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EAGLE RIVER - We often think of our teachers teaching, but educators sometimes return to the classroom as students. They need to keep learning, too.
Some Northwoods educators will return to the classroom as students Saturday, October 18th.
Northland Pines High School will host an EdCamp.
RHINELANDER - Home heating help from the government only started about a week ago in the Northwoods.
More than 700 people have already applied in Oneida County alone.
Oneida County Social Services started accepting fuel assistance applications earlier this year.
CRANDON - The Forest County Forestry & Recreation Committee approved an update to the county's 15-Year Comprehensive Land Use Plan on a 5-1 vote Tuesday.
Forest County will need to spend time and resources updating its land management plan for a proposed off-road vehicle park. They'll do that so they can apply for state grants to pay for half of the project, but the grants have never been used for a project like this.
FOREST COUNTY - The Sokaogon Chippewa tribe in Mole Lake wants to make sure there are plenty of walleye in Northwoods lakes.
They're working with the Wisconsin DNR to stock lakes in the area.
Thursday, the tribe and the DNR added walleye to Franklin Lake in Forest County.
WOODRUFF - White canes signal something very important that many people don't realize.
If you see someone crossing with a white and red cane, you must stop your car.
The canes help the blind or nearly blind balance and identify objects around them.
RHINELANDER - This month, you'll see many people going pink, and attending events to honor breast cancer awareness. Local businesses in the Northwoods are also doing their part to raise money and support.
Forth Floral and Fantastic Sams in Rhinelander are just a couple places offering pink items. You can purchase flowers, balloons, hair products, and other bright pink gear. A portion of the money raised will go straight to breast cancer research. It gives you the chance to do some good with your buying power this October.
MADISON - Governor Scott Walker and Mary Burke will appear together Friday night for the first of two debates.
The Eau Claire debate will be broadcast live statewide.
It gives voters a chance to size up the candidates in the hotly contested governor's race with less than a month to go before the election.
MERRILL - Lincoln County prosecutors believe a Tomahawk woman abused her power as the treasurer of the local Tavern League.
They accuse Deborah Smith of taking almost $10,000 from the Tomahawk/Merrill Tavern League savings account.
That was between November 2012 and May 2013.
STEVENS POINT - An Amherst woman has been sentenced to six years in prison for a fatal drunk driving crash.
Stevens Point Journal Media reports (http://spjour.nl/1qfSHhk ) 24-year-old Hanna Schacht was sentenced Tuesday in Portage County court. She pleaded guilty in July to homicide and causing injury while driving after drinking in the death of Daniel Wetzel in September 2013. She was also sentenced to six years on community supervision and ordered to pay more than $100,000 in restitution.
ELKHORN - Walworth County authorities are asking for the public's help in finding whoever shot two dogs in southeastern Wisconsin.
The sheriff's office says both dogs were shot in the Town of Walworth between 10:30 p.m. and 10:45 p.m. on Monday. The dogs were a bull mastiff and a German shepherd/Rotweiller mix. One of the dogs died.
The dogs were shot with what the sheriff's office says appears to be a .22-caliber weapon.
RHINELANDER - A 46-year-old Rhinelander woman will spend 60 more days in jail for a pair crimes including having sex with child age 16 or older. She'll avoid time in prison if she follows all of the rules of her court ruling.
Carrie Steinmetz faced a drug charge, as well as charges for trafficking a child and child enticement. According to online documents, the drug charge impacted her jail sentence. However, the judge didn't give a sentence for the trafficking and enticement charges.
BOULDER JUNCTION - Trout Lake was clear of spiny water fleas a little more than a month ago. Now the lake is teeming with the invaders. The organisms are known for hitching rides across oceans in cargo ships, and that's exactly how they arrived.
"Spiny water fleas actually originate from the Caspian Sea region, which for all intents and purposes is on the other side of the world," explained
Aquatic Invasive Species Specialist Carol Warden.
MINOCQUA - A Northwoods church will celebrate a big birthday this week.
Trinity Lutheran Church in Minocqua turns 100 years old on Saturday.
The church has been in different buildings, had several pastors, and has gone through many renovations.
MARATHON COUNTY - A wilderness reserve in Marathon County will stay quarantined after state animal health experts found another deer testing positive with chronic wasting disease (CWD), according to State Veterinarian Dr. Paul McGraw.
The 5-year-old buck was found at the Wilderness Whitetail hunting reserve, which is already quarantined.
MARSHFIELD - Police say a Marshfield man bilked 15 people out of about $46,000 in a scam involving Green Bay Packers tickets he never delivered.
Marshfield Police Lt. Darren Larson says the 37-year-old was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of fraud. He says police reports were sent to the Wood County district attorney for a charging decision.
RHINELANDER - The Oneida County Department on Aging needs volunteer drivers.
The department delivers meals to seniors all over the county.
They also take seniors to appointments.
TOMAHAWK - People living in Tomahawk won't need to travel far to get books and use the internet.
The Tomahawk Library reopened at the beginning of the month.
The library was closed for the month of September.
WAUSAU - The price of beer could be going up in 2015. Heavy rain this past summer took a toll on the barley still in the fields.
That means some brewers might have to pay more for malt. Others, could have a hard time finding enough to use in their recipes.
The rain has started the germination process in barley. Usually, germination is done in a controlled environment to make the right amount of malt.
LAC DU FLAMBEAU - Henry St. Germain becomes the new President of the Lac du Flambeau tribe. He was one of 6 members of the tribe elected to a post Tuesday night.
Tom Maulson was the 2013 president, but he didn't get enough votes in the primary to be on yesterday's ballot.
St. Germain beat out Joseph Wildcat by more than 40 votes.
MADISON - Gov. Scott Walker is defending a campaign ad in which he says protecting women's health and safety is a priority of his.
Abortions rights advocates are upset over the spot because Walker signed a law they say makes it more difficult for women to get abortions. The law requires women to get an ultrasound before an abortion. It also requires doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.
WAUSAU - The Wausau Tennis Table Club is the only organized club in North Central Wisconsin.
Many people think of table tennis as hitting a ping pong back and forth in their basement. But for many people in the Northwoods and across the world, table tennis is a competitive and athletic sport.
The club meets twice a week to perfect this unique sport.
DALLAS, TEXAS - A Dallas hospital spokesman says the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the United States has died.
Wendell Watson of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital says Thomas Eric Duncan died Wednesday morning.
Duncan arrived in Dallas September 20th from Liberia and fell ill a few days later.
RHINELANDER - Prosecutors think a registered sex offender sexually assaulted a 15 year old girl just a month and a half after getting out of prison.
Jason Mullen faces three felonies for sexually assaulting a child again.
Mullen was in Oneida County court Wednesday.
RHINELANDER - Rhinelander joins the list of communities where tree killing Emerald Ash Borer can be found.
Oneida County has been placed on the Emerald Ash Borer quarantine list.
The US Department of Agriculture confirmed that the deadly tree bug was found on public property.
ANTIGO - If you have a pet, you know that they're part of the family.
A local store focuses on giving the best possible care for your four legged friend.
Pawz n' Clawz just opened their second location in Antigo.
They started their first store in Rhinelander in August of 2013.
The new two thousand square foot building focuses on providing natural pet food for dogs and cats. Many of those varieties are grain free.
Full story: WJFW
WAUKESHA - A Waukesha woman has been charged with first-degree reckless homicide for allegedly kicking her boyfriend's daughter to death.
The criminal complaint filed Tuesday says 31-year-old Nicole Wagester was babysitting the girl Monday morning while the child's father was at work. She initially told police the child fell out of bed.
CRANDON - A pair of jail workers and a husband could face charges for taking part in criminal activity at the Forest County Jail.
Richard Pitts, Jeanie Pitts, and Melvin Donek could face charges including theft, receiving stolen property, soliciting forgery, delivery of articles to inmates, and misconduct in office.
WISCONSIN - You can help keep Northwoods lakes clean by taking care of your leaves. Phosphorus is commonly in things like fertilizers, manure and waste, but leaves also contain phosphorus.
Clean Wisconsin Water Quality Specialist Emily Jones says the chemical helps plants grow by giving them nutrients, but she warns phosphorus' impact in water and lakes in the Northwoods.
LAC DU FLAMBEAU - Tribal voters in Lac du Flambeau voted for Tribal Council members on Tuesday.
The elections were held from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Tom Maulson was the 2013 president.
WORLDWIDE - Only one in three kids nationally get physical activity each day, according to the National Association for Sport and Physical Education.
Health experts and educators hope a special day will get kids to make healthy choices part of their everyday lives.
On Wednesday, children around the world will celebrate International Walk to School Day.
