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Ballot for Tomahawk Spring Elections; New Mayor, Write-Ins for Council

Published on 01/08/2026 under News For the first time in a decade, Tomahawk will have a new mayor come spring. Tuesday was the deadline for candidates to submit their nomination papers to appear on the ballot for the upcoming elections. Current Tomahawk Mayor Steve Taskay is not seeking re-election after ten years in the office. Taskay was first elected in 2016, emerging from a four-candidate field. He would go on to win four additional elections, three times running unopposed. As for Taskay's successor, two political newcomers to city office will vie for mayor; Michael Habeck and Jeffery Koth both submitted paperwork to run. As for Tomahawk City Council, there are actually five seats up for election, but only three names will appear on the ballot. Starting with the on-cycle, three-year terms... in District 1, Pat Haskin will seek reelection and is running unopposed. In District 2, current alderman Dale Ernst filed non-candidacy papers. Former Councilor Don Nelson submitted paperwork to get back on and will run unopposed. In District 3, Steve Bartz did not submit papers, but may still run as a write-in. There are also two partial terms following a pair of mid-term resignations. In District 1, Bob Soward was appointed this past year, but did not file paperwork. Clerk Amanda Bartz said Soward indicated he would register as a write-in candidate. The other partial-term is an unfilled seat in District 3 following Tadd Wegener's resignation. In a twist, Wegener filed paperwork to run for his old seat and will run unopposed. These races will appear on the April ballot.

Published on 01/08/2026 under News School referendums have become a common occurrence, but the mechanism can also be used by municipalities. Another Northwoods community is exploring the idea. At a special meeting Wednesday, the City of Tomahawk Finance Committee discussed asking voters for a levy increase. The idea has been brought up briefly at past meetings, and comes after several consecutive years of difficult budget decisions. The state restricts the ability of municipalities to increase their tax levy without voter approval. The levy allowance is calculated by a formula largely given by net new construction. Repeatedly brought up during last night's discussion was that costs have outpaced the levy on everything from health insurance to road salt. (Clerk Amanda Bartz noted over the past decade, the allowable increase in levy was 12% while inflation was 35%.) The referendum, if approved by voters, would increase the base-level of the levy moving forward. The Committee discussed five different amounts ranging from 5% to 25%. After discussion, they focused on 20%. That equates to a $276,000. It would result in an increase of $75 for a $100,000 property. Over the past decade, the city has pursued numerous mechanisms to increase the levy. Voters approved a Premier Resort Area Tax or PRAT, however it was never implemented, as it requires approval from the Wisconsin state legislature. They also explored, but never went forward with a transportation utility fee. And over the past year, the Finance Committee has been reviewing and selling property to raise funds. Finance Chair Mickey Loka noted the referendum was always going to be their last option. The City can look north to Minocqua where voters approved a levy referendum in 2024 for $750,000. As they brainstormed, the committee highlighted the importance of communication. If the referendum is officially placed on the ballot, they plan to schedule public informational meetings and other outreach. The meeting packet included an example of a handout that could be distributed to the public outlining the reasons for the request. The Council will take up the resolution at a meeting next week.

Published on 01/08/2026 under News Travelers continue to take advantage of flying here in Northern Wisconsin. The Rhinelander-Oneida County Airport shared their passenger data for 2025. They reported 30,686 passengers flew out of Rhinelander this past year. According to the announcement, this is an 18 year high. In the announcement, they said, "With this momentum, we're ready to fly even higher in 2026. Thanks for being part of the journey." Currently, the Rhinelander-Oneida County airport offers daily service to Minneapolis/St. Paul through Delta. They also offer seasonal flights to Chicago O'Hare on United, expanding their capacity and connection opportunities during the summer months.

Published on 01/08/2026 under News Expect to see plenty of little Henrys and Charlottes running around the Northwoods in the coming years. Those are among the top names selected for babies born at Aspirus in 2025. Over the past year, there were just over 3,200 babies born at Aspirus hospitals. That's up slightly from 2024. As for the names, Henry was the most named boy for a second consecutive year and third time in five. Oliver shared the top spot with Henry; and Theodore rounded out the top three. As for the girl names, Charlotte moved up one spot on the list to claim number 1. That was followed by Eleanor and Nora. Beyond the most popular choices, Aspirus says families also embraced individuality when naming their children. Parents selected 745 different boy names and 864 different girl names, which they said underscores the diversity of families and traditions served by Aspirus hospitals.

Published on 01/08/2026 under News One week after widespread snowmobile trail openings, mild weather is already causing some trail closures. On Wednesday, the Lincoln County Forestry, Land, and Parks Department announced that trails in zones 2, 3, and 4 would close effective immediately. This is due to the rapidly deteriorating conditions, and in an effort to preserve the base until winter weather returns. As of Thursday morning, Lincoln County trails in Zone 1 will remain open. Marathon and Langlade Counties made a similar closure decisions for their trails this week. After a snowy and cold first week of January, this week has had multiple days of rain and daytime temperatures above freezing. There is some hope coming this weekend, with snow in the forecast.

Published on 01/07/2026 under News Tuesday was the deadline for candidates to appear on the spring ballot. Voters will decide on local races such as county boards, town boards, city councils, and school boards. In the coming days we'll be previewing some of the local ballots. ____ Starting with the Tomahawk School Board, at least one seat will be decided by write-in vote. The district confirmed just two candidates submitted paperwork for the three seats on the ballot. The board is currently in a reapportionment transition that aimed to balance the nine member board with three districts on a three year cycle. As a result, the expiring seats don't match those that will appear on the ballot this spring. Rather than two seats for Bradley, Birch, Skanawan, Rock Falls and the town of Tomahawk on this cycle, there will be just one. Board President Ron Zimmerman is seeking re-election, while the longest-serving board member, Kay Kissenger-Wolf, will not seek re-election. A seat representing the City of Tomahawk is being moved into this election cycle as a result of the reapportionment. That is where the write-in will happen, as no candidate filed. Lastly, Dave Long will run unopposed for his set representing King, Harrison, Nokomis, Wilson, and Little Rice. Those races will all appear on the April ballot.

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Sports Headlines

Hatchet Hockey Team Defeats Middleton at Neenah Tourney

Published on 12/31/2025 under Sports On Tuesday, the Hatchet Hockey Team played their final game of the Neenah Holiday Tournament and defeated Middleton 9-2. The Cardinals scored the first goal of the game, with Tomahawk responding and scoring three goals to end the period and lead 3-1. Brayden Lamer had two of the goals in the first and Jonah Dickens added the other. Assisting on the Lamer goals was Caiden Reichelt, Cold Peterson and Beau Stromberg. The Hatchets would open the second period scoring with two quick power play goals from Jake Albert. The first came 00:52 seconds into the period and was assisted by Lamer and Jett Reilly. Albert's second came 00:46 second later, assisted by Jett Reilly and Tomahawk led 5-1. Jett Reilly would add the third goal of the second, assisted by Lamer and Dickens and Tomahawk led 6-1 after two. Middleton would cut the lead to 6-2, before Tomahawk responded with three goals to close the scoring. Lamer scored his third of the night, assisted by Dickens and Rex Reilly. Jett Reilly got his second of the game 00:22 seconds later on an assist from Dickens and Dickens scored in the closing minutes of the period on a short handed goal. Hudson Seymour had 16 saves for Tomahawk. The Hatchets are now 8-2 overall and will host Antigo on Tuesday night at SARA Park Arena.

Published on 12/29/2025 under Sports The Hatchet Hockey Team would suffer their first loss of the 2025-26 season in the first round of the Rocket Red Nose Classic in Neenah Sunday afternoon, losing to #1 in Division 1 Stevens Point, 10-4. Tomahawk would surrender five goals in the first period after jumping ahead in the first minute of the game. Tomahawk would cut the lead to 6-3 after outscoring SPASH 2-1 in the second period. Jett Reilly found the back of the net twice. Jonah Dickens and Breck Stromberg each contributed a goal. The loss drops Tomahawk to 8-1 on the season and 4-0 in Great Northern Conference Play. The Hatchets will play in the consolation semifinals today of the Tournament against Eau Claire North. The puck drops at 4:30.

Published on 12/22/2025 under Sports The Hatchet Hockey team's undefeated season would continue at SARA Park Saturday afternoon, defeating the West Bend Bears, 9-1. Tomahawk would score at least two goals in every single period during the game. Jonah Dickens notched five goals on the day. However, his biggest achievement came with his fourth goal of the game. Dickens surpasses former teammate Austin Lamer as Tomahawk's all-time leading scorer with now 234 career points. Dickens also has the Hatchet all-time goals record at 155. The Hatchets also got goals from Caiden Reichelt, Rex Reilly, Cole Peterson, and Beau Stromberg. Jett Reilly had four assists, and Rex Reilly and Jake Albert each had two assists. Tomahawk's record improves to 8-0 on the season and 4-0 in Great Northern Conference play. The Hatchets begin the Rocket Red Nose Classic in Neenah December 28th. Their first game is against #1 in Division 1 Stevens Point at 4:30 PM.

Published on 12/19/2025 under Sports Tomahawk's boys' swim squad would finish the 2025 calendar year with a 115-43 loss to Rhinelander at the Hodag Pool Thursday evening. The Hatchets would come away with one first-place finish in the dual meet. Bruce Peetz would win the 500 yard freestyle with a time of 5:32.26. The loss drops Tomahawk's dual record to 1-6 on the season. The Hatchets will take a couple of weeks off before their next meet, a double dual in Medford with the host and Lakeland January 6th

Published on 12/17/2025 under Sports Tomahawk's hockey squad continued their dominant start to the season with their second straight shutout win Tuesday night, defeating Waupaca, 7-0. The Hatchets got consistent and persistent offensive output from their top line once again. Jonah Dickens came away with a hat trick. Tomahawk also got goals from Landyn Seymour, Oliver Childers, Brayden Lamer, and Jett Reilly. The win puts Tomahawk at 7-0 on the season and 4-0 in Great Northern Conference play. The Hatchets will return home for a non-conference showdown at SARA Park Saturday afternoon against West Bend. Tune in for the broadcast on Northwoods 92.5 WJJQ with the Fehrman Orthodontics Radio Pregame Show at 12:35 and opening faceoff at 1:00 PM. Alex Koch and Zach Garner will be in the broadcast booth.

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