Rice Lake Mayor John Werner Dies After Battle With Cancer

RICE LAKE, Minn. — The city of Rice Lake’s mayor, John S. Werner, has died at the age of 72.

The announcement was made Monday morning on Werner’s mayoral Facebook page.

“The City of Rice Lake is very saddened to announce that the Honorable Mayor John S. Werner passed away Saturday evening after a long battle with cancer,” the statement read.

Werner was a lifelong resident of Rice Lake and served as mayor since 2015 when the town became a city.   Before that, he was the town board chair.

The funeral will be held on Wed., April 5 at 11 a.m. at St. John’s Church with a visitation April 4 from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. at Dougherty Funeral Home and at 9:30 a.m. prior to the funeral at St. John’s.

“In lieu of flowers and cards, the family is asking that donations be made to the Rice Lake Veteran’s Memorial Park. John was spearheading a project to build a Veteran’s Memorial Park in Rice Lake, set to be completed this fall. Checks should be made payable to Duluth Honor Guard, memo: Rice Lake Memorial Park, 5814 Grand Ave., Duluth, MN 55807.”