Local Rhinelander Headlines

Few days left for absentee voters to cast votes

VILAS COUNTY - Voters can still cast their absentee ballots in person this week. Voters have until 5 p.m. on Friday, April 3rd to go to their municipal clerk's office to vote.

Voters can also request a ballot to be sent to their home. The deadline for that is Thursday, April 2nd at 5 p.m.. Mail-in absentee votes will be counted even after election day.

"If they're postmarked on April 7th and the local municipal clerk receives them before 4 p.m. Friday [April 10th], they will still be tabulated, says Vilas County Clerk David Alleman. "They'll still be counted."

Full story: WJFW

Northern local roads worst in Wisconsin, but study shows state transportation money goes to southeastern part of state

WISCONSIN - People in northcentral and northwest Wisconsin drive on the worst local roads in the state.

But money for road projects seems to be headed to southern Wisconsin more and more.

Three nonprofit groups in the state finished a study with those findings.

Full story: WJFW

Wisconsin Public Television hosts premiere of Rhinelander episode of Around the Corner with John McGivern

RHINELANDER - A Milwaukee Public TV program came to Rhinelander last summer to profile the city.

Around the Corner with John McGivern will premier its episode on Rhinelander this week, but Rhinelander community members got the chance to see the episode before it airs.

Wisconsin Public Television hosted a premiere event Saturday night.

Full story: WJFW

Air Force Veteran says he struggled to get long-term pain solution from VA hospitals

TOMAH - Air Force veteran Jason Bishop says he has struggled in vain to find chronic pain relief at several Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals, including one in Tomah.

Bishop says the VA hospitals have offered him treatment, including prescriptions for narcotics, but few long-term solutions.

Bishop was one of thousands of veterans to receive the narcotic as well as a prescription for a benzodiazepine, a class of psychoactive drugs that act as a tranquilizer. Experts say combining the two raises risk of injury and death.

Full story: WJFW

ArtStart welcomed its Rural Roots exhibit with a reception party Saturday night

RHINELANDER - It gave people of all ages a community focused event to enjoy.

It's something ArtStart hopes to do after each opening event. It also hopes to mix in different themes for the receptions.

"In the past we've always had earlier receptions and this year we thought we'd try something different and have after parties with dancing and open bar, and hopefully attract maybe a little younger crowd," said Organizer Melinda Childs.

Full story: WJFW

Body of man who went missing while ice fishing found in Bayfield County lake

BAYFIELD COUNTY - Authorities have recovered the body of a missing 77-year-old fisherman from a lake in northern Wisconsin.

Bayfield County authorities say Louis Bickel of Mason had gone ice fishing on Perch Lake in the Town of Drummond on Saturday. His wife reported that night that he had not returned home.

Deputies arrived to find Bickel's vehicle as well as a hole in the ice about 50 yards off shore with some ice fishing equipment in and near the hole.

Full story: WJFW

Hundreds of mourners expected at Wisconsin state trooper's memorial Sunday

KIEL - A 21-year-old Wisconsin state trooper killed in a shootout with a bank robbery suspect is being remembered in his hometown.

Hundreds of mourners are expected to attend a public memorial service Sunday evening for Trooper Trevor Casper. The service is being held at Kiel High School, where Casper graduated in 2011.

Casper will killed Tuesday in a shootout that also left the bank robbery suspect dead. Casper had just graduated from the State Patrol's academy in December and was on his first solo patrol when he was killed.

Full story: WJFW

Anglers learn to tie their own fly fishing flies in Tomahawk Saturday

TOMAHAWK - It might not even feel like spring outside yet, but some people at Treehaven in Tomahawk spent Saturday preparing for the day they can start fishing again.

The anglers learned how to tie their own fly fishing flies.

"Everyone gets excited this time of year when the snow starts to melt," says class instructor Austin Noring. "You start to see some open water, and what better way to prepare by tying flies and start the fishing off with a good full box of flies?"

Full story: WJFW

Wisconsin heads back to Final Four after 85-78 win over Arizona

LOS ANGELES - Frank Kaminsky and the Wisconsin Badgers hung on to make the Final Four again.

"Frank the Tank" scored 29 points, Sam Dekker added his second straight career high of 27 and the West Regional's top seed beat No. 2 Arizona 85-78 on Saturday to reach consecutive Final Fours for the first time in school history.

The Badgers (35-3) denied the Wildcats (34-4) a Final Four berth for the second straight year, having beaten them by one point in overtime in Anaheim a year ago when their seeds were reversed.

Full story: WJFW

Local kids of all ages got to enjoy a spring carnival for a great cause Saturday

TOMAHAWK - The Tomahawk Elementary School hosted its first spring carnival this year. Our Sister's House, a homeless shelter being built in Tomahawk, organized the event.

"We decided to do kind of a fun theme just to kind of get our name out there a little bit, and involve the public. So we decided to do a mini carnival," said Our Sister's House President Bernice Duchac.

The event kicks off spring break, and kids seemed to think it was a great start to their break.

Full story: WJFW

New study suggest doctors struggle to interpret breast biopsies

WAUSAU - A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests doctors struggle to accurately interpret breast biopsies.

The study says pathologists misdiagnosed normal breast tissue 13 percent of the time.

However, some doctors think the study results might not be so alarming. Dr. Edgar Betancourt, from Associates in Pathology in Wausau, says recent technological advances have made the process of interpreting a biopsy more subtle and complicated.

Full story: WJFW

Census estimates show rural Wisconsin continues to lose population

MERRILL - Census data show more people leaving many parts of northern Wisconsin. The population loss is a problem that continues to challenge rural parts of Wisconsin.

Nearly half of Wisconsin's counties lost population between 2013 and 2014, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates released this week. Most of the declines came in rural counties. However, Lincoln County Economic Development Executive Director Ken Maule thinks the reasons for the declines are more complex than just a simple lack of economic opportunities.

"We have jobs in this area," Maule said. "We're having trouble filling those positions because of the exodus people. Younger people are graduating from high school, going on to school, and many are not coming back."

Full story: WJFW

Wisconsin court cancels arguments in Walker recall probe

MADISON - The Wisconsin Supreme Court has canceled oral arguments it planned to hold next month on three cases related to the secret investigation into Gov. Scott Walker's 2012 recall campaign.

The court had scheduled arguments for April 17 and April 20. But in an order released Friday, the court said "it is neither legally nor practically possible to hold oral argument."

The arguments were expected to be awkward, given that much information remains shielded from public view, including the names of unnamed petitioners trying to halt the investigation.

Full story: WJFW

Same-sex marriage fight will cost Wisconsin taxpayers

MADISON - Wisconsin's attempt to ban same-sex marriages will cost taxpayers more than $1 million.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that an agreement announced Friday calls for the state to pay the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented eight gay and lesbian couples who sued to overturn Wisconsin's 2006 constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

Full story: WJFW

Governor's proposed budget could lead to staff cuts and larger class sizes in the Unified School District of Antigo

ANTIGO - A Northcentral Wisconsin school might need to let staff go and increase class sizes next school year.

But a lot of the Unified School District of Antigo's budget next year is uncertain.

The school could lose a lot of funding if the Governor's proposed budget is passed, and that won't be voted on until this summer.

Full story: WJFW

Natural Resources Board member hopes public weighs in on Walker proposal to change board power

LAONA - The state's Natural Resources Board (NRB) plays a major role in shaping how Wisconsin interacts with the natural world.

It's done that since its creation in the 1920s.

Now, Gov. Scott Walker wants to strip the citizen board of much of its power as part of his state budget proposal.

Full story: WJFW

Five arrested in meth investigation

RHINELANDER - An ongoing drug investigation led to the arrest of five people in Rhinelander earlier this week.

Investigators believe 40-year-old Michael Steinmetz, Jr. and 38-year-old Jaime Rickert were making meth in their Rhinelander apartment.

According to the criminal complaint, Steinmetz admitted to investigators that he made meth and dumped the waste in the toilet in his apartment.

Full story: WJFW

Two Phillips girls compete in state geography and spelling bees

PHILLIPS - The Badgers won't be the only ones hoping for a championship win. Two girls at Phillips Middle School are on their way to earn a different title.

"I was really surprised when I won it," said Phillips 6th grader Trinity Pesko. "I was just like so happy because I didn't even know it existed until class started."

Trinity competed in the National Geographic State Bee in Madison Friday. But she's not the only one headed to Madison competing for a top prize.

Full story: WJFW

Kenosha man arrested in 25-year-old Fond du Lac murder

FON DU LAC - A 61-year-old Kenosha man has been arrested in connection with the nearly 25-year-old murder of a Sturtevant woman whose body was found in a ditch weeks after she disappeared.

Fond du Lac County Sheriff Mick Fink told Gannett Wisconsin Media (http://fondul.ac/1H7vmsu ) that the man was arrested in Berit Beck's killing after he made an appearance on an unrelated charge in Kenosha County.

The 18-year-old Beck was killed in July 1990 after she stopped in Fond du Lac while heading to a work seminar in Appleton. Her body was found about six weeks later.

Full story: WJFW

Eagle River supports Paige Decker all the way to NASCAR debut

EAGLE RIVER - Community members love to see their own grow up and succeed.

Eagle River has its support by backing one women's journey all the way to NASCAR Series.

22 year old Paige Decker will start he career in NASCAR Saturday in the Camping World Truck Series at Martinsville, Virginia. But, that wouldn't have been possible without the help of her local town.

Full story: WJFW

Gov. Walker in Texas, out of sight during immigration flap

WESLACO, TEXAS - Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker left a tour of the U.S.-Mexico border without addressing questions being raised about his stance on immigration.

The likely Republican presidential contender remained invisible to reporters on Friday during a visit that could have given him a chance to spotlight illegal immigration and border security.

Instead, the two-term governor arrived in Texas after reports that he expressed support for giving immigrants a pathway to citizenship during a recent closed-door meeting. Walker aides dispute those accounts and say he opposes what he calls "amnesty."

Full story: WJFW

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