Utilities and Services
Electric Power Supplier
Medford Electric Utility/715-748-3211 is a city-owned utility serving the City of Medford. Peak system demand in 1996 was 20,836 kW. Total installed system substation capacity is 49,000 kW. Taylor Electric Co-operative/715-678-2411 serves the rural areas in portions of Taylor, Marathon, Clark and Lincoln Counties with single or three-phase power supply.
Gas Utility Supplier
WE Energies Company/1-800-242-4035 – City of Medford
Lakes Gas 542 S. Main St Medford WI 54451 715-748-4444
Propane available in rural.
Telephone
TDS TELECOM/ Telephone Company/715-748-3500 provides telephone service to the Taylor County exchanges of Medford and Stetsonville and to the Clark County exchange of Dorchester. With 104 companies in 28 states, TDS TELECOM is the tenth largest non-Bell telephone company.
With the latest in digital central office technology, TDS offers custom calling and CLASS services (call forwarding, call waiting, caller ID, etc.). Centrex, ISDN, cellular and paging service, voice mail service and local Internet access.
TDS sells or leases a variety of telephones, including cordless, and offers high quality key and PABX systems, voice paging systems, automated attendant/voice messaging equipment, and FAX machines.
Internet
db Wireless, Inc. Robert Henry P.O. Box 563 Medford WI 54451 715-748-6900. db is a wireless internet service provider based in Central Wisconsin and supports and promotes products manufactured by industry leading companies.
TDS NET offers flat-rated active direct-to-the-Internet access. TDS NET provides free Internet software for customers with operating systems such as Windows 95, 98 and NT 4.0 and Mac system 8.0 or greater. TDS NET offers 28.8 modem capacity, V.90 (56K)technology and other evolving technologies such as ISDN and DSL. TDS NET can be contacted by calling 1-888-4TDSNET.
Charter Communications offers a high speed internet connection through their cable modems. The service is offered in bronze, silver and gold packages depending on the speed of service necessary. You may access your account through their company website, you may see a listing of other services provided and even contact a customer service representative. For more information on the services that Charter Communications has to offer you may call 1-800-581-0081.
Radio
K99 WKEB/WIGM Radio is the most localized daily medium available. Through state-of-the-art processing and transmission equipment, WKEB broadcasts classic oldies with today’s favorite adult hits. 25,000 watts of power with a tower located near Wisconsin’s highest point delivers WKEB’s signal to a 9 county area of Central Wisconsin, 24 hours a day. On the dial…WIGM AM News/Talk is located at 1490, WKEB FM at 99.3. WIGM/WKEB designs their music, news, weather, sports, promotions, special programs, etc., to meet the specific needs of our listeners and is a reflection of the unique characteristics, personality, and lifestyle of Central Wisconsin. WIGM/WKEB Radio, serving this community for almost 60 years.
Newspapers
The Star News, published every Thursday, is the only newspaper published in Taylor County. The Electronic Star News on the World Wide Web provides around-the-clock information about Medford and the Taylor County area.
Foto News, published weekly is based in Merrill. The newspaper covers Merrill, Medford, Tomahawk and Lincoln County government as well as providing northern Wisconsin regional news and entertainment on the Internet. Daily newspapers from Wausau, Marshfield, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Milwaukee are also circulated in the area.
Realtors
Century 21 Dairyland Realty North: Dan Olson, 575 W. Broadway, Medford, WI 54451 715-748-5700
Dixon Greiner Realty : Luke Dixon 921 S 8th St, Medford, WI 54451 715-748-2258
Re/Max New Horizons Realty: Dave Brandner & Wesley Delasky , 1126A S. 8th St Medford WI 54451
Phone 715-748-6868 Fax: 715-748-6889 Cell: 715-965-2360
Television
Excellent television reception is received from stations in Wausau, Eau Claire, and Rhinelander serving CBS, ABC, and NBC networks: Wausau with Channel 7 and Channel 9, the Educational Channel PBS, Eau Claire Channel 13, and Rhinelander Channel 12. Charter Communications also provides cable TV access.
Water Utility
Water is supplied to Medford by the Medford Water Department. The water source is four wells, averaging eighty feet in depth. Present pumping capacity is 1,075,000 gallons per day. Average daily usage is 750,000 gallons. Maximum daily usage is 900, 000 gallons. Storage capacity is 470,000 gallons, consisting of one overhead tank. Ample pressure is available for sprinkler systems. Treatment consists of chlorination of only two of the four wells. The water supply can be increased at any time. One additional test well was dug in 1996 for future construction. A well was put in operation in 1994 with additional capacity of 350 gallons per minute. The city of Medford is continually seeking new sources of water. A new well was recently added in 2003 by the Medford Fire Hall to increase the water capacity for the City of Medford. This well is located near the New Fire Hall.
Sanitary Sewer Service
A wastewater treatment plant is owned and operated by the city of Medford, and utilizes the extended mode activated sludge process.
Other processes used for treatment include:
1. primary treatment
2. activated sludge as mentioned prior
3. tertiary filtration
4. disinfections
5. aerobic digestion and mechanical sludge handling
The treated effluent is discharged into the Black River, with sludge being agriculturally applied. The plant is designed to treat 1.5 million gallons per day. The present loadings are about 70 percent of this design. Remodeling of the facility was completed in the summer of 1990. This ended a seven year construction phase to bring the plant up to the more stringent effluent limits set forth by the DNR (including nitrification and lower biological oxygen demand, and suspended solids limits).
The current rate for household treatment is a fixed charge of $6.70 a month, plus a volume charge of $5.58 per 1,000 gallons of water used. The City also has usage rates for industrial users, along with the ability to treat domestic holding tank and septic tank waste from outside the collection system service area at specified rates.
Medford Area Fire Department
From its start in 1885, Medford’s Fire Department has expanded to a force of 26 full time volunteers with 3 reserves. It is equipped with three pump-engine trucks, two tankers, one ladder truck, and a fire-rescue van furnished with the “jaws of life.” They have also recently purchased a thermal-imaging camera. The Department is currently ranked “Class 5″ protection.