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PHELPS - One person died after their car caught on fire in Phelps early Sunday morning.
The Vilas County Sheriff's Office got a call around 1:00 in the morning Sunday of a car in a ditch that was on fire. The accident was on Highway 17 in Phelps.
Police think the car left the road, went into the air and then hit a tree. The car stopped on its side and then caught on fire.
RHINELANDER - Fourth of July and fireworks go hand in hand.
It's been a while since Independence Day fell on a Saturday.
This made for a busy weekend for firework stands.
EAGLE RIVER - A fire in Eagle River severely damaged a garage on McKinley Boulevard early Sunday morning.
The Eagle River Fire Department said the fire started in the garage just after midnight Sunday morning.
15 firemen were on the scene for about two hours. Three children and two adults were in the house when the fire started.
MADISON - A Wisconsin prison guard has served a one-day suspension for a joke on Facebook about President Barack Obama and lynching.
The Wisconsin State Journal reports (http://bit.ly/1H0kn2U ) that Collin Visser posted in December a photo of Christmas tree ornaments depicting Obama and the text: "Look guys. Obama Christmas ornaments. Suddenly it's legal to hang a black man from a tree again!"
Visser has worked at the Dodge County Correctional Institution in Waupun since April 2014. The newspaper obtained documents revealing his punishment months after requesting them under the state's open records law.
RHINELANDER - Many people came up to the Northwoods to celebrate the holiday Saturday. The marked the occasion with cookouts, boating and other activities. In Rhinelander, the day started off with the traditional Fourth of July parade.
The event kicked off at 11:00 Saturday morning with hundreds of people lining the streets. The theme for this year's parade was "America: Home Sweet Home."
Kids shared their favorite parts of this Northwoods tradition.
MADISON - Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says he and GOP legislative leaders have agreed to completely remove a part of the proposed state budget that would severely roll back the state's open records laws.
Walker announced the decision in a joint statement Saturday with Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, and the co-chairs of the joint budget committee.
The statement says the records proposal "will be removed from the budget in its entirety." They say the plan "was never intended to inhibit transparent government in any way."
BOULDER JUNCTION - Approximately 15,000 people came out to support the Boulder Junction Volunteer Fire Department Saturday as it held its 25th annual chicken barbecue fundraiser.
All the money raised during the barbecue will help the department pay for equipment upgrades and training.
"I mean, it's a great time. The public always supports us greatly, which were appreciative of," said Fire Protection Officer Eric A. Johnson. "It's fun to see the smiling faces. Everybody has a good time."
BOULDER JUNCTION - Parades and marching bands go hand in hand, but Boulder Junction has gone without a band in their Fourth of July parade for more than 20 years. One marching band, though, is changing that tradition.
North Lakeland School Band Director Chris Wills organized a marching band full of students and community members for this year's parade.
"We decided it would be a community and school event to sort of connect the two," said Wills.
WAUSAU - A crash in Wausau left one man injured after a van collided with his motorcycle Friday night.
The Wausau Police Department got a call about a southbound crash around 9:00 p.m. on Grand Avenue near Ruder Street.
A motorcycle was in the left lane and a van in the right. The 48-year-old Schofield woman driving the van said she didn't see the motorcycle in her blind spot. She hit the 43-year-old Schofield man driving the motorcycle, who flew off the motorcycle and landed on the sidewalk.
MIAMI BEACH, FLA - Green Bay Packers tight end Andrew Quarless has been arrested for allegedly firing two shots into the air during an argument outside a Miami Beach parking garage.
A witness told Miami Beach police that Quarless and three others pulled up to a car full of women early Saturday. An arrest affidavit says the football player and another man approached the car. The conversation eventually escalated and the witness told authorities he heard the women yelling for Quarless and his friend to leave them alone.
That's when authorities say Quarless pulled out a handgun and fired two shots in the air.
WAUSAU - A crash in Wausau left one man injured after his motorcycle collided with a van Friday night.
The Wausau Police Department got a call about a southbound crash around 9:00pm on Grand Avenue near Ruder Street.
A motorcycle was in the left lane and a van in the right. The 48-year-old Schofield woman driving the van said she didn't see the motorcycle in her blind spot. She hit the 43-year-old Schofield man on the motorcycle, who landed on the sidewalk.
MADISON/TOMAHAWK - It may come as a surprise, but fishermen, hunters, or hikers can't legally cross most railroad tracks in Wisconsin.
That's even if the rail line splits their own property. Walking across tracks is only allowed on the thousands of crossings specifically approved by the state.
Some legislative Republicans think that doesn't make sense. They added a proposal to the state budget on Thursday to allow people to cross tracks on foot. Making a crossing would no longer be considered trespassing, and railroad companies would have no power to prevent it.
PARK FALLS - Kelly Meredith's paint-splattered uniform and face tell us what she does. But the Butternut muralist prefers to think of her job as a historian.
"Those stories need to go out to the rest of us," Meredith said.
Brush stroke by brush stroke, Meredith went to work this spring, painting the uniforms and faces of Northwoods World War II veterans and bringing their stories back to life.
WISCONSIN RAPIDS - A cracked lime kiln has caused a fire that damaged the Verso paper mill in Wisconsin Rapids.
Verso spokesman Phil Hartley says a crack developed in the shell of the lime kiln about 7 a.m. Friday and some lubrication caught fire. He says the damage was limited to some machinery and the paper-making process was not halted.
MADISON - State lawmakers will get to keep many records secret under a proposal voted into the state budget Thursday night by Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee.
The rule gives legislators the power not to release any of their communication with staffers or other legislators.
That information is for things like research, discussions and amendments to legislative proposals.
NORTHWOODS - Many people travel to the Northwoods for the fourth of July.
That means there can be a lot of extra traffic.
Wisconsin State Patrol makes sure it's ready for the holiday.
NORTHWOODS - As people start getting ready for the 4th of July, many will camp here in the Northwoods.
The DNR expects almost 3,000 people to camp in the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest this weekend.
The DNR thinks this will be their best 4th of July yet, with almost all of the campgrounds full.
People say there's nothing better than camping in the Northwoods.
ANTIGO - Low temperatures this time of year can cause problems for some farmers. One Northwoods strawberry farm had to close down for a few hours earlier this week because the berries aren't ripening as fast as normal.
"The cold days this week made the berries ripen much slower than normal," says Andy Merry, owner of Merry's Berries.
It's not ideal to close down this time of year. That's because business typically booms for Merry's Berries around the 4th of July. However, this year, the farm had to close down early some days.
MINOCQUA - You can find tourists all over the Northwoods already for the holiday weekend.
That means area police departments are busy making sure everyone stays safe.
The Minocqua Police Department has all of their officers working extended hours on July 4th, but the police chief says they worry more about safety than law enforcement.
MADISON - Wisconsin could force drunk drivers to pay in more money to support SafeRide Home programs in the state.
Earlier this week, we told you the state was planning to kick in less money to support county SafeRide Home programs. The program offers free taxi rides home from bars.
A proposal passed by a Capitol committee on Thursday night could help SafeRide Home.
RHINELANDER - A plea deal may be close for one of the suspects in an Oneida County murder.
33 year old Latoya Wolf faces a charge of being a party to a murder in Rhinelander. The murder happened in 2003.
The Tomahawk woman is the niece of Kenneth Wells, the man who was killed. Police found Wells dead in the Wisconsin River in 2003.
MINOCQUA - The Wisconsin DNR kicked off its 7th annual 4th of July Landing Blitz. This is to help out at the boat landings in the Northwoods that will see lots of activity this 4th of July weekend.
The DNR teams up with Clean Boats Clean Waters volunteers from different counties. They monitor boat landings and boats entering and leaving the water.
The goal is to protect the lakes from invasive species and to keep people informed.
PHELPS - NASCAR will return to Newswatch 12 on Sunday night.
They will race under the lights at Daytona for the Coke Zero 400.
There will also be plenty of local racers competing on Saturday under the lights at Eagle River Speedway.
MERRILL - A Merrill woman admitted Thursday morning that she shot her boyfriend in the leg Wednesday night. Fifty-nine-year-old Debra Engel is charged with two felonies for that shooting.
According to court documents, Engel called the police and told them she shot her boyfriend. When police got to the house and arrested her, she admitted to the shooting again.
Engel's boyfriend told police that he and Engel got into an argument Wednesday evening, during which she hit him in the back of the head. The boyfriend said he then left the house, but when he returned, Engel had a rifle.
MADISON - Republicans who control the Legislature are looking to call an extraordinary session to deal with the state budget and bills that would repeal the state's prevailing wage for construction workers and prohibit abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Also on the agenda is a new contract for state troopers that would give them a 6 percent raise, a new two-year compensation plan for state employees that includes no general wage increases and a bill that would fund a new Milwaukee Bucks arena.
The session could begin as early as Friday.
MADISON - Nearly all records created by state and local elected officials would not be subject to the Wisconsin open records law under a sweeping surprise change Republicans have approved as an amendment to the state budget.
The changes were part of a 24-page final motion to the budget passed by the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee on Thursday.
Numerous new exemptions would be extended to the 132 members of the Legislature, their staff, support agencies, and all other state and local government officials, including Gov. Scott Walker.
MADISON - An expansion of who can play sports and participate in extracurricular activities in public schools in Wisconsin is being scaled back.
The Legislature's budget committee previously voted to allow home-schooled students, and those attending private, virtual or charter schools, to participate.
But on Thursday the committee scaled that back by limiting participation only to students in home schools.
MADISON - Republicans on the state's budget committee approved a number of measures in the final stages of the budget process Thursday, including removing the Milwaukee Bucks Arena and prevailing wage proposals, while passing sections impacting taxes and borrowing for transportation.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) told reporters Wednesday that the Wisconsin State Assembly planned on voting on a new two-year budget sometime next week. But first, the state's budget committee actually needed to meet.
They met Thursday for the first time since May.
RHINELANDER - People can see something odd while traveling through a certain intersection in Rhinelander. A Wisconsin Public Service truck is holding up a power pole at the intersection of Phillips and Thayer Street. A few days ago, a driver hit the power pole, but the collision wasn't hard enough to actually knock the pole down.
"A situation like this is a common occurrence for the most part in the utility industry," said WPS Community Relations Leader Leah Van Zile. "It happens to be in a visible area, so people are noticing it, which is great."
The power pole is cracked and bent, but the collision didn't damage the wires overhead. WPS electrical repairs are done on a schedule, based on how severe the damage actually is.
RHINELANDER - White crosses on the lawn of a Northwoods church represent just how strongly some people oppose abortion. The hundreds of crosses now dot the space in front of the Nativity of Our Lord Parish, St. Joseph's church location in Rhinelander.
Three hundred 40-inch crosses represent the 3,000 daily abortions in the United States. Those numbers are from the Guttmacher Institute.
Volunteers from the parish and from the Knights of Columbus arranged the crosses on Thursday.
