Local Rhinelander Headlines

WAUSAU - Wausau was one of 50 communities in the United States to advance in the "America's Best Communities" competition, which is sponsored by Frontier Communications, DISH Network, CoBank and The Weather Channel. The final winner will receive $3 million.

Wausau will receive $50,000 and a corporate sponsor partner to help further develop the strategic community and economic revitalization plans outlined in the initial application, according to a Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce release.

The chamber is serving as the non-profit fronting the project for the city. Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Aaron Kapellusch says the winning money would go towards building on the city's downtown progress.

Full story: WJFW

THREE LAKES - A new invasive species threatens to destroy parts of Wisconsin's soil landscape. Jumping worms are native to Asia.

They may look similar to other worms, but they act much differently.

"It's very active. It will jump and wildly move about. It will do anything to get away from you, said Bernie Williams, a DNR Conservation Biologist for Forest Health. "This one moves like a snake, so it can really move quickly to get away from you."

Full story: WJFW

RHINELANDER - The restaurant is giving new life to a previously vacant building.

The building had been empty for the last two years.

But after major renovations, River View is now ready to serve the Northwoods.

Full story: WJFW

LAND O'LAKES - Al Soczka from Land O' Lakes has been collecting pieces of fishing history in the North Country.

"The greatest part about all of it is I'm doing what I absolutely love," said Soczka.

Al Soczka vacationed as a child in the Northwoods. After 30 years of working in southern Wisconsin he retired to Land O' Lakes in 1994. Now he has owned an antique fishing shop for 17 years.

Full story: WJFW

ARBOR VITAE - They call it the fight of the century, but it might be difficult for you to find a bar airing tomorrow night's historic fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

To watch the fight at home tomorrow, you'll need to cough up $100. However, the price tag is much higher for bars. That's why all but one of the bars that we called across northcentral Wisconsin won't be airing it.

"We've had a lot of calls and doing some inquiries as to the price of it, it's all based on seating capacity, and unfortunately, they want a lot of money for the size of restaurant and bar that we are. And our costs would be $3,000," said Pat's Tavern & Grill owner Dennis Hooker.

Full story: WJFW

MADISON - Every county in Wisconsin saw an increase in tourism spending in 2014, making last year the first time in four years that every county took in more than the year before.

Wisconsin's Department of Tourism reports travelers contributed $18.5 billion to Wisconsin's economy last year, a 5.5 percent increase from the year before.

The department says improvements in the overall economy and lower gas prices accounted for much of the jump.

Full story: WJFW

GREEN BAY - The Green Bay Packers have selected defensive back Damarious Randall with the No. 30 overall pick in the NFL draft, hoping to fill a glaring need in their secondary following departures in free agency.

The 5-foot-11 Randall played safety at Arizona State. But the Packers might be looking at him as a cornerback after veteran Tramon Williams left for Cleveland and Davon House left for Jacksonville.

Randall led the Sun Devils last season with 106 tackles in 13 games. He came to Arizona State after playing at Mesa (Arizona) Community College.

Full story: WJFW

MILWAUKEE - Wisconsin regulators have approved a $9 billion transaction that combines Wisconsin Energy Corp. and Integrys Energy Group.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (http://bit.ly/1zihJaF ) reports Wisconsin's Public Service Commission decided in favor of We Energies' parent company on most of the issues in the case Thursday. But the commission attached several conditions in response to concerns ratepayers weren't being offered enough protections.

The PSC is among a number of federal and state agencies that must approve the acquisition that creates WEC Energy Group, which will serve more than 4.3 million gas and electric customers across Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota.

Full story: WJFW

MILWAUKEE - Despite Gov. Scott Walker joining the talks, no deal has been reached on financing a new arena for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Walker had his first face-to-face meeting Thursday with officials from the NBA team and others who have been working to reach a deal. But the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (http://bit.ly/1QR2ivK) reports there was no deal to finance the proposed $500 million downtown arena.

Walker did not take questions after the meeting. Earlier, he said he hopes to have a deal in the "not too distant future."

Full story: WJFW

RHINELANDER - The track at Mike Webster Stadium in Rhinelander will be redone this summer.

The current track is in bad shape. The pavement on the track is peeled and cracked.

The School District of Rhinelander wants to fix the problems before someone gets hurt on the track.

Full story: WJFW

NORTHWOODS - You can help prevent a wildfire by cleaning your yard this Saturday. May 2nd is Wildfire Community Preparedness Day, a day set aside for communities to lower their fire risk across the country.

"The Northwoods is certainly prone to wildfire as we all know, especially this time of year," explained DNR Wildfire Specialist Catherine Koele. "Little things like cleaning up around your yard, cleaning pine needles out of gutters, and raking up around your yard really can make the difference on how your home would survive if a wildfire were to come into your community."

Fire experts say the fire threat is typically highest during springtime months. The fire danger is currently very high for most counties north central Wisconsin. If you start a fire, you'll likely pay for the cost of putting it out.

Full story: WJFW

MADISON - U.S. Senator Ron Johnson says he has subpoenaed the Department of Veterans Affairs' Office of the Inspector General for information on an embattled medical center in Tomah.

Johnson said in a statement Thursday he sent for the documents on behalf of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee as it investigates reports of opiate overprescribing and retaliatory behavior at the hospital.

The facility is at the center of multiple probes. The VA, the VA Office of the Inspector General and the Drug Enforcement Administration have investigations in effect.

Full story: WJFW

CHICAGO - Where is Aaron Schock? An attorney for a campaign donor suing the former Illinois congressman has told a federal judge he can't locate the Republican who resigned in March amid questions about his spending.

Daniel Kurowski filed the lawsuit April 15 for Chicagoan Howard Foster. Foster donated $500 to Schock's campaign and wants him to repay millions of campaign dollars on grounds the Peoria politician tricked contributors into believing him.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports (http://bit.ly/1JbTV8C ) Kurowski told a hearing in Chicago Wednesday he hasn't been able to inform Schock about the lawsuit. Kurowski tried a Peoria address for Schock, but the property is now vacant.

Full story: WJFW

MINOCQUA - Many kids want to become all-star athletes when they grow up.

That's why many of them work hard at a young age to perform well, but for young baseball pitchers, that hard work could lead an increased injury risk.

"What we see in rehab from a pitching standpoint from young kids is if they start throwing curveballs and junk, if you will, too early in their careers, that can put an excessive amount of wear and tear on their young arms that could be detrimental down the line," says physical therapist Bart Hebert.

Full story: WJFW