Iola-Scandy: a year in review

IOLA – The year is set to come to a close in a few short days and as we all start to think about what we want to accomplish in the New Year, it’s always good to take a look back on the years events.
The Village of Iola had their fair share of news this year, with questioning the necessity of the police department to bringing back the legendary lutefisk dinner at Winter Carnival.
Let’s take a brief look at some of the year’s top stories.

Eliminating the police department
Local bar owners were present at a Village of Iola board meeting last January to voice concerns over how law enforcement was being handled, claiming local police officers are sitting outside of their bars and targeting their customers.

This lead the local owners to question the need for the Iola Police Department and outsourcing the patrol to Waupaca County, as Fremont had recently done.
The Iola Police Committee held two meetings where they heard statements from the audience as well as researched the claims made by audience members.
Overall the conclusion the Police Committee came to was that the police are not targeting bars and that claims made were not backed up with evidence.
The matter continued at the March 11 board meeting, where Village of Iola Board President Jennifer Schustek relayed a message from Sheriff Timothy Wilz at Waupaca County Sheriff’s Department in an effort to set the record straight.
“He wanted me to share with the board how proud he is of the officers in Iola and their work that they are doing here. It is their job as officers to serve and protect and because we have a viable police department he would not consider taking on the Village of Iola,” Schustek said.
Schustek said the matter should be considered officially put to rest.

Thirsty Perch
Perhaps the biggest story of the year was the non-renewal of the liquor license for the Thirsty Perch in Iola, which the Village of Iola board voted on June 10 to not renew.
A hearing followed June 26 where the Village of Iola Board was able to hear statements from both Iola Police Chief Paul Zierler as well as from Thirsty Perch owners, Sherri Miller and Steve Steeber.
In the end the Miller and Steeber at the Thirsty Perch were not able to renew their license.

Lutefisk Returns
The beloved lutefisk dinner returned this year to the Winter Carnival after a five-year hiatus, which turned 63 years old this year.
The dinner was shut down due to Covid; however, enough volunteers rallied to be able to get the dinner back in action.
Lutefisk is a Norweigen meal that is a gelatinous fish, usually cod, and the fish is brined in lye and steamed.
“The event itself, I think, is just so historic and the community just loves it,” said Megan Melum, one of the organizers of the event.

The lutefisk dinner will be returning in 2026, information about the dinner can be found on Facebook at Iola Winter Carnival.

New auditorium
At a Nov. 2024 Iola-Scandinavia School Board meeting producers and directors of the high school musical group came to ask for permission to raise fund to renovate the auditorium.
Shannon Huettner, administrative director of the musical, said she dug through financial archives in the district and could not find information on when lights were last replaced, how old the curtain was, and said they borrow sound equipment from the Jensen Center in Amherst.
Not only was the focus on updating what they have, but also adding more, a mid-level curtain being on the list as well as a sound system that they could own themselves.

Huettner estimated the total costs of renovations to be $500,000, starting the campaign with $50,000 which came out of their fund.
The musical is sponsored and paid through donations, with generous donations coming in each year, as well as ticket sales due to the highly successful productions.
In less than a year they were able to raise $302,000, and were celebrated with a ribbon cutting last August.
“It is simply amazing to have raised this much money so quickly. I am extremely proud of our musical theatre department,” said Shannon Huettner, the administrative director of the musical. Huettner said upgrades include new curtains, LED lights that have more lighting and special effects options, new speakers, sound board, microphones, back wall treatments, audio loop system for those with hearing aids, with the school providing a sound and light booth and new carpeting.
“It is fun and exciting to work with so many students each year and to watch their talents come to life on stage. The compliments we get from the sold out audiences makes the long hours and days more than worth it. A majority of the students on stage are also involved in sports, school organizations, have jobs and yet dedicate a large amount of time to be part of the musical,” Huettner said. “I feel like these upgrades are giving back to them, I’m excited to see them perform this year amongst the new, high quality equipment.”