KIEL, Wis. — Kids playing corn hole in the front yard is a typical summer scene in Kiel, Wis.
It’s one Tim Bink is glad to see after several weeks of bomb threats and controversy in the small Manitowoc County community.
“It’s been a little tense,” he said. “Just worried about whether or not any of these bomb threats are going to come to fruition and whether anything was really going to happen.”
The community faced a number of threats as the school district conducted an internal Title IX sexual harassment investigation.
It involved three middle school students who allegedly used a non-preferred pronoun when addressing another student.
The board ended that investigation Thursday, after issuing what it says are clear directives and expectations to prevent bullying and harassment to all students involved in the matter.
Bink said the past few weeks have been difficult for his children and the community.
“It’s been stressful for the kids; it’s the end of the year and they’re missing out on a lot of stuff again,” he said. “With COVID two years ago, they lost a lot and now this. They’re losing the end of their school year. It’s really affected them a lot.”
It’s also something Justin Horneck has heard a lot about at Goodfellas Barbershop.
“Everybody’s been coming in and talking about it,” he said. “It’s just kind of talk. Hopefully it stays that way and hopefully everything stays safe in town.”
But there’s also a palpable fatigue over the matter in Kiel.
“I’m kind of sick of it,” Horneck said with a laugh. “Kiel has been on the news enough lately. I’m just hoping the next time we are in the news it’s for something good.”
Bink is hoping for the same — along with a nice quiet summer.
“I think it’ll take some time,” he said about returning to normal. “The school board handled what they needed to handle, now it’s kind of a wait-and-see game now.”