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RHINELANDER - Some Rhinelander High School students returned to their roots this week.
Members of Future Business Leaders of America volunteered to help elementary schoolers write letters to Santa.
"It's a special day because we have really cool visitors," said second grader Julia Gerdes.
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.
MERRILL - A two and half-year-old Merrill girl recovers after her family's pit bull attacked her. It happened Tuesday afternoon at the girl's house.
The Merrill Police Department says the grandmother was watching her at the time. She let the dog out to use the bathroom and feed it. The dog broke free of her hold and attacked the child apparently for no reason.
The mother says the dog bit her daughter so hard that her jaw was broken. The dog was put down by request of the family.
NEW ORLEANS - A federal grand jury has added drug charges to the state rape charges facing former New Orleans Saints safety Darren Sharper.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in New Orleans announced Friday that Sharper now faces charges that he and a co-defendant "Brandon Licciardi" distributed three illegal drugs "with intent to commit rape."
The federal charges were announced hours after a New Orleans grand jury indicted Sharper, Licciardi and a third man on rape charges.
GREEN BAY - The Defense Department will continue a shipbuilding program that benefits Wisconsin.
The littoral combat ship program will be upgraded rather than being canceled.
Members of Wisconsin's congressional delegation are welcoming the decision.
LINCOLN COUNTY - Lincoln County deputies want your help finding a missing man.
Yesterday, a call came in about 18 year old Michael Thimm.
He has Asperger's syndrome.
ACROSS THE NORTHWOODS - If you shoveled every bit of snow this winter, then you've scraped your sidewalk clean for more than 30 days. Of those 30 days, 23 of them were in November alone. November 2014 in the Northwoods was the snowiest and coldest on record. The reason for it started more than a half a world away.
"The result of a large storm system, remnants of an actual typhoon, that moved into the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, and that really changed the jet stream into that wild configuration which allowed for that arctic air to spill into Wisconsin," said Meteorologist Jeff Last of the National Weather Service Green Bay office.
November's cold was relentless with 10 days falling short of typical January highs. But the cold's been breaking in recent weeks.
BAYFIELD - Last winter, a natural wonder drew thousands to the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.
Continued calm and cold weather could create the right conditions for people to again see ice caves on Lake Superior.
Julie Van Stappen is chief of planning and resource management for the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.
MADISON - Two environmental groups have filed a lawsuit accusing the state Department of Natural Resources of failing to update the state's air quality standards to reflect tighter federal restrictions.
The Midwest Environmental Defense Center, Inc., and Clean Wisconsin filed the lawsuit Thursday in Dane County Circuit Court.
They allege that the DNR hasn't promulgated rules updating the state's air standards to reflect tighter restrictions the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency set for sulfur dioxide and smog-forming nitrogen oxide in 2010 and for fine particulate matter in 2012.
GREEN BAY - A University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh student accused of trying to make the deadly toxin ricin now faces a federal charge that carries a potential life sentence.
Kyle Smith pleaded not guilty Thursday to two federal charges.
The new charge alleges Smith knowingly developed and possessed a toxin for use as a weapon a charge that carries a maximum life sentence upon conviction.
RHINELANDER - The Wild Instincts Rehabilitation center in Rhinelander needs your help to care for wildlife. The center will host the Christmas For the Critters benefit Friday night at Pat's Tavern in Rhinelander. Nearly all the money that's used to care for the animals comes from your donations.
"For the most part we've gotten a couple of small grants over the years, but we have no funding whatsoever from city, state, or county," explained Director of Rehabilitation Mark Naniot. "Being a non-for-profit organization, all the money we make comes from fundraisers like this, memberships, and donations that we get. So we get no federal or government funding whatsoever, so everything we get is what we have to earn."
ST. GERMAIN - You don't often find traditional Japanese tea rooms in Wisconsin.
But you can find one in the Northwoods.
Green Rich Tea opened earlier this year.
BAYFIELD - Continued calm and cold weather could create the right conditions for people to access the ice caves on Lake Superior near the Apostle Islands again this year.
Julie Van Stappen is chief of planning and resource management for the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. She says there's a ``very good chance'' that thick and stable ice along the shoreline could happen if cold temperatures and low winds continue. But she says they should have a better idea next month.
The caves opened last Jan. 15 for the first time in five years.
MINOCQUA - Wisconsin's DOT wants to raise the gas tax on drivers, charge more for hybrid car users, and increase fees to buy new cars.
Tax and fee increases would total $751 million.
That's not going over well with many people in the state.
THREE LAKES - A new Northwoods philanthropic group wants to better the Three Lakes community.
The Three Lakes Community Funds group will make a wish list of things that can help the town. The group was created just last month. Its board of directors thinks it's a group that will help Three Lakes move forward.
The group's main goal is to find new or current projects in the area that it can help.
MADISON - A Wisconsin woman says she plans to file a lawsuit challenging the state's fetal protection law.
The law allows officials to force pregnant women who are abusing drugs into treatment. Tamara Lertscher of Medford claims she was pregnant when she went to the Eau Claire Mayo Clinic to seek treatment for hypothyroidism and depression this summer. Tests there revealed she had used methamphetamine and marijuana.
When she refused to submit to treatment she was jailed and Taylor County officials sent her a letter notifying her of child maltreatment.
RHINELANDER, RINGLE - "When you get hit with a bullet, it's like somebody hit you with a sledgehammer," reads the war memory book of CPL Willie Cybula, who was hit in the leg by three bullets during the Korean War.
"I was covered with dirt, and I thought I was going to suffocate," reads another part of the book.
But this isn't a story about war service. It's a story about stories of war service.
RHINELANDER - Some students in the Northwoods can take college classes without travelling very far.
Students can take classes taught in Rhinelander from other places at the Nicolet College campus.
Instructors teach the classes using new telepresence rooms.
KESHENA - Rising water may lead to flooding on the Wolf River in the Northeastern Wisconsin community of Keshena.
Menominee tribal and county leaders say ice jams are blocking the river in three places.
Town board chairman Michael Chapman says they're working with the U-S Army Corps of Engineers to figure out how best to deal with the problem.
RHINELANDER - Twelve Rhinelander organizations will get money to attract more tourism to the area.
The Rhinelander Tourism marketing committee awarded $6,500 to the non-profit organizations. The Community Grant Program is funded by room tax from Rhinelander hotels.
They give grants twice a year -- in summer and fall.
MADISON - The Department of Natural Resources views 2014 as a rebuilding year for the Wisconsin deer herd.
A report on the nine day gun deer hunt was provided to the Natural Resources Board yesterday.
Preliminary numbers show hunters killed 191-thousand deer.
MADISON - Wisconsin Badgers fans got a big surprise early Wednesday afternoon.
Head Coach Gary Andersen told the team he is stepping down to take the head coaching job at Oregon State University.
He called UW Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez Wednesday morning with the news.
MADISON - Wisconsin wildlife officials are planning to seek public input on four wolf population options next month.
The Department of Natural Resources' current wolf management plan calls for a population of 350 wolves. DNR carnivore specialist Dave MacFarland says the agency is getting ready to release a draft of a new plan to the public in January.
The draft will contain four population options, including stabilizing the population where it stands now at 650 or so wolves; keep the 350-animal goal unchanged; keeping the population between 300 and 650 wolves; or setting a minimum floor of 350 wolves.
MADISON - Gov. Scott Walker says he will be offering some ``bold'' proposal to consolidate departments in state government and eliminate positions.
Walker made the comments Wednesday when speaking to reporters at the governor's mansion.
Walker says his budget will include ``bold things, potentially the consolidation of some departments and elimination of some positions.''
ARBOR VITAE - The holidays can be a tough time for families that can't afford gifts for their children. The season also tends to bring out people's generosity. A community group in the Lakeland area is making the holiday season brighter for families in need.
"Look at this. It's amazing!" said Lakeland Sharing Foundation President Pam Pound.
She was talking about the Christmas toy store the Lakeland Sharing Foundation put together in fewer than ten days.
MADISON - Local Wisconsin governments are making their case to get more money to pay for roads.
A coalition of groups representing Wisconsin towns, villages, cities and counties presented a report Wednesday spelling out how funding has decreased for local roads needs over the past decade, and offers ideas on how to address the problem.
Some solutions include making vehicles subject to the personal property tax and allowing for locally higher gas and sales taxes to generate money.
WHITE LAKE - One Northwoods town feels there's a new spark in the community.
A new health initiative is bringing changes to White Lake.
They're teaming up with Langlade Health Coalition to bring bigger improvements to the area.
MOLE LAKE - The Sokaogon Chippewa tribe in Mole Lake got tax credits and two grants to help build new, affordable houses.
The tribe got the credits from WHEDA, the main contributor for the projects.
The more than $800,000 of grants will help offset construction costs. They got the grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago. About half of that will be used to build 24 new houses. The other half will be used to renovate a vacant motel in town.
RHINELANDER - New security upgrades at the Oneida County Courthouse could make the building a lot safer. The county board is thinking about installing security cameras.
Leaders at the Oneida County Building and Grounds Department think the building is safe right now, but some changes are necessary. The building doesn't have as much security as it used to when the Law Enforcement Center was there.
"The law enforcement presence that was present at this building when they were still located here left us," says Oneida County Facilities director LuAnn Brunette. "That left us feeling a little vulnerable. We've been looking at ways to enhance security since that time."
RHINELANDER - Nicolet College IT students got to leave the classroom for some hands-on experience on Wednesday, and the Rhinelander Area Food Pantry benefited.
The Rhinelander Area Food Pantry used part of a USDA rural development grant to buy a new computer and software system. Nicolet College students installed those in addition to a brand new network.
"The web development team is basically doing all the software, things like that," explains IT Instructor Scott Biscobing. "And the computer support specialist team is doing the hardware, the cable runs, making sure everything the connectivity to the computers is correct and everything's working."
