      |
INDIANAPOLIS - The Badgers need one more victory to be National Champions.
Saturday's victory felt like a National Championship.
They beat a Kentucky team that seemed to play at a different level than the rest of the field.
MOSINEE - A 26-year-old Mosinee man fell into a lake this morning while trying to rescue his dog.
The Marathon County Sheriff's office said the incident happened before 10:30 a.m. near Half Moon Lake Drive. Two neighbors called 911 after hearing the commotion.
The man had trouble staying above water, but his dog was able help keep the man up by digging his claws into the ice.
WISCONSIN - It's a part of the Sea Grant Program.
The director of the Wisconsin's program thinks it's important to monitor water quality in the Great Lakes.
In the late 1970s and 1980s, scientists were dealing with pollution in the Great Lakes from things like factories.
TOMAHAWK - The St. Paul Lutheran Church held its fifth annual Community Easter Dinner in Tomahawk on Sunday.
The meal was free and available to anyone wanted to attend.
St. Paul Lutheran Church wanted to give everyone in the community a chance to spend time with friends and family while enjoying a home-cooked meal.
RHINELANDER - The Oneida County Board won't make a decision on whether to sell land to Kwik Trip yet.
Kwik Trip offered to buy land on Highway 8 to build a new gas station on the site of the Oneida County Highway Department.
Kwik Trip offered the county more than $2 million for the land, but the board still hasn't decided if it will accept the offer.
WAUSAU - A 30-year-old man died after his car hit a tree in Wausau early this morning.
Wausau police stopped the man around 1:00 a.m. near the intersection of 1st Avenue and Bridge Street. When the passenger got out of the car, the driver drove away down 1st Avenue.
Less than two minutes later, police got a call about a crash on North 1st Avenue. The car involved in that crash was the same car police stopped minutes earlier.
WAUSAU - A 30-year-old man died after his car hit a tree in Wausau early this morning.
Wausau police stopped the man around 1:00am near the intersection of 1st avenue and Bridge Street. When the passenger got out of the car, the driver drove away down 1st avenue.
Less than two minutes later, police got a call about a crash on North 1st Avenue. It was the same driver stopped minutes earlier. His car had hit a tree and started a fire. Police pulled the driver from the car, but he died at the scene.
PORTAGE COUNTY - The Wisconsin Department of Justice issued a silver alert for a missing Stevens Point man.
82-year-old Vincent Bach was last seen yesterday afternoon.
Police say he's missing on foot but he's known to hitchhike.
EAGLE RIVER - The Humane Society of Vilas County relies on income it makes from collecting and selling cans.
It uses a trailer outside of the building for community members to drop cans off.
Last year, the humane society made more than $5,000 from the cans it collected.
PORTAGE COUNTY - A car crash in Portage County killed one man and hurt another Saturday afternoon.
A 56-year-old man from Pine Grove was driving west on County Highway W when he lost control of his car. The car ran into a ditch and rolled over, causing a 52-year-old passenger to be thrown from the car.
The passenger, also from Pine Grove, died at the scene.
RHINELANDER - ArtStart in Rhinelander hosted a discussion Saturday on the impact of meth in the Northwoods. Guests watched a documentary, discussed a book, and listened to a panel while learning about the drug's effect on people in the area.
The documentary titled "Meth: A Vicious Cycle," described the negative effects of the drug on a person's health and lifestyle.
Panelists hope this shows the community warning signs to look for.
BOULDER JUNCTION - It's an event that brought in more than 20 soups for a good cause.
"We decided it would be a great day just to have soup. All the people here are going to try as many soups as they can," said Boulder Junction Lion's Club Bob Berch.
The Boulder Junction Lion's Club worked hard to show their support for the Boulder Junction Food Pantry.
WOOD COUNTY - A man fired two shots Saturday morning in Wood County.
Police say 65-year-old Edward Humphrey forced another man out of a house with a handgun.
The man was allowed to leave without being hurt.
RHINELANDER - People in Indiana and Arkansas now live under religious freedom restoration laws.
Governors in both states signed amended versions of the bills yesterday.
The tweaked versions have satisfied some protestors.
RHINELANDER - Dr. Richard Nelson plans to do a lot more listening than talking when he takes over at Nicolet College this summer.
Nelson was selected as the new president this week.
He's spent the last nine years as provost at Paul Smith's College in New York.
WAUSAU - It's something many studies and experts call the "hygiene hypothesis".
Our immune system is meant to protect us from bacteria, and other and things that make us sick, but if you're not commonly exposed bacteria, the immune system is more likely to target harmless things like dust and pollen.
"The hygiene hypothesis suggests that developed countries have done a lot to reduce exposure to infectious agents and this has resulted in our immune systems not having to deal with those infectious agents," said Wausau Allergy & Immunology Specialist Dr. Mark Huftel.
ANTIGO - New businesses can sometimes struggle to find a role in downtown Antigo. But one business owner isn't worried.
Stefanie Tatro bought an old professional building in the downtown area to open up her new salon in. When the building had extra rooms in it, Tatro saw new business potential. She decided to bring in other salon businesses to create a spa-like destination.
"We're kind of looking to gear everything towards women. We want this to be a women's getaway building," says Tatro. "You can come in and get anything done. We're hoping for more spa-like businesses or anything gearing towards women."
WISCONSIN - The spring turkey hunt will start April 11, and Wisconsin DNR workers expect a good season.
Wildlife biologists say turkeys can survive tough winters, but they attribute this year's large flock to mild winters the past few years.
"We're really looking for birds that were hatched two to three years ago," says wildlife biologist Jeremy Holtz. "Those are really the prime target for turkey hunters, and because we had a strong hatch a couple of years ago, we've had pretty reasonable survival and excellent couple of growing seasons."
MERRILL - A local nutrition store could see a boost in business after making big changes. Mustard Seed Natural Health in Merrill recently changed owners and locations. Current managers at the store want to keep the decades- old business going to help people in the community.
"We wanted to see it go on with it just being a long-standing business that was kind of ahead of its time," explains store owner Dorly Dahlke. "It's not just a retailer; it's a relationship with people and an opportunity to help people."
The store changed hands in December and opened at the new location--the former Merrill Courier building on Main Street--in February.
WISCONSIN - The International Crane Foundation wants volunteers for its 40th annual Midwest Crane Count. The event will take place from 5:30 to 7:30 a.m. on Saturday April 18.
The count is staged every spring in six states to monitor crane populations. Coordinators say volunteers will be looking for Sandhill, tagged, and the rare Whooping cranes.
"In the last couple years since the reintroduction of Whooping cranes, they are included also in the crane count, though they're relatively rare," said Langlade County Coordinator for the International Crane Foundation Sam Picone. "There are only about 100 in the state of Wisconsin."
FRANKFORT, KY - If Wisconsin manages to stop Kentucky's win streak Saturday in their NCAA men's Final Four basketball game, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker will win a basket of his own, filled with Kentucky bourbon from Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear.
Beshear and Walker are wagering on their home teams, and Walker bet a basket of Wisconsin cheese, sausage and root beer.
Beshear's office says the bourbons are from Lexington-area distillers and are provided by the Kentucky Distillers' Association.
LOUISVILLE, KY - Nearly 200 firefighters have been battling a fire at General Electric's Appliance Park in Louisville, Kentucky, shutting down production at the sprawling manufacturing center that employs thousands.
The fire began Friday morning in a nonproduction building, creating huge columns of smoke.
GE spokeswoman Kim Freeman says there are no known injuries.
MARQUETTE, MI - Authorities say they have rescued two Northern Michigan University students from an ice floe in Lake Superior off the coast of Marquette.
The Mining Journal of Marquette reports (http://bit.ly/1BYiPUF ) that crews rescued the Michigan and Wisconsin residents Thursday evening. The men were about 500 yards offshore, stranded on breakaway ice that was moving north and surrounded by open water.
The students were examined at a local hospital and released.
MANITOWOC - A 56-year-old Kiel man has made his first court appearance following his arrest at the private burial for a state trooper killed in a confrontation with a bank robbery suspect.
WLUK-TV reports Michael Mangan appeared in court in Manitowoc County on Thursday, after twice failing to show up earlier this week. He's charged with felony resisting an officer causing injuring and misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct, obstructing an officer and disrupting a funeral.
He's charged with felony resisting an officer causing injuring and misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct, obstructing an officer and disrupting a funeral.
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - Frank Kaminsky, the 7-footer who anchored Wisconsin's run to a second straight Final Four, is the runaway choice as The Associated Press' player of the year.
Kaminsky averaged 18.7 points and 8.0 rebounds while shooting 54.9 percent from the field and 41.5 percent from 3-point range as the Badgers ran up a 35-3 record and won the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles.
"Frank the Tank" is the first Wisconsin player to win the award, which started in 1961. He is the third from the Big Ten in the last six seasons, joining Ohio State's Evan Turner in 2010 and Michigan's Trey Burke in 2013.
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - Next in the way of Kentucky's perfect season: Frank the Tank and his fun-loving band of Wisconsin teammates.
Player of the Year Frank Kaminsky and the Badgers were so loose, they were giggling on the podium during their interviews Friday, answering questions about what they eat, how they slept and even what their word of the day is for the poor NCAA stenographer they discovered last month. (Answer: prestidigitation.)
The team they face Saturday in the Final Four, 38-0 Kentucky, is working at keeping the pressure off, too.
ST. GERMAIN - The cold Wisconsin winters can take their toll on all of us, but they can be especially frustrating for golf courses.
This is the time of year when clubs around the Northwoods begin to get their greens ready for play.
Course superintendents will spend several weeks cleaning up for the season.
WAUSAU - Police in Wausau arrest a man after putting out a warning earlier this week about a possible child abduction attempt.
The incident happened Wednesday afternoon in the 600 block of Humboldt Avenue.
On Thursday, officers found a suspect who said he was the man who talked with the girl in an alley.
ANTIGO - Many parents will tell their kids the story of the Easter bunny this weekend. But, there are more to bunnies than Easter. A local 4-H family raises rabbits for show.
Holly and Abby Luerssen have more than 20 rabbits. Holly has raised rabbits since she was young.
"It's just a fun thing to do. They're small. They're not quite the commitment of a dog. They're kind of more like a cat. But you do have to take care of them every day," said Holly Luerssen.
TOMAHAWK - Ground beef prices don't look like they'll get cheaper soon. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the price hit $4.24 per pound in the most recent data.
Brenda Boetel, associate dean and professor of agricultural economics at UW-River Falls says some beef lovers will pay the high price, which is why some of the demand hasn't dropped off as much. But some could reach a breaking point as we head into the summer.
Mike Isenberg runs the Poplar Smokehaus in Tomahawk. He's seen beef prices nearly double since 2010.
