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WISCONSIN - Students who don't go to a public school might be able to participate in public school sports.
That's part of a proposal that's in the state's budget.
The proposal would let homeschooled students take part in public school sports and extracurricular activities.
RHINELANDER - One group in the Northwoods wants to bring the fun of fishing to everyone. The Northwoods Chapter of Let's Go Fishing just kicked off their third season. There are several chapters throughout the country, but this is the only chapter in Wisconsin. They are a group dedicated to bringing the fun of fishing to people who may not be able to go on their own.
"We service, or provide outings and fishing excursions to seniors 55 and older, to assisted living/people in nursing homes, any shut-ins, disabled, and especially veterans and so-forth are more than welcome," said Mark Schroeder, President of Let's Go Fishing's Northwoods chapter.
The group operates on Boom Lake in Rhinelander. They are always looking for volunteers to help run the boat.
MERRILL - Merrill wants to rebrand the Lincoln County Fairgrounds. The city will officially buy the fairgrounds from the county this fall and it wants to give the property a new name.
The reason for the name change is so people stop only associating the land with the fair.
"It's not just the fairgrounds," says Merrill Chamber of Commerce CEO Debbe Kinsey. "Many, many events are held there every year and we're hoping to hold many more in the future. We want it to become an event grounds or recreational grounds or something other than just the fairgrounds."
MADISON - The Wisconsin Legislature's budget committee won't meet this week as lawmakers continue wrestling over which roads projects would be affected by an $800 million cut in funding.
Joint Finance Committee co-chair Sen. Alberta Darling told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the panel will not meet this week. Darling says she hopes it will meet next week.
Darling says the ongoing negotiations between Republicans in the Senate and Assembly revolve around whether the Zoo Interchange in Milwaukee would be delayed if roads funding is cut by $800 million.
MERRILL - A judge won't allow a board member on Merrill Police and Fire Commission around girls younger than 18 unless he's supervised by at least a 25-year-old adult.
Prosecutors accuse 46-year-old David Hayes of sexually assaulting a 17 year old girl.
Hayes faces a felony and misdemeanor charge.
MADISON - The co-chair of the Legislature's budget committee says a $500 million financing plan for a new Milwaukee Bucks stadium may be pulled from the state budget and taken up as a separate bill.
Republican Sen. Alberta Darling told The Associated Press on Wednesday that no final decisions have been made, but she suspects that is what will happen. Sen. Luther Olsen, another Republican member of the Joint Finance Committee, agreed.
Backers of the plan have urged its inclusion in the budget, hoping that would speed its passage and make it easier to find approval among those wary of taking a separate vote on the deal.
EAGLE RIVER - A new social support program opened its doors Wednesday in Eagle River. Caritas is based out of Saint Francis Church, and provides assistance to people who are in financial need.
Caritas is backed by the support of the following churches and their communities in the northwoods: First Congregational UCC Eagle River, Prince of Peace Lutheran ELCA Eagle River, Saint Francis Episcopal Eagle River, Pioneer Lake Lutheran ELCA Conover, Faith Lutheran ELCA Three Lakes, Ely Memorial UCC Land O' Lakes
The name Caritas is Latin for loving, kindness, and charity. The program works with clients in their time of financial need. Caritas is also a place where people can connect with other social services in the area.
MADISON - Wisconsin's private-sector job growth ranked 38th in the country last year, trailing the national average.
Data released Wednesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows private sector jobs grew in Wisconsin by 1.51 percent last year.
That lagged the national average of 2.6 percent growth over the year.
TOMAHAWK - Many of us played baseball or softball as kids.
Some people in the Northwoods are rediscovering their passion for the game as adults.
"I moved up here ten years ago from Milwaukee, and when I got up here there was nothing for men's softball at all, so playing five or six nights a week was kind of a tough transition for me," says Tomahawk Men's Softball League Co-Director Chad Gauerke. "So I talked to a couple guys that I kind of knew up here and decided to get a softball league started."
RHINELANDER - Drivers on Highway 8 west of Rhinelander will run into a closed lane beginning Thursday morning.
Railroad crews are planning to close a lane on eastbound Highway 8 between Airport Road and American Plastics Road on Thursday.
The lane shutdown is needed for crews to repair the railroad crossing, but work should be done by the end of the day Thursday.
WAUKESHA - The attorney for one of the two Wisconsin girls charged with trying to kill a classmate to please a fictitious horror character will try to convince a judge that the child's case belongs in juvenile court.
A two-day hearing in Waukesha County begins Wednesday for the 13-year-old girl.
A hearing for the other 13-year-old girl charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide took place last month.
MADISON - Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says he will no longer discuss what he talks about in private with leaders in other countries.
The likely Republican candidate for president says Wednesday in a conference call from Canada that conversations that don't take place in front of reporters should be ``treated privately.''
His comments came after he was asked about reports that British Prime Minister David Cameron had disputed Walker's portrayal of a private conversation they had at Downing Street in February.
MINNEAPOLIS - A federal judge has ruled that Minnesota's sex offender treatment program is unconstitutional, but has deferred any immediate action to await further proceedings on a remedy.
U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank largely sided with the more than 700 residents who were civilly committed to the Minnesota Sex Offender Program after they completed their prison sentences.
Their lawyers argued during a nearly six-week bench trial in February and March that the program is unconstitutional because nobody has ever been fully discharged from it, even those thought to be at low risk of committing new crimes.
RHINELANDER - One goal of a new 10-year beaver management plan in Wisconsin is to maintain or slightly increase beaver population in northern Wisconsin. It was one of many topics during a public meeting on the management plan in Rhinelander Tuesday night.
DNR Furbearer Specialist John Olson says the state did a great job of shrinking the beaver population over the last 25 years. That's after beaver populations ballooned in the late 70s. In 1985, DNR data showed there were 225,000 beavers in Wisconsin.
Olson says the goal of the 1990 beaver management plan was to significantly decrease that beaver population, but there wasn't a target number, and he believes they might have gone a little too far.
TOMAHAWK - A special tool helps police officers save the life of somebody overdosing on drugs.
A local police department will start using that tool soon.
Starting in July, Tomahawk Police officers will carry injectors that can treat overdoses.
MADISON - Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says the original idea for eliminating the state's alternative minimum tax that would primarily benefit those earning more than $200,000 a year won't be done as originally discussed.
The Republican Vos said Tuesday that how to structure changes to the tax are still being discussed.
Republican Rep. Dale Kooyenga said last week he wanted to eliminate the alternative minimum tax and replace the $63 million over two years with other tax increases and changes. He did not say what all of those would be.
ONALASKA - Police say emergency crews have recovered the body of a woman from Lake Onalaska, a large pool on the Mississippi River.
Onalaska Police Chief Jeff Trotnic says a fisherman spotted the body of the 72-year-old Onalaska woman in the water about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, about 15 minutes after her car was found at a nearby wayside. Firefighters recovered her body.
STAR LAKE - The Northern Highland American Legion State Forest covers more than 230,000 acres in northern Wisconsin. More than 70 percent of it is actively managed. That means it's eligible for some types of logging.
But about 10 percent of the forest has almost no management at all. Nature is allowed to run its course in those places. The Plum Lake Hemlock Forest in Vilas County is one of those places.
"This stand in particular originates from the early 1800s, probably from fire," said DNR Conservation Biologist Carly Lapin on a field trip last week. "It went through succession from aspen to pine and now to hemlock. We also see maple trees here, and yellow birch."
MARATHON CITY - Northcentral Wisconsin grocery stores keep charging more and more for eggs. The bird flu has killed or forced euthanasia of nearly 50 million American birds this year, mostly in the Midwest.
That has led to a supply shortage of eggs. Higher prices from wholesalers have forced grocery stores to raise their prices, sometimes drastically. For example, George's Marathon Foods in Marathon City is charging well above $3 per dozen eggs. That could climb to $4.50 later this year.
"The price will come back down eventually. I don't know how long it will take, but it will," said store owner George Hiles. "But people like to talk about price increases. They like to talk about the weather, and the Packers, and price increases for eggs or gasoline or any other commodity."
MINOCQUA - This time of year, wildlife rehabilitation centers in the Northwoods see a lot of turtles injured after being hit by cars. Turtles often are looking for a sandy place to lay their eggs.
"A lot of turtle species are giving birth now so they're coming up on land and trying to find sandy soil to lay their eggs," said Amanda Walsh, Northwoods Wildlife Center Wildlife Rehabilitation Director.
Many of those turtles will cross the roads to find that soil.
TOWN OF SHARON - A 12 year old boy died in an ATV accident in Portage County.
The Portage County Sheriff's Office got a call last evening about an ATV accident in the Town of Sharon, north of Stevens Point. They were told the boy wasn't breathing.
When responders got there, an off duty nurse was doing CPR on the child.
MADISON - Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin has introduced a bill that would reduce the prescription of narcotics in Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals.
Baldwin said Tuesday that the measure could prevent possible deaths from narcotic over-prescribing practices like those reported at a VA medical center in Tomah.
Baldwin named the bill after 39-year-old Marine Jason Simcakoski who died of mixed-drug toxicity in the hospital's in-patient intensive care unit in August. Multiple probes into the facility are ongoing.
THREE LAKES - Wisconsin filmmakers will be heading to Three Lakes starting Thursday, June 18th. The Three Lakes Center for the Arts will be hosting its third annual film festival. Organizers say that it's a great opportunity for Wisconsin filmmakers to showcase their talents.
"I think you'll see that, as we do this more and more, more people will show up and understand that they can come here for really good, quality filmmaking and see who's out there on the horizon that are new filmmakers and old filmmakers alike that are from Wisconsin," said Jim Cowee, Board President for the Three Lakes Center for the Arts.
The festival will feature films by filmmakers who are either from Wisconsin, or have strong connections to Wisconsin. Organizers say that the event has definitely grown since the first festival in 2013.
PHILLIPS - Gymnastics can be difficult as it is, but some athletes take it a step further.
Athletes at the Ranch of Rescued Hope in Phillips do gymnastics on horseback.
The sport is called horse vaulting and it can be intimidating at first.
EAGLE RIVER - The summer weather means more chances to enjoy the outdoors.
A youth tennis program in Eagle River gives kids of all ages a chance to get outside.
Younger kids can learn the basics of the game, while older kids can dive into some of the more advanced lessons.
MADISON - Lawmakers still need to do some work to finally agree on the state budget. The Joint Finance Committee hoped to finish the budget at its meeting Wednesday. But that meeting is now pushed back until Thursday or Friday.
JEFFERSON - Health experts diagnosed the first case of the West Nile Virus this year in Wisconsin. Health officials found a dead bird with the virus in Jefferson County.
The virus is spread by a bite from an infected mosquito.
Doctors say 80 percent of people infected with the virus never experience symptoms. Most of the remaining 20 percent will develop symptoms such as fever, headache and muscle pain.
WOODRUFF - Fisherman across Wisconsin will see more friendly trolling rules at the beginning of July. The changes mean people can hang a hook, bait or lure out of their boat while the motor is moving it.
The new rule starts on July 1st and varies slightly depending on what county and lake you are fishing on this year.
DNR North District Fisheries Supervisor Mike Vogelsang says the old rule allowed a fisherman to keep a line vertical in the water while the boat was moved with a motor. However, he says that caused some problems.
PRENTICE - Many Northwoods school districts get state funding to keep class sizes small.
The Prentice School District takes part in the state's SAGE program.
The district gets SAGE funding to keep class sizes down in kindergarten through third grade, but soon, school districts might not need to keep class sizes small to get the funding.
APPLETON - Heavy rains have caused street flooding in Appleton.
City Engineer Ross Buetow says that drivers should stay off the roads until conditions improve.
Appleton's Department of Public Works and local law enforcement agencies have been overwhelmed with callers reporting flooded streets.
