      |
MARQUETTE, MI - Michigan's Upper Peninsula is getting a late taste of wintry weather.
The National Weather Service says temperatures were in the 30s on Tuesday morning in the northern part of the state and snow was falling.
MADISON - The Legislature's budget-writing committee plans to vote for expanding the state's private-school voucher program.
Gov. Scott Walker has proposed doing away with the 1,000-student enrollment cap for the statewide program that began two years ago. But in doing that, Walker's plan would lower the amount of the taxpayer-funded voucher that students receive for their private-school education.
Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has proposed a different funding approach that would keep the vouchers at the same level. The money would come out of aid from the public school district that is losing the student to a private school.
MADISON - A state insurance board has voted to add deductibles and increase out-of-pocket payments in state employees' health care plans in a move that could cost workers $85 million over the next two years.
The state Department of Employee Trust Fund's Group Insurance Board approved the measure on a 9-2 vote Tuesday. Gov. Scott Walker's budget calls for saving $81 million on health care coverage, but doesn't lay out how. The board's action generates that savings.
The majority of Wisconsin state employees don't pay a deductible. Under the plan, they would pay $250 annually. That amount would double for families.
MERCER - When you watch a basketball game being played on a hardwood floor, there's a good chance that wood came from the Northwoods.
A plant in Mercer turns maple lumber into basketball courts. The people who work at Action Floor Systems can see their product on basketball's biggest stages.
"We've got the Bucks floor in Milwaukee," Plant Manager Carl Anderson said. "I can turn the TV on, I can watch them playing on my floor, a floor I had something to do with. The people here at the plant take a lot of pride in their work."
TOMAHAWK - The Mosinee Indians softball team won its seventh straight Great Northern Conference title Friday night.
The team also won its first state title last year.
They are led by two all-state players.
WOOD COUNTY - A crash in Wood County put a man in the hospital.
Deputies tell us the single car crash happened at 8:30 yesterday in the Town of Rudolph.
TOMAH - Leaders at the Tomah VA Medical Center hope a new 30-day plan will improve health care.
The operation of the hospital has been questioned.
An investigation is underway by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
MADISON - The Republican co-chair of the Legislature's budget-writing committee says he would like to see funding for public schools increase $75 per student.
Rep. John Nygren told The Associated Press on Monday that Republicans were discussing that idea and others in advance of the Joint Finance Committee meeting on Tuesday to vote on K-12 funding and expanding private school vouchers.
Public school advocates are calling for an increase in funding, and Nygren says that is his goal.
HELENA, MONT. - A Wisconsin man has been ordered to pay more than $2,300 for mistakenly shooting and killing a grizzly bear in northwestern Montana.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials said Monday that Richard Kutcher thought the animal he shot May 16 was a black bear, not a grizzly.
Grizzly bears are listed as a threatened species and are illegal to hunt.
WAUSAU - The program gives drug users clean drug supplies in exchange for their used needles to prevent diseases from spreading.
The AIDs Resource Center of Wisconsin, or ARCW, in Wausau organizes one of ten needle exchange programs in the state.
The group wants to prevent the spread of HIV and Hepatitis C among drug users.
VILAS COUNTY - When someone goes missing in Vilas County, like the 78-year-old hiker who was eventually found early Monday morning, there's always a plan in place.
"You try to determine where that person is likely to be, and form some sort of containment," said Vilas County Emergency Management Director James Galloway. "Do you think he moved two miles or three miles or four miles?"
Officers will look at any medical conditions or habits a person might have, which could help them figure out how far they could've gone. People are posted at certain spots to help search, and K9 units are often used to help find a missing person.
TOMAHAWK - The Mosinee Indians softball team won its seventh straight Great Northern Conference title Friday night.
The team also won its first state title last year.
They are led by two all-state players.
WOODRUFF - Ronald Millard turned himself into the Oneida County Sheriff's Office Monday afternoon.
Update 2:17 p.m. May 18, 2015
The Oneida County Sheriff's Office needs help finding an inmate after he escaped from Howard Young Medical Center in Woodruff Monday.
Ronald M. Millard, Jr. 41, of Eagle River, was at the hospital for medical treatment when he left around noon, according to the Oneida County Sheriff's Office. Millard was in custody for not making a court appearance.
ANTIGO - The cold weather Northcentral Wisconsin could get this week might hurt local apple orchards.
That's because many apple trees are in full bloom now.
Most of the trees at Grandview Orchard in Antigo are in full bloom.
RHINELANDER - "I was severely obese," admits Rhinelander's Krista Payne. "I was over 350 pounds."
About two and a half years ago, Payne couldn't hide from her weight.
"I always felt like I was the biggest person in the room. I tried to sink inside myself," she said. "I didn't want to draw any more attention to myself."
RHINELANDER - A familiar face will serve as Rhinelander city administrator for the time being.
Phil Parkinson started his position as interim city administrator on Friday.
Parkinson is Rhinelander's former city attorney and administrator. He retired from city hall in 2013.
RHINELANDER - Two people arrested for making meth in their Rhinelander home in January face more punishment for new meth involvement.
Police arrested Andrea Healy, 47, and Richard Nitschke, 48, on Friday in Rhinelander.
The two each face three felony charges: conspiring to make meth, possessing meth, and bail jumping.
RHINELANDER - The National Weather Service relies on technology and storm spotters for up-to-date weather information.
Storm spotters are taught how to spot severe weather when its forming and how to report it. Now, people in Oneida and Vilas counties can learn how to do that.
Two storm spotter classes will be offered. One will be held at Lincoln Town Hall from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on June 3rd in Eagle River. The other class will be held at the Oneida County Law Enforcement Center from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on June 4th in Rhinelander.
DETROIT - The death toll from faulty ignition switches in small cars made by General Motors has reached 104.
Victims' families are being offered compensation of at least $1 million each by attorney Kenneth Feinberg, who was hired by GM last year. In addition, GM has agreed to make offers to 191 people who were injured in crashes caused by the switches in the Chevrolet Cobalt and other older-model cars.
GM recalled 2.6 million of the cars last year, but acknowledged it knew about problems with the switches for more than a decade.
WISCONSIN - Last week's deadly amtrak derailment ramped up the debate on Amtrak funding-.
Speaking on CNN's "State of the Union," Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan rejected the notion that Amtrak spending cuts had anything to do with the crash.
"To suggest and insinuate this tragedy could have been avoided or would have been avoided had congress had more spending or had congress had a different budget, it's the wrong suggestion to make and should not be in this conversation," said Ryan.
MADISON - Democratic lawmakers are calling on federal investigators to launch a probe into Gov. Scott Walker's flagship job creation agency.
Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca and Sen. Julie Lassa both sit on the Wisconsin Economic Development Association's board. They said Monday that the U.S. Department of Justice should look into WEDC.
WEDC has been floundering since Walker created it in 2011.
RIPON - ConAgra Foods says it will close one of its cookie plants in Ripon.
WLUK-TV reports (http://bit.ly/1LerJDz ) about 300 full-time employees will be laid off. WLUK reported workers were being told Monday, with layoffs starting in September and completed by December.
RHINELANDER - Two people already accused of being involved with methamphetamine got arrested again.
The Oneida County Sheriff's department tells us Andrea Healy, 47, and Richard Nitschke, 48, will be in court Monday afternoon.
They were arrested Friday after an investigation into the drug trade in the area.
PRESQUE ISLE - Update--A lost hiker who was reported missing Sunday afternoon has been found.
78 year old Donald Gaines was hiking and taking pictures in the Katherine Wolter Wilderness area of Presque Isle.
The Vilas County Sheriff's Office says was found around 2 this morning by search and rescue teams.
he is in good condition.
MINOCQUA - The Chequamegon baseball team carries one of the best records in the Northwoods.
The team started off poorly, but has won its last 12 out of 14 games to sit at 13-5.
The varsity team has seven seniors that look to lead the team to a successful playoff run.
PRESQUE ISLE - The search is on for a lost hiker in the Katherine Wolter Wilderness area of Presque Isle.
The Vilas County 911 Center got the call about the missing hiker around 1:45pm Sunday. Two men were hiking and taking wildlife pictures, when they split up, and planned to meet back at the parking area for lunch.
The 78-year-old man was wearing a maroon rain jacket, dark shirt, and canvas hat. He was carrying a camera and tripod.
TAYLOR COUNTY - A Merrill man died after his car crossed into oncoming traffic Saturday night.
The Taylor County Sheriff's Office got a call of an accident around 7:45 Saturday night in the town of Greenwood. 50-year-old Brian Kubichek of Merrill was heading east on County Highway M near Forest Drive when he drifted onto the shoulder of the road.
His car then turned sharply, crossing over into oncoming traffic.
WAUSAU - The two day show was put on by the Central Wisconsin Cat Club.
Exhibitors came from across the Midwest and Canada.
People travel in groups to ACFA shows throughout the Midwest. It's a big part of the fun of attending.
MERCER - About 100 people came out Sunday for the second annual Taste of the Northwoods in Mercer. The event was sponsored by the Mercer Education Foundation.
People could sample food from ten different local restaurants. Tickets were $15 to taste different appetizers, entrees, and desserts.
Coordinators hoped to raise between $2,000 to $3,000 for a good cause.
MADISON - A newspaper investigation has found Gov. Scott Walker's top aides pressed for a taxpayer-funded $500,000 loan to a struggling construction company.
The Wisconsin State Journal reports (http://bit.ly/1KYa7er ) that Walker's economic development agency, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, awarded the unsecured loan to Building Committee Inc., owned by William Minahan.
The 2011 loan wasn't repaid and is among several WEDC loans that state auditors recently questioned.
