Wisconsin
Here’s who will appear on your spring ballot for Wisconsin Rapids mayor and other local seats
Residents will vote for Wisconsin Rapids mayor and Common Council, Wisconsin Rapids School Board and Wood County Board in the spring 2024 election.
WISCONSIN RAPIDS – Wisconsin Rapids and Wood County voters will find a mix of incumbents and new faces on their ballots for the spring election.
Candidates had until 5 p.m. Tuesday to file their nomination papers for Wisconsin Rapids mayor and Common Council, a municipal judge position, Wisconsin Rapids School Board and Wood County Board.
Nomination papers can be challenged for things like issues with signatures or addresses for three days following the nomination paper filing deadline. A primary will be held Feb. 20 for seats with more than two qualified candidates, and the spring general election between the top two candidates will be held April 2.
The Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune compiled the following list of candidates for the spring election. To learn more about registering to vote and to find your polling place, visit My Vote Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Rapids mayor
Wisconsin Rapids voters will be selecting a new mayor this spring. Mayor Shane Blaser announced Oct. 18 that he will not be seeking reelection. In Wisconsin Rapids, the position of mayor is a two-year term. Because there are four candidates for mayor, a primary will be held Feb. 20 to narrow the candidates to two.
Candidates for mayor: Tom Terry Mews, Nicholas Palmquist, Preston M. Seitz and Matt Zacher.
Wisconsin Rapids Common Council
Wisconsin Rapids alderpersons serve two-year terms with half the seats up for election each year. In 2024, the even-numbered districts, 2 through 8, will be on the ballot. Donald Jay Bemke, who currently represents District 8, has filed a notice of noncandidacy, which means he will not be a candidate for his seat.
Candidates for District 2 alderperson: Dean Veneman (incumbent)
Candidates for District 4 alderperson: Jeff Penzkover and Tom Rayome (incumbent)
Candidates for District 6 alderperson: Dennis Polach (incumbent)
Candidates for District 8 alderperson: Madalyn Palmquist and Jaime Sparkes
Wisconsin Rapids Municipal Court
The Wisconsin Rapids Municipal Court judge seat will be on the ballot this spring. Peter Kastenholz last won the seat in 2020. The municipal judge seat is a four-year term.
Candidates for municipal judge: Peter A. Kastenholz (incumbent)
Wisconsin Rapids School Board
Three of the seven seats on the School Board are up for election. A primary will not be required because there are only five candidates. School Board members serve three-year terms. Current board member Larry Davis is not seeking reelection.
Candidates for School Board: John Benbow Jr. (incumbent), Katie Bielski-Medina (incumbent), Christopher D. Inda, Craig Manka and Elizabeth St. Myers.
Wood County Board
All 19 Wood County Board seats are up for election this spring. Board members serve a two-year term. Current board members Ed Wagner (District 4), Adam Fischer (District 5) and William Winch (District 9) are not seeking reelection.
Candidates for District 1 supervisor: Dave LaFontaine (incumbent) and Wayne Schulz
Candidates for District 2 supervisor: Donna Rozar (incumbent)
Candidates for District 3 supervisor: Tom Buttke (incumbent)
Candidates for District 4 supervisor: Russ Perlock
Candidates for District 5 supervisor: Timothy Hovendick
Candidates for District 6 supervisor: Allen W. Breu (incumbent)
Candidates for District 7 supervisor: Bill Voight (incumbent)
Candidates for District 8 supervisor: Jake Hahn (incumbent)
Candidates for District 9 supervisor: Scott D. Brehm
Candidates for District 10 supervisor: Lee P. Thao (incumbent)
Candidates for District 11 supervisor: Jeff Penzkover (incumbent)
Candidates for District 12 supervisor: Laura Valenstein (incumbent)
Candidates for District 13 supervisor: John A. Hokamp (incumbent)
Candidates for District 14 supervisor: Dennis Polach (incumbent)
Candidates for District 15 supervisor: Bill Clendenning (incumbent)
Candidates for District 16 supervisor: Lance A. Pliml (incumbent)
Candidates for District 17 supervisor: Joseph H. Zurfluh (incumbent)
Candidates for District 18 supervisor: Brad R. Hamilton (incumbent)
Candidates for District 19 supervisor: Bill Leichtnam (incumbent)
More local news: Wisconsin Rapids has a new taxi provider. Here’s what riders need to know.
More local news: Central Wisconsin law enforcement struggle to keep up with surge in requests for police video footage
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 Twitter @ErikPfantz.
Wisconsin
Stepmom from hell accused of starving 35-pound teen daughter enters plea — could spend the rest of her life behind bars
The Wisconsin stepmother from hell accused of abusing her 35-pound 14-year-old daughter by depriving her of food and water has entered a no-contest plea in the twisted case.
Melissa Goodman, 52, now faces up to 46 years in prison if she’s handed the maximum sentence for charges of chronic neglect causing great bodily harm, chronic neglect causing emotional damage and false imprisonment.
She’s set to be sentenced on July 1.
Goodman, along with husband Walter Goodman, has been accused of starving her autistic stepdaughter.
Goodman’s daughter Savanna Goodman and her girlfriend Kayla Stemler were also charged over the alleged abuse, People reported.
The family is accused of locking the teen in a bedroom without a mattress, restricting her to only her room for years and depriving her of food and water, according to Wisconsin prosecutors.
The mobile home they lived in became a house of horrors for the teenager, who was mistaken for a 6-year-old when she was found by cops in August 2025 and rushed to the hospital.
Walter Goodman, the victim’s father, called 911 to report that his daughter was lethargic and ill.
Responding officers found her weighing just 35 pounds; she was hospitalized with multi-organ dysfunction, including respiratory failure and pancreatitis.
From 2020 until August 2025, the victim, whose name is not disclosed because she is a minor, was allegedly isolated in a trailer on Hattie Lane, in Oneida, Wisconsin.
Extended family members were told she was away on vacation or with other relatives to explain her absence.
When “Song Sung Blue” – the biopic about Milwaukee Neil Diamond tribute act Lightning & Thunder – had a premiere at the Oriental Theatre in Milwaukee last December, star Hugh Jackman gave Claire Sardina (played in the film by Kate Hudson) an engraved bench honoring Lighting & Thunder to be installed at Wisconsin State Fair Park.
In August, Sardina will get to have a seat on that bench – and sing again on a State Fair stage.
Sardina will perform with tribute act So Good: The Neil Diamond Experience Aug. 9 at the Bank Five Nine Amphitheater, the largest stage at the fair featuring free concerts with admission.
For Sardina, it will be a return to a place central to Lighting & Thunder. The band performed in the Milwaukee area from 1989 until Mike Sardina, aka Lightning, passed away in 2006. The State Fair was one of their favorite places to play, and the couple got married there in 1994.
The couple’s wild story – from a performance at a Pearl Jam Summerfest concert to major health issues – was the subject of the documentary “Song Sung Blue” that inspired the biopic, and earned Hudson an Oscar nomination for portraying Claire Sardina.
Fair officials May 8 revealed the full headliner lineup for the stage, which includes:
- Aug. 6: Sixteen Candles
- Aug. 7 and 8: Here Come The Mummies
- Aug. 10 and 11: Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone
- Aug. 12: Hairbangers Ball
- Aug. 13: Too Hype Crew
- Aug. 14: The Gufs
- Aug. 15: Let’s Sing Taylor – An Unofficial Live Tribute Show
- Aug. 16: Pat McCurdy
All Bank Five Nine Amphitheater concerts are included with fair admission.
The lineup is also nearly complete for the Bank Five Nine Main Stage, with just a show on Aug. 11 to be announced.
Tickets are on sale for these shows at wistatefair.com and include same-day fair admission:
- Aug. 6: Hairball
- Aug. 7: Nelly
- Aug. 8: Bailey Zimmerman with Chandler Walters
- Aug. 9: Wynonna Judd and Melissa Etheridge
- Aug. 10: For King + Country with Rachel Lampa
- Aug. 12: John Mulaney
- Aug. 13: The All-American Rejects with Joyce Manor
- Aug. 14: Lindsey Stirling with PVRIS
- Aug. 15: AJR with Em Beihold
- Aug. 16: The Beach Boys
WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAW/GRAY NEWS) – A ransomware group has claimed to have breached the learning management system Canvas, possibly exposing the personal information of students, teachers and staff across the country.
According to a statement from the Universities of Wisconsin website, they were notified of a nationwide security breach experienced by Instructure, the provider of Canvas. Universities of Wisconsin schools use the cloud-based management system.
UW-Stevens Point tells NewsChannel 7 they have not confirmed UWSP was involved in the breach, but did send communication that Canvas was down and students should not perform any asked actions if prompted, as it may not be legitimate while Canvas is down.
Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, posted on May 1 about a cybersecurity incident that had been reported and was under investigation.
The next day, Chief Information Security Officer Steve Proud wrote that the information involved in the attack included names, student ID numbers, messages between users and email addresses.
“At this time, we have found no evidence that passwords, dates of birth, government identifiers, or financial information were involved. If that changes, we will notify any impacted institutions,” he wrote.
The Wausau School District sent a letter to parents Wednesday regarding the cybersecurity incident. They said there is no evidence that passwords, single-sign-on credentials, financial information or social security numbers were impacted. They stressed that type of information is not stored in Canvas.
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