There are three Village of Iola Trustee positions for which villagers will vote on April 7.  The three with the highest vote count will win those seats. The candidates include: Erikka Flowers, David Harper (I), Mark McCoy, Pamela Parks (I), Mike Richberg, and Jason Woyak.

Questions were emailed to candidates, and the answers are presented together below. It will give the voter a chance to understand each candidate’s position on each of the issues.

Mark McCoy and Jason Woyak did not respond to two solicitations to answer these questions by the March 25 deadline.

What specific actions have you taken in the past two years that produced measurable results for the village, and what were those results?

Erikka Flowers (EF): I am Treasurer of I-SRA, our local sports rec association, and Coordinator of the soccer program. I have listened to parents and implemented recommendations with success. I work alongside other volunteers. The board supported a recommendation to add online registration. This has resulted in a huge time savings for the coordinators and the school as well as providing an easier method of registering for families. I believe in contributing to my community. I believe in continual growth and learning and this position will allow me to give back to my community while growing.

David Harper (DH): As chairman of the Village of Iola Finance Committee it is my responsibility to oversee the budget process of coordinating inputs, implementing board decisions and ensuring that the village lives within its means as laid out by the budget. The bottom line is the village portion of the tax levy is stable. The 2024 tax levy was $717,856. The 2025 tax levy was $714,799 and the 2026 tax levy was $718,952. These are the amounts that the village asks for through the property tax. At the same time, our village debt is being reduced year by year. This is possible because we have excellent clerks, employees,  and members of the board of trustees who take their responsibilities seriously and respect the budget.

Pamela Parks (PP): As part of being on the Village board, we have the assignment of being the policy makers for the community. The board took necessary measures to completely update village ordinances. This was a two-year project, from about April of 2024 to February of 2026. Public hearings took place to approve this massive update that had not occurred since the year 2000. Adhering to our mission statement to remain responsive, relevant, and ready to take appropriate courses of action to meet the needs of citizens now and into the future, we made efforts to carefully examine these ordinances and make appropriate course corrections. This included the addition of resolutions that were adopted by the board that would impact our community and its residents after public hearings were provided to give citizens the opportunity for feedback, i.e. involving ATV/UTV, E-bicycles, E-scooters, updated entertainment and music ordinances, and creation of a downtown central park and dog park utilizing donations and grant funding; not tax payer allocations. The measurable results: Increase visibility of the public using these forms of transit and outdoor activities or spaces.

An ad hoc committee was formed, and we began to envision a downtown park in Iola that would both symbolize the village’s historical legacy and celebrate the commitment of Chester L.  Krause’s impact and contributions to the community. The Chester Krause Legacy Park was only made possible by the land donated and given to the village by Jerry Kopecky and the endless contributions from the community and businesses. The measurable results: A beautiful mural depicting Iola’s historical landmarks, along with Chet’s life. Besides displaying the pride and the vibrancy of Iola, it is wished that this legacy park will continue to remind and be a spotlight for those visiting and new to Iola. I witnessed first hand, as I and others volunteered in 2022 until now, the continued efforts to complete landscaping projects and more.

Providing environmental learning opportunities to students within our outdoor spaces has always been a personal endeavor of mind, I stepped into the role of supporting the Iola Community Children’s Garden since 2002, by volunteering, teaching classes and pulling a great deal of weeds. But now, I have become a co-facilitator of the Children’s Garden because it was at risk of shutting down a few years ago. The measurable results: Provided an opportunity for 18 kids (during the entire summer season of 2025) to learn about healthy eating and their food sources, the practice of sustainability, the care of living organisms, respect for our ecosystem; opportunities to volunteer and make a difference no matter how young. We appreciate the partnership created with the Iola-Scandinavia school district to have students helping at the Community Garden during their bi-annual Community Service Days; being awarded grants and donations to support outdoor children gardening programs.

Since being a Village Board Trustee, I continued to support public safety. The measurable results: The State Legislatures heard our concern for support to help with the reimbursement of training for the much-needed EMS responders in our rural communities, like Iola, by supporting ACT 35. The Village of Iola Police Department was accused of “target profiling” of certain bar owners; therefore, the Iola Police Department faced issues of being defunded. The measurable results: The village asked a sub-committee to review all findings and determine their validity. but after personal interviews and checking with data files, no such evidence revealed “targeting” of mentioned businesses was found to be valid. The Public Works department maintains our streets and sidewalks and more. The measurable results: The passing of an annual budget that reflects the department necessities, along with meeting unforeseeable needs to maintain public safety.

Mike Richberg (MR): I think this is a question designed more for incumbents. However, if you would like to quantify my personal activities that benefit the village and residents, I have been on more than a dozen ambulance calls and half a dozen fire calls in the last year.   

What is your plan to attract people and businesses to the area?

EF: People are drawn by amenities, housing, services and public safety in a community. We have many amenities, services and public safety; however, housing remains a challenge.

Businesses will come as buildings in downtown are fixed up and become available for lease.

Families are drawn to areas with housing and a good school district. We have a good school. It is the housing at the moment that is a challenge.

DH: Iola is a great place to live. Our Chamber of Commerce is an incredible resource, which I strongly support. The Revitalization Committee is moving ahead. We are a community with individuals and organizations that work to make things better and the community has completed millions of dollars’ worth of donor funded projects in the last 10 years as compiled by the Chamber of Commerce. The Chester L. Krause Legacy Park is now nearly done at a cost of over half a million dollars. I have worked on the ad hoc committee overseeing this project. It is entirely funded by donations.

PP: I want to collectively work as a board member towards supporting initiatives from the state and even county levels that provide incentivization to help make Iola an attractive and viable place to live.

How?

So, there must be a healthy economic base to draw and retain residents. Whether beginning entrepreneurs are looking to start up a home base business or those in the job market are looking for a strong and healthy community to raise their families, Iola must have the ability to respond. For example, we needed to provide access to high-speed internet, which we have now; and the forethought to encourage new business, like the Iola Coffee Co., that fit the need of our community, while looking for other ways to bring new residents to Iola by making sure that our zoning and planning rules are broad enough to reflect the vision of our community. As part of this vision, the village board is reviewing and developing what is called a “Community Development Plan” to aid us in projecting what needs to change, evolve, and be developed that may not exist yet, but needs to in 5, 10, or even 20 years from now.

For businesses in Iola as well as potential ones, whether part of the central business district or in the commercial districts or even within a 10-mile radius, the village board must continue to connect and work with all businesses to enhance the economic vitality of the community. This happens as community members continue or patronize these businesses and recognize them as an important asset to the village and our economy. In turn, Businesses can recapitulate by their positive receptivity to these patrons; aid in providing jobs and educational opportunities to residents.

MR: I would like to be a more business-friendly town and believe there are opportunities to grow our village. I would like to be more aware of fees that are charged to businesses to determine if they are necessary and talk about opportunities for tax incentives, if appropriate.

Beyond general commitment to the community, what concrete experience, decision-making track record, and leadership qualities do you possess that better prepare you for this position than your opponents?

EF: I am Treasurer of I-SRA, our local sports rec association, and Coordinator of the soccer program and have been working/leading since I stepped into the positions. I also attend village board meetings and working meetings.  I have followed up with questions to get a better understanding of how the Village operates and how it is driven by ordinances.

DH: It is important to be able to listen to input from all sources. I believe I have done that in my duties as trustee. It helped me that I had a 41-year career as editor of Numismatic News at Krause Publications. Success depends on listening to all voices in the numismatic community and to work to serve them. I have done my best to listen to all voices in Iola and to serve in good times and bad to reach consensus. Nearly all votes of the village board are unanimous because issues are fully discussed before the vote. Sometimes  a leader needs to make rapid decisions in a crisis. I was president of the village when the Father’s Day Fire occurred in 1999. It was my job to organize the response. But our response depended in many ways on prior actions. Our police alerted everyone under threat from the fire so they could get out. No lives were lost. This would not have happened without a police department existing in the first place.. Our fire department did an excellent job in combating the flames. They had the equipment and training to do this as well as mutual aid agreements with other communities to be called on when our need was greatest. All the training and planning was ready to go because of previous actions by the village. I support the fire department and the ambulance. Both services are owned and operated by a joint municipal public corporation that has seven members. It is jointly owned and run by the Village of Iola, Town of Iola, Village of Scandinavia, Town of Scandinavia, Town of New Hope, Town of Harrison and the Town of Helvetia. Town of New Hope is fire service only and the Village of Scandinavia and Town of Scandinavia are ambulance service only. I have been president of this public corporation for 27 years. Support, training and preparation are the keys to meeting all challenges.

PP: With a degree area in Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, this afforded me the backdrop to study and review current zoning and planning practices in our ordinances. Furthermore, to study and evaluate current procedures operating now in our village and how those impact us, as well as what should change based on Wisconsin Statute environmental practices and considerations. Also, my experience in the education field for more than 20 years, provided training on the best assessment practices and effective aspects to consider for healthy neighborhoods and educational opportunities for all age levels, including community services programs that are vital and sustainable if supported. Furthermore, spending time actively volunteering with local fund-raising organizations, contributing to our Iola Children’s Community Garden (15 years +); helping to provide nutritional support to elderly seniors with the help of local businesses during Covid restrictions of the county program, meals on wheels (transportation & volunteer issues), by arranging financial resources and recruitment of assistance with meals and drop offs. And actively devoted to participate, learn, and to utilize my skills to provide learning programs at our local library and encourage others to do the same.

Decision making track record: From 2024-2026, coordinated with other committees to update the village “Code of Ordinance.” The main purpose to maintain a posture of relevance to foster a healthy community, i.e. adopting good municipal governmental practices and policies that promote healthy public spaces which are appropriate for our district divisions to meet all levels of village need; identify the necessary zoning regulations to keep both our neighborhoods and community spaces vibrant and viable. Passed many resolutions that would be adopted within the village’s new ordinances, i.e. ATV/UTV, E-Bicycles, Music/ Entertainment Ordinance, Park Ordinance updates. Starting in 2022, promoted and contributed to having more citizenry information disseminated through the village quarterly utility newsletter, which still continues.

[community]Leadership qualities: A record of demonstrating the knowledge necessary to identify and resolve community issues, i.e. e-bike resolution to help our citizenry. Driven to seek out opportunities to educate and exchange information with citizens about government issues, i.e. informing and providing I-S students with tools and opportunity to participate and practice their knowledge of local government by practical application within the village. Actively recruiting citizens to volunteer to serve on local committees and retain such local experience, i.e. zoning and planning committee board. Effectively review current standards and procedures to identify current and future impacts to actions taken by the board having long term consequences to the health and vitality of the village, i.e. ordinance updates; resolutions passed that will change our landscape now an in the future.

MR: I served in the US Army for 11 years.  Eight of those years were in leadership roles where I was directly responsible for millions of dollars in equipment and in charge of anywhere between 8 and 40 people.  Decision making and responsibility came with the job.  As a civilian I worked in the finance industry for 27 years, both in Risk Management and Sales roles.  For many years I held a leadership position over teams of individuals charged with managing multimillion dollar loans. This required a balanced approach as we were tasked with daily, ongoing management, growing the relationship where possible and terminating accounts when necessary. I served as secretary and vice president of a multi-million dollar veterans charity in Illinois (Veterans Path to Hope formally known as TLS Veterans).  Finally, I was a head lacrosse coach for 6 years at McHenry High School.  My skills, experience and leadership qualities speak for themselves.

Would you like businesses to bring more or less entertainment to Iola?

EF: Entertainment can be a benefit. It brings people into the community while enriching the lives of those who live in the Village. However, there needs to be a respectful balance between businesses providing the entertainment and the community members who live there and the level of impact. Additionally, it is important to have ordinances enforced to strike a balance for those here for the entertainment and those who wish to live here in quiet.

DH: Entertainment is a very broad term that can cover activities from innocent to nefarious. But generally, I support activities that enhance life in Iola. Businesses make the assessment of what they will do as what they can do profitably. Each decision hinges on two sets of judgment and then merging them with the general wishes of all of the people of the Village of Iola.

PP: Even though much has been on display about music and bands and the volume presented in the village as of late, I want to go on record that we need more entertainment in our village and not less. Also, I would like to note that more various forms of amusement or entertainment would be a welcomed site because entertainment has the purpose of amusing the bystander and we definitely need this in all of our communities. I would like to suggest, additional entertainment forms such as an “outdoor amphitheatre”, or more “movies at the park”, or outdoor physical exercise challenge circuits within the parks or the village trails, and even the addition of a farmer market festival or weekly-themed village market; more downtown activities during our recent Iola Winter Carnival. Other possibilities could take place with the help of the Iola Chamber and various other local organizations.

MR: Yes, a great example is the car show.  The grounds sit empty for essentially 362 days a year.  It is a perfect place for large flea markets, farm shows and the like.  It is my understanding that there was a military show there at one time, I would be interested in learning more about that and seeing if there was a possibility of continuing that event, or something similar.

Recent village board discussions have included debates over police department operations (e.g., complaints from bar owners about enforcement, calls to close the department, and related community friction). What are your views on police department operations and practices?

EF: The Village Board is required to follow the same rules that we as citizens are. I am a supporter of the local police department. They know their community. Having a local police department allows for a rapid response time that wouldn’t be possible if policing were outsourced. We chose this community, in part, because it had a police department. I believe in a proactive rather than reactive approach to community safety. The department and officers are dedicated to our community and understand the needs which can be different and more difficult to address.

DH: I support the police department. All complaints are fully investigated. During past discussions it was demonstrated that our department delivered its services at the lowest cost in Waupaca County when compared to the spending by other municipalities.

PP: Like other municipalities, having police departments (PD), perceptions and views from others can create either a positive reflection or negative perspective. I have a positive reflection regarding the Iola PD. Why? Many years ago, before I moved to Iola, the Iola PD had experienced negative responses or perceptions and views that prompted its citizens to consider disbanding it. But this ultimately did not happen. And now, the Iola PD operations and practices are once more in question. This became apparently so in 2022 and the village board responded. In May of 2022, an open discussion invitation was given to all parties potentially involved-Iola PD, bar owners, businesses with outdoors spaces and others considering outdoor entertainment interests. Strictly acting as notation recorder, I learned that most businesses perception were based on the proximity of the Iola PD presence near their establishments and a perception of being “targeted.” In response, Iola PD explained their function and made a rebuttal to any perception of “targeting,” but would be looking for drunk drivers due to safety protocols. This discussion ended with a desire for “balance”. My conclusion is that we all want the same thing, a healthy and safe environment for businesses to thrive and for the Iola PD to support such measures by keeping the public safe while adhering to statutory requirements and best practices; with consideration of the customers who patronize these business establishments.

MR: I am pro-law enforcement. I do believe all departments and anyone collecting a paycheck from our village should be held to documented performance standards and expectations. As my engagement with the police department is extremely limited, I would need to form my own opinions based on experience and exposure to the officers who work for our village.

There have also been sewer rate increases and ordinances on vacant buildings, reflecting budget and maintenance pressures in a small village. What do you perceive as the most important budget and maintenance challenges for the village?

EF: My basic understanding is that sewer rate increases are driven by what the contractors charge. Also, routine maintenance and replacement parts have increased. Sewer lines are relined every couple years which is less costly than tearing up the roads and replacing sewer lines completely.

The ordinance on vacant buildings was set up to prompt property owners to improve their vacant homes/commercial buildings. Allowing them to remain vacant and dilapidated can attract nuisances. If we are wanting to grow the village, part of that is increasing commercial space available to lease and homes for people.

DH: Our budget depends on our tax base. Our tax base depends on keeping up our infrastructure. Keeping up our infrastructure both public and private are two of the factors making Iola a desirable place to live. Maintenance of all public assets by the Village of Iola government is assessed and scheduled by the Public Works Department. These assessments are put into our government and utility budgets.

PP: All municipalities start with a working budget and work diligently to project and provide a balanced budget. Part of budget dealings is factoring a percentage of the budget earmarked towards a contingency fund, aka unforeseeable events. However, this is only a small fractional amount of the budget. Therefore, all departments must be carefully allocated to the best of the financial budget projections. Then once developed and provided to the public for examination, the board votes to approve the budget measure. However, during each monthly regular board meeting, the budget status and projections are always presented to the public. Any budget related maintenance challenges occur usually within the general operational needs of our public works department. Our village public works encompasses all public properties, streets, sewer, and water. In fact, about two-thirds of any municipality, whether small or large, has the greatest amount of their budget directed towards public works. 

MR: No answer.

The village board voted unanimously to revoke the liquor license of the Thirsty Perch. If you are an incumbent, what led to your decision to vote the way you did? If you are a challenger, how would you have voted and why?

EF: If business owners aren’t following the law, the law will dictate. Just to clarify, the Village Board didn’t vote to revoke the license but voted not to renew. My understanding is that to hold a license and have it renewed, certain standards are required to be met. If requirements set by the State statutes and Village ordinances aren’t met, regardless of the Village’s view, they may be compelled not to renew based on certain actions. The Village Board must uphold laws.

DH: Board actions are all on public record. The Village board has been advised not to comment further while litigation continues. Courts have the final word.

PP: Notwithstanding, all businesses within the Village of Iola, are an intricate part to this community. The Thirsty Perch has been a place of business I personally have enjoyed with my own family- from enjoying their delicious chicken dinners; to my son being provided summer work opportunities.

As an incumbent, the collective decision that was made after discuss and serious deliberation in a closed session following the public hearing was not an easy decision. I knew, collectively the board knew, that livelihoods would be impacted by the decision to revoke the liquor license. However, this decision was made with a clear understanding after review of several key factors and even asking our legal team to offer an alternative option to lessen the severity of the actions the board might take. But the only recourse was to eventually revoke the liquor license after our alternative counter measure was rejected by the Thirsty Perch’s legal team.

MR: No, I would not have revoked the liquor license, my approach would have been more measured. I am not aware of any legal precedent where a bar owner who is charged with an OWI can either have their license revoked or be forced to step away from running their business. If there was such a requirement, I would have preferred to take steps limiting Mr. Steeber’s engagement in running the bar and would have recommended to the board to place the bar on a 1-year probationary period where any significant incident involving bar mismanagement would result in immediate loss of the liquor license. We are trying to bring more businesses and people into Iola and simply put, the actions taken against the Thirsty Perch did the opposite and personally I did not agree with the action taken. We put people out of work, eliminated a very popular restaurant and bar and limited the choice of establishments for residents to visit for what I believe were largely personal reasons.

What other issues and challenges are looming on the horizon, and what are your plans to deal with them?

EF: My concerns are the future of this community and its ability to support its residents. We have a school referendum upcoming which could negatively impact our children and our community through the loss of jobs, if not passed. The school is a base of a community; families move here for the school. We have a need for housing and commercial building space all which impact a community’s ability to grow. You can’t have one without the other. Residents won’t stay if there isn’t a healthy school, families can’t move in if there isn’t available housing, and without families, businesses will struggle. We are blessed enough to have a lot of services and amenities for such a small village. These are tough times and require that we pull together and look to investing in the future.

DH: Identifying and dealing with challenges as they arise is a community-wide effort. Dealing with each challenge as they occur prevents them from growing and becoming crises. Iola’s strength as I have experienced it as a long ago Jaycee, Krause employee, as a Lion, as a church member and a village trustee is the incredible depth of talent and volunteer spirit of the people of Iola. I would like to be counted among the many people who step forward to help. I ask each resident of the village for their vote with this in mind.

PP: Collectively as a village board, I would like us to continue to explore creative ways to open up more opportunity to help businesses within the village to thrive and grow by gaining more traction with residents supporting them and find ways the board can help by spotlighting what the businesses offer, i.e. their unique brand and benefit; including activities or events they have or want to offer to patrons. Also, the village welcomes and wants to support new businesses. For example, I tell as many people as I can about new businesses. For example, with the opening of the Iola Coffee Co., I have shared and invited 5 of my own personal friends to this business for lunch because they “love” coffee.

Within our subcommittees, board members along with local citizenry and businesses have started exploring better ways to utilize our outdoor spaces for meeting the needs of families, businesses, local clubs and organizations to expand the foot traffic in and around Iola.

As a village board trustee, I realize that public safety is a must, whether it comes in the form of police, fire or ambulance departments; even public works helps keep our roads maintained and cleared from snow. Public safety is essential to the fabric of our festivals and events, economic development, our park systems, our various businesses, and even our schools. But the board realizes that public safety always comes with a cost. These services are essential and the cost of them must be managed. Every budget cycle, the village must evaluate and review and try to balance its commitment to the principles of honoring why we have been elected because we also have to live with the decisions and choices of the policies that are made, along with their outcomes.

MR: While the new benches, signs and garbage cans are a nice start, the village needs to address the downtown area and vacant buildings.

Part 2 of the interviews will run tomorrow and cover issues pertaining to conservation and natural resources.