      |
RHINELANDER - Rural areas rely on volunteer fire departments to respond to emergencies.
That's the case in Oneida County.
The Rhinelander Fire Department is the only paid full time department in the County.
PHILLIPS - Phillips hopes more than the fall colors will draw visitors to the community this weekend.
The city will host the 21st Annual Fall Harvest Festival.
A farmer's market, sidewalk sales, food booths, scarecrow contests, and pumpkin decorating are part of Saturday's celebration.
LAND O' LAKES - Many people know Land O' Lakes as a great vacation destination. But it's not just resorts that draw people to the area. A state-of-the-art school attracts high school students from across the country and around the world.
"There's no other opportunities like this," said Conserve School student Lange Navarro.
MADISON - A liberal group is telling federal judges that Wisconsin driver's license offices aren't open enough to produce enough IDs for would-be voters before the Nov. 4 election.
The law has been dormant since February 2012 pending legal challenges. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, however, reinstated the photo ID requirement Sept. 12 while it ponders the merits of arguments against the law.
MADISON - The Wisconsin Historical Museum has opened a new exhibit on American Indian powwows.
The exhibit features historic and modern photographs, video elements and artifacts related to powwows, American Indian celebrations that feature singing, dancing, feasts and praying.
TOWN OF LITTLE RICE - We now know a Rhinelander man died in a UTV accident on Gobbler Lake Road in the town of Little Rice.
The Oneida County Sheriff's Department tells us 52-year-old Richard Johnson died from injuries he suffered in the crash.
Johnson apparently missed a curve and left the road.
MARATHON COUNTY - A boy shot his father in a hunting accident in Marathon County.
Police say the 11 year old boy was hunting for turkeys with his father and two other relatives.
The boy mistook his father for a turkey on Sunday and shot him in the upper left area of his chest.
TOWN OF LITTLE RICE - A man died in a UTV accident on Gobbler Lake Road in the town of Little Rice.
Deputies in Oneida County think the driver of the UTV missed a curve in the road and left the roadway. It happened after 10:40 p.m. on Saturday.
TOWN OF MAINE - Fall won't officially start until Monday evening, but that doesn't mean fall activities haven't hit the Northwoods.
You could find people zipped up in fleece jackets trying to find their way out of a corn maze Sunday. This is the 15th year Willow Springs Garden held its corn maze in the Town of Maine.
RHINELANDER - Older homes can turn into a hassle for owners not expecting some work.
Many people avoid buying a historic piece because of the upkeep. But others enjoy carrying the story of a home forward, and keeping it alive. Some homeowners got the chance to show off their historical homes at the Tour of Historic Homes on Saturday.
RHINELANDER - The Rhinelander Area Food Pantry will start giving away food at their new location on October 4th.
The pantry will be moving to 627 Coon Street. That's the old Golden Harvest building.
Volunteers have been remodeling the building non-stop for the past few weeks. Some equipment and food items are already being moved.
RHINELANDER - Girl Scouts can be a great way to get young girls active in their community and grow into young women. Sunday, some girl scouts in Rhinelander made a PSA to show younger girls how empowering it can be to be a Girl Scout.
"This is why you should join Girl Scouts. You will gain courage, confidence and character,"
MILWAUKEE - The president of a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee fraternity faces charges while authorities investigate a party that left several people with memory lapses.
Tau Kappa Epsilon president Thomas Kreinbring was charged Friday with possession of a prescription drug without a valid prescription, keeping a drug house and other charges.
The complaint does not accuse Kreinbring of spiking drinks with drugs at the Sept. 12 party.
LA CROSSE - A Whitehall man is accused of fondling a terminally ill cancer patient while she was sedated in her hospital bed.
The woman asked him to bring her some clothes and personal items, and he decided to stay the night.
The man was sleeping on a couch, and the woman fell asleep after taking oxycodone and trazodone. She says she awoke to find him touching her inappropriately.
MILWAUKEE - A former Mukwonago police officer convicted of robbing a bank while he was still on the force has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison.
44-year-old Alvin J. Brook robbed a bank in 2010 while brandishing his police-issued handgun, and made off with $54,000.
The robbery went unsolved until last year when authorities, acting on a tip, were able to match a crime-scene fingerprint to him.
MARATHON COUNTY - UPDATE 9/21/14 3:56 p.m.:
We now know the name of the man hurt in a motorcycle accident in Marathon County on Saturday.
51-year-old Kevin Gray from Mosinee was taken to Aspirus Wausau Hospital with life threatening injuries.
RUDOLPH - Investigators in Wood County want to find a female they think may have stolen an RV and crashed it Saturday on State Highway 13.
Deputies say the driver of the RV lost control, went into the shoulder lane, came back onto the road and ended up rolling over. The crash happened just before 5 p.m. near the Town of Rudolph.
PARK FALLS - Northern Wisconsin struggles keeping its young people. That leads to fewer young families and shrinking communities in the area, but rural communities are trying to reverse that trend.
Park Falls Area Community Development Corporation Administrator Frank Kempf says Price County wants to help young people find good work in their area, but the problem is finding the jobs that young people are going after.
MARATHON COUNTY - A 51-year-old Mosinee man was sent to a hospital with serious injuries after a motorcycle crash Saturday.
The crash happened on County Road WW at US 51 in Marathon County around 11:30 a.m.
GREEN BAY - The Green Bay Packers franchise is gobbling up more land around Lambeau Field.
Brown County real estate records show the business entity created by the Packers, Green Bay Development, has purchased a strip shopping center for $725,000.
RHINELANDER - Hundreds of people "Run to Remember" Kory Dahlvig. His family wanted to make sure people didn't forget everything he did for the community.
"I wanted to do something special in his memory because he died when he was 29 and I thought that was [too] early," says Kory's cousin, Melissa Lane. "I wanted to make sure people don't forget how special he was."
RHINELANDER - Doctors think more than 16 million Americans will have Alzheimer's disease by 2050. Researchers hope to find a cure to get rid of the disease.
Hundreds of people hit the streets of Rhinelander to raise money for Alzheimer's research today. The Walk to End Alzheimer's also helps fund programs and services to help families affected by the disease.
ACROSS WISCONSIN - Nearly one in three adults in Wisconsin is considered obese according to a report by the Trust for America's Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. According to the data and trend, the state isn't slimming, but the increase has almost leveled off over the last few year.
Wisconsin ranks 22nd in the U.S. and still lags behind states like West Virginia and Mississippi. Thirty-five percent of people there are considered obese.
WAUSAU - 22-year-old Fredrick Morris will spend more than 18 years in prison for punching, and nearly killing, a Marathon County Jail employee in 2014. Morris was sentenced in Marathon County Court Friday.
Julie Christensen was critically injured and admitted to the hospital after the attack. Prosecutor Kenneth Heimerman said her life was saved because of the work of medical officials shortly after the attack.
PRICE COUNTY - Fall could give you the chance to win some cash for your photography. Travel Northwest Wisconsin is looking for the best fall photos from the area.
The photos must come from areas in northwestern Wisconsin like Iron, Rusk and Sawyer County. Price County Director of Tourism Kathy Reinhard believes her area will offer good opportunities for photographers.
RHINELANDER - A Rhinelander man inappropriately touched a young girl this May.
The victim was younger than 10 years old.
Blaine Ciardo admitted his actions and apologized in Oneida County Court on Friday. But Ciardo will spend another year in jail. He has spent almost four months in jail so far.
RHINELANDER - Northwoods ministers want more people to go to church this Sunday. That's true every Sunday, but they're putting a special emphasis on this week.
Calvary Baptist Church in Rhinelander is one of many churches taking part in National Back to Church Sunday.
A vast majority of Americans believe in God,but a much smaller minority attend church on a regular basis.
TRIPOLI - A cool summer and a lot of rain hurt grape growing conditions this year. Some winemakers in the Northwoods don't have enough grapes to make wine and they worry the harsh weather may have hurt their vineyards.
"Here's a couple of vines that we lost," explained David Welbes, owner of Brigadoon Winery. "They died."
STEVENS POINT - Two members of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point community are developing a safety app that allows students to track the location of friends when they go out on the town.
Stevens Point Journal Media (http://spjour.nl/1DmZSyb ) reports UWSP senior Jenna Furger and instructor Drew Frisk are working together to conduct the smartphone program's first beta test. They hope to roll out the app within the next couple of months.
RHINELANDER - A familiar face will lead a Northwoods organization dedicated to helping individuals and families.
Tamara Feest became Executive Director of the Human Service Center earlier this month.
The center is located in Rhinelander and serves Oneida, Vilas and Forest counties.
