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CRANDON - A Northwoods high school drama club won a state award last month.
Crandon High School's drama club members won an all-state award for performing Bradley Hayward's play 'Troubleshooting'.
Members worked for four months to perfect the play for competition.
TOMAHAWK - A Price County company might expand to Tomahawk.
Multitek North America manufactures forestry equipment in Prentice. The company needs more room. It could move to the old Harley Davidson building in Tomahawk.
"We did need the room and this building became available so it just made sense that we'd expand into another area where we can draw more employees from a different area," explains Multitek President Doug Kamps.
MADISON - A judge plans to hold competency hearings this week for two girls accused of trying to kill a classmate to please the fictional character Slender Man.
Attorneys for both girls are challenging findings from state doctors that the girls are fit to stand trial on attempted homicide charges. Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren will hold hearings for both of them on Thursday.
According to court documents, the girls plotted for months to kill their friend and finally attacked her in May in a Waukesha park.
MARQUETTE, MI - State regulators will answer questions from the public about a proposed surface water discharge permit for the Eagle Mine and Humboldt Mill in the Upper Peninsula.
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality is conducting a public hearing on the permit Jan. 13. It begins at 6 p.m. at the Westwood High School Auditorium in Ishpeming.
DEQ staffers will answer questions about the draft permit, then convene the public hearing.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - Police in Australia end a hostage situation at a cafe in downtown Sydney.
After a flurry of loud bangs, five or six hostages were seen running from the building and a swarm of heavily armed police the swooped into the cafe early Tuesday, Sydney-time.
The gunman had been holding an unknown number of people hostage for more than 16 hours.
KESHENA - Even with the help of heavy equipment to attack ice jams, a flood warning remains in effect in South Central Menominee County.
Ice jams on the Wolf River have backed up water into the town of Keshena.
The National Weather Service has extended a flood warning in the area until noon on Wednesday.
ELCHO - No parent wants to see their child go overseas and risk their life to protect our country, but it happens. When they come home parents often welcome their soldier home in a special way. One Northwoods family got their son back from Afghanistan.
"Jesse has always been a dedicated individual and he really enjoys being a soldier," said Jesse Owen's mother Lisa Owen.
19-year-old Jesse Owen loved being a soldier so much that he pursued his dream since he was 5-years-old.
EAGLE RIVER - Warm temperatures made their way to the Northwoods this weekend. Even though the warmth might have given some people a break from the snow, it made difficult conditions for snowmobilers in Vilas County.
Snowmobile trails in Eagle River opened Friday, but the high temperatures made it difficult for snowmobilers to get around.
The Snow-Eagles Snowmobile Club president Ken Storms says the trails have already taken a beating.
LAKE DELTON - UPDATE 12/14/14 4:01p.m.
Authorities blame an ice resurfacing machine for a suspected carbon monoxide leak that sent dozens of people to hospitals after a junior hockey game at a Wisconsin rink.
Delton Fire Chief Darren Jorgenson says the carbon monoxide was coming from one of the rink's two propane-fueled resurfacing machines.
Jorgenson says the machine "wasn't fully combusting the propane," and the ventilation system was unable to offset the problem.
GREEN BAY - Former Packers guard Fuzzy Thurston, a member of the great Green Bay teams of the 1960s, has died. He was 80.
The team confirmed Sunday that Thurston died after several years of health issues.
Born Fred Thurston, he was best known for his blocking on the Packers' famed power sweep.
MADISON - A number of Wisconsin state parks and forests will offer guided New Year's Day hikes.
America's State Parks and American Hiking Society are teaming up with state parks around the country to promote so-called First Day Hikes as a healthy way to start 2015.
The hikes will be offered at a number of state parks, including Buckhorn, Devil's Lake, Mirror Lake, Harrington Beach, Whitefish Dunes and Peninsula as well as in selected areas of the Kettle Moraine State Forest and the Richard Bon State Recreation Area.
LAKE DELTON - Authorities say a carbon monoxide leak during a junior hockey game at a Wisconsin ice rink sent dozens of people to area hospitals.
At least 81 people have been treated for symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning after the leak was discovered at Poppy Waterman Ice Rink in Lake Delton.
The Delton Fire Department says players reported having headaches, dizziness and nausea after a game between the Dells Ducks and the Rochester Ice Hawks Saturday night.
NEWTOWN, CONN - The community of Newtown quietly marked the second anniversary of the shooting rampage that left 20 children and six educators dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
No public memorial events were held on a day town officials said instead would be for private reflection and remembrance.
Churches remembered the victims in Sunday services. At St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, special bells were rung and the victims' names were read.
WASHINGTON - A $1.1 trillion spending bill is on its way to President Barack Obama for his signature.
The Senate voted 56-40 on Saturday for the long-term funding bill, the main item left on Congress' year-end agenda. The measure provides money for nearly the entire government through the Sept. 30 end of the current budget year.
The sole exception is the Department of Homeland Security, which is funded only until Feb. 27. Republicans intend to try then to force the president to roll back a new immigration policy that removes the threat of deportation from millions of immigrants living in the country illegally.
WASHINGTON - Congress has sent President Barack Obama a short-term spending bill that will keep the federal government operating through Wednesday and avert a government shutdown.
Senate passage came Saturday with only hours to spare before an earlier stopgap measure was set to expire.
MINOCQUA - Every Christmas card is thoughtful. But Peggy Grinvalsky's cards are a little more special.
They're all handmade and very detailed.
"My family has big Christmases and I started this drawing as a present for them," says Peggy Grinvalsky. "That started 40 years of making Christmas cards for my mother."
MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee police are investigating a shooting that left one man dead and another man hospitalized.
Officers responded to reports of gunfire at about 11 a.m. Saturday in northern Milwaukee. A 24-year-old Milwaukee man was declared dead at the scene. A 42-year-old Milwaukee man was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
It's unclear whether anyone else was involved in the incident.
THREE LAKES - People can sometimes forget tradition. That's why one Northwoods history club recreated historical holiday celebrations today.
The Three Lakes History Club asked its members to bring ornaments that share their personal traditions. The members then talked about the true meaning of Christmas.
"I should probably do more at Christmas than just think about presents and all that," says David Kaufman.
MERRILL - This time of the year brings a lot of families together. It's also a great way for young kids to work on their motor skills and make presents for family members.
T.B. Scott Free Library in Merrill hosted Family Holiday Craft Day for about 10 years.
Parents brought their kids to make ornaments or other holiday crafts Saturday. They would be used for decorations they could put on their Christmas tree or as a present for grandparents.
MADISON - The state Department of Justice is recommending police don't submit evidence from some sexual assault exams to the state crime lab without the victim's consent.
The recommendation is part of a plan for the DOJ's Sexual Assault Response Team to ensure sexual assault kits are efficiently distributed, used and sent to the crime lab. The agency estimates local police departments have 6,000 untested kits on their shelves.
MADISON - At least two people have died in accidents as freezing drizzle made for slippery roads in parts of Wisconsin.
Madison police spokesman Joel DeSpain says a man was checking his SUV for damage after he fishtailed and slid into a concrete barrier, when he was struck and killed by a pickup truck that slid on the same ice. It happened about 7 a.m. Friday on a bridge on Highway 151.
The Dane County Medical Examiner's Office identified him as 71-year-old Miguel Julian of Sun Prairie. Authorities say he died at the scene.
MILWAUKEE - Fewer Wisconsinites are being hurt or killed in drunken-driving accidents.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation says 185 people died in alcohol-related crashes last year _ down 47 percent since 2003. Injuries from those crashes have dropped 59 percent in the same period.
Sgt. Bill Lubinski from the La Crosse County Sheriff's Department says he thinks police enforcement of drunken driving and more education about its risks have led to the drop.
MILWAUKEE - The lawyers who successfully fought to undo Wisconsin's ban on same-sex marriage are seeking to recoup $1.2 million in legal costs from the case.
Led by the American Civil Liberties Union, a group of same-sex couples sued the state to overturn its constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. A U.S. District Court judge overturned the amendment in July _ a decision the U.S. Supreme Court eventually let stand.
In a Friday filing, the plaintiffs asked the court to award them $1.2 million for attorney fees and other expenses. The plaintiffs argue those large costs are due to the state's vigorous defense of the ban.
EAGLE RIVER - An Eagle River woman who went missing Friday night was found dead Saturday morning.
The Eagle River Police Department got a call about a missing woman Friday around 8:30 p.m.
The 71-year-old woman was last seen by family members December 7th. A neighbor saw her walking down the road December 9th or 10th.
LINCOLN COUNTY - Lincoln County deputies say they've found 18 year old Michael Thimm. He has Asperger's Syndrome. Thimm lives in the Harrison Hills area of Lincoln County. He was found around 4:30 p.m Friday.
He is alive and well.
VILAS COUNTY - Vilas County's snowmobile trails opened at 4 p.m. Friday afternoon.
The Boulder Junction Snowmobile Club covers 128 miles of trails.
"I don't want to bring people up here from seven to eight hours away and then find out that the trails are terrible. So I tell them what's going on," said trail boss Lou Milewski.
WHITEHALL - A western Wisconsin woman has been sentenced to 30 year prison for giving a lethal overdose of a narcotic to a toddler.
Calling the crime ``unimaginable,'' Trempealeau County Judge John Damon on Thursday sent 24-year-old Amanda Butts, of Osseo, to prison for the death of 22-month-old Alexis Behlke.
Butts had been watching Alexis while her father was at work. Butts initially denied giving Alexis anything but children's Tylenol after bringing her to the hospital in 2013. She later admitted giving Alexis an Oxycodone pill.
ANTIGO - The recent Gun-Deer Season could lead to higher number of animals poisoned with lead. Often times animals may eat deer remains containing lead fragments from bullets. The Raptor Education Group Inc. in Antigo regularly treats birds that eat the contaminated meat.
"Basically it's the hunting season, the that use the lead shot as opposed to the copper-jacketed bullets," said REGI Executive Director Marge Gibson. "The lead fragments are very soft pieces of metal and they dissipate into the tissue of the animal."
Group members tell us they take in countless numbers of lead-poisoned birds.
WISCONSIN - One of the most common birds in the world went extinct 100 years ago.
The population of the passenger pigeon went from several billion to extinct in only 40 years.
Some Wisconsin groups are working to make sure that doesn't happen to other bird species.
RHINELANDER - CPR can be the difference between life and death in some emergencies. But human CPR won't work on pets. Some Northwoods fire departments want to learn how to correctly do CPR on cats and dogs.
Many firefighters have training in emergency care for pets. But some firefighters and EMTs got together with a local vet to get more information.
One vet says the idea came from an accident last winter where a dog died.
