Wisconsin Rapids Current: City seeks District 3 alderperson, process will soon begin to fill LHS principal role

Wisconsin Rapids Current is a regular column in the Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune by Service Journalism Reporter Erik Pfantz that covers a range of topics in city and county governments and local school districts to highlight the many items that flow past our local decision-makers.

If you have items you would like to see highlighted in this column, please reach out to Erik at epfantz@gannett.com.

Wisconsin Rapids seeks District 3 alderperson

The city is seeking a resident of Wisconsin Rapids' District 3 to fill a vacant alderperson seat on the Common Council. Interested residents should submit a letter of interest along with a biography or resume for the council’s consideration to City Clerk Jennifer Gossick prior to the May 21 Common Council meeting.

The Common Council will vote on who fills the seat at its May 21 meeting and requests that applicants attend. Gossick told a Daily Tribune reporter three residents have submitted letters so far.

Odd-numbered districts are elected in odd-numbered years so the appointed alderperson will serve less than a year, or until April 14, 2025, and the seat will be up for election for any qualified candidate.

The District 3 seat is open following former alderperson Matt Zacher’s election as Wisconsin Rapids mayor in April.

Wood County receives FEMA funds to provide food and shelter

Wood County residents in need of emergency food and shelter programs are receiving a few more resources.

Wood County was selected to receive $14,160 through the Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency under the Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program. Previously, funds like this have gone to FOCUS, Personal Development Center, Soup or Socks and the Wisconsin Rapids Family Center, according to a news release from the United Way of South Wood & Adams Counties, which is helping to distribute the supplementary funds.

Organizations interested in applying to receive these dollars must be private voluntary nonprofits, faith-based organizations or units of government; be eligible to receive federal funds; have an accounting system; practice nondiscrimination; have a demonstrated ability to provide emergency food or shelter aid programs; and, if they are a private voluntary organization, they must have a voluntary board.

Qualifying agencies are asked to apply before 4 p.m. May 10. Applications are available by contacting United Way’s Stefanie Drexler at stefanie@uwswac.org or 715-421-0390.

Process will soon begin to fill Lincoln High School principal role

Students, parents, community members and other Wisconsin Rapids Public School District stakeholders are wondering who will take Lincoln High School’s top leadership role, following the school board’s selection of Ronald Rasmussen to be district superintendent. Rasmussen has served as principal of the high school for 12 years.

Past processes for selecting principals involved a job posting that was open for anyone to apply, Maurine Hodgson, school board secretary, told a Daily Tribune reporter Monday in an email. She said she expects the job listing to be posted within the next few weeks. She said it will be open to applicants for four weeks, there will be an interview process and the school board will likely see a recommendation for the position around the end of June.

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Erik Pfantz covers local government and education in central Wisconsin for USA-TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin and values his background as a rural Wisconsinite. Reach him at epfantz@gannett.com or connect with him on X (formerly Twitter) @ErikPfantz.

This article originally appeared on Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune: Wisconsin Rapids Current: District 3 alderperson, Lincoln principal