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MADISON - A spokesman for Sen. Tammy Baldwin says a former staffer who has filed an ethics complaint against the senator is letting herself be used as a pawn by Baldwin's Republican opponents.
John Kraus made the statement in response to the complaint Monday from Marquette Baylor.
Baylor was fired in January.
PLOVER - The Plover Police Department has determined the cause of death of a 56-year-old Plover woman found in a lake Friday suicide by drowning.
Police found 56-year-old Betty J. Frost's body Friday night in Lake Pacawa in Plover.
The Plover Police Department says drowning by suicide is not common, but the cold temperatures of the water at this time of year can cause on set of hypothermia within a matter of minutes.
PIEHL - The home of Ashlee Martinson and Thomas and Jennifer Ayers remains an active crime scene. But sheriff's deputies think an 18-year-old broke into it last week.
Martinson is charged with killing the Ayers couple at the home last month.
Last Thursday, Oneida County Sheriff's Deputies arrested Dan Mohr for burglary and theft at the home. He said he was a friend of Martinson.
NORTHWOODS - Chippewa tribes in Wisconsin may be one step closer to being able to hunt deer at night again.
Last year, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered Federal Judge Barbara Crabb to reconsider a ban on night deer hunting. In 1991, she ruled against night hunting in ceded territory for safety reasons.
The state of Wisconsin asked the U.S. Supreme Court to look at that decision, but on Monday the court decided not to take up the case.
WISCONSIN - Wisconsin dentists want to break down the barriers to good dental care that exist here in the Northwoods and throughout the state. Accomplishing that task will require changing both the way patients think about preventative treatment and the way dentists handle certain insurance plans.
Some dentists, such Dr. Andrew Lindner of Rhinelander Dental, think that people don't make preventative care a priority because they simply don't enjoy going to the dentist. He hopes he can help change that general perception by convincing parents to bring their kids into his office early in life.
"One of the keys is to have younger children have good dental experiences, because the children that we see that are in their teens and early twenties--that we've been seeing since they were little kids--they like coming to the dentist's office," Lindner said.
WINCHESTER - Animals can often make special bonds with children. An autism support group called "Blazing a New Trail" is taking advantage of those bonds to help kids adjust to their challenges.
"Horses were probably the most forgiving animal that were ever created," says Lenelle Scholl, the director of the Scholl Community Impact Group and facilitator of Blazing a New Trail. "They very much bond."
Every little nudge builds a special connection. That connection helps kids on different points of the autism spectrum develop new social skills.
WISCONSIN - Wisconsin Public Service users could see an increase in their gas and electric bills next year.
WPS asked state regulators Friday for an increase in 2016. The proposal asked for a 9.4% electric rate increase and 2.5% for gas.
While these percents may seem high, WPS workers don't want people to worry.
MARATHON COUNTY - A Marathon County community asks for your support after a fatal car accident Friday morning left a family of eight without a father.
Michael Rogan, his wife Niki, and their seven children were driving to the hospital at approximately 4:30 Friday morning to deliver the family's eighth child when another car struck a deer that was crossing Wisconsin Highway 97 near Stratford. The collision threw the deer into the Rogans' van, causing heavy damage to the van, injuring some of the the children and killing Michael.
Niki delivered a healthy baby boy just hours after the accident, and none of injuries to the other children are said to be serious.
CHICAGO - The Bucks will look to even up the series tonight against the Chicago Bulls.
Milwaukee lost the first game of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on Saturday 103 to 91.
The Bucks hope to play tonight's game more to their style of play.
MILWAUKEE - The Brewers are off to a rough start so far this year.
Another loss to the Pirates yesterday completed a series sweep for Pittsburgh and dropped the Brewers to 2-10 for the season--the worst record in the majors and the worst start in franchise history.
Twelve games into the new season, the Brewers have only scored 30 runs--also a league-worst mark--and the pitching staff sports one of the worst team earned run averages in the league at 4.76.
MINOCQUA - High School coaches take pride in winning, but they also take pride in teaching athletes about more than just sports.
"We're giving them something that is a lifelong skill," said Lakeland Tennis Coach Ted Dasler.
Dasler has been the head coach for the Lakeland tennis team since 1992. Each year he sets out to use life skills to coach a life-long sport.
TOWN OF CORNING - A 55 year old Merrill man was recovering Monday morning after being cited for a one-car crash on Saturday. It happened in the Town of Corning Saturday night just after 10:30.
Another driver called the police and reported the man had run his car off the road and hit a power pole near County Road FF.
Emergency workers had to wait for the power to be shut off before they could remove the driver from his vehicle.
MADISON - Gov. Scott Walker has declared a state of emergency to deal with elevated wildfire conditions.
Walker issued the declaration Monday. It calls on all state agencies to assist in potential wildlife response and recovery efforts.
It also authorizes the Wisconsin National Guard's adjutant general to call units to active duty as needed to help emergency management officials and the state Department of Natural Resources fight wildfires.
ST. PAUL - Authorities in Minnesota have charged six men they say attempted to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State group.
A criminal complaint unsealed Monday charges the men with conspiring to provide and attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.
The complaint says the men sought to reach countries near Syria by flying from the airports in San Diego and New York City, but were stopped.
MADISON - Sheriff's deputies have arrested three more men in connection with a state drug informant's death.
The Dane County Sheriff's Department announced Monday that the men were taken into custody over the weekend on suspicion of aiding a felon and being a party to a crime of hiding a corpse.
Investigators believe the three men were present at the town of Burke auto repair garage where a Waunakee man and a Madison man stabbed 23-year-old Jacob Payne. They believe the men dumped Payne's body in Lake Mendota.
BRISTOL - Matt Kenseth won the Food City 500 in Support of Steve Byrnes and Stand Up to Cancer on Sunday
The wins was Kenseth's first win in over a year.
PITTSBURGH - The Milwaukee Brewers (2-10) fall to the Pittsburgh Pirates (6-6) 5-2 on Sunday.
The Brewers have the most losses in the league.
The team has also scored the least amount of runs in the league.
RHINELANDER - The opening day of fishing on lakes in Wisconsin will be here in less than two weeks.
But until May 2nd, fishing enthusiasts are enjoying the melted ice on rivers.
Parts of the Wisconsin River are open for fishing and I went out to see if the fish were fishing.
"We always look forward to this time of the year," Rhinelander's Henry Pauke said. "You know when the fish are running it's always fun to get out here and chase after them."
CHICAGO - The Chicago Bulls defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 103-91 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Playoffs Saturday.
Guard Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 25 points.
Khris Middleton put up 18 for the Bucks.
WASHINGTON - A Supreme Court decision may open the door to night deer hunting by Chippewa tribes.
The court rejected an appeal from Wisconsin officials who want to keep a ban on night hunting in place.
The justices today let stand an appeals court ruling.
TOMAH - A veterans medical center at the center of a controversy over painkillers will be reducing its Urgent Care Clinic's hours.
The Tomah VA medical center is eliminating overnight hours for its urgent care clinic.
That's because of staffing shortages.
RHINELANDER - Not everyone will get the chance to see the rainforest in their life. So in 1992, Mike Kohlrieser decided to take the rainforest to kids here in the US.
Based out of Ohio, he started the non-profit "Understanding Wildlife" to teach kids the importance of animals and taking care of the earth. They had a performance at Rhinelander High School Friday night.
"We show the kids what we've got, and what we stand to lose, if we don't take care of the earth we have right now," said Kohlrieser.
CONOVER - A Northwoods community came together for the ninth annual wine tasting benefit to raise money for the Humane Society of Vilas County on Sunday.
Tickets for the event, held at Lanny's Fireside in Conover, sold out three weeks ago.
"We have three different tables set up with different kinds of wines, and then all of the food is paired with the wine, and they just roam around, help themselves, catch up with old friends, make new friends," says Humane Society of Vilas County board member Pam Ragan.
MERRILL - The Merrill Fire Department put out a quickly spreading fire early Sunday morning.
Firefighters got a report of a large grass fire by Pier Street and North Star Road in Merrill. The call came in a little after midnight.
About a fourth of an acre of grass was on fire with two to four foot flames. The winds were light at the time of the fire, and firefighters were able to quickly put it out.
BESSEMER - Police believe alcohol may have been a contributing factor in a car crash involving a 22-year-old man near Bessemer Sunday morning.
The Gogebic County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call around 8 a.m.
The Sheriff's Office believes the driver was traveling south on East End Road in Erwin Township when his car left the road, hitting several trees, and pinning him inside the car. The driver spent several hours in the car before the accident was reported.
RHINELANDER - The Rhinelander Area Food Pantry has added a new greenhouse at its current location so people will now have more vegetables to take home.
For the last nine years, the pantry grew its vegetables at the Rhinelander Area Community Garden, but it now needs more greenhouse space.
"We were doing it in small pop-up greenhouses and in our homes," said organizer Tom Jerow, "[but] thanks to the Rhinelander Kiwanis, who provided the funding and much of the labor for this construction, we were able to build this greenhouse."
EAGLE RIVER - Mat's reel repair in Eagle River works on thousands of reels each year.
With opening weekend only a few weeks away Mat Hegy has a lot of reel repair requests coming in, but he says he's pretty busy all year round.
"We've covered all 50 states, most of the Provinces of Canada. We get a few things from Mexico and South America, but we get a lot of handle orders from Europe, Singapore, Australia," said Hegy.
CRANDON - The Northwoods saw some beautiful weather Saturday, and for some people, that good weather means good food.
Palubicki's Eats and Treats in Crandon is open again for the season.
"It takes about three or four days and seven or eight of us to get it going," says Palubicki's Eats and Treats owner Sue Palubicki.
LINCOLN/ONEIDA COUNTY - A more than 25 mile high speed chase led to the arrest of a 65-year-old Jackson, Wisconsin man Saturday morning. Police say the suspect was intoxicated while driving.
A Lincoln County Sheriff's deputy had stopped a car around 1:30am on Highway 51 near Irma when another car passed traveling northbound in the southbound lane.
The deputy caught up with the wrong-way driver near an intersection of Highway 51 near Tomahawk.
PHILLIPS - Many parents worry about their children being distracted while driving.
Students at Phillips High School got to learn about how hard it is to drive while impaired or distracted.
The Phillips Police Department and school district hosted The Save A Life Tour for students Friday afternoon. It teaches kids the negative impacts of impaired driving.
