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EAGLE RIVER - In school, kids learn how to read, write and be good neighbors. A Northwoods school joined a national effort this week to show kindness to each other and the community.
Eagle River Elementary School started its first kindness week. It's part of a national school week called The Great Kindness Challenge. Students of all grades are trying to complete as many random acts of kindness as they can.
MADISON - Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has taken the first formal step toward running for president. He has formed a new tax-exempt group that can facilitate paying for his activities as he seriously eyes a 2016 White House bid.
The group, Our American Revival, was formed on Jan. 16. Walker's campaign issued a statement Tuesday to The Washington Post announcing formation of the committee.
Walker has talked about "our American revival" in recent speeches to conservatives, including one Saturday night in Iowa. The group borrows that rhetoric.
MADISON - One of the University of Wisconsin System's toughest critics in the Legislature is blasting Gov. Scott Walker's proposal to give the system more autonomy.
A spokesman for Sen. Stephen Nass, a Whitewater Republican who serves as vice chairman of the Senate's universities committee, said Tuesday that Nass fears the plan would allow the system to raise tuition dramatically.
Walker's plan calls for cutting the system by $300 million in the next biennium and giving system leaders more independence, a move that would leave legislators with no way to stop the system from raising tuition as much as it wants starting in 2017.
TOWN OF BREED - Wildlife experts say wolves have killed or seriously injured six dogs in Wisconsin this month.
That's double the highest number for January in recent years. Two dogs have been killed in Oconto County.
Department of Natural Resources wildlife supervisor Jeff Pritzl says the spike in incidents doesn't necessarily reflect any changes wolf population or behavior.
MADISON - A Republican state senator says he does not believe the state can force failing public schools to be converted into independent charter schools
Sen. Paul Farrow made his comments Tuesday while testifying in support of a measure he introduced that does not include sanctions. Assembly Republicans are backing a different approach with sanctions.
Gov. Scott Walker has said he does not support sanctions and wants to provide information for parents to decide where to send their children.
HURLEY - Cars in line wrap around block after block on the snowy streets of Hurley.
"Well, I got here at 11:15, and now I'm through the line, and it's 1:30," says Cindy Brannigan. "But it's worth it."
She calls this time of each month, the last week, "the hard time" for many families in the area.
MADISON - Governor Scott Walker wants to cut state funding for the University of Wisconsin System by 13 percent.
At the same time he thinks campuses should have more freedom.
Walker told The Associated Press he will be proposing that future funding to the UW system be a block grant funded by sales tax revenue.
MADISON - Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald says he will investigate a Tomah VA medical center that has come under scrutiny for overprescribing opiates.
McDonald's says in a Monday press release that the probe will look into allegations of overuse of opiates and retaliation against employees.
McDonald says the month-long investigation will begin this week. A 35-year-old former Marine died of an overdose in the hospital's inpatient unit in August.
PHILLIPS - The Price County Sheriff's Office wants to find out what it needs to do to get a K-9 officer. Sheriff Brian Schmidt believes a new dog would improve the office's ability to find drugs.
The county doesn't have its own K-9 officer. However, they do turn to other departments for help.
"What we would utilize is surrounding counties, and it is at their discretion," Schmidt said. "Like Rhinelander, we utilize their dog on occasion, maybe once or twice a year. But again, it is their dog, so they have their needs come first. So if we have our own equipment, our needs are met with our equipment."
RHINELANDER - A man uses bubbles to entertain kids and parents, but his act Monday night also focused on more than just entertainment.
"My name is Geoff, but most people just call me bubble man. Mr. Bubble. One kid called me Bubble-Wan-Kenobi," said Bubble Artist Geoffrey Akins.
Akins makes a living by blowing bubbles.
VILAS COUNTY - Vilas County finally got what it wanted. For fifteen years, the county had needed someone to act as a full-time Recreational Officer--someone to monitor public safety on the snowmobile and ATV trails as well as the lakes and rivers. Now, Vilas County Deputy Sheriff Randy Schneider will fill that role.
Lt. Gerard Ritter II of the Vilas County Sheriff's Office is one of many in the county who wanted to see the new position get approved.
"We finally got that position approved full time," said Ritter. "This position is going to cover snowmobile patrol, boat patrol, ATV patrol. It's going to cover timber theft investigation with the Forestry Department. That's something we haven't addressed over the years in Vilas County."
LAONA - A Northwoods school found a way to teach students skills they'll need after school, and help the community at the same time.
Some Laona High School students helped build a warming shelter at the towns recycling center.
One of Laona's town supervisors brought up the possibility of the building to a school board member.
WISCONSIN - The Wisconsin Council on Problem Gambling received a record number of phone calls to the helpline in 2014â€"14,731 to be exact. This is a 5.6 percent increase from calls received in 2013.
Some of the callers reported having to file for bankruptcy or having thoughts of suicide. The report from the Council also calculated $47,000 as the average gambling debt of callers in 2014, and $20,000 as the median debt.
Executive Director Rose Gruber attributes the increase in calls to awareness and increased access to gambling.
VILAS COUNTY - Many snowmobile trails in Eagle River still need more grooming after all three trail groomers went out of service. The trails didn't get groomed for four days last week. That's because all three of the Sno-Eagles Snowmobile Club's trail groomers need repairs.
The club hasn't had all of their groomers working for a couple of weeks. Sno-Eagles President Ken Storms said the trails took a big hit last week when all three went down. The club says it has made a concerted effort to catch up with trail grooming, and get the trails smoothed out.
"Snowmobiles not bouncing up and down. That's been our goal. The trails were in bad shape and we know that," said Storms.
WAUSAU - The Wausau Police Department will use a "hero dog" to help bolster its K9 unit.
The dog's name is Rex, and he isn't Wausau Police Officer Mark Jaeger's first K9 partner.
"My last dog Pluto is 12-and-a-half and he just retired," said Wausau Police Department's Mark Jaeger. "When he saw me in the uniform getting in the squad and he didn't get to come along, he was not happy."
OWEN - A plane crash in central Wisconsin has killed one person and injured two others.
Clark County Sheriff Greg Herrick says the victim was a passenger in a Cessna 182 that was trying to make an emergency landing on a road in the town of Hoard at about 9:15 a.m. Monday.
News-Herald Media reports two other people in the plane suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
MADISON - The punk rock band Dropkick Murphys is asking Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker to stop playing one of their songs, saying in a message on Twitter that ``We literally hate you.''
The band sent the message Saturday night after Walker took the stage at the Iowa Freedom Summit to their song ``I'm Shipping Up to Boston.''
Dropkick Murphys has been vocally supportive of union rights and critical of Walker's steps to effectively end collective bargaining for public workers in Wisconsin.
CABLE - Supporters of North America's largest cross country ski race want to raise $2.3 million to renovate the trails where it's held in northern Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin State Journal (http://bit.ly/1EnzFlb ) reports the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation has raised more than half of the $650,000 needed for the first of three phrases.
Projects in the next five years would include construction of a trail bridge in Hayward, a permanent starting area, and an outdoor recreation center in Seely, as well as erosion fixes on the trail.
OSHKOSH - An accident on Lake Winnebago has taken another life.
The Winnebago County Coroner's Office says an 8-year-old boy has died after he was pulled from the icy lake water Sunday.
The child's father died shortly after their Jeep broke through the ice about 7:00 a.m.
RHINELANDER - You'll see Relay For Life events across the Northwoods throughout the next few months. The group raises money for people battling cancer.
In Oneida County, fundraising has already started. The group held its big kickoff event Saturday.
The kickoff program highlights what Relay For Life does. It's also an opportunity for the community to learn how to get involved.
RHINELANDER - Downtown Rhinelander leaders hope chocolate can help them promote local businesses. The eighth annual Taste of Chocolate event is planned for February 6th.
27 local businesses are participating this year. Every business will have a different type of chocolate for people to try.
"Some people have their standard chocolates. Some people come up with something new," says Maggie Steffen of Downtown Rhinelander Inc. "There is everything from candies to cakes to chili."
LANGLADE COUNTY - Deputies in Langlade County need your help finding more information about two thefts that happened earlier this month.
The Langlade County Sheriff's Office says a red ice-shanty was stolen from the Elcho area some time between January 10th and January 15th. It's a V-Nose trailer that is 6-and-half feet wide and 14 feet long.
A snowmobile was also stolen this month, according to the Langlade County Sheriff's Office. The 2012 Polaris Rush Pro-R 800 went missing between January 17th and January 18th in southern Langlade County. The snowmobile is red and black.
KENOSHA - Police say 11 people were hurt but none seriously when a bus crashed on Interstate 94 in southeastern Wisconsin.
The Kenosha County sheriff's office says the coach-style commercial bus was returning from Milwaukee to the Chicago area when the driver suffered an apparent medical condition and collapsed about 11:30 p.m. Saturday.
The bus, carrying 34 passengers, was going about 60 mph when it drifted into a concrete wall along the freeway's right shoulder, striking the wall two or three times before coming to rest.
CALEDONIA - An elderly couple is dead after being struck by a sport utility vehicle as they left a church in southeastern Wisconsin.
Police say Oscar and Vernetta Lang, both 83 and from Caledonia, died after being struck about 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
The couple was leaving Mass at St. Louis Catholic Church in Caledonia, where they were longtime members, when the accident happened.
MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee police say a 7-year-old boy has drowned while attending a birthday party at a hotel.
Police say the party was at the Comfort Suites Park Place hotel in northwest Milwaukee.
OSHKOSH - A 40-year-old Sussex man has died after his vehicle fell through the ice on Lake Winnebago.
Emergency crews were called just before 7 a.m. Sunday to the lake about two miles east of Oshkosh's Merritt Street boat landing. The operator of an all-terrain vehicle called for help after watching the vehicle fall through.
MADISON - Lawmakers are set to reignite conversations this week about whether vaping, using electronic cigarettes and other vapor smoking devices, should be included in Wisconsin's smoking ban.
The ban took effect in 2010. It outlaws smoking in all public indoor locations, including restaurants and bars. But the ban does not currently apply to vaping, giving venue owners the right to decide whether or not to permit e-cigarettes.
Democratic Rep. Debra Kolste of Janesville says because the indoor smoking ban has been so successful, the bill seemed like common sense.
RHINELANDER - Weddings can be a lot of fun, but many brides and grooms say it takes a lot of planning to make the big day one to remember. Sometimes that means numerous trips to find a location for the wedding as well as the dress, but brides-to-be found all they needed for their big day in one setting.
Just about every girl envisions what they're wedding would look like. From how their make-up will be done, to getting their make-up getting done, to what their dress looks like and how the cake will taste.
You could find all of that at the 2015 Magical Moments Bridal Expo in Rhinelander Saturday.
MINOCQUA - A large crowd had the chance to try a wide variety of tasty chilli Saturday.
The Minocqua Brewing Company hosted their fourth annual Chilly Chili Challenge. People had the chance to try 10 different chili's.
Minocqua Brewing Company Manager Doug Etten says the warm weather might have played a roll in how many people came out Saturday.
MEDFORD - 28 middle aged and elderly people will need to find housing after an apartment fire in Medford Saturday.
It happened a little before 1 p.m. The Medford Police Department says the fire happened in Riverview Village Apartments on the third floor.
Medford Police Chief Ken Coyer says a neighbor smelled and saw smoke.
