Local Rhinelander Headlines

MADISON - Wisconsin grade school students will spend 60 percent less time taking a state-mandated test this spring.

The state Department of Public Instruction notified schools this week that the total time required to take the language-arts portion of the Badger Exam is being reduced from 4 hours to just 1 hour.

Department spokesman John Johnson said Wednesday that DPI officials decided to drop a writing test portion of the exam after getting feedback that it was taking students a long time to complete it.

Full story: WJFW

MADISON - The New Zealand mudsnail is an invasive species that made its way to Wisconsin in 2011.

It's only the size of a grain of rice, and it's very difficult to eliminate.

The DNR doesn't know how they got to a Dane County's Black Earth Creek near Madison.

Full story: WJFW

ONEIDA COUNTY, BOONE COUNTY, IN - Ashlee Martinson will not allow herself to be taken back to Wisconsin without a legal challenge.

Martinson is the 17-year-old Rhinelander High School student accused of killing her mother and step-father in a home east of Rhinelander over the weekend.

Deputies found her in Boone County, Indiana, where she was taken into custody.

Full story: WJFW

TOMAHAWK - Drug addicts often have to find ways to pay for drugs habits, which can lead to thefts and other issues. Drug use is part of an ongoing problem in the Tomahawk community.

The city of Tomahawk saw a rise in drug seizures last year. According to an annual report, the Tomahawk Police Department took in over 120,000 dollars' worth of illegal drugs in 2014 alone. That's up from previous years.

"That's a fairly significant amount," says Detective John DuPlayee. "I mean that's certainly larger than anything we've ever had here before."

Full story: WJFW

RHINELANDER - A 40-year-old Rhinelander man will go to trial for allegedly killing a man in 2003.

Shannon Wolf is charged as a party to a crime for first degree intentional homicide in the death of Kenneth Wells.

A video reenactment of his ex-wife, Latoya Wolf, showing police her version of how Wells died was played in court. Latoya Wolf is also charged as a party to a crime for first degree intentional homicide.

Full story: WJFW

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama says a new Wisconsin law that prohibits requiring workers to pay union dues "will weaken, rather than strengthen workers."

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signed the measure into law Monday.

Obama accuses Walker of claiming "victory over working Americans."

Full story: WJFW

MADISON - The Wisconsin state AFL-CIO and two local unions have filed a lawsuit seeking to at least temporarily stop implementation of Wisconsin's new right-to-work law.

The lawsuit arguing that the law is unconstitutional was filed Tuesday in Dane County Circuit Court comes one day after Republican Gov. Scott Walker signed it into law.

Walker spokeswoman Laurel Patrick and Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel both say they are confident the state law will be upheld, just as federal courts have ruled in favor of similar laws in Michigan and Indiana.

Full story: WJFW

ONEIDA COUNTY - Updated March 10, 2015 11:59 a.m.

Oneida County investigators have confirmed that Thomas Ayers, 37, died by the use of a firearm, and Jennifer Ayers, 40, died by injuries from a knife.

One of the children in the home told detectives the child had heard two gunshots.

That was the first instance of violence during the situation, according to the criminal complaint.

Read more: WJFW

RHINELANDER - Late Monday afternoon, prosecutors filed charges against 17-year-old Ashlee Martinson. Prosecutors think she killed her mother and stepfather in a home east of Rhinelander this weekend.

A nationwide alert helped sheriff's deputies in Indiana catch Martinson.

"At approximately 10:40 [Sunday], we received a 9-1-1 call" said Capt. Terri Hook of the Oneida County Sheriff's Office. "We sent officers to the residence and when they arrived there, they found a deceased male and a deceased female,"

Full story: WJFW

ONEIDA COUNTY - A 17-year-old Rhinelander High School junior is the suspect in the weekend murders of her mother and step-father at a home east of Rhinelander.

Ashlee Martinson seems to think often about death, torture, blood, and killing, according to content on her blog.

Rhinelander Superintendent Kelli Jacobi told us Martinson hadn't run into problems or discipline at school that she knew of.

Full story: WJFW

MADISON - Protesters are urging a police and fire commission to dismiss a Madison police officer who fatally shot an unarmed, 19-year-old biracial man.

Dozens of people showed up Monday to testify why they think Officer Matt Kenny should be fired.

Authorities say Kenny, who is white, shot and killed Tony Robinson on Friday evening after he was assaulted by Robinson.

Full story: WJFW

RHINELANDER - The now author, Sue Massey, was in Rhinelander Monday. She spoke about the iconic photo and her memoir "Letter From the Heart."

She hopes that like the photo, her book can share the struggles of Wisconsin farmers and small business owners.

"I was hoping that in sharing our story, it would also give voice to all the other people that are struggling out there that would like to share their experiences but they don't have an outlet," said Massey.

Full story: WJFW

MADISON - Protesters have jammed the Wisconsin Capitol to demonstrate against a white police officer who killed an unarmed black man.

Scores of protesters, including many area high school students who skipped class, stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the rotunda as well as on the first and second floors.

They chanted ``Stand up, fight back, no more black men under attack'' and ``indict, convict, send those killer cops to jail _ the whole damn system is guilty as hell.'' Police estimated the crowd at about 1,500 people.

Full story: WJFW

NEW YORK - New York Mayor Bill de Blasio is set to rally Wisconsin Democrats as they look ahead to the 2016 elections.

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin announced Monday that de Blasio is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the party's Founders Day gala. It will be in Milwaukee on April 25.

De Blasio has been building a profile as a national progressive voice since he took office last year. He gave a speech at the United Nations on climate change and spoke about progressive values at a conference of the United Kingdom's Labour Party.

Full story: WJFW