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Motorists Encouraged to Watch for Turtle Crossings

Published on 05/26/2026 under News Wisconsin is home to eleven species of turtles...Biologists and conservationists are asking drivers to give them a brake at turtle crossings. Each spring, the DNR works with partners such as the Turtle Conservation Program to raise awareness of Wisconsin's turtles. They typically lay their eggs in late May and early June. DNR Conservation Biologist Andrew Badje says that Nesting season is an important but risky time for turtles. To reach ideal nesting locations, turtles often attempt to cross roads where they are at risk of being hit by vehicles. If you come across a turtle in the road, you can help it on it's journey. First and foremost, make sure it is safe to park and get out of your vehicle. They recommend bringing the turtle to the shoulder of the road in the direction it was heading. For snappers, a safe option is to ferry the turtle by pulling it on a shovel, a sheet, or even your car's floor mat. Other species can simply be picked up by two hands on either side of the shell. Never pull a turtle's tail. The Turtle Conservation Program also tracks turtle sightings and frequent crossing locations. When 'hot spots' are identified they'll sign the location or even explore additional protections. Beyond vehicles, turtle nests are also at risk of predators such as raccoons, coyotes, and skunks. The Turtle Conservation Program has additional information on nesting cages and other resources. Badje, "Protecting adult females and turtle nests in the wild is essential for conserving Wisconsin turtle populations."

Published on 05/26/2026 under News There's typically an increase in vehicle-versus-deer collisions at this time of year, regardless of the type of vehicle. Over the weekend in Lincoln County, drivers of a motorcycle and an ATV struck deer in separate crashes. According to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Report, both incidents happened Sunday. The motorcycle-versus-deer crash happened on State Highway 64/107 in the Town of Scott. Deputies say the collision caused the operator to lose control and put the bike down. The driver suffered minor injuries and was transported to a local hospital for treatment. The same day, deputies were also sent to the area of STH 107 and Hillcrest Road in the Town of Bradley for an ATV-versus-deer crash with injuries. After striking the deer, deputies said the southbound ATV rolled and came to rest in the ditch. The driver was brought to an area hospital for treatment of undisclosed injuries. The Sheriff's Office says both drivers were wearing helmets. For the week, the Sheriff's Office reported 12 vehicle-versus-deer collisions in Lincoln County, along with crashes involving a bear and an eagle.

Published on 05/26/2026 under News One person is dead, another hospitalized following a crash in Vilas County involving a car and a motorcycle over the holiday weekend. According to the Wisconsin State Patrol, that collision happened Monday evening on State Highway 155 in the Town of St. Germain. At shortly after 7pm dispatch received a call reporting the crash. The caller indicated the motorcycle operator was unresponsive. Upon arrival, responders determined the 64 year old man died from his injuries. His name was not immediately released. The driver of the vehicle was brought to an area hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. Based on the preliminary investigation, officials believe the northbound motorcycle crossed over the center-line while negotiating a curve and struck the vehicle head-on. The Wisconsin State Patrol handling the investigation.

Published on 05/26/2026 under News Lincoln County is seeking some additional funding to help develop a new recreational trail. At their meeting this past week, the Lincoln County Board approved a resolution authorizing the Forestry Department to apply for a grant for improvements to the Trout Capital Trail project through the American Trails 2026 Trail Fund. The project focuses on a newly established ½ mile recreational trail segment near Prairie Dells Road. It connects to the recently constructed bridge spanning the Prairie River and links with trails on the opposite side of the river. County officials say the current trail surface is often soft and muddy, limiting usability and creating maintenance concerns. Funding from the grant program would help provide a more stable and sustainable trail surface while improving trail connectivity. According to the resolution, Lincoln County would contribute in-kind support for the project through Forestry Department staff, equipment and resources. The resolution was described as self-explanatory during introduction. Supervisors did not have any further discussion before approving it unanimously by voice vote.

Published on 05/26/2026 under News Road construction season is in full swing, and a pair of new, Northwoods projects are set to begin this week. According to the Department of Transportation, crews will begin a two month project on Highway 107 in Lincoln County. Work includes culvert replacement and repaving the stretch of Highway 107 between Wilderness Drive and County S. The road will be closed to through traffic during construction. Meanwhile, work also begins in Oneida County on Highway 45 between Monico and Three Lakes. This project includes resurfacing, the replacement of 22 culverts, as well as additional safety improvements. Motorists will encounter single-lane closures, with work scheduled to run into early October. And after pausing for Memorial Day weekend several ongoing projects will resume. Here in the Tomahawk area, crews will continue work on Highway 51 between Highway 8 and County L. For this phase of the project, the road will be open with single lane closures. They've got approximately a month left according to the DoT update. Work also continues on the Barnes Creek Bridge on Highway 17 in the Town of Merrill (closed at the bridge), Highway 8 near Rhinelander (detoured), Highway 51 in Minocqua (open with lane closures). The DoT has information on all of their projects on their 511 road construction website.

Published on 05/25/2026 under News It is Memorial Day and local groups and communities will honor those who gave their lives in service to the country. While many are enjoying camping and cookouts today, local veteran groups want people to also remember the reason for Memorial Day. That's honor, mourn, and pay tribute the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. The origins of the holiday date back to the 1860's and began with states observing those fallen during the Civil War. The current designation of Memorial Day on the last Monday of May was established in 1971. Here in the Northwoods, the practice of marking the graves of veterans has been completed. Tomahawk Main Street continued their tradition of hanging Honor Banners on downtown light poles. It all leads up to the observance ceremonies around the area. We've got other programs listed in the WJJQ Community Calendar. Here in Tomahawk, the community program will be held at Veteran's Memorial Park with a Time of Reflection at 9am and the program at 9:30am. Merrill and Rhinelander programs both get underway at 10:30. The Merrill program at the City Cemetery Veterans Memorial; Rhinelander's at the High School Performing Arts Center. And Northwoods National Cemetery in Harshaw will host a ceremony at 2:30pm.

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Sports Headlines

Hatchet Spring Sports Recap 5/21/26

Published on 05/21/2026 under Sports Dickens Delivers On Senior Day, Hatchet Baseball Edges Pines The Hatchet baseball squad ended Great Northern Conference play and Senior Night in exciting fashion, upsetting Northland Pines at Tyler Kahle Memorial Field Thursday night, 6-4. After the Hatchets took a 4-1 lead heading into the fourth, the Eagles would score three runs in the fourth and fifth innings, tying the game at 4-4. With two outs and two on in the bottom of the sixth, Senior Jonah Dickens ripped a two-run double to left-center field to put the Hatchets ahead for good. The two-run double by Dickens was his only hit of the day. Tomahawk would muster five hits total and reached base by way of five hit batsmen. Logan Norman picked up the victory, allowing just two runs on three hits in three innings of work. The win puts Tomahawk at 9-10 on the season and wraps up their GNC Season with a 6-8 record. The Hatchets will wrap up the regular season Tuesday back at TK Field against Assumption. First pitch is at 6:00. After the regular season, Tomahawk will host the WIAA Division 3 Regional Quarterfinal at TK Field as the #8 seed. The Hatchets will play against #9 seed Crandon. Three-Game Winning Streak Into Postseason for Hatchet Softball Tomahawk softball wrapped up their regular season Thursday with a resounding victory over Rib Lake, 13-1. The Hatchets ripped away at the ball with 16 hits and scored at least three runs in three innings. Averi Petta finished a triple away from the cycle, going three for three with a single, a double, and a home run with three RBIs. Sophie Olsen finished three for four with two doubles and two RBIs. Autumn Merrigan also had three hits, including a double and three RBIs. Camryn Kraklow picked up another victory, allowing just one run on two hits. The Hatchets wrap up the 2026 season with a 12-11 record and a 6-8 Great Northern Conference record. Tomahawk begins postseason play in the WIAA Division 3 Regional Semifinal Tuesday as the #6 Seed. The Hatchets will play #3 Seed Prescott at Biggs Frey Memorial Field. Alex Koch and Matt Theiler will have the broadcast on Sports Talk 810 AM/97.7 FM WJJQ with the Fehrman Orthodontics Radio Pregame Show at 4:35 and First pitch at 5:00. Tomahawk Girls Track Take Top Spot at Dale Peterson Invite At the Dale Peterson Invite in Antigo Thursday, both the Hatchet boys and girls track and field squads finished in the top four as a team. Tomahawk's girls won the invite with 129.5 team points, 17.5 ahead of Laona-Wabeno. The Hatchets had three athletes place first across multiple events. Freshman Lauren Reibe took the meet medalist in the 300 meter hurdles and the Pole Vault. Freshman Abbigail Doleshal took the top spot in the discus throw with a heave of 89'9". Sophomore Madilynn Tobias placed first in the triple jump with a leap of 31'. The Hatchet boys would place fourth in the invite with 84 points, just one point behind Rhinelander and three points ahead of Lakeland. Tomahawk's boys had two first-place finishes in the invite. Senior Beau Stromberg took the top spot in the 400 meter run. Sophomore Luke Morrison took the top spot in the triple jump with a jump of 40'1". The WIAA Division 2 Regional Track & Field Meet starts on Tuesday at Medford. Events begin at 4:00.

Published on 05/21/2026 under Sports On Wednesday, select Hatchet Athletes signed Letters of Intent to play at select colleges and were honored with select Coaches' Awards. Siennah Calkins, who was gifted the Bill Fischer Outstanding Female Athlete and the WIAA Female Scholar Athlete Awards, will be continuing her volleyball career at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. Don Dorski Female Scholar Athlete Award Winner Freya Alberg will continue her basketball career at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa. Rex Reilly, who took home the Gary Kuntz Outstanding Male Athlete and WIAA Scholar Athlete Award, is one of the three Hatchet football players that will be continuing his athletic career. Reilly will be attending the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Awarded the Don Dorski Male Scholar Athlete and the Bill Stiff Sportsmanship Award was Michael Samundsen. Ethan Gibeault and Wally Horabik will be football teammates at the University of Wisconsin-Stout next fall. Lydia Shaney will continue her athletic career as a Cross Country and Track & Field athlete at Lawrence University in Appleton. Also continuing her Track & Field Career is Faith Derleth, who will be attending St. Cloud State in Minnesota next year, as well as Alicia Voermans at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Finally, Hatchet swimmer Bruce Peetz will continue his athletic career at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota. The final Hatchet Award winner was the Jim Taylor Sophomore Only Scholar Athlete awarded to Jett Reilly.

Published on 05/19/2026 under Sports Gibeault, Calkins Fill Up Hatchet GNC Titles in Rhinelander At the Great Northern Conference Track & Field Meet at Mike Webster Stadium in Rhinelander Tuesday, the Hatchets had a total of six Great Northern Conference Champions. All of the Hatchet GNC Champs came from the girls. Elise Gibeault took the conference title in the 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash, and 400 meter dash. Ellie Micke took the conference title in the High jump with a leap of 4'10". Siennah Calkins took the top spot in the Triple Jump with a leap of 33'8.75". The 4x100 meter relay squad of Calkins, Micke, Aliyah Nelson, and Alicia Voermans won the GNC title with a time of 52.54 seconds. Overall, the Hatchet girls placed second in the GNC Meet as a team, finishing behind only Rhinelander. The Hatchet boys placed sixth as a team in the Great Northern Conference meet. The top finisher in the meet was Beau Stromberg in the High Jump with a leap of 5'8". Tomahawk's final meet of the 2026 regular season is Thursday at the Dale Peterson Invite in Antigo. Events begin is at 4:00. Big Sixth Inning Propels Tomahawk Softball Over St. Croix Central The Hatchet Softball squad used a big sixth inning out in St. Croix to defeat the St. Croix Central Saints on the road Tuesday, 12-4. Tomahawk trailed 4-1 heading into the fifth before rolling off 11 straight runs, including seven in the sixth inning. Camryn Kraklow pitched a complete game and got the victory, allowing just one earned run on seven hits while striking out seven. Kraklow also went two for three on the day. However, it was the combo of Averi Petta and Aubrey Seubert that spearheaded the way for Tomahawk offensively. Petta went four for five with three runs scored. Catcher Aubrey Seubert had a carrer-high five hits on the day. She had four singles, a double, and three RBIs. Tomahawk also got an RBI double from Autumn Merrigan and an RBI Triple from Ella Peissig. Tomahawk's record improves to 11-11 on the season and 5-7 in Great Northern Conference play. The Hatchets added one last game to their schedule, which will be Thursday against Rib Lake. First pitch is at 5:00. Hatchet Baseball Shut Out and Shut Down to Stratford Tomahawk baseball was shut down by #6 in Division 3 Stratford at Tyler Kahle Memorial Field Tuesday night, losing, 2-0. The Hatchet bats mustered five hits on the day. However, Tomahawk was unable to take advantage of having six baserunners throughout the day. Jonah Dickens allowed just one run on one hit in three innings of work on the mound. Logan Norman pitched three shutout innings and allowed just three hits. Cash Olsen and Colin Black each finished with two singles on the day. The loss drops Tomahawk to 8-10 on the season and 6-7 in Great Northern Conference play. The final Great Northern Conference game of the Regular Season for Tomahawk is Thursday back at TK Field against Northland Pines. Alex Koch and Keith Hanse will be in the broadcast booth with the Fehrman Orthodontics Radio Pregame Show at 4:35 and first pitch at 5:00 on Sports Talk 810 AM/97.7 FM WJJQ.

Published on 05/18/2026 under Sports Hatchet Baseball Survives in 7th, Sweep Antigo The Hatchet baseball squad overcame five errors to edge out Great Northern Conference foe Antigo on the road Monday night, winning, 4-3. The win by Tomahawk is their third straight overall and second straight Great Northern Conference victory. Wally Horabik went two for four with two triples. Horabik also picked up the win on the mound, allowing just one run over three innings of relief. Horabik would also score the go-ahead run on an error off a ground ball by Brody Hilgendorf. Nick Arndt also went two for four on the day. Jonah Dickens went four for four with a double and a run scored. Starting pitcher Cash Olsen gave up two runs in four innings of work. The win puts Tomahawk at 8-9 on the season and 6-7 in Great Northern Conference play. The Hatchets are back in action against #6 in Division 3 Stratford at Tyler Kahle Memorial Field today. First pitch is at 5:00. Tomahawk Golf Places Third in Mosinee To Wrap Up Regular Season The Hatchet golfers would wrap up their regular season placing third in their final Great Northern Conference meet at Indianhead Golf Course in Mosinee Monday. The Hatchets finished with a team score of 349, tied with Merrill and two strokes ahead of Rhinelander. The top Hatchet golfer was Jake Albert, who placed sixth overall and finished with an 81. Rocco Carew and Brayden Lamer tied for second on the team and 15th overall with an 89. Rounding out the top five were Jaxon Kaiser with a 90 and Oliver Childers with a 96. This concludes the 2026 Hatchet Golf Regular Season. The WIAA Division 2 Golf Meet is next Tuesday at Turtleback Golf Course in Rice Lake. Tee-off is at 9:00.

Published on 05/16/2026 under Sports Tomahawk's field throwers competed at the Thunder Throw in the Woods Invite in Minocqua Saturday morning. For the Hatchet boys, two athletes finished in the top ten in shot put. Michael Samundsen finished with a 42'7.5" throw. Ethan Gibeault had a 38'10" toss. The two seniors joined Elliot O'Connor in the top ten in discus. Samundsen was the top Hatchet with a throw of 114'4". In the female shot put, it was two freshmen that placed in the top ten. Abbigail Doleshal had a throw of 26'8". Lillian Rigby had a throw of 21'4". In the discus, both Doleshal and Rigby placed in the top five. Doleshal had a throw of 94'1". The Great Northern Conference Track & Field Meet is Tuesday at Mike Webster Stadium in Rhinelander.

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