Pine Wood Country Club will add new form of golf
HARSHAW - Pinewood Golf Course in Harshaw will offer another type of golfing this spring and summer.
It's called fling golf.
You only need one stick to play the game.
Local Rhinelander Headlines
TNT Speedway Reopens
ONEIDA COUNTY - TNT Speedway near Three Lakes got new ownership for 2015.
Now a full summer of racing is in order.
"This track had sentimental value to me because my father took me here when I was younger so it was more of a family thing and we wanted to turn it into a family place," said Co-Owner James Koga.
Old prescription pills disposed of in Oneida County drug take back program
ONEIDA COUNTY - People got rid of their prescription drugs in Oneida County Saturday afternoon. The drug take back program allowed people to get rid of old or unused pills in their house.
The Oneida County Landfill, Three Lakes town hall, Rhinelander Police Department, and Minocqua Police Department all collected pills Saturday. Inhalers and syringes were not accepted.
Officers say it's important to get rid of your unused or expired prescription pills.
Governor Walker spoke at state convention in La Crosse Saturday morning
LA CROSSE - Governor Scott Walker gave a speech to Wisconsin Republicans at their annual state convention in La Crosse Saturday. He's considered a likely presidential candidate.
Walker spoke Saturday morning to almost 1,000 people before leaving to join other Republican presidential hopefuls at an event in Iowa. He is back in Wisconsin after spending most of the week touring Israel.
Governor Walker has yet to declare his anticipated run for president.
Eagle River held its first volunteer job fair Saturday
EAGLE RIVER - The event does a lot more than simply find interested volunteers for the organizations involved.
"It is the nucleus of what we hope will become an annual event, and beyond that to become a coalition of the nonprofits that can work together to leverage both our financial and our human resources," said Event Organizer Karen Sailer.
Various local museums, businesses, and charity groups were also represented at the fair.
One man dead after rollover crash in Gogebic County
GOGEBIC COUNTY - A 27-year-old man died after his car rolled over early Saturday morning in Gogebic County.
Police got a report of the accident just before 2:30am. The accident was about one mile south of Ojibway Road, south of Marenisco.
Downtown Rhinelander's open house looks to fill available storefronts
RHINELANDER - Downtown Rhinelander Incorporated, or DRI, had its third annual "Open House for Available Properties" Saturday.
Available downtown properties for rent or sale allow people to view the properties.
The DRI offers people a map and list of the openings.
Questions getting answered; Drs. Foster and Smith likely to stay in Rhinelander, retain jobs
RHINELANDER - The questions started getting asked last fall. Drs. Foster and Smith had just announced it would sell its pet supply company to San Diego-based Petco.
Would people lose their jobs? Would Foster and Smith leave Rhinelander? Would the name change?
Three months after the sale became official, answers seem to be getting clearer. Foster and Smith will likely remain one of the largest employers in Oneida County. The jobs appear to be safe.
Pew Study: Christians decline sharply as share of population
RHINELANDER - A new, extensive Pew Research Center survey shows a changing religious landscape in the United States. Results from the group's second, the first survey was done in 2007, survey shows that nearly ¼ of Americans these days don't associate with a particular religion.
That number has increased by more than six percentage points since 2007.
That's while more Americans turn away from Christianity. The Pew Research Center study shows that roughly 70 percent of American's still call themselves Christians.
Walker wants lawmakers to reform economic development agency
MADISON - Gov. Scott Walker is calling on legislators to reform his troubled economic development agency.
Walker's office announced Friday he wants lawmakers to restructure the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. The administration said it wants to transition away from providing direct loans to businesses and instead putting the money toward tax incentives and use $55 million the governor has set aside for regional loans in his state budget proposal for worker education.
Man charged in fatal stabbing on St. Croix is back in jail
BALSAM LAKE - A Minnesota man charged with fatally stabbing a Wisconsin fisherman is back in jail after allegedly tweeting about the victim.
Charges filed in Polk County say 19-year-old Levi Acre-Kendall tweeted on May 7 that if anyone is praying for him, they should also keep the victim's family in mind.
Acre-Kendall is charged with reckless homicide in the death of 34-year-old Peter Kelly of St. Croix Falls. Authorities say he stabbed Kelly on April 14 after an argument along the St. Croix River.
Hurley High School's student-run business gives kids real life experience
HURLEY - Students at the Hurley K-12 School showed off their skills at the Second Annual Northwoods Manufacturing Open House on Friday.
"All the kids down there, about 40 or so, are doing live demonstrations on all the manual equipment," said Hurley High School Tech ED teacher Jacob Hostettler. "We also have some of the stuff we've made throughout the year on display."
Northwoods Manufacturing is Hurley High School's student run manufacturing business. Students make tables, chairs, and other goods to sell to local businesses. The goal is give kids real world experience.
Northwoods man accused of sexually assaulting at least two children under 13
VILAS COUNTY - A Northwoods man faces six felony charges for allegedly sexually assaulting two different children.
Charges in connection to more victims could also be on the way.
Prosecutors believe Curtis Wiggins, 31, of Lac du Flambeau took part in sex acts with a child younger than 12 years old in May 2013.
Rhinelander's Premier Resort Tax one step closer to reality
MADISON - It appears Rhinelander is one step closer to having a Premier Resort Area Tax.
The state legislature's joint finance committee passed the proposal Thursday night.
The city of Rhinelander wants to add a half-percent sales tax on tourism-related purchases.
US 51 lane closures begin Monday
MERRILL - You might want to allow yourself extra time driving to work next week.
Crews will close one lane of US 51 northbound and southbound beginning Monday.
The daytime closures will happen between the Wisconsin River Bridge and Lincoln County K.
DNR proposes no antlerless quotas for several northwoods counties this fall
MADISON - Killing anterless deer might not be allowed this year.
The DNR plans to ask its board to prohibit killing anterless deer in 13 counties to help the herds grow.
The counties with no anterless quotas would include Vilas, Price, Oneida, Langlade, and Forest counties.
The artwork of a Northwoods native Ruth Stolle keeps inspiring artists
RHINELANDER - Her work is showcased at a current ArtStart exhibition, which will be their first travelling exhibition.
Ruth Stolle classes at schools throughout the Northwoods. She was originally from Tripoli.
When Stolle started teaching in the 1920s, she couldn't teach in schools.
DNR Will Recommend No Hunting For Anterless Deer In Northern WI; Including Langlade County
For the second year in a row, antlerless deer might be off-limits to hunters in much of northern Wisconsin this fall. D-N-R staffers say the overall deer herd remains well-below desired levels in the north. This past winter was a lot milder than a year ago, but wildlife experts say the deer herd still needs more time to re-grow itself. As a result, the Natural Resources Board will be asked on May 27th to ban antlerless deer hunting in Douglas, Bayfield, Ashland, Iron, Sawyer, Price, Vilas, Oneida, Langlade, Forest, and Florence counties
The Latest on Boston Marathon trial: Bomber sentenced to die
BOSTON - Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been sentenced to die by lethal injection for the 2013 terror attack.
The federal jury in Massachusetts reached the decision Friday after more than 14 hours of deliberations over three days.
The 21-year-old Tsarnaev was convicted last month of all 30 federal charges against him, 17 of which carried the possibility of the death penalty.
Oneida County jury likely to hear Shannon Wolf murder case
RHINELANDER - An Oneida County jury will likely decide whether Shannon Wolf is guilty of murder. Prosecutors believe Wolf killed Kenneth Wells and pushed his body into the Wisconsin River in Rhinelander in 2003.
Wolf's public defender, Maggie Hogan, wanted a potential jury to come from outside the Newswatch 12 viewing area. Hogan believed a Newswatch 12 report, which aired in March, was inflammatory and could have unfairly biased a local jury.
But on Friday, Oneida County Judge Michael Bloom refused to grant the request.
DNR lake grant applications put online
WISCONSIN - The DNR made changes to how lake associations get grants to take care of lakes.
All of the applications are now online.
Lake associations can get multiple types of grants.
Merrill celebrates 125 years of transit history
MERRILL - The trolley first rolled into Merrill in 1890. It was one of the first trolley systems in Wisconsin.
This year marks the 125th anniversary of the transit system in Merrill. The entire city was built around it.
The Merrill Historical Society will feature an exhibit to help the community learn more.
Same-sex couple sues over birth certificate
MADISON - A same-sex couple from Madison wants the state to put both their names on their baby's birth certificate.
They've filed federal discrimination lawsuit.
The couple claims discrimination because the state will list opposite-sex parents on birth certificates, but not same-sex parents.
Local schools denied voucher program
NORTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN - Two northcentral Wisconsin schools won't take part in the statewide voucher program next year.
Trinity Lutheran Schools in Wausau and Merrill applied for the program. Both schools didn't get enough applications to become a part of the program.
More than 35-hundred students applied to get a statewide voucher.
Rhinelander girls' soccer continues success
RHINELANDER - The Rhinelander Hodag girls' soccer team could return to the playoffs this season, but they're aiming for much more before the year is over.
"We've had a very, pretty successful season," says Head Coach Dan Millot. "I would say that we have two goals still within reach. One of them is to win a Great Northern Conference championship, and the other is to make a return trip to the state tournament."
Those are lofty goals, but they don't seem so far-fetched when you're a perfect 9-0 in conference play.
Judge considers motion in murder case
RHINELANDER - An Oneida County jury will likely hear the murder case against Shannon Wolf.
Prosecutors believe Wolf killed Kenneth Wells and pushed his body into the Wisconsin River in Rhinelander in 2003.
Wolf's public defender had argued potential jurors in Oneida County could be unfairly biased against Wolf.
Schofield crowdfunding company reaches out to an Oregon bakery that refused to serve a lesbian couple
SCHOFIELD - Continue to Give is an online donation site based in Schofield that's getting some national attention.
The site's designed to help churches, missionaries, nonprofits and adopting parents, but it's also helping an Oregon bakery called Sweet Cakes by Melissa.
That bakery wouldn't bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple in 2013 for religious reasons.
Donating shoes can send veterans on honor flight
MINOCQUA - Cleaning out your closet could help local veterans visit the memorials that stand in their honor.
Students at Lakeland Union High School hope you'll donate any shoes you don't need to their shoe drive. A shoe recycling company pays them 50 cents per pound of shoes.
"Once the shoes are donated to us, we just pack them in here and ship them off," said Charles Eades, one of the drive's student organizers.
Smith to become Campanile executive director
MINOCQUA - The Campanile Center for the Arts in Minocqua will get a new executive director come June. Theresa Smith will start in the position June 1.
She has served as the executive director of the Boulder Junction Chamber of Commerce for the past decade.
Members of the center's board of directors say Smith is the perfect fit for the job.
UW Extension Offices could lose almost $7 million over the next two years under proposed UW budget cuts
RHINELANDER - UW Extension Offices across the state could lose money under Governor Walker's proposed UW budget cuts.
They could lose almost $7 million over the next two years.
Oneida County's UW Extension office runs the county's 4-H program, helps with the Oneida County fair, and provides a variety of educational programs.
