Wausau May Have New Sister City Designation

Tuesday, June 14th, 2022 -- 11:01 AM

(Mike Leischner, WSAU) Wausau Mayor Katie Rosenberg used part of her recent vacation to the middle east to network with city leaders in Israel, which she says may lead to a sister city relationship with an important city in the Christian faith, according to Mike Leischner of WSAU.

“We have some new connections too. I know the mayor and former Mayor of Bethlehem, so that’s kind of something we’re looking at, maybe building a relationship."

She says it's been a while since Wausau has entered into a sister city relationship, so right now she's in the information-gathering process on how to start those talks. “I have some stuff set up. I don’t really know what goes into this. It’s been a while since, I think, Wausau has done a sister city vibe.”

She says at one time the city did have a sister-city relationship with a Chinese city, but it's not a relationship that's been cultivated much in the last few years. “I know we have a sister city relationship with a city in China. I don’t know when it started, but there’s really a neat kind of light they gave us. It’s glass and beautiful.”

Bethlehem is the city that Christians believe Jesus Christ was born in as his parents, Joseph and the Virgin Mary, were traveling to be counted as part of a census.

Should Wausau and Bethlehem enter into a sister city arrangement, it would be the first between an Israeli and Wisconsin city, according to the latest available data from Sister Cities International.

They list 11 Wisconsin cities with international ties including Stevens Point, Milwaukee, Racine, and Marshfield. That same listing also shows Bethlehem does not currently have a sister city relationship with any US cities.

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