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ATHENS - Earlier in March Newswatch 12 featured two siblings who run track at Athens High School.
One of the siblings signed his letter of intent to run track for the Wisconsin Badgers
Aaron Wickman will be the first athlete from Athens High School to run for the Wisconsin Badgers track team.
IRON COUNTY - Hunting in the Northwoods stays strong because of family tradition and love for the sport.
A Northwoods hunter is continuing a hunting tradition that has been taking place in Wisconsin for hundreds of years.
Jeff Wilson traps in what he calls 'beaver alley' in the Turtle Flambeau Flowage in Mercer. It was clear that beavers were active.
MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Bucks ended their regular season with a record even at 41-41, but it's good enough to get them the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.
It comes after a season where Milwaukee only won 15 games all year.
It's only their third trip since the 2006 season, and they did it with their first round draft pick, Jabari Parker, out for most of the season.
MADISON - Emergency workers prepare for things we all hope will never happen.
A tornado in Illinois last week showed just how devastating the storms can be.
In Wisconsin, a statewide tornado drill will be held today.
MINOCQUA - Talking about death can be difficult for anybody. But one local home care center wants to start the conversation about life, death, and embracing our mortality.
Dr. Kate Hospice in Arbor Vitae started the "That's Life (& Death) Cafe" to encourage those conversations.
"We really just want to hear people's opinions about how they view their own mortality," said Jennifer LaPorte, the Bereavement Coordinator and Chaplain for Dr. Kate Hospice. "You can learn a lot about death from the experiences that you have. We often say that there can be so much life in death."
MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee's police chief says a man suspected of fatally shooting two people at the scene of a traffic accident that killed a toddler has killed himself in the Chicago area.
Chief Edward Flynn said Thursday that Ricky Chiles fatally shot himself as police closed in on him at a hotel.
Flynn didn't say when Chiles died.
MADISON - Wisconsin has confirmed its second and third outbreaks of a form of bird flu that's deadly to poultry.
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection says the affected operations are a farm with 126,000 turkeys in Barron County and a backyard flock of 40 birds of different kinds in Juneau County.
The farms will be quarantined and the remaining birds will be killed to prevent any spread.
MADISON - Scott Walker's likely campaign for the White House is getting a boost from some former staffers, who have set up a political group able to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money.
Two former campaign managers for the Wisconsin governor said Thursday they have formed a super PAC to support Walker.
The move comes after three other Republicans have already officially announced their plans to run for president.
MADISON - The chairman of the Assembly Education Committee says it appears unlikely that a deal can be reached with the state Senate to pass a school accountability bill this session.
Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt commented Wednesday after a Senate committee scheduled a vote on its version of the proposal that doesn't include sanctions for failing schools. That is something Thiesfeldt and other Assembly Republicans have demanded they wanted included in the bill.
Thiesfeldt says he doesn't see Republicans in the Senate ever compromising with Assembly Republicans to reach a deal. He says the Legislature may decide to wait and see what direction comes from Congress.
MERRILL - The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office believes a 24-year-old Merrill man had sex with a 15-year-old girl on several occasions, according to a release from the office.
Travis L. Liebers was arrested Wednesday morning in connection to a felony investigation.
Liebers was arrested for allegedly having sexual contact with a 15-year-old girl.
WOODRUFF - A Woodruff DNR worker will serve as the DNR's north district fisheries supervisor starting Monday.
Mike Vogelsang will oversee fisheries from Florence County to Bayfield County to St. Croix County. He's taking over in what he calls a busy part of the season.
"All of our staff is out day and night now doing our monitoring and our surveys. We'll be at this for probably another three weeks or so until the peak of the spawning activity winds down," Vogelsang said.
MADISON - Secretary of State Doug La Follette says budget cuts to his office are "totally unthought out nonsense."
The Legislature's budget-writing Joint Finance Committee voted Wednesday to cut his office by more than half a million dollars and eliminate two of three fulltime positions.
La Follette says the move will cripple his office and leave him unable to process documents as required by law. He says it will be a "train wreck" and unrealistic to expect his office to continue serving the public as expected.
MADISON - The Republican co-chairs of the Legislature's budget committee have removed 14 of 49 policy items from Gov. Scott Walker's budget proposal.
The Joint Finance Committee co-chairs released the list on Wednesday. It includes removal of Walker's proposal to make the Department of Natural Resources Board advisory only, and a proposal to shield university research records from public view.
The list comes out on the first day that the committee is voting on Walker's budget.
CRANDON - People with dementia can seem confused, disoriented, or slow from the outside.
But what does it really feel like to live with dementia?
People wearing futuristic-looking sunglasses, headphones, and clunky gloves experienced the feeling on Wednesday in Crandon.
MERRILL - Two friends from Merrill dreamed of going into business together. On Friday, their dream will become a reality, despite a health scare that could have put their dream on hold.
Eric Heimerl and Jon Smith are preparing to open Rutt'n Rod Outfitters.
"People come to an outfitters like this because they've worked hard all week and they want to spend their money on the things that make them smile and makes them happy," Smith said.
WISCONSIN - The Wisconsin DNR relies on people who work in fire towers to find forest fires.
Fire tower workers saw a forest fire late Wednesday morning in Sugar Camp.
DNR rangers say it's important to find these fires early, especially now, when most of the state is under an extreme or very high fire warning.
WISCONSIN - Energy companies in Wisconsin can begin shutting of people's utilities today.
Those companies can't shut off a customer's heat during the winter, even if that person is behind on bills.
There are more than six thousand customers in the Northwoods who are behind on their bills.
RHINELANDER - April 15 marks the last day to file your 2014 income taxes. If you still need to file, it's crunch time.
For accountants, the midnight deadline often means a busy day.
Putting the finishing touches on tax day can be summed up in one word:
CRANDON - People can see the work of some of the best middle school artists on display this week in the Northwoods.
Entries in the Northern Lakes Conference Middle School Art Show are placed throughout the Crandon Public Library.
The displays include art from middle schoolers in White Lake, Laona, Elcho, Three Lakes, and Crandon.
RHINELANDER - Science students at James Williams Middle School got the chance to talk weather Wednesday. Three WJFW meteorologists gave talks at the school as part of a career lecture program hosted by the teachers. The talks also also offered a chance to address severe weather awareness.
"We love to get out into the community and talk to area schools and educate kids with what's going on with the weather," explained WJFW Chief Meteorologist Matt Benz. "This week is Severe Weather Awareness Week in the state of Wisconsin, and we feel we need to at least get the word out about what to do when there is severe weather, and what to watch out for."
The kids were treated to several weather experiments to demonstrate the ins and outs of weather. Teachers also held a coincidental tornado drill during the lectures. Several students in the group were excited to learn about the world of meteorology.
MADISON - A group of voters won't be able to get involved in the court case over the leadership of the State Supreme Court.
A federal judge has denied an attempt by a group of five voters to intervene.
They wanted to stop a lawsuit brought by Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson.
DULUTH - Duluth police say a city bus driver suffered a medical emergency before crashing into another bus, killing a passenger.
The crash happened just after 5 a.m. Tuesday in downtown Duluth. According to police, an eastbound bus struck a stoplight and then collided with another bus coming in the opposite direction.
Police say the 58-year-old driver of the eastbound bus apparently suffered a medical emergency. A passenger in the eastbound bus died. The victim is identified as 53-year-old Michael Joseph Mooney of Duluth.
RHINELANDER - Winter looks like it's finally behind us, which means spring sports can finally start heading outdoors. And nothing says warm weather like the crack of the bat.
But in northern Wisconsin, players and coaches may end up waiting a long time for that warmer weather to come--and an even longer time for it to stick around for a while.
"It's been a rough spring," says Rhinelander High School softball head coach DJ DeMeyer. "We got outside early. We were fortunate enough for the field to open up. We got out for a couple practices--and then we had the snow."
SUGAR CAMP - Update-We now know the name of a man killed in a crash in Sugar Camp Tuesday morning.
38 year old John Klessig of Eagle River died of injuries suffered in the accident.
The Oneida County Sheriff's department tells us two vehicles were involved in the wreck Tuesday morning just before 8:00.
RHINELANDER - April 15th marks the last day to file your 2014 income taxes. If you still need to file, it's crunch time.
For accountants, the midnight deadline often means a busy day.
Putting the finishing touches on tax day can be summed up in one word.
MADISON - A group of voters won't be able to get involved in the court case over the leadership of the State Supreme Court.
A federal judge has denied an attempt by a group of five voters to intervene.
They wanted to stop a lawsuit brought by Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson.
MADISON - Wisconsin lawmakers have approved a bill that would ban microbeads, the plastic exfoliant in soap, toothpaste and other personal care products.
The state Assembly passed the bill Tuesday on a voice vote. The Senate passed the measure last month. The bill now moves to Gov. Scott Walker for his signature.
Scientists recently discovered that microbeads are flowing by the billions from wastewater plants into the Great Lakes and other water bodies. Manufacturers have already started substituting microbeads with natural substances including ground-up fruit pits, oatmeal and sea salt.
MADISON - Wisconsin lawmakers have advanced a bill that would regulate ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft.
The Assembly approved the measure Tuesday on a 79-19 vote.
Regulating companies like Uber and Lyft, which connect pedestrians with private drivers through a smartphone app, has become a hot topic as they've increased in popularity and compete with taxi and limo companies. The bill has sparked bitter debate between ride-hailing proponents and Wisconsin taxi companies.
MADISON - Traffic is moving again on one of Madison's main thoroughfares after high school students blocked the street to protest the death of an unarmed biracial man at the hands of a white police officer last month.
Police on Tuesday evening ordered an end to the daylong protest that saw dozens of students from East and West High Schools blocking East Washington Avenue.
Police declared the gathering an unlawful assembly and ordered protesters to leave the street. At least one person was arrested.
WOOD COUNTY - A man sits in the Wood County Jail this morning after a stabbing put a woman in the hospital.
The Wood County Sheriff's Office received a call shortly after 11 p.m. last night reporting a domestic disturbance on Plover Road in the Village of Biron.
Deputies believe a 27-year-old woman was stabbed by a 35-year-old man.
