News

Next year’s state park stickers are now on sale.  And the DNR is taking submissions for the sticker’s artwork for the following year.  

The 2015 state park sticker contest is open to all high school students throughout the state. 

DNR spokesperson Paul Holtan says judges are looking for designs that evoke the Wisconsin outdoors. 

“We want it to be representative of the parks experience.  Whether it’s outdoor activities, wildlife watching, beautiful scenes of the state parks – what they feel is the most important part of visiting our parks.”

A youth program in Rhinelander is hosting two free gift wrapping nights.  Young people who are turning to Forward Service Corporation for help finding jobs will be giving back to their community by wrapping presents for free.

Youth program coordinator Serena Adler says there are multiple benefits for the young gift wrappers. 

The need for blood continues during the holidays and a Red Cross spokesperson says he hopes people respond over the next two days.

Blood Represenative Marc Sutton says donations tend to drop during the holidays...

"...people are on vacation, on holidays and traveling...we see blood donations go down a little bit....the need doesn't go down during the holiday seasons....'

Sutton points out that some people need blood, even during the holidays...

Giving a pet as a holiday gift could result in a problem if the person getting the animal hasn't approved it.

Oneida County Humane Society Director Bria Swartout talked with Ken Krall about giving pets as gifts.

Experts ask anyone thinking of giving a pet as a gift to remember it will be a 10 to 15 year commitment to the animal.

Oneida county is going to take more time before deciding to implement a new compensation package for employees that has a component of pay for performance.

The county board contracted with Carlson-Dettman Consultants of Madison to compare Oneida county's employee compensation to other governments and the private sector.

Consultant Patrick Glinn said their study found a disparity between county compensation and the marketplace and proposes a change...

A judge has allowed a Lac du Flambeau teen a signature bond prior to his sentencing for allegedly trying to stab his mother's boyfriend.

Numbers compiled by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance show per school student spending rose just over one percent during the last school year.

A new report by the Madison-based non-profit finds per student school spending rose 1.1 percent.

WISTAX spokesperson Dale Knapp says the latest numbers reflect the legislature's move in 2012 that cut district revenue limits by more than 5 percent then increased them modestly last year. Knapp says school districts used the changes brought about in the controversial ACT 10 legislation...

Snow has started to pile up here in the Northwoods, and that’s good news for snowmobilers. 

Oneida County Forest Director John Bilogan says conditions could be frozen enough in a few days.  But he’s guessing it will be about two weeks before the state-funded trails actually open. 

“It’s all the paperwork side of things – the insurance policies, private land easements, land-use agreements, all have to be in place from the snowmobile clubs and on file in our forestry office.”

Intrepid ice fishermen are already hitting the frozen lakes.  But unstable conditions can make it dangerous. 

Antigo DNR Recreational safety warden Jeff Dauterman says ice thickness can vary even within the same lake…and visual checks are not reliable. 

“You got ice out there, once there’s some snow on it you don’t know if it’s once inch thick or two feet thick.  It can vary that much within a single lake. So you’ve always got to remain cautious.”