Wausau, Wisconsin
Wausau (/ˈwɔːsɔː/ WAW-saw) is a city in and the county seat of Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States. The Wisconsin River divides the city into east and west. The city's suburbs include Schofield, Weston, Mosinee, Merrill, Brokaw, Maine, Rib Mountain, Kronenwetter, and Rothschild.
This article is about the city. For the adjacent town, see Wausau (town), Wisconsin.As of the 2020 census, Wausau had a population of 39,994.[4] It is the core city of the Wausau Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which includes all of Marathon County and had a population of 134,063 at the 2010 census.
Police/Fire[edit]
Fire Department[edit]
The Wausau Fire Department has 3 stations within the city which contain 5 ambulances, 4 engines, a heavy rescue vehicle, a 100 foot platform truck, rescue boats, inspections vehicles, and command vehicles. The department also has a hazardous incident team, or HIT, which is a type II regional hazardous materials team.[28]
The department currently employs 72 full-time firefighter/paramedics.[29]
The department responded to 6,490 calls in the year 2021.[30]
Police Department[edit]
The Wausau Police Department is responsible for law enforcement services in the City of Wausau. On average, between 8–12 officers are on patrol at a time.
Outdoor Warning System[edit]
The city of Wausau, in coordination with the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office, is responsible for maintaining 14 outdoor tornado sirens that are strategically placed throughout the city. Sirens are sounded during tornadoes and severe weather. Sirens are tested at 1:15PM every Monday (April–September) and the first Monday of the month (October–March).
Economy[edit]
Nearly one-third of the Marathon County economy is based in manufacturing, with the balance in the service industry.[31] Prominent industries include paper manufacturing, insurance, home manufacturing, and tourism. The Wausau region has a lower than average unemployment rate and continues a steady growth in job creation and economic viability among manufacturers and service providers alike.[31] Wausau has 12 banks with 41 branch locations, three trust companies and three holding companies in the metropolitan area. There are also 13 open membership credit unions with 18 branch locations.[31]
The Wausau area is a center for cultivation of American ginseng,[32] and is also known for its red granite, which is quarried nearby.[33]
Education[edit]
Public schools[edit]
Wausau is served by the Wausau School District, which has 14 elementary schools, two middle schools (John Muir and Horace Mann), and two high schools (Wausau East, Wausau West) and two charter schools (Wausau Engineering and Global Leadership Academy and Enrich Excel Achieve Learning Academy). Wausau Engineering and Global Leadership (EGL) Academy is a public charter school housed in Wausau East High School serving grades 9–12 and emphasizing science, technology, engineering and math.
D.C. Everest Area School District also serves a large part of the Wausau area. This school district has 7 elementary schools, one middle school, one junior high, and one senior high. They also have a 4K Program.
Charter schools[edit]
Wausau Area Montessori Charter School serves grades 1–6 and is housed at Horace Mann Middle School. Two kindergarten classes are available at the Montessori Children's Village and Rib Mountain Montessori.
The Excel, Enrich, Achieve (EEA) Learning Academy is a public charter school in the Wausau School District, housed in Wausau East High School, and is for students who do not find the traditional school setting to be a fit for their academic needs. EEA services grades 6–12.[34]
The Idea Charter School, a project-based charter school that is a part of the D.C. Everest School District, had its first year in operation in the 2011–2012 school year. The charter school serves grades 6–12.
Private schools[edit]
The city's Roman Catholic parochial schools are known as the Newman Catholic Schools. They include St. Anne, St. Michael and St. Mark, Newman Middle School, and Newman Catholic High School. Other parochial schools include Trinity Lutheran grade school (Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod), Our Savior's Lutheran School (Pre-K–8) (Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod),[35] Faith Christian Academy (K4–12), and a K–8 school operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Colleges and universities[edit]
Wausau is home to the University of Wisconsin– Stevens Point at Wausau a two-year university satellite campus of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. The University houses the Wisconsin Public Radio Station. The city is also home of Northcentral Technical College, a two-year technical college.
It is also home to a number of satellite campuses of other colleges, including, Upper Iowa University, Lakeland College, Concordia University Wisconsin (closed in 2012), Rasmussen College, Medical College of Wisconsin, and Globe University.
Parks[edit]
The city's 37 city parks, which total 337 acres (136 ha),[37] are maintained by the Wausau and Marathon County Parks, Recreation, and Forestry Department.
Oak Island Community Park and Fern Island Community Park are located next to each other on the Wisconsin River. Oak Island has a wide range of activities: tennis courts, two playgrounds, a baseball diamond, one enclosed shelter with a kitchen, two open shelters, and a walking bridge to Fern Island. Fern Island Park hosts the annual Big Bull Falls Blues Festival in August,[38] as well as the annual Beer and Bacon Fest.[39]
Athletic Park, a baseball stadium on the east side of Wausau, is home to the Wausau Woodchucks baseball team.
Whitewater Park contains a third of a mile of Class I-II+ rapids along the Wisconsin River in downtown Wausau. It has bleachers facing whitewater rapids where recreational whitewater kayaking and canoeing take place.[40]
Sylvan Hills is a county park within the Wausau city limits. During the winter, tubing takes place on hills that have vertical drops of up to 133 feet (41 m).[41]
Marathon Park, another county park in the city of Wausau, is the location of the Wisconsin Valley Fair. The park includes camping grounds, two hockey rinks, a curling barn, playgrounds, an obstacle course, an amphitheater, a bandstand, a grandstand, exhibition buildings, a concessions building, and a miniature golf course. Marathon Park contains the southernmost section of old-growth forest remaining in Wisconsin.[42] The Little Red School House is housed within the park.