Shawano school woes top 2022 story for Leader

Shawano School District found itself in the harsh spotlight repeatedly in 2022, with a staff house cleaning of epic proportions — including dozens of teachers and other employees as well as, notably, the superintendent and a majority of the school board.

That, along with other bombshells of potential school closings, the potential for debt in the new school year, community mobilizations and more, made what happened to the school district the clear choice for the Shawano Leader’s top story of 2022.

The saga of Ann Retzlaff, named last year’s top story after she was accused of leading police on a chase in 2021 and more, continued this year with her return to Wisconsin and subsequent arrest in Wittenberg, making it No. 2 on the Leader’s list. Sheriff Adam Bieber announced early in January that he would not be running for a third term, paving the way for his chief deputy to get elected and claiming the third spot on the top 10.

However, it wasn’t all bad news locally. Garland Nelson, the man who killed two brothers from Bonduel, finally saw justice and got two life sentences for what he did in the fourth story for the Leader. For the fifth story, the Shawano County Barn Quilt Project finally reached the milestone of 400 quilts in October.

Here’s a look back at the top news for 2022:

1. Shawano schools put through wringer

Randi Anderson’s tenure as superintendent for the Shawano School District came to a brief end in August as she resigned following almost six months of community anger over her decisions. The initial report from the district was she left to spend more time with family, but a NEW Media request for records uncovered that the board voted behind closed doors to continue to pay her for the remaining two years of her contract, totaling about $400,000 in salary and benefits.

Community trust in the district started to erode after it became publicly known that the district was facing over $2 million in red ink for the 2022-23 school year, and Anderson recommended the board close one of its schools to alleviate the debt. That brought out parents and others in droves, as they not only told the board they were not behind the school closure plan, but also produced a petition with around 1,200 signatures asking for Anderson to resign, a petition the board would not even acknowledge.

The toxic work environment prompted at least 60 employees to resign, including many teachers who had been with Shawano for decades, all four school principals and most of Anderson’s administrative team. Recall petitions were taken out against two school board members, gathering sufficient signatures, but the recall was canceled after those board members resigned, along with three others.

Because of the disconnect between the district and the community, plans to call for operational and capital referenda this year were scrapped after a community survey showed a majority of respondents were not in favor of giving the administration in place millions of dollars to maintain the existing budget and upgrade infrastructure over the next decade.

2. Retzlaff continues to fight justice system

Ann Retzlaff, who faces charges of fleeing and eluding officers and two counts of second-degree recklessly endangering safety plus other charges, started the year with arrest warrants over her head, and she ended the year with new warrants for her arrest. In between, she was nabbed in Wittenberg, jailed for about three months and lost her campground west of Gresham.

Retzlaff was believed to be out of state for the first few months of 2022 with a body-only warrant over her head after she failed to appear in court in November 2021. She was arrested in April after being spotted in a restaurant on the west side of Shawano County and was kept in jail on a $25,000 bond that was later reduced to $15,000. Retzlaff sold her vehicle to come up with the money to get out and told the court she was “penniless” as a result.

While in jail, Retzlaff’s business, Annie’s Campground, was put into receivership. It later sold to Positive Ventures for $2.05 million after Retzlaff failed to pay property taxes and defaulted on a loan from Bank First, owing about $1.5 million.

In December, Retzlaff petitioned the court for permission to leave the state with her children to visit family members. However, the Shawano-Menominee County District Attorney’s Office learned that she allegedly left the state already to go to Michigan, claiming to a couple that took her there as she intended to meet a man only known as Brian.

3. Sheriff announces he won’t seek 3rd term

Adam Bieber was in the last year of his second term as county sheriff when he announced he wasn’t going to run for a third. He cited wanting to be more available to his family as a primary reason but noted that his relationship with the county board had become more strained in the last couple of years.

Bieber’s announcement opened up the opportunity for his chief deputy, George Lenzner, to jump in the race and achieve a lifelong dream of moving up through the ranks to eventually become sheriff. He faced off in the Republican primary against Oconto Falls Police Chief Brad Rice, who lives in the Town of Washington, and strong support from Shawano voters propelled him to victory.

4. Nelson gets 2 life sentences for double murders

A three-year legal saga came to an end in September as Garland Nelson pleaded guilty to murdering Justin and Nicholas Diemel, of Bonduel, at his home in Braymer, Missouri. Nelson was sentenced to life in prison times two for the crimes.

The Diemels went to Missouri in July 2019 to retrieve a $250,000 check — payment for cows sold, but never returned. Based on the investigation, Caldwell County authorities believed that Nicholas and Justin Diemel never left the property after they arrived and were intentionally killed. They also believed that Nelson acted alone or with others in murdering the Diemel brothers.

5. Barn quilt project reaches 400 milestone

Shawano County started its barn quilt trail in 2010, with founder Jim Leuenberger believing it would only reach 25 or 30 before interest waned. In October, Leuenberger presided over the installation of the county’s 400th barn quilt at a farm in the Town of Washington.

More than 100 people gathered to watch the unveiling of the quilt Oct. 22 at the home of Steven Krueger and Mark Hebert, who purchased the property at the corner of Lakeview Road and state Highway 22 in the Town of Washington in 2014. Besides the unveiling of the quilt, founders Jim and Irene Leuenberger received an actual quilt to commemorate the occasion, along with a special citation from the Wisconsin Legislature presented by outgoing Rep. Gary Tauchen.

6. Peter Schmidt replaces Tauchen as legislator

Speaking of Tauchen, the longtime representative of the 6th Assembly District had previously announced he would not run for reelection, breaking the GOP field wide open as six eager candidates sought to replace him. Bonduel farmer Peter Schmidt won the primary but quickly drew the scorn of county Republican Party leaders because he did not disclose he’d pleaded guilty to misdemeanor crimes involving the choking of one of his farm employees.

The GOP urged Dean Neubert, of Hortonville, to run as a write-in candidate against Schmidt and Democratic candidate William Switalla from Wittenberg. However, it was not enough to keep Schmidt from sailing to another victory, and he will take his seat in January.

7. MISD easily passes $35M capital referendum

The Menominee Indian School District had plenty of community support as it asked voters in April to approve a $35 million referendum that will build a new high school, turn the old high school into the new middle school and make improvements to expand Keshena Primary School.

The referendum was the first one the district had sought in decades and is expected to increase property taxes by $2.99 per $1,000 of equalized valuation for the next five years and then drop. Growth in its student population, combined with the landlocked status of the existing middle school in Neopit, prompted the move by the district.

8. Ingold facing homicide charge

Michael Ingold, of Shawano, was arrested in July and charged with first-degree intentional homicide involving a woman who died one month earlier.

Ingold claimed he spoke with the woman the night before she died, fell asleep and awoke to find her dead. However, an autopsy revealed that she died from manual strangulation. Probable cause was found at a hearing in December, and Ingold is expected to proceed to trial in 2023.

9. Pulaski schools pass operational, capital referenda

The Pulaski Community School District had spent the last couple of years gauging community interest in how much taxpayers are willing to spend to improve schools and maintain existing staff levels and programs. It paid off in November as an operational referendum for up to $1.9 million annually and a $69 million capital referendum were both approved.

The approvals mean that the district will be allowed to spend a little bit more to keep staff in the district with competitive wages. It also means that work will proceed on expanding Hillcrest and Sunnyside elementary schools, both of which are bursting at the seams because of student populations that exceed the maximums for the respective spaces.

10. Renel not competent in military vehicle chase

While police chases and standoffs are not anomalies in Shawano County, law enforcement found themselves in an unusual chase in May after a Cecil man driving a historic military vehicle was arrested for a chase on state Highway 29 that included a four-hour standoff.

Aaron Renel was charged with felony counts of fleeing and eluding an officer in a vehicle and second-degree recklessly endangering safety, along with a misdemeanor count of resisting or obstructing an officer. However, he was recently deemed not competent to aid in his own defense and committed to a state institution. A review of his status is expected to take place in late February.