City of Nekoosa, Wood County, Wisconsin: Place Profile

No newspaper published in Nekoosa was confirmed from a source read this session; the Nekoosa Tribune named on Wikipedia is described there as long defunct.

No hospital in Nekoosa was confirmed from a source read this session.

The municipality is the City of Nekoosa, an incorporated city in Wood County, Wisconsin (Census place GEOID 5555875).

Nekoosa is in Wood County; the WI DOA estimates file lists it as 'City of Nekoosa, Wood County'.

The city covers 3.383 square miles of land and 0.02 square miles of water.

The city's Census internal point is near 44.313177, -89.907891.

Nekoosa sits on the Wisconsin River on State Highways 73 and 173.

The city says the Ho-Chunk and Chippewa named the place 'Nįįkuusra', meaning swift water, for five sets of rapids over three miles of river.

USGS GNIS lists Nekoosa (feature 1570148) and Nekoosa Junction (1577743) as populated places in Wood County.

The 2020 Census counted 2,449 residents in Nekoosa.

The Wisconsin DOA estimates Nekoosa's population at 2,406 as of January 1, 2025.

The Census Bureau's July 1, 2024 estimate for Nekoosa is 2,406.

The ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimate of Nekoosa's population is 2,439 (+/-300).

The ACS 2019-2023 median age in Nekoosa is 43 years (+/-5.3).

The ACS 2019-2023 median household income in Nekoosa is $43,026 (+/-$12,289).

The ACS 2019-2023 median value of owner-occupied homes in Nekoosa is $112,900 (+/-$5,795).

Nekoosa has a mayor and an eight-member common council, two alderpersons from each of four wards.

Daniel J. Carlson is Mayor.

The alderpersons are Alan Marcoux and Larry Krubsack (Ward 1), Michael Kumm and Adam Buehring (Ward 2), Anthony Carlson and Daniel Downing (Ward 3), and Brad Hamilton and Garett Kuhn (Ward 4).

Kallee Ferk is City Clerk, at 951 Market Street (715-886-7878).

Bobbi Hertzberg is Treasurer and Municipal Court Clerk, Rick Schmidt, P.E., is Director of Public Works, Shawn Woods is Police Chief, and Mike Hartje is Fire Chief.

The Common Council met on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at 951 Market Street, and that meeting approved the minutes of May 12, 2026, also a Tuesday.

Council committees include the Committee of the Whole, Personnel, Public Works, Property Recreation and Human Affairs, and Ways & Means.

City Hall is at 951 Market Street, Nekoosa, WI 54457, open weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (715-886-7878).

The official website is cityofnekoosa.org; agendas, minutes and packets post there through the HeyGov platform, with subscriptions for notices.

Nekoosa Municipal Court handles traffic and ordinance citations issued by Nekoosa police and generally sits on the second Tuesday of each month; Ashley Reimer is Municipal Court Judge.

Open Book runs September 28 to October 9, 2026, and the Board of Review meets October 20, 2026, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., at City Hall.

The city's planning documents include a Comprehensive Plan (December 11, 2012), a Strategic Plan (2018), a Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (2018), and a Safe Routes to School Plan (2020).

Public Works maintains 17 miles of streets, 23 miles of water mains, 18 miles of sanitary sewer and 15 miles of storm sewer, plus parks, the industrial park, Riverside Cemetery and the boat launch.

The whole city lies in the Nekoosa School District (NCES 5510380), a PK-12 district of 6 schools with 1,197 students in 2024-25, headquartered at 600 S Section St.

Public schools with Nekoosa addresses include Humke Elementary (500 S Section St), Alexander Middle (540 Birch St), Nekoosa High (500 Cedar St), Nekoosa Academy, Central Wisconsin STEM Academy, and WISE Academy.

Domtar's Nekoosa Mill is an integrated specialty paper mill with 168,000 short tons of annual paper production capacity, and it can generate all of its own electricity.

Domtar reported 410 employees at the Nekoosa Mill when the Heart of Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce named it 2023 Large Business of the Year.

Nekoosa Coated Products, a specialty print media maker whose lineage dates to a 1961 division of 3M focused on carbonless paper, is the city's other named manufacturer.

Wood County had 1,717 business establishments and 34,252 paid employees in 2023, with 5,677 in manufacturing.

Market Street is the heart of downtown; the city separately names a Piggly Wiggly grocery, a lumber store, banks and auto repair among local businesses.

Three FM signals are licensed to Nekoosa: WMMA-FM (93.9, Relevant Radio), WIRI (105.5, Civic Media) and translator W265CR (100.9).

The Charles & JoAnn Lester Library is at 100 Park Street, Nekoosa (715-886-7879).

The Nekoosa Fire Department serves the city plus the Town of Port Edwards, the Town of Saratoga and the Ho-Chunk Nation, about 60.5 square miles, with 30 firefighters and about 100 calls a year.

Ambulance coverage for the City of Nekoosa comes from the Wisconsin Rapids Fire Department.

The Nekoosa Police Department operates 24/7, with administrative hours in the Nekoosa Safety Center; after hours the Wood County Communications Center (715-421-8701) reaches the officer on duty.

The Nekoosa Community Center at 416 Crestview Lane rents space for events.

Nekoosa is a member of the South Wood County Airport Commission, joint owner of Alexander Field, which the City of Wisconsin Rapids manages.

City addresses use ZIP code 54457.

City parks include Riverside Park on the Wisconsin River (gazebo, shelters, playground, fishing pier) and Kautzer Plaza (ball diamonds, splash pad, skate park, courts, pavilion), plus the NELL and Lynn Creek trails.

ATV and UTV riders may use marked city streets, including the Wisconsin River bridge.

Nekoosa Flowage 5564 is a named reservoir in Wood County on the USGS Nekoosa map, with its GNIS point (44.3133, -89.8935) at the city's edge.

The Jim Freeman Memorial Boat Launch is the base for Walleye Days fishing tournaments.

The city lists Walleye Days (mid-March to mid-April), Midwest Fest (third Saturday in June), the Homecoming Parade (late September), Giant Pumpkin Fest (first weekend in October) and Hometown Christmas (first Saturday in December).

Historic Point Basse, a volunteer-run living history site at 364 Wakely Rd., Nekoosa, holds scheduled events and classes through the year.

Wakeley's Tavern (Nekoosa, Wood County) was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 27, 1974.

The 1963 Point Basse state historical marker says Daniel Whitney built the first sawmill on the Wisconsin River at Whitney's Rapids here in 1831 and that the settlement, first named Point Basse, was later renamed Nekoosa.

Domtar says the Nekoosa Mill has operated for more than 130 years, making newsprint first, then wrapping papers after World War I and fine papers after World War II.