Lakeland Times publisher Gregg Walker has filed an open records complaint against Vilas County zoning administrator David Sadenwasser, alleging that his response to a records request omitted emails the newspaper later obtained independently — communications that could prove pivotal in potential litigation.
An April 10, 2026 piece in The Lakeland Times covered the complaint. According to the story:
Walker said he made a verbal complaint to Vilas County Sheriff Gerard Ritter, alleging that the county’s response to a February open records request did not produce all responsive documents, including emails discussing and clarifying what had been an inaccurate portrayal of plans for a property subject to a rezoning request.
On Feb. 13, Times reporter Brian Jopek requested “any and all email/text communications” related to a parcel along U.S. Highway 51 near Snyder Road in Arbor Vitae.
Specifically, Jopek requested “any and all email/text communications between March, 2025 and February, 2026 from and to Vilas County zoning staff related to the matter involving Vilas County, the town of Arbor Vitae and R&N Real Estate Holdings and property R&N Real Holdings has or had on U.S. Highway 51 near the intersection of Snyder Road in Arbor Vitae that was the subject of a lawsuit filed by Vilas County against R&N Real Estate Holdings.”
The request emphasized that the law defines records broadly, including “data files and unprinted emails,” and that access must be granted “as soon as practicable and without delay.”
Sadenwasser subsequently provided a link to records delivered through a file-sharing platform known as LiquidFiles. However, according to Walker and Jopek, at least two emails — which were obtained from the Town of Arbor Vitae in a similar request — were not included in the materials downloaded from that link. That omission prompted Walker’s complaint.
“The public records law isn’t optional,” Walker said. “You don’t get to decide which emails make it and which don’t.”
Walker said the absence of the emails from the county’s response but not from the town’s responses is particu-larly significant given the dispute about whether county zoning officials fueled speculation about a gravel pit at the site.
The situation echoes past disputes over missing or inaccessible public records.
Years ago, the newspaper requested emails between then state Sen. Jim Holperin and a top DNR official. The DNR produced certain emails between the two that the senator did not include in his response because he had al-ready deleted them. However, Holperin’s action was legal because the state legislature had exempted itself from the open records retention law, meaning he could delete records at any time unless such records had already been requested under the open records law.
County officials are not exempt from the records retention law.
So far, the sheriff’s office has not commented on the complaint.
