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MADISON - State health officials say the flu season is off to a strong start in Wisconsin.
State epidemiologist Thomas Haupt says influenza hospitalizations have been unexpectedly on the rise in October. 20 people have been hospitalized in the past three weeks. Haupt tells WISN-TV (http://bit.ly/1wo5JOD ) one or two hospitalizations are common this time of year, but not 20.
RHINELANDER - A Northwoods Parish wants to raise at least two million dollars to renovate its schools and church.
Nativity of Our Lord Catholic School needs technology and infrastructure upgrades. One of the school's buildings hasn't been updated since the 1950s.
School leaders think it's important to also upgrade the school's wireless ability.
SHAWANO COUNTY - Three teens died after a two-car accident in Shawano County Tuesday evening.
The Shawano County Sheriff's Office responded to a call about a two-car crash along Highway 22, north of Friendship Road in the Town of Bell Plaine.
A white car was heading northbound on Highway 22 and lost control while trying to cross into the southbound lane.
RHINELANDER - The average person will spend $77 this year on Halloween costumes, decorations, and candy.
The Goodwill in Rhinelander hopes you'll look good for much less. Goodwill has Halloween items like hats, trick-or-treat baskets to full costumes.
Many of the costumes are donated but some of them are brand new. Since most of the costumes are donated, there are constantly new items out on the racks.
MADISON - New county deer councils in Wisconsin will soon release their first recommendations.
Forming the councils was a key part of the recommendations made by Wisconsin's deer czar.
Texas researcher James Kroll came up with the ideas in 20-12 to help the Department of Natural Resources improve deer management.
WAUSAU - Nearly a billion people in the world don't eat enough to stay healthy. People in Wisconsin do much better than that, but too many still struggle with hunger.
One church in northcentral Wisconsin wants to help more people understand the hunger issue.
St. Paul's United Church of Christ in Wausau serves hot meals every Tuesday.
PRICE COUNTY - A 77-year-old pilot from Florida and a dog survived a float plane crash in Price County Tuesday, according to the Price County Sheriff's Department.
The crash happened on Big Dardis Lake north of Phillips around 4 p.m.
The release says a person was able to canoe to the plane and save the 77-year-old pilot and his dog.
NORTHWOODS - Teal pumpkins will act as a beacon to some trick-or-treators in the Northwoods this Halloween.
For kids with food allergies, gathering candy might not be an option.
A new program by the Food Allergy Research & Education organization wants to help those kids.
BRYANT - Only one farm in all of Wisconsin grows sugar beets.
Rine Ridge Farms is northeast of Antigo, in Bryant.
They hope more farmers will catch on to alternative dairy feed.
RHINELANDER - People who want to learn more about going to school at Nicolet College can go to College Visit Night.
College Visit Night will be held from 5-7pm on Tuesday.
The event will give people an idea of what programs the college offers.
MERRILL - The old DNR ranger station in Merrill will become a brew pub.
The city of Merrill sold the building to a company that plans on opening up the pub within the next year.
The company plans on eventually becoming a microbrewery.
NORTHWOODS - We know fall for pumpkins, football, and falling leaves but it's also known for kittens.
Shelters in northcentral Wisconsin refer to both fall and spring as "kitten season."
The Oneida County Humane Society has already found homes for 30 kittens just in the last month.
MADISON - Thousands of emails prosecutors collected during the first secret investigation into Gov. Scott Walker's former aides and associates when he was county executive have been released.
Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele's office on Tuesday made public the nearly 16,000 emails and attachments that prosecutors seized from county and personal computers.
The investigation ended in 2013 with six of Walker's aides and associates convicted on charges ranging from theft to misconduct in office.
MILWAUKEE - Wisconsin's housing prices climbed slightly in September as the level of home sales remained about the same compared to a year ago.
The latest figures from the Wisconsin Realtors Association show housing prices rose about 3 percent. The median price of a home rose from about $144,000 to nearly $149,000.
RHINELANDER - The Rennes Health and Rehab Center in Rhinelander will add an extra 10,000 square feet to its facility.
The center hosted a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday.
It offers rehabilitative and skilled nursing services.
RHINELANDER - The new Rhinelander Area Food Pantry features new aisles for easier shopping, a sitting area, and large scale for weighing food.
You could see the updates at the Rhinelander Area Food Pantry Tuesday. The pantry held an open house to celebrate its new location.
It opened its doors at 627 Coon Street on October 4th. It's the former Golden Harvest Building.
MADISON - The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources wants homeowners to compost or mulch fallen leaves. This will help keep the leaves out of landfills and lower the chances of burning piles.
DNR leaders say composting means more room and landfill and less chance of stray sparks from burning piles that can start wildfires.
Fewer burning piles will also helps maintain a high level of air quality.
GREEN BAY - The northern long-eared bat needs help.
Efforts are being made to find ways to help the bat, while not hurting the timber industry.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed protections for the bats, including adding it to the endangered species list.
RHINELANDER - Nicolet College will need to find a new president. Taxes in the community help pay for some of the school's budget. That's why the school wants to turn to the community before filling the position.
Monday night they heard from the community at a meeting.
Some people want to make sure the candidates have good backgrounds. They also want the board to do their research, but some don't want students left out.
TOWN OF WILTON - A 66-year-old Kendall man is dead after a tractor accident in Monroe County.
Sheriff Peter Quirin says the accident happened Sunday evening on a farm in the Town of Wilton.
RHINELANDER - If you stay at a motel or resort, you may notice an extra tax on your bill.
A room tax is an extra tax placed on overnight stays.
Lodges and resorts in the City of Rhinelander and Town of Pelican collect room tax.
WISCONSIN - A new online survey could lead to better service for Wisconsin veterans. The Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs wants to find out how it can better help veterans.
The survey asks for anonymous information and then asks what veteran programs users know information about.
Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs Marketing Manager Dan Buttery says the goal is to get veterans and their families more familiar with veteran programs.
RHINELANDER - School districts in the Northwoods hope state legislators will change the way local public schools are funded.
Right now, the school funding formula hurts property-rich, but income-poor, districts like Rhinelander.
Rhinelander administrators warn if Madison doesn't make a funding change, they face cutting programs or asking voters for more money through a referendum.
MARINETTE - "She's almost 400 feet long," U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus said Saturday. "About 3,500 tons."
He rattled off the specs for Littoral Combat Ship 7 with pride while standing near it in the shipyard at Marinette Marine Corporation.
"It can get up to 40 knots, more or less," he said.
MINOCQUA - Schools across the country struggle with bullying.
Northwoods schools like MHLT hope students learned from a traveling theatre group today.
All of their students attended a short play by the group, CLIMB Theatre.
RHINELANDER - A Woodruff man faces multiple charges for allegedly driving drunk, stealing and damaging property.
The criminal complaint says police got a call last Monday.
Timothy Brewster was allegedly knocking stuff off shelves at Minocqua's Walmart.
HAMMOND, IN - Police investigating the slayings of seven women whose bodies were found over the weekend in Indiana say the suspect has told them that he may have killed people going back 20 years.
Hammond Police Chief John Doughty said during a news conference Monday that the suspect, identified as Darren Vann, is being cooperative with investigators. Vann was convicted of sexual assault in Texas in 2009 and now lives in Gary.
WOODRUFF - A car driving the wrong way on Highway 47 west of Woodruff hit another car this morning.
An 86-year-old Lac du Flambeau man was driving south in the northbound lane.
More than 4 million cars need to get their airbags repaired. The government announced the recall today.
Safety advocates say at least four people have died from the airbags. Toyota, Honda, Nissan, GM and Ford are just some of the manufacturers with recalled airbags.
Takata makes the airbags.
MADISON - You can still hunt for wolves in Wisconsin, but in fewer places.
Zone 5 will be shut down as of 6:30 Monday evening. That's in the west-central part of the state.
Two other wolf hunting zones in Northern Wisconsin closed for the season Sunday.
