or
- You were taken off the voter registration rolls because of being convicted of a felony, and now you’re “off paper” and want to vote again.

April 3, 2026 @ 5:00 p.m.- DEADLINE TO REGISTER IN YOUR MUNICIPAL CLERK'S OFFICE. Voters may register in-person in their municipal clerk’s office during the clerk’s business hours until 5:00 p.m. on April 3, 2026. Find your Municipal Clerk’s Contact Information here: https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/My-Municipal-Clerk.

April 7, 2026, from 7:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. YOU CAN ALSO REGISTER TO VOTE AT YOUR POLLING PLACE ON ELECTION DAY. The polling place for District 1 is: Lakeview Conference Center, 1000 Lake View Dr, Wausau, WI 54403.

**Absentee Ballots cannot be accepted at poll sites. Absentee Ballots must be received at City Hall by 8 p.m. on Election Day.

03/30/2026

03/30/2026

NTC has a number of openings!

See the latest listing of open positions + apply today: www.ntc.edu/careers -openings

03/30/2026

Important PSA: Get ready for tick season!

As spring creeps back into season, Wisconsin’s tick population does as well. Tick exposure can occur year-round, but ticks are most active during warmer months, around April-September.

There’s many steps you can take to "fight the bite" and prevent illnesses spread by ticks when recreating outdoors in Wisconsin.

Use personal protection, like repellents and long outdoor clothing. Do a full-body tick check after spending time outdoors and remove any ticks as soon as possible. Stick to designated trails and avoid brushing up against plants, especially in wooded and bushy areas with tall grass and leaf litter.

Learn more about preventing tick bites: dhs.wisconsin.gov/tick/bite-prevention.htm.

03/22/2026

Rock-N-For Pets is tonight at Coral Lanes!
Blindside starts to play at 8. We have raffle baskets and 50/50 with proceeds going to HSMC. We hope to see you soon!

03/21/2026

Update from DPW after last week's snow storm:

The info below was from Thursday (3/19/26) - sorry! I did not see it until late last evening or would have sent it sooner.

From Tuesday to Thursday, DPW was running two crews, one day shift and one night shift. Their focus was on Grand Avenue at night and Stewart Avenue during the day to include some removal downtown with the blowers.

They were opening up sidewalks and trying to the get sidewalks on bridges open before the weekend. Their plan was to finish Grand Avenue Thursday night, move down Scott Street and onto Stewart Avenue also Thursday night, finish Stewart Avenue Friday, and then onto 3rd Avenue and Bridge Street with the blowers for removal. They were going to continue clearing sidewalks yesterday.

DPW also planned to start a patching crew Friday, beginning on Grand Avenue. The water and freeze/thaw opened up some large potholes. They will need to keep a patch crew on from this point forward.

Their staffing schedule over the weekend:

Friday – Day shift only
Saturday – Day shift only
Sunday – Night shift only
Monday – Day shift & night shift

Saturday their day-shift only crew is doing downtown snow removal to open up parking areas and widen roadways.
They do realize the residential streets are narrow in some areas and the hard packed snow has been breaking up, making it slushy and making driving difficult in placed. They do not anticipate doing any significant plowing in these areas over the next few days and are hoping the warmer weather will help melt some of this off.

All storm sewers are open but many of the storm grates are covered with snow, so water will be ponding and looking for a place to go until it finds its way to the storm grates.

DPW has begun to get calls about water ponding and failing to drain but they do not have enough staff to start opening storm drains in residential areas. Therefore, they're asking homeowners on corners to please consider removing snow from the tops of the grates.

They'll be evaluating this situation on Monday and will likely have to start some plowing operations to clean up some residential areas. It appears likely they'll be running two crews at least through Wednesday next week and will be evaluating priorities daily.

Tremendous thanks to the Parks Department for sending sidewalk equipment and staff to help with the snow removal!
DPW has done some contracting with Revi to help them with sidewalks on the bridges and parking lot snow removal and have also contracted with a couple of semi trucks to help haul snow more quickly and keep the blowers moving. They have a dozer at each snow storage area that is used to push the hauled snow up in a pile.

In just two days, DPW crews hauled over 20,000 yards of snow 😮, and that amount was increasing every hour.

That's a lot of snow!!

03/19/2026