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Information on Wausau, Wisconsin
SOME HIGHLIGHTS:
AIRPORTS:
Central Wisconsin Airport owned by Marathon and Portage Counties, and operated by the Central Wisconsin Joint Airport Board located 12 miles south of Wausau, is served by American Eagle, Delta Connection, and United Airlines regional carriers. CWA has two concrete runways (one 7,645 feet long x 150 feet wide, one 6,500 feet long x 150 feet wide); complete terminal services with dining and car rental, general aviation services and charter, regular jet and turbo prop commercial and private departures daily.
Wausau Downtown Airport is owned by the City of Wausau and contains 248.43 acres within the city limits. It has two bituminous runways 4,950 feet and 3,375 feet in length; hangers for lease, regular corporate and general aviation departures daily.
BUS LINES:
Lamers Bus Lines provides motor coach tours as well as charter of vans and deluxe or mini-coaches for schools, clubs, churches, personal use, or sporting events.
Metro Ride operates 7 routes in the City of Wausau which run at 30 minute intervals, and one route to Rothschild and Schofield and Weston which runs intermittently throughout the day. Hours of operation at are 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Buses do not operate on Saturdays, Sundays, or Holidays. Passengers can transfer between routes at the Metro Ride Transit Center, which is conveniently located in the downtown area, one block from the Wausau Center Mall.
Metro Ride provides origin to destination Paratransit Service, to areas within ¾ of a mile from any bus route, for persons who, because of physical or mental disability, are unable to use the Metro Ride bus service. Paratransit hours of operation are the same as the bus service hours listed above.
CLIMATE:
The area has four distinct seasons. Average annual inches of precipitation is approximately 31.6 and average temperatures are (January average daily high temperature of 20.8 degrees and July average daily high temperature of 84.3 degrees).
DEMOGRAPHICS:
Wausau is the county seat of Marathon County, which is Wisconsin’s largest county, covering 1,584 square miles. The City of Wausau covers 18.27 square miles and 229.39 miles of streets. County population per the 2000 census was 125,834 which includes the City’s census population of 38,426. The 2000 median effective buying income for the City of Wausau was $42,120 compared to that of the State of Wisconsin was $39,800. The 2000 per capita retail sales for the City of Wausau was $11,630 compared to that of the State of Wisconsin was $9,715.
EDUCATION:
There are 14 elementary schools, 2 high schools, 2 middle schools and 1 early childhood center in the Wausau School District. The city also has 1 technical school 1 two-year university and 7 parochial schools. Enrollment in the Wausau School District (public schools) for the 2007-2008 school year was 8,778 pupils. The Wausau School District employs 1,132 individuals of which 685 are teachers.
FIRE DEPARTMENT:
The City’s Fire Department has 25 fire rescue vehicles as well as the only Hazardous Materials/Chemical Accident Response Level A Team in central Wisconsin. Wausau maintains a Class 3 fire insurance rating.
GOVERNMENT:
The city was chartered in 1872 and is currently served by 11 elected Alderpersons who serve two-year terms and an elected Mayor who serves a four year term.
HEALTH SERVICES:
Northcentral Health Care Facilities, three nursing homes, Marshfield Clinic-Wausau Medical Center, Bridge Community Health Clinic serving low/moderate income, 20 various medical clinics, the Aspirus Health Care System which includes Aspirus Wausau Hospital, Aspirus Wausau Regional Healthcare Clinics at 22 locations, VNA Home Health and Pine Ridge Medical Equipment.
Aspirus Wausau Hospital is a licensed 321 bed multi-specialty health care facility and regional referral center. Annually over 108,000 persons use its inpatient, outpatient, and 24-hours emergency services. In addition to providing Wausau and Marathon County with primary care services, the hospital serves as a healthcare resource to northern and central Wisconsin as a regional trauma and referral center for such specialties as cancer, cardiology, open heart surgery, spine and neurological disorders, gastroenterology, orthopedic surgery, rehabilitation services, plastic and reconstructive surgery, and laser surgery. Aspirus Wausau Hospital is one of the nation’s leaders in laser applications with new procedures being developed every day.
HIGHWAYS:
Interstate 39 (U.S Highway 51) runs north/south with six (6) entry/exit ramps to the City of Wausau. State Highways 52 and 29 run east/west with several access locations in the city.
HOTELS:
There are 26 hotels/motels in the area and 3 Bed and Breakfast Inns. (Go to www.visitwausau.com for listings)
INDUSTRY:
While nearly one-third of the county’s economy is manufacturing based, the balance of service and industry provides for a very stable workforce. The region holds a consistently lower than average unemployment rate and sees steady growth in job creation and economic stability among manufacturers and service providers alike. Major employers include Aspirus Wausau Hospital, Apogee Wausau Group, Eastbay, Fiskars, Inc., Kolbe & Kolbe Millwork, Marathon Electric, Marshfield Clinic-Wausau Center, Marathon County Government, North Central Health Care Facility, Northcentral Technical College, WPS Health Insurance, Wausau Benefits, Wausau Insurance, Wausau-Mosinee Paper Corporation, Wausau School District.
LIBRARY:
Marathon County Public Library owns over 330,762 items including books, compact discs, music cassettes, books on cassettes, art prints, large print books, and materials for the blind and handicapped. Free internet access is available at all eight branch libraries and the headquarters library in Wausau. Programs for children, teens, and adults are offered every week. Libraries are located in the surrounding communities: Athens, Edgar, Hatley, Marathon, Mosinee, Rothschild, Spencer, Stratford, and Wausau.
MUSEUMS:
The “Yawkey Home” located at 403 McIndoe Street and the “Woodson House” at 410 McIndoe are the home and museum of the Marathon County Historical Society (715-842-5750).. The Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum (715-845-7010) located at 700 N. Twelfth Street opened in mid-1976 and has hosted a number of nationally renowned exhibits. The E.F. Jablonski Historical Museum (715-842-2516) located at 1212 S. Tenth Street opened June 2000, celebrates Wausau’s heritage in the window manufacturing business. The L.S. Hogan Antique Farm Machinery Museum (715-675-9963) located at Marathon Park is a fascinating display of artifacts of bygone days.
NEWSPAPERS:
The Wausau Daily Herald, with a daily circulation of 21, 400 during the week and a circulation rate of 27,500 for the Sunday paper. City Pages is a free news and entertainment weekly that has a weekly circulation of 14,000. The Buyers Guide is a free weekly classified publication. Families First is a free bi-monthly publication for families in Marathon County.
PARKS:
There are 37 city parks totaling 337 acres, 18 county parks totaling 3,406 acres, and 10 county forest units totaling 28,623 acres. There are three trail heads with access to the 83 mile Mountain-Bay State Park Trail.
POLICE:
The City Police Department has 86 employees, consisting of 65 sworn officers and 21 civilians. Civilian staff includes administrative support, parking control, and school-crossing supervision. The force deploys 33 motorized units.
POPULATION:
The City of Wausau has experienced continual growth. The 2010 census population in the city is 39,106. Wausau’s population is mostly made up of Polish and German descent. However, during the late 1970’s, Marathon County experienced a migration of Southeast Asian refugees, including Hmong, Cambodians, Thai, and Laotian, making them the largest minority population of approximately 5,500 in Marathon County. Since early 2000, the Latino population in the area has increased to approximately 3,720. In the past 20 years more residents have been moving to suburban and rural areas. The Wausau metro area including Wausau, Schofield, Rothschild, Weston, and Rib Mountain has over 90,000 people living in the area. Wausau’s population growth is mainly due to annexations and increasing minority populations.
RECREATION:
There are 9 public and 2 private golf courses; 28 outdoor and 2 indoor tennis courts; 6 indoor and 5 outdoor swimming pools, 1 splash pad; 1 commercial downhill ski area, 1 municipal snow tubing hill, 10 outdoor skating rinks, 5 outdoor and 3 indoor hockey rinks,1 speed skating oval; 3 trail heads and 18 miles of the Mountain Bay-State Park Trail open to hiking, biking, and snowmobiling (ATV’s are no longer allows); 4 open beaches, 3 year-round reservable park shelters, 20 seasonal reservable park shelters; 14 lakes and rivers with public access for boating including Lake Wausau, Lake DuBay, Big Eau Pleine Flowage, and the Wisconsin River; 1 urban and 2 rural campgrounds; 1 semi-professional baseball diamond, 12 youth and teen baseball diamonds, 9 youth and adult softball diamonds, 16 soccer fields; a whitewater canoe and kayak course; shooting range; radio-controlled aircraft field; indoor climbing wall (YMCA), indoor high ropes challenge course (Wausau West Field House); and a Skateboard Park. Non-profit recreational facilities include a Boys and Girls Club, YWCA, YMCA, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and 4H. The restored Grant Theater, commercial dance schools, a commercial ballet school, Wausau Community Theater, Center for the Visual Arts, and the Wausau Conservatory of Music reflect strong local interest and support for the Arts.
Wausau is host to international and national canoe and kayak whitewater and marathon racing, Northwoods League Amateur Baseball, the Badger State Winter Games, the Wisconsin Special Olympics Winter Games, the Wisconsin Valley Senior Olympics, a short and long triathlon series, and the Gus Macker 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament.
TV STATIONS:
Include WAOA Channel 9 (ABC); WSAW Channel 7 (CBS); WHRM Channel 20 (PBS); WJFW Rhinelander Channel 12 (NBC); WFSX Fox 55; WBWA Channel 15 (Warner Brothers); Public Access Channels 3 and 10; Charter Communications Cable TV.
THEATERS:
There is one motion picture theater with a total of four screens, and the 1245-seat Grand Theater in downtown Wausau which boasts national shows and performers; six area schools also have auditoriums/theaters; and a ten screen multiplex movie theater is located in the Wausau area.
UTILITIES:
The utilities offered in Wausau include electricity, natural gas, telephone, water and sewer.
Electric power is furnished by hydro-electric plants; 7 are located on the Wisconsin River and 1 located on the Tomahawk River. These hydro-electric plants are capable of producing 34 megawatts. Another source of electricity provided by Wisconsin Public Service are the Weston steam generating plants. Weston 1 and 2 are capable of producing 135,000 kilowatts. The newest steam generating plant in Marathon county is Weston 3 which was completed December of 1981 with a rated capacity of 300 megawatts.
WEATHER:
Average Temperatures (Fahrenheit)
Month | High | Low |
January | 22 | 3 |
February | 29 | 9 |
March | 39 | 20 |
April | 55 | 33 |
May | 68 | 45 |
June | 77 | 54 |
July | 81 | 59 |
August | 79 | 58 |
September | 69 | 48 |
October | 58 | 38 |
November | 40 | 25 |
December | 27 | 11 |