MARSHFIELD – Clint McKee has been appointed as the new president of the Wausau Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), succeeding Jacob Lonsdale, who had served since 2016.
The appointment marks a rare occurrence in which two consecutive stake presidents have come from the same congregation — both from Marshfield.
McKee was raised in a large family on a dairy farm in Utah and was active in the church from a young age.
He earned his medical degree from the University of Utah School of Medicine and completed his residency at Michigan State University-Grand Rapids Medical Center.
He currently practices emergency medicine in Marshfield, where he also serves as medical director.
Over the years, McKee has held several church positions, known as “callings” within the faith.
His service has included working with the youth programs, teaching Sunday lessons, organizing midweek activities, and coordinating camping trips.
He has also overseen Sunday School programs and participated in missionary work.
For approximately nine years, McKee served as a counselor to a bishop, assisting in leadership responsibilities at the local level.
McKee was sustained as stake president through a unanimous sustaining vote of church members.
“Everybody that’s a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has an opportunity to serve in various positions in the church. They are not permanent positions. The stake president and his counselors are responsible for extending the call to serve as bishop to various congregations, and the bishop and his counselors identify and fill other positions at the ward level. We seek to find the person that the Lord would have served in that position at that time. We seek inspiration through prayer, and when a person is identified, the calling is extended to them. It is all volunteer work,” McKee said.
A stake in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints functions similarly to a diocese in the Roman Catholic Church, comprising several congregations known as wards or branches.
The Wausau Stake includes approximately 3,500 members across eight congregations in central and northern Wisconsin: Adams-Friendship Ward, Antigo Branch, Gresham Ward, Marshfield Ward, Rhinelander Ward, Stevens Point Ward, Wausau Ward and Wisconsin Rapids Ward.
The leadership transition was directed by Elder Karl D. Hirst and Elder Rodney Ames, both General Authority Seventies from Salt Lake City, who were assigned to select new leadership for the Wausau Stake.
McKee has called David Kaufman Jr. and Frank Bennett to serve as his counselors.
Kaufman previously served on the Stake High Council, which assists in overseeing programs and ministries within the stake, while Bennett serves as bishop of the Wausau Ward.
McKee continues to work full-time in emergency medicine while fulfilling his church leadership responsibilities.
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