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Month: July 2024

Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Tours Three Merrill Businesses

Steve Dillon

MERRILL – On Wednesday July 24th, The City of Merrill welcomed Lieutenant Governor Sara Rodgriguez for tours of the Weinbrenner Shoe Company, Sierra Pacific Windows and Brickner’s Park City. Each tour offered an opportunity for those companies to present the history, growth and future outlook for their organization, and to showcase their facilities. A question-and-answer session was held with the Lieutenant Governor at the end of each tour. Topics of discussion included recruitment and hiring challenges in the current workforce environment, affordable housing opportunities for workers, and difficulties with finding reputable childcare for…

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MAPS Hires Nate Lemmens As New Associate Middle School Principal

Steve Dillon

MERRILL – Merrill Area Public Schools has announced that they have hired Nate Lemmens as their new Associate Principal at Prairie River Middle School. Lemmens replaces Diane Goetsch, who retired following the 2023-24 school year. Nate’s resume includes 12 years teaching special education. He taught one year at Alexander Hamilton High School in Milwaukee before heading to Wausau West High School for the last 11 years to serve as the head of their Boys basketball program and to teach special education. He also served as the department’s chair for the past…

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Monday July 22nd Storms Cause Transformer Fire, Gas Leak In Merrill

Steve Dillon

MERRILL – The Merrill Fire Department responded to a 911 call regarding a transformer fire that resulted from storms that blew through the area on Monday evening, July 22nd. The fire, which was located between 8th and 9th Streets in the alley way between Cedar and Elm, caused power outages to numerous customers on Merrill’s north side. MFD Engine 61 and two EMS units were dispatched to the scene @ 6:15 PM. There were multiple downed wires which caused a gas leak upon making contact with the ground. As a…

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Live Well Lincoln Leadership Team July 12 Meeting Summary

Steve Dillon

LINCOLN COUNTY – The Live Well Lincoln Leadership Team met on Friday, July 12th. Discussion took place regarding the Board of Health decision to forego purchasing Credible Minds, a mental health ecosystem software platform. Additionally, Department member Shelley Hersil proposed that notifying the community of upcoming special events could be accomplished by holding another partner meeting in the future. She stated the goal would be to increase social connections. The Leadership Team is scheduled to meet again on October 4th, 2024.

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Lincoln County Board of Health July 12 Meeting Summary

Steve Dillon

LINCOLN COUNTY – Lincoln County’s Board of Health held their monthly meeting on Friday, July 12. A motion to approve authorization for Public Health Nurse’s classification from Grade H to Grade K was carried with a unanimous vote. The resulting increase in salary will be funded by grants through 2027. Board Member Kay Kissinger Wolf also offered comment at the meeting stemming from her review of the Board of Health orientation information, specific to prioritization of mental health in the community. Wolf expressed her disappointment that the Credible Minds program…

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Lincoln County to be Awarded Funds from National Opioid Settlement

Steve Dillon

LINCOLN COUNTY – During Tuesday’s County Board Meeting, Lincoln County Corporation Counsel Karry Johnson shared with supervisors that Lincoln County will be one of the recipients of a small payment as a result of their participation in a larger nationwide class action settlement related to opioids. The payment, which is estimated to be in the range of $50,000 is a part of a larger settlement of around $1.2B. County Supervisors were given the option to opt out of the settlement and pursue independent litigation, however following brief discussion the decision…

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Lincoln County Property Committee July 16 Meeting Summary

Steve Dillon

LINCOLN COUNTY – The Lincoln County Public Property Committee met on Tuesday, July 16 in the County Service Center. Maintenance Director Patrick Gierl provided an update on budget projections for phase one of the Courthouse Security project. Judge Russell advised that the court security committee requested that the county move forward with this project. The maintenance 10 year CIP plan is to be revised by members Bill Bialecki and Alan Bishop to include phase one in 2025. They will provide the revision to the Finance and A&L committee for consideration.…

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Merrill Police Department Report Week Ending July 14

Steve Dillon

The Merrill Police Department responded to 15 incidents last week. Four calls were received for disturbances and disorderly conduct, one of those involving a suspect brandishing a knife during an assault. There were three crashes reported. One was a hit and run and another where a vehicle hit a parked car, resulting in an arrest for OWI. One call was received for theft at a local business, involving the use of a counterfeit bill. There was one call for a probation violation with the suspect being taken into custody. There…

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Irma Man Arrested On Charges Of Violating Court Bond

Steve Dillon

IRMA – On Thursday July 11 in the Township of Birch, a Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Deputy conducted a traffic stop on US Hwy 51 for a vehicle with a defective headlight. Upon making contact with the driver, the deputy noticed and odor of intoxicants. The driver, a 48 yr old Irma man had previously been released on bond in Rusk County which prohibited him from consuming alcohol. While the driver was not in violation of any OWI laws, he was arrested for violating the court bond and transported to…

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Lincoln County Officials Name Two New Leadership Team Members

Steve Dillon

LINCOLN COUNTY – Lincoln County officials have named two current team members as new hires to replace recent vacancies in county leadership. Heather Marheine, who has worked for the County in an accounting role for the Highway and Solid Waste departments has been appointed to replace Samantha Fenske as Lincoln County Finance Director. Fenske, who served in the role for the last year and a half, took part in her final county board meeting on Tuesday night. Jason Lemmer, who has served as interim Highway Commissioner over the past two…

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