Local Rhinelander Headlines

Michigan awards $1.1 million in habitat grants

LANSING, MI - The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has awarded nearly $1.1 million in grants to improve habitats for game animals.

The agency announced the grants Wednesday for about 20 conservation and nonprofit organizations as well as local governments and landowners. The grants are funded with revenue from state hunting and fishing license sales.

Full story: WJFW

Candidates address issues in 85th & 86th Assembly district debate

WAUSAU - Voters in the Wausau area could use a debate Wednesday night to get a better feel of candidates in the 85th and 86th State Assembly district.

Rep. Mandy Wright (D-Wausau) will face Republican challenger David Heaton for the 85th Assembly seat, which covers Wausau, parts of eastern Marathon and Shawano Counties, this November. Rep. John Spiros (R-Marshfield) will face Democratic challenger Nancy Stencil on the November ballot for the 86th Assembly seat, which covers parts of western Marathon and Wood Counties.

Full story: WJFW

Young eagles struggling to find food

RHINELANDER - Birds of prey in the Northwoods could struggle to find food this fall. Young eagles in particular are struggling to feed right now. Animal rehabilitation groups have seen spikes in the number of starving eagles this year. The late start to the spring may be one of the problems.

"It's not the most amount of eagles that we've ever had, but it's the largest amount of starved juvenile eagles that we've ever had," said Wild Instincts Director Mark Naniot.

Full story: WJFW

86th distirct state assembly candidates debate

WAUSAU - Four state assembly candidates will debate in Wausau Wednesday night. The two democrats and republicans will argue about topics like jobs, healthcare and the direction of the area.

The 86th district covers most of Western Marathon county and a small portion of Wood County. A Republican has held the seat for more than a decade. The city of Wausau traditionally votes for Democrats, but it is nearly entirely in the 85th district. That could mean good things for the incumbent Republican John Spiros.

Full story: WJFW

Man faces charges connected to woman's murder & disapperance; Read the criminal complaint

WAUSAU - A 34-year-old man will face three charges for the 2010 disappearance and murder of a Wausau woman.

Kristopher Torgerson is charged with first degree intentional homicide, armed robbery and hiding a body. Those charges were filed in Marathon County Tuesday, according to online court records.

Full story: WJFW

Virgin Airlines lets some employees have unlimited holiday vacation days, experts say strategy won't work in Northwoods

NORTHWOODS - Unlimited vacation time might sound unrealistic, but Virgin Airlines is letting some of its employees take off whenever they want. Nicolet Staffing thinks that wouldn't work in the Northwoods.

Virgin Airlines got the idea from Netflix. One hundred seventy employees can only take the unlimited days off when they feel that their team is up to date with every project. They also need to make sure their vacation time won't damage the business or their career.

Full story: WJFW

Wisconsin gets record timber sales on state lands; catching up on land management plan

RHINELANDER - Wisconsin made a record amount of money from timber sales on state lands in the most recent fiscal year.

Timber sales totaled $ 11.7 million during the most recent fiscal year. The fiscal year ended in June. DNR Chief Forester Paul DeLong says they fell behind on their land management plan in the early 2000s, so the record sales reflect the fact they're trying to catch up.

Full story: WJFW

Iconic northern tree species could disappear as Northwoods climate warms

FIFIELD - "Here's the paper birch, or white birch. It's one of my favorite trees," Linda Parker tells me as we walk through a part of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest near Fifield.

But her next thought on the tree is not so pleasant.

"This again is one of the species that occurs at the southern edge of its range here. It's more common to the north," she says. "This is another species in which we expect to see large declines."

Full story: WJFW

DNR says hunters need to upgrade sunrise app

MADISON - The state Department of Natural Resources is reminding hunters they need to upgrade the agency's sunrise-sunset mobile app.

The DNR created the app in 2012 to help hunters check for the start and end of legal hunting hours. Agency officials say they've created a sunrise-sunset calculator in the Official Guide for Wisconsin's Fishing Hunting and Wildlife mobile app released late last year and the old sunrise-sunset app is no longer supported.

Full story: WJFW

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