Town that banned snowball throwing has second thoughts

The law in the Wisconsin city of Wausau, written in 1962, could not be clearer: “No person shall throw or shoot any object, arrow, stone, snowball or other missile or projectile, by hand or by any other means, at any other person.” Snowball?

Officials in Wausau, a community of 38,000, have grown tired of the periodic mockery inspired by their ordinance, and the suggestion that their city frowns on fun. Barstool Sports, a provocative sports media outlet, has called Wausau the“worst town in America.” Social media commenters have derided the thought that throwing a friendly snowball could land you in jail.

So Wausau’s elected officials decided to vote at their next City Council meeting on whether to rescind language making snowball fights potential crimes. The issue was discussed “ad nauseam” at a recent meeting, said Linda Lawrence, a City Council member who predicted the Council would drop snowball language from the ordinance in January. She said she brought a fresh snowball to the meeting and threw it across the room, where it landed on the police chief ’s laptop.

Peculiar and often forgotten state and municipal laws exist all over the country, Wausau officials say in their defense. As snowballs whizzed behind him, Mayor Robert Mielke said a “media source had mentioned that Wausau is not a fun city. That can’t be true.” Barnes recounted the facts: The ordinance was put in place for the safety of the community and Wausau police have issued citations for throwing snowballs only twice in the last 15 years. In both incidents, the snowballs were aimed at passing cars.