Jan. 31, 2026
By TIM HUNDT
VIROQUA, Wis. — The Viroqua Common Council voted unanimously Jan. 28 to appoint five members to a newly reactivated Veterans Memorial Commission to manage policy decisions and maintenance for the city tribute to service members.
Mayor Justin Running recommended the slate of appointees to bring the city back into compliance with an agreement dating back to the acquisition of the park property in 2006. The council approved the appointment of Alderpersons Todd Spaeth and Todd Kirking to fill the two required council seats. The council also appointed veterans Dan “Boone” Stalsberg and Steve Thompson as well as Carson LeBelle who will serve as the member at large.
City Administrator Nate Torres explained that the need for the appointments arose after the Park and Recreation Committee realized decisions needed to be made regarding maintenance and policies for adding names to the memorial walls. He noted that the original agreement transferring the property to the city required a specific commission structure that had stopped meeting years ago.
“When I started (wording for the city) I was kind of given direction by Boone our former park and rec director that the commission sort of dissolved,” said Torres. “It doesn’t really exist anymore just follow the rules of how it is supposed to be and don’t worry about it.”
Torres explained that further review with the city attorney determined the appropriate path was to bring the body back to life to handle emerging issues.
“The Parks and Rec committee felt it was appropriate that as long as it is still congruent with the agreement that we had with the nonprofit group when we accepted the land that it would be good for that group to also state how should we organize,” said Torres. “Do we need to meet on a monthly or quarterly basis or we can just resolve to meet as needed.”
The issue originally came to light in late 2025 when the city received a request to add a name to the Civil War section of the memorial which is currently full. City staff discovered they lacked clear criteria for who is eligible to be listed on the wall and realized the body designated to make those decisions was inactive.
During the discussion on the appointments Alderperson Cyndy Hubbard (who is a veteran) expressed concern regarding the lack of female representation on the new commission.
“I really think we should have a woman on there,” said Hubbard.
Mayor Running acknowledged the concern but noted the slate had already been set.
“You forwarded that to me after I had already established who I was going to have on there and I apologize for that,” said Running. “I think Todd and Todd will represent it well.”
Hubbard also requested that the motion include a provision for staggered terms to ensure the entire board does not turn over at the same time in the future. The council agreed to allow the new commission members to determine how to split up the initial one two and three year terms during their first meeting to establish a rotation.
The new commission is expected to meet to establish bylaws and make recommendations to the council regarding ordinance changes to allow for less frequent meetings than the quarterly schedule currently required by the old agreement.
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