Local Wausau News

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) -- President Barack Obama is cheering for his niece at the NCAA tournament game between Princeton University and the University of Wisconsin -- Green Bay.

NEW YORK (AP) -- New York City's fire commissioner says a malfunctioning hotplate may have caused a fire that left seven children dead when it tore through a home in a heavily Jewish neighborhood of Brooklyn.Commissioner Daniel Nigro says the deceased range in age from 5 to 15 years old. Nigro says a woman and teen who jumped from the second floor are hospitalized in critical condition.Nigro says the woman is believed to be the mother of all eight children.The fire broke out early Saturday at...

FRENCHTOWN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) -- DTE Energy Co. says it has shut down the Fermi 2 nuclear power plant after a water leak was detected within the dry well that encloses its reactor.The Monroe News reports Friday the plant shut automatically Thursday morning. DTE spokesman Guy Cerullo says crews were shutting it down when the monitoring system took over as a safety measure.Cerullo says the leak was found to be from a system that cools heat exchanges in the plant and not the reactor, which rem...

PHOENIX (AP) -- Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker will be the headline speaker at a luncheon hosted by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce.Walker is scheduled to give remarks at the Wednesday event in downtown Phoenix.Organizers say the luncheon is part of a leadership series that features political leaders who are considering running for president of the United States.Walker is a conservative favorite thanks to his anti-union approach. The prospective 2016 Republican presidential candidate has been ap...

MARATHON CITY (WAOW)-- Fire crews responded to a structure fire in Marathon City around 11 p.m. Friday.

The UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team beat Virginia Wesleyan 68-59 Friday night.

Stevens Point Area Senior High boy's basketball team is heading to the Division 1 state championship after defeating West Allis Central in the state semifinal 63-39.

(IOWA COUNTY) WAOW--A fatal crash in Iowa County Friday left a 26-year-old man dead.

 Brook Lopez had 32 points and a season-high 18 rebounds, helping the Brooklyn Nets to a 129-127 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in the second triple-overtime meeting between the teams this season.

 Brook Lopez had 32 points and a season-high 18 rebounds, helping the Brooklyn Nets to a 129-127 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in the second triple-overtime meeting between the teams this season.

 Big Ten player of the year Frank Kaminsky had 27 points and 12 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season, and No. 1 seed Wisconsin defeated Coastal Carolina 86-72 in the NCAA Tournament on Friday night.

Mountain Bay Elementary School in Weston earned a visit from a familiar face.

WAUSAU (WAOW) -- Managers at local bars and restaurants say business has picked up since the NCAA tournament started.According to Wesley Magle, a manager at Buffalo Wild Wings in Wausau, the sports bar has been busier than usual since the games started on Tuesday.He says some people stop in as soon as the restaurant opens and stay until close.Magle says the bigger crowd brings in a lot of extra money and energy."Especially if they're winning, but even if they're losing," Magle says."The excit...

MARATHON COUNTY (WAOW) -- Some police departments in Marathon County will crack down on drunken driving Friday.From 9 p.m. Friday until 3 a.m. Saturday, Wausau, Rothschild and Kronenwetter Police Departments will partner up to keep the streets safe.Rothschild Police Chief Jeremy Hunt says additional law enforcement crews will be scattered throughout the Wausau area. They'll be highly visible and targeting intoxicated drivers and people violating other traffic laws."We're looking for complianc...

WAUSAU (WAOW) -- A new traveling art exhibit is on display at the Marathon County Library in Wausau.Thirty pieces of art hang from the walls on the second floor of the library. Each work of art was created by Wisconsin children and adults who live with some type of disability.The "Creative Power" exhibit is organized by VSA Wisconsin, a group that provides art programs to people with disabilities."I think looking at many or any piece of art on display here, you wouldn't even think the person ...

 Runners in our area are strapping their shoe laces for a good cause.

MERRILL (WAOW) - Three people, including a pregnant woman, were arrested and marijuana, hash oil and an assault-style rifle were seized during a search of a rural Merrill home, the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department said Friday.

A new sports complex in Marathon County is almost complete. 

Wausau Police and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources officials are trying to figure out who dumped the hides of three bears in a Wausau dumpster, according to DNR Warden Randy Dunkel.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Administrators at Sun Prairie High School are apologizing after students there created a March Madness bracket that rated female students.