Local Rhinelander Headlines

Burglary suspect captured after chase

SHAWANO COUNTY - Shawano County Deputies captured a burglary suspect after a chase that damaged two patrol cars.

It all started yesterday afternoon at 4:45, when a report came in of a burglary in progress in the town of Red Springs.

A witness told police he saw a 17 year old from Keshena run from the residence and take a nearby pickup truck. The pickup was spotted in the Village of Gresham, and the chase was on.

Full story: WJFW

Illegal tobacco sales up in Price, Forest, and Oneida counties compared to last year

PRICE COUNTY - Almost 15% of businesses in Price County sold tobacco to minors in 2014. That's an increase from last year.

Wisconsin businesses are tested every year to see if they'll sell tobacco to someone underage. It's part of a program called Wisconsin WINS.

An adult will go into the store with someone who's 16 or 17 years old.
The minor will then try to buy tobacco.

Full story: WJFW

Hunting caps must be blaze orange

MADISON - Hunters know they need to wear blaze orange to stay safe. But some may not realize their cap needs to be blaze orange too.

The state Department of Natural Resources reminds gun deer hunters that their caps must be at least 50 percent blaze orange. A 1980 state law requires that hunters' hats must be half blaze orange.

The DNR says wardens sometimes come across hunters with caps that don't meet the requirement.

Full story: WJFW

Zumba party raises money for local food pantries

RHINELANDER - The holiday season can be a difficult time for the local food pantries. The pantries need a lot more food to feed all of the families that come to them.

One group of volunteers wants to use exercise and dance to put food on peoples plates this winter.

You'll jump, you'll clap, and you'll dance for an hour all while you burn calories and collect donations for the food pantry. The Zumba Party For the Pantry raises money and collects food to help the local food pantries.

Full story: WJFW

International Games Day gets kids socially involved

WAUSAU - Cold temperatures might draw kids inside to play games. Some might grab their iPads or phones, but Saturday a local library taught kids to play games that requires more than one person.

Marathon County Public Library in Wausau invited people to play board games. It was apart of International Games Day.

"Part of it is to get people to come back together and play games, get together as a community and play games and part of it is obviously as you can see people to enjoy gaming and hanging out," said Marathon County Public Library Young Adult Librarian Julie Kinney.

Full story: WJFW

Strategic meeting plan will discuss future of the Oneida County Fair

RHINELANDER - The Oneida County Fair committee thinks the fair could be eliminated without some help from the community.

Fair organizers say the fair has grown since they moved it to Pioneer Park in 2009, but public funding for the fair keeps going down.

The county originally cut $4,000 from the fair's 2015 budget. That money was given back at the last county board budget meeting. The fair also has $3,000 left over from the 2014 budget. Fair organizers think that isn't enough money for future fair programming ideas.

Full story: WJFW

Local children's museum teaches kids about recycling

STEVENS POINT - Some parents teach their kids why it's important to recycle paper, cans and plastic. But there's a children's museum in Stevens Point that wants to teach kids a different way of keeping mother earth clean.

Most parents bring their kids to Central Wisconsin Children's Museum to expand their imagination and creativity. But they added a program Saturday to teach kids about up-cycling.

"I believe in recycling and trying to promote recycling as much as possible," said Central Wisconsin Children's Museum Education Director, Teresa Johnson.

Full story: WJFW

Gordon sets NCAA single-game rush record

MADISON - Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon ran for 408 yards through three quarters Saturday against Nebraska, to break LaDainian Tomlinson's single-game major college football rushing record with 15 minutes still to go.

Gordon set the mark on a 26-yard touchdown on the final play of the third quarter to give the 22nd-ranked Badgers a 52-17 lead on the 11th-ranked Cornhuskers.

It was Gordon's fourth touchdown run of the night. He had 25 carries.

Full story: WJFW

Republicans pushing new school accountability bill

MADISON - Republicans are moving quickly on a school accountability bill, with plans for it to be introduced as early as next month.

Gov. Scott Walker has signaled he wants a bill passed early next year and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has also said it will be one of the first things the Legislature tackles.

The measure sank last session under concerns about how to sanction failing schools and test private school students using taxpayer-funded vouchers.

Full story: WJFW

Raw milk blamed in outbreak that sickened 38

MILWAUKEE - Wisconsin health officials say 38 people associated with the Durand High School football team became sick in an outbreak caused by raw milk served at a potluck dinner.

The Department of Health Services says tests confirmed that 26 illnesses were caused by Campylobacter, a harmful bacterial sometimes found in unpasteurized milk.

Several people who attended the pre-game potluck Sept. 18 became seriously ill, and the outbreak forced the cancellation of a Sept. 27 game.

Full story: WJFW

2 die in crash in Fond du Lac County

FOND DU LAC COUNTY - Two people have died in single-car rollover in the Town of Forest in Fond du Lac County.

The Fond du Lac Count Sheriff's Office says the accident was reported just after 7:15 a.m. Sunday on Triple T Road. Authorities say the driver lost control in a curve and rolled over in a farm field.

The driver, a 19-year-old Fond du Lac man, was ejected and died at the scene.

Full story: WJFW

Missing Medford man possibly burned in hunting stand

TAYLOR COUNTY - Deputies in Taylor County want to know if a missing man burned in a hunting stand Saturday.

It happened a little before 2 a.m. The Taylor County Sheriff's Office says a man and his son planned to meet the 52-year-old Medford man in the city of Medford or on the man's hunting land, but he was no where to be found.

The Medford Police Department and Taylor County Sheriff's Office started a search for the man.

Full story: WJFW

Wisconsin deputy shoots attacker at sign shop

TOWN OF LAFAYETTE - Authorities in Chippewa County say a sheriff's deputy shot an attacker to death after suffering multiple stab wounds.

The incident took place Friday afternoon at Blue Ribbon Awards Signs and Engraving in the Town of Lafayette.

The deputy was found lying on the blacktop with multiple stab wounds and was taken to a hospital. Sheriff James Kowalczyk said he didn't believe the wounds were life-threatening.

Full story: WJFW

Business owners prepare for blaze orange shopping, expect boost in sales

RHINELANDER - Deer hunting season will start soon. However, before hunters head out to the forest, many of them will go shopping.

Local stores have been stocking up on blaze orange clothing and other hunting supplies. The Friday before the hunting season opener has become a very popular shopping day.

Some sports stores spend almost a year preparing for the shopping rush.

Full story: WJFW

Snowmobile sales rise as snowmobilers await season opener

EAGLE RIVER - Snowmobile trails won't be open until at least the end of muzzleloader hunting season. However, some people are already getting ready for the snowmobile season.

Track Side in Eagle River has sold a lot of snowmobiles in the past few weeks. Salespeople think the early snowfall this year has gotten some people excited for the season.

"We've got a very, very short season to enjoy snowmobiling," says Greg Cook of Track Side. "For us, when we get an early start to the season with snow on the ground, the hardest things is waiting for the trails to open."

Full story: WJFW

Preventing winter car damage

RHINELANDER - Snow plows keep the streets clear, but, the salt and sand the plows put on the ground can cause some damage to your car.

Salt can cause stains on car paint. Car experts think the best way to prevent that is to wash your car often.

"Keeping your car washed is step one," says Rob Lucas, manager of Rhinelander Detail Pros. "You don't want that salt sitting on your paint, especially if you have a paint chip. [It can cause] that paint chip to start rusting from the inside out."

Full story: WJFW

Crandon celebrates longtime doctor before official retirement

CRANDON - A longtime doctor in Crandon will retire at the end of the year. Dr. Rebecca Perry went away for school, but she eventually made her way back to help the community for decades.

Perry graduated from Crandon High School in 1966 as class valedictorian. She went to schools in Stevens Point, Madison and Marshfield to get her schooling and board certification in internal medicine. She received that certification in 1981.

She left to come home and eventually work for 33 years in Crandon. Perry says it's a privilege to take care of her community.

Full story: WJFW

Year Two of Healthcare.gov enrollment: local counselors confident in website, push signups from young adults

WAUSAU - The Healthcare.gov website frustrated millions of Americans last year.

Heavy traffic early on made it slow, difficult to use, and vulnerable to crashes.

Year two of online enrollment for the Health Insurance Marketplace begins Saturday.

Full story: WJFW

Antigo water repairs pushed back to spring

ANTIGO - Last winter some important water mains burst in Antigo. The city managers wanted to start repairs this fall, but that won't happen because of the early snowfall and cold snap. The plans to fix the water mains have been pushed back to the Spring. One water main that needs fixing provides water the Langlade Hospital.

"We're going to be monitoring that very closely, the typical thing our crews to do in any winter is we'll flush hydrants in an area and we'll check water temperatures in our distribution system," said Antigo Administrator Mike Desotell. "If they're close to freezing, we might run more and flush more hydrants in the area to drive more direct-fed water from our wells."

Full story: WJFW

Finding the right tree

TOMAHAWK - Steigerwaldt Tree Farms has more than fifty years of experience and have shipped trees all over the world. They were able to tell us what to look for when picking out that special tree for the holidays.

"I would say Frasier Fir trees are the going to be the sturdiest for holding ornaments and they'll probably have the best longevity and look the nicest," explained Steigerwaldt Tree Farms Chief of Operations Lee Steigerwaldt. "Balsam are probably the number one seller for fragrant tree species. I think that Red Pine and White Pine are pretty much under the radar, but they're beautiful trees."

Full story: WJFW

Event hopes to draw in business during shoulder season

BOULDER JUNCTION - People in the Northwoods tourism industry see a slower tourism season this time of year.

Many businesses stay open but can struggle to bring in customers.

"After the leaves fall, we kind of have this low here. We see some hunters up when gun season opens next weekend, and then especially over Thanksgiving weekend. Everybody's up for the holidays and we have our Christmas Walk and then it really gets started when the [snowmobile] trails open in mid-December," said Theresa Smith, Boulder Junction Chamber of Commerce Executive Director.

Full story: WJFW

Pages