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Hatchet Girls Wrestling Team Finished Second at Invite Published on 02/08/2025 under Sports

The Hatchet female wrestlers finished second in the Merrill Central Wisconsin Women's Wrestling League Finale Friday. Tomahawk finished with 249 points, only ten behind first-place Merrill and ten ahead third-place Wausau West.

The Hatchets got three first-place finishes in the meet. Kylie Peissig defeated Wausau We's Aaleeh Le at 107 pounds. Cadence Thompson won at 114 pounds over Wausau West's Lena Volmer. Gracie Long defeated Manawa's Alexis Ferg at heavyweight.

The Hatchet female wrestlers' season is officially wrapped up. Tomahawk begins their regional meet in Wausau West next Friday. Alex Koch and Tony Derleth will be in the broadcast booth with the Fehrman Orthodontics Radio Prematch Show at 4:40 and opening duals at 5:00.

In Other News

Marshfield Clinic Research Institute Studying Ticks; To Seek Public Submissions

Published on 04/03/2025 under News Tick season is right around the corner, and scientists at the Marshfield Clinic Research Institute will once again be collecting and studying ticks with the help of the public. The research is focused on the distribution of tick species in the area, including any new, invasive ticks that may be moving into Wisconsin. They will also identify the microbes carried by each tick, and any disease-causing pathogens. To establish their 'Tick Inventory,' researchers put out a call for the public to participate by submitting ticks. In year one, they received more than 6,000 ticks stretching from Ashland to Kenosha. They were primarily wood ticks, with deer ticks the second most common. But they also received some less-common-to-Wisconsin species. Jennifer Meece is the executive director of the Marshfield Clinic Research Institute. She says, "We had overwhelming support from people (who) are curious and invested in helping better identify the health threats associated with ticks." They're asking for submissions again this spring and summer. This year the kits will also include an new, optional survey. Questions previous tick-borne disease diagnosis, tick precautions, and potential follow-up studies. Tick submissions from all over Wisconsin is encouraged, regardless of if the person is a Marshfield Clinic patient. The submission kits will be available at most Marshfield Clinic locations or requested. To request a pre-paid collection kit be sent to you, contact tics@marshfieldclinic.org or 1-715-389-7796 (extension 16462). They've also invited park and nature centers around the state to have kits available. Learn more

Published on 04/03/2025 under News The Tomahawk School Board will have two new members. There were three seats for Tomahawk School Board on Tuesday's ballot. Ann Swenty was the only incumbent seeking re-election, and she ran unopposed. She'll be joined by newcomer Steve Heinrich, who was the lone candidate for an open seat. There were no candidates on the ballot for the third seat, representing the city of Tomahawk, leaving the winner to a write-in. And while it took a little extra time, Jennifer Black was the clear winner with more than 250 votes. Ahead of the election, she announced a write-in campaign. In all more than 40 people received votes including some fictional characters like Boba Fett and Mickey Mouse; former teachers; and some current and former board members. Outside of Black, no other write-in candidate received more than 4 votes, according to the preliminary results.

Published on 04/03/2025 under News Utility crews continue to make progress with power restoration efforts in the Northwoods. Today marks the fifth day since a winter storm crossed Northern Wisconsin, leaving more than 100,000 people without power in the WPS footprint. As we start the day Thursday, there are approximately 3,500 outages remaining. These are in the areas hardest hit by the storm, primarily Forest, Marinette, and Oconto Counties. In our immediate area, there are fewer than 30 outages in Lincoln, Oneida and Vilas Counties. WPS has brought in workers from neighboring utilities to assist in their efforts, which continue around the clock. They hope to have a majority of power restored by the end of the day today.

Published on 04/03/2025 under News Several Tomahawk High School students have been in Madison over the past few days, competing in a professional skills competition. The Alliant Energy Center and Madison Area Technical College are co-hosting the 52nd edition of the Skills USA, Wisconsin State Leadership and Skills Conference. In all, more than 1,700 Wisconsin students were invited to participate including ,middle and high school as well as college. The participants qualified through regional competitions earlier this year. The students will compete in one of more than 75 events based on career-ready fields ranging from aviation maintenance and culinary arts to masonry and video news production. All contests are judged by experts and professionals in each field. The state winners will qualify for the National competition which will be held in Atlanta in June.

Published on 04/03/2025 under News The DNR is looking to improve bicycling opportunities in the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest. These changes would require a variance to the property Master Plan, and the public has a chance to weigh in. The Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest provides a variety of outdoor recreation opportunities across more than 230,000 acres in Northern Wisconsin. According to the announcement, the first proposal would identify approximately 7 miles of authorized bicycle touring trails on DNR lands. The trail is intended to be paved yet may utilize a gravel surface until funding opportunities arise for the final improvements. The second proposes adding specific language to the master plan for the authorization of a vault toilet facility along an existing bicycle touring trail. The public can review the draft variance by visiting the DNR's Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest Master Plan Variance webpage. They'll accept comments through April 11.

Published on 04/03/2025 under News We heard from the head of Rhinelander School District following their successful referendum. The district asked voters to support an increase and extension of their current referendum, ultimately allowing the district to exceed revenue limits by $7 million starting next school year and through the 28-29 school year. Voters approved the question with 54% of the approximately 7,000 votes cast. Superintendent Eric Burke says, "We are incredibly grateful to be part of a community that values education and prioritizes the needs of all students." Burke says with the referendum approved the district will be able to maintain and grow programs and services, balance their budget while sustaining fiscal health for the future, and also focusing on retaining and attracting high-quality educators and staff. He says, "Together, we have found a solution to our financial needs that positions our schools and students for success in the years to come."

Published on 04/02/2025 under News Tuesday was Election Day in the state of Wisconsin. In addition to non-partisan local races, there were also a number of school funding questions on ballots around the Northwoods. Voters in several communities approved their school referendums, while the largest request was defeated. Starting in Rhinelander, voters were asked to increase, and then extend their current referendum. In the end, it would allow the district to exceed revenue limits by $7 million starting next school year and through the 28-29 school year. Voters approved the question with 54% of the approximately 7,000 votes cast. In Three Lakes, the district proposed two separate questions related to borrowing for campus maintenance and improvements, a combined $18.9 million. With most votes counted, two out of every three were in favor. And the Prentice School district sought a four year, $950,000 referendum which had around 57% support. Meanwhile, for the Wausau School District, it's back to the drawing board. They asked for $8 million each of the next five years. Preliminary results show voters rejecting the proposal 52% to 48% with 15,000 votes cast. Around the state, there were more than 80 school referendum questions on the ballot during the spring election.

Published on 04/02/2025 under News Last fall the city of Tomahawk stopped adding fluoride to the city's water supply. City voters apparently opposed that decision 53% to 47%. The Tomahawk City Council placed an advisory referendum on Tuesday's ballot asking voters if the City of Tomahawk should fluoridate the municipal water supply. Preliminary results show 579 votes for 'yes', and 519 'no'. The original decision to remove fluoride from the water was made by the Board of Public Works. At their meeting in September, the board heard a report on corrosion identified in a storage room where the city keeps chemical supplies including the concentrated fluoride additive. Adding fluoride to the water is a common and decades-long practice aimed at improving oral health, and cavity prevention in particular. The results won't necessarily make an immediate change. It was an advisory question meant to give the alders community feedback.

Published on 04/02/2025 under News A state of emergency has been declared for Northern Wisconsin following a weekend ice storm left tens of thousands of residents without power. Governor Evers made the declaration yesterday with the encouragement of legislators from the region including Senate President Mary Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk), Representative Rob Swearingen (R-Rhinelander), Representative Jeff Mursau (R-Crivitz), and Representative Calvin Callahan (R-Tomahawk). The declaration will help ensure state agencies, local partners, utilities, and emergency management officials can continue working together and respond quickly to damage and effects caused by recent severe weather. Governor Evers says, "As Northern Wisconsin still works to recover from severe weather over the weekend, with more storms on the way tonight, this declaration will help support local efforts to restore power where there are outages, support local efforts to clear debris, set up warming shelters, and respond to local emerging needs, and keep folks, families, and communities safe." The Administration continues to be in active communication with local community officials, utility companies, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, and Wisconsin Emergency Management.

Published on 04/02/2025 under News Utility crews continue to make progress on power restoration efforts around the Northwoods. Wisconsin Public Service provided another end-of-day summary Tuesday evening. As of that update, their crews had restored power to more than 140,000 customers. As of this Wednesday morning, approximately 10,000 outages remained. Forest, Langlade, and Oconto Counties have the highest outage totals remaining. WPS says their teams continue to work around the clock. They've also brought in line workers from around the Midwest to provide mutual aid. This includes repairs to snapped utility poles, downed power lines and damaged electric equipment; more than 1,600 locations in all. They hope to have most of the power restored to the Antigo area by the end of the day today, and a majority of all outages by Thursday. As they shared yesterday, WPS anticipates this will be one of the largest restoration efforts in company history.

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