Wagner announces plans to seek mayor position

Donnie Wagner, a lifelong resident of Manila, has announced his plan to run for the mayor’s position.

Wagner has served on the city council for 14 years. He is the brother of the late Manila Mayor Wayne Wagner who passed away in June.

“Mayor Wayne had a lot of plans and dreams for the city and I want to carry on and see those plans to completion,” Wagner said.

Wagner was raised on a family farm in Manila and was taught the importance of serving the community. He is a retired volunteer firefighter and is supportive of the fire department. After farming, he worked at the Manila School District for 13 years and Nucor for 15 years. He and his wife, Toshya Rice Wagner, have been married for 57 years and have two children, Amiee McLaughlin and Kent Wagner. They also have two grown grandchildren and one great-grandson.

“Manila is a good place to live and raise a family,” Wagner said. “I have never wanted to move.”

Family is important to him and he is pleased that his children and grandchildren chose to make their homes in Manila.

Wagner said he has seen a lot of improvements in the city during his 14 years on the council.

“Manila is growing and we have a good future,” he said. “We have new homes going up. We are fortunate to have some good businesses and industries here. There is always room for more improvements and we can’t stop. I would like to see more restaurants, businesses and industries located in Manila. We have a good school, fire department, employees, progress downtown and on the bypass, an airport, the water park and low crime.

“We have to keep moving forward. There is work to be done. We need to work on street improvements and we are working on a new water well project that should begin in the near future. We are working on a project to expand the fire station.”

Wagner said he is not going to make a lot of promises that he may not be able to keep but the one promise he will make is, “I want to always do what is right and what is best for all of the citizens of Manila.”