School district re-hires football coach, with sanction

The Clear Lake School Board, on a 3-1 vote, has extended Fred Wieck a one-year contract to continue as its high school head football coach.  Wieck will sit out the opening weekend of the football season in the wake of a public intoxication conviction.

The School Board went into closed session Monday night to discuss the longtime coach’s future with the program. They emerged after about one hour and took a vote on the contract offer.  Board President Deb Betz voted against the hiring, while Sandy Christ, Mark Tesar and Jill Wilhelm were in favor.  Board member Chad Kuhlers was not in attendance.

Wieck resigned his coaching position in March 2011 and retired from teaching at the conclusion of the 2012 school year.  He was seeking to continue as a “citizen coach” for the program which he has led since 1988. Under his direction the Lions have a record of 192-60 and have qualified for the State playoffs since 1998.  They were Class 3A State Champions in 2000.

Wieck’s seemingly rubber stamp approval to continue with the school district’s sports program became compromised after he was charged with public intoxication by the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Department on July 7.

According to Cerro Gordo County District Court records, Wieck, 55, was observed falling off the bike he was riding in the vicinity of Clark Street and Powers Avenue on the lake’s south shore.  He also - Read More Via e-Edition