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WOODRUFF - The Northwoods treats people with some great sights of nature.
This week, Kylee and Alison Dorner, found a unique one when they visited their grandparents in Woodruff.
"Our house we don't have woods, but when we're around here, the whole house is surrounded by woods," said Kylee.
The 11 and eight-year-old sisters come up from Green Bay regularly.
THREE LAKES - A three-day rummage sale outside the building hopes to raise enough money to repair the seven-decade-old church's roof.
"When spring rolled around, there was some leakage and they knew that it was getting bad. I don't know how old the roof is, it's just ripply and leaking, and so we have to do something about it. They put it off as long as they could," said Grace Lutheran Church Parishioner Julie Brunette.
Repairing the leaking roof could cost the church almost $20,000 there aren't a lot of new additions to the congregation.
RHINELANDER - People looking for a bite to eat in Rhinelander can get excited for some new options.
Right downtown two restaurants opened up on Brown Street.
CT's Deli has been open for just over a week. Former Holiday Acres head chef Tom Jordens runs the kitchen.
CT's Deli specializes in Italian meats and offers a chance to enjoy the food, both inside in a friendly environment and outside.
DETROIT - General Motors is recalling nearly 780,000 crossover SUVs mainly in North America because the rear power lift gates can suddenly fall and hit people.
The recall covers the Buick Enclave from the 2008 to 2012 model years and the Chevrolet Traverse from 2009 to 2012.
Also affected are the GMC Acadia from 2007 to 2012 and Saturn Outlook from 2007 to 2010.
RHINELANDER - Just one bar serves the entire Country Fest grounds. But The Pavilion serves more than just good times.
"The Pavilion is the bar to come to at Hodag," said Pavilion Supervisor Brett Aylesworth. "We make mixed drinks, we serve beer, and we have live entertainment every night."
The Pavilion gives people a place to hang out even after the main stage performances end.
MADISON - A group of Democrats is asking a federal court to throw out Wisconsin's legislative district maps drawn by Republicans in 2011.
The 12 plaintiffs say the redistricting map is unconstitutional because it was drawn to the advantage of one party. The lawsuit names the state Government Accountability Board, which runs elections, as the defendant.
States must redraw legislative and congressional districts every 10 years following the census to account for population shifts. Back in 2011, when Wisconsin Republicans redrew district lines, the state spent more than $2 million defending them after Democrats sued.
CONOVER - Investigators still don't know why a 17-year-old took off his clothes and walked into the woods near Conover on Wednesday night.
On Thursday morning, fishermen found Edward Niedzialkowski dead in nearby Deer Lake of a likely drowning.
The Vilas County Sheriff's Office has no evidence that Niedzialkowski suffered from a mental illness. The 17-year-old was from Cascade, Wisconsin, in Sheboygan County.
A friend told deputies about Niedzialkowski's puzzling behavior last night. Deputies spoke with the friend after Niedzialkowski had been reported missing at about 7 p.m. Wednesday night.
RHINELANDER - Local firefighters spend three days in July raising funds with their boots to help area kids with Muscular Dystrophy. The Fill The Boot campaign had more than a dozen Rhinelander firefighters at the intersection of County Road W and Stevens Street Thursday.
The three day event is organized by the Muscular Dystrophy Association or MDA.
"A lot of time the guys are in full bunker gear out here, hefting those boots, it's hot, sometimes it rains, but they're out here because of kids like Robbie," said Carrie Ivey.
RHINELANDER - The Hodag Country Festival kicked off Thursday.
Plenty of people were happy to hear the music, but they also loved having fun while they camped.
"If you don't have fun at Hodag, you're doing something wrong, because it's just great to be around friends," said New Franken resident Brenda Burkart. "All we do is laugh."
RHINELANDER - A car crash shut down one lane of traffic outside of Rhinelander Thursday afternoon.
The accident happened just before 1 p.m. Two cars crashed on Highway 8 near the intersection of North Rifle Road.
The Crescent Fire Department, Oneida County Sheriff's Department, and the Wisconsin State Patrol helped out. Traffic resumed to normal by 1:30 p.m.
LANGLADE COUNTY - A tiny snail could cause a big problem for wildlife in the Northwoods.
The DNR discovered faucet snails in Elton Creek near the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in Langlade County earlier this week.
A parasite on the snail can kill waterfowl when they eat it. Oneida County Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator Michele Sadauskas says it's too early to know how big the snail's impact on waterfowl will be, but as faucet snails spread, the risk grows.
LAC DU FLAMBEAU - The Lac du Flambeau Public School tries to stretch the use of its equipment for as long as possible because the school district hasn't had enough money to replace certain items.
The old bleachers at the school's gym won't last much longer before they become unusable.
"You can only fix them so many times before you have to get something new," says Superintendent Dr. Larry Ouimette.
MADISON - The state Assembly has passed a bill banning non-emergency abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
The Republican-controlled chamber approved the bill 61-34 Thursday. The Senate passed the measure in June.
The bill now goes to Gov. Scott Walker, who has said he will sign it into law.
EAGLE RIVER - Hundreds of people will ditch their pajamas and lace up their sneakers this weekend, when The second annual Moonlight Run starts up in Eagle River on Saturday, July 11.
There will be a 1K at 9 p.m. for kids under 10 years old. The 5K run and walk will start at 10 p.m. The route starts at the railroad depot in downtown Eagle River.
Downtown businesses will stay open late for a Moonlight Madness Sidewalk Sale.
RHINELANDER - Keeping tens of thousands of people safe at Country Fest doesn't just happen. It takes a huge effort.
The Oneida County Sheriff's office will provide several officers to be on duty at Hodag Country Fest.
These officers work to keep the peace by walking the grounds. It takes a lot of planning to cover the many acres of grounds.
"We have a command post that is basically a mini sheriff's office," Oneida County Sheriff's Office Captain Lloyd Gauthier said.
RHINELANDER - A Rhinelander man will spend the next year-and-a-half in prison for making meth in his downtown apartment.
Michael Steinmetz faced five felony counts. The court dismissed three of them.
Police arrested the 41-year-old and four others in March. Investigators searched his Brown Street apartment and found evidence Steinmetz was making meth in plastic bottles. Steinmetz admitted he made the drug.
MADISON - The state Assembly has approved a resolution re-affirming open government in Wisconsin.
Republicans slipped language into the state budget last week that would have shielded nearly everything government officials create from the open records law. The Republicans backtracked and removed the language Tuesday.
Minority Democrats introduced a resolution on the Assembly floor Thursday calling for the chamber's organizational committee to meet immediately and pass a resolution affirming the Assembly's commitment to the open records law and preserving it unchanged.
MADISON - The Wisconsin state budget now goes to Governor Scott Walker's desk for final consideration.
The state Assembly passed the $73 billion two-year spending plan early this morning.
Eleven Assembly Republicans joined with 35 Democrats in voting against the budget.
MADISON - The state Assembly will likely consider a bill that would ban non-emergency abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Floor debate is expected to begin Tuesday.
The Senate passed the bill in June.
MADISON - The Wisconsin state Capitol is open after a bomb threat led to a 90-minute evacuation of the building and grounds.
The evacuation occurred shortly before 4 p.m. Wednesday as lawmakers in the state Assembly were in the middle of budget debate. Police cleared both the building and grounds around the Capitol square where hundreds of people were gathering for an outdoor concert.
FLORENCE COUNTY - No homes, docks, or boathouses line the Pine, Popple, or Pike Rivers in northern Wisconsin.
For the last 50 years, the rivers have been protected by the state as Wild Rivers.
"The Wild Rivers were designated by the Legislature back in 1965," said Florence County Economic Development Director Wendy Gehlhoff. "What they did is set aside certain rivers to remain in an undeveloped state."
ONEIDA COUNTY - The Veterans Administration spent a lot of money on veterans in one Northwoods county in 2014. It gave veterans in Oneida County more than $31 million in benefits.
Almost $13 million of that money was paid directly to the veterans. The rest went towards services for them.
"It includes education benefits, home loans, pensions, disability, health care, property tax credit, all kinds of things," says Tammy Walters, Oneida County's veterans service officer. "It's a bunch of different numbers all added for the final number."
TOMAHAWK - Loons usually nest in isolated places, not on a raft.
But when a family north of Tomahawk noticed a loon nested on their raft, they knew they had to act fast.
Homeowner Terri Lundgren's initial reaction was panic. "I'm really into birds, and particularly loons, and I knew that it was not going to survive being on this raft as it was teetering around with all of the waves," says Lundgren.
VILAS COUNTY - We learned today a teenager died in a fiery one-car crash over the weekend. The Vilas County Sheriff's Office says 16- year-old Jacob Sieg was driving between Eagle River and Phelps on Highway 17 early Sunday morning.
Investigators think Sieg's car went off the road, flew through the air and hit a tree. The car landed on its side and caught fire. Crews put the fire out, but found Sieg dead inside.
The fire burned the car so badly crews couldn't tell if Sieg had a seat belt on.
WAUSAU - A pair of men in Wausau will likely face charges after a shooting in Wausau Wednesday morning. Police say 35-year-old Brian Fisher and 30-year-old Morgan Sykes are sitting in jail.
The pop of gunshots echoed outside a of the Clubhouse Bar on South Third Avenue before closing time around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday morning.
"A verbal argument started inside the bar, spilled out the backdoor," Wausau Police Department Detective Captain Greg Hagenbucher said. "One suspect displayed a firearm, the other suspect pulled a firearm and they began to shoot at each other"
RHINELANDER - A recent poll ranks Wisconsin as a top state in the nation to hit the links.
Golf.com ranked all 50 states on their levels of "golfiness", which includes things like the avidness of its golfers and the quantity and quality of its courses.
Wisconsin, despite its cold winters and short playing season, ranked 12th on the list.
Golfers in the Northwoods love the challenges the terrain provides.
Rescue crews found the body of a fisherman who fell overboard in a Vilas County lake late Tuesday afternoon.
The Vilas County Sheriff's Office says 62-year-old Charles Armitage of Mount Dora, FL was found dead at 8:46 Wednesday morning in White Sand Lake. The lake is about a mile southeast of Boulder Junction in the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest.
Deputies say Armitage was visiting the Northwoods to fish with his brother. The men were on White Sand Lake in a boat--but not wearing life jackets--when Armitage fell overboard. His brother circled the boat, tried to pull him in, but could not.
WAUSAU - Wausau police want to find two men they think started a shootout in a bar parking lot early Wednesday morning.
Police are looking for 35-year-old Brian Fisher and and 36-year-old Morgan Sykes.
The shootout happened at 1:30 a.m. outside the Clubhouse Bar on South Third Avenue in Wausau. Witnesses told police the men argued outside of the bar. Sykes and Fisher then allegedly pulled out guns and began shooting at each other.
TOMAHAWK - A husband and wife in Tomahawk search far and wide to give shoppers a truly unique selection.
For three decades, Jim Wise and Pam Theiler Wise's Tomahawk Surplus Store has given shoppers more than they expected.
"We kind of fit a niche that you're not finding in most of the towns in Wisconsin," said Jim Wise.
MADISON - The Wisconsin Assembly will take up the state budget Wednesday.
The Senate approved the 73-billion-dollar plan budget late Tuesday night.
The Senate added a plan to repeal the prevailing wage law for local government projects.
