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Lincoln County ‘Uniquely Wisconsin’ Sled Dog Segment Wins Regional Emmy Award

Published on 11/13/2025 under News A video short focused on a Lincoln County sled-dog kennel has won an Emmy award. Two years ago, Lincoln County partnered with Discover Mediaworks to produce a number of video segments for the Uniquely Wisconsin series. The goal is to tell the story of a location through it's people. It was part of a larger effort by the county to promote the County and increase interest and tourism. Among the Uniquely Wisconsin productions was an episode called 'The Heart of Wisconsin Mushing.' It follows Gleason-based Melissa Omernick and her family, both human and sled dogs. The video was released in December of last year and has received nearly 10,000 views on YouTube. The episode has now won a regional Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement for Human Interest. Josh Ostermann from Discover Mediaworks was on hand at the Lincoln County Board to discuss the award. He noted that the Chicago chapter of the Emmy Awards is among the most competitive in the country along with New York and California. Among their goals is to get people to watch, like, and react. He noted that Lincoln County has actually outpaced the state-average in growth for direct visitor spending. At Wednesday's meeting, the supervisors got to pass around the iconic, winged-angel Emmy statue. Board Chair Jesse Boyd added they'll need to figure out a display case to share the trophy with the community. Ostermann said this is the third Emmy that Discover Mediaworks has won from their Uniquely Wisconsin series. Among the previous winners was a segment on Athens-based Stoney Acres Farm and their summer Pizza Nights.

Published on 11/13/2025 under News The true story of Dr. Kate Pelham Newcomb is well-known in the Northwoods, but her tale will be further shared through a new children's book. The tales of Dr. Kate seem larger than life as a woman practicing medicine in Northern Wisconsin in the early 1900's. She regularly traveled to her patients by snowmobile or snowshoe during the winter months, and she delivered an estimated 4,000 babies during her career. And in the early1950's, she inspired local students to collect 1 million pennies to help fund a new hospital in Woodruff. The community is now home to the Dr. Kate Museum and the 10 foot tall penny statue. Award-winning author Margi Preus frequently adapts real-life heroes in her books. She inspired to write 'Snowshoe Kate and the Hospital Built for Pennies.' The book was published in late October. The Dr. Kate Museum and the Minocqua Public Library will team up this evening to celebrate. Preus will be on hand with a book signing, a reading, and a mini-penny parade. That gets underway at 4pm, Thursday, at the Minocqua Library.

Published on 11/13/2025 under News As expected, the Lincoln County Board approved their 2026 budget at a special meeting Wednesday morning. The vote was a formality after the work completed during the months-long process that began back in the spring. At their October meeting, the Board was presented with a balanced budget that included a tax levy proposed at $17.2 million. That's a $500,000 increase over the current year, or 2.9%. Finance director Heather Marheine noted that the entire property tax bill utilizes a formula that incorporates other taxing entities and equalized values that impact each township or city differently. The finance team was able to close an approximately $1.2 million gap from the first version of the budget presented in June. That included approximately $800,000 in savings from the sale of Pine Crest in both operations and maintenance. The County agreed to sell the skilled nursing facility to a private provider over the summer. With this budget largely unchanged from the October version, the supervisors had minimal discussion before ultimately approving the resolution unanimously.

Published on 11/13/2025 under News Another local nurse has been recognized with prestigious professional honor. Aspirus Rhinelander Hospital honored Kelcie LaChapelle with the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. LaChapelle as a nurse in the birthing unit. Like many recipients, her nomination came from a patient who experienced her care and compassion first hand. The expecting mother had only recently moved to the Northwoods from California when she found herself under the care of LaChappelle. The patient wrote, in part, "A lot of nurses do their job because that is their job, but it was abundantly clear that with Kelcie, it is a calling... She will be remembered as our baby grows and also for making me feel part of my new community." As a Daisy recipient, LaChappelle received a honoree pin and a Shona Tribe sculpture known as A Healer's Touch. The staff were also treated to cinnamon rolls, another symbol from the Daisy Awards. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation's program to recognize the super-human efforts nurses perform every day.

Published on 11/13/2025 under News The Nicolet theater will head back to the 1940's for an era-style comedy. The raise the curtain tonight. For their Fall production, the Nicolet Theatre will present 'Suite Surrender'. They recently offered up a preview ahead of opening night. The setting is the Palm Beach Royale Hotel where two of Hollywood's biggest divas arrive for a benefit performance. They called the play a hilarious love note to the classic farces of the '30s and '40s. It features mistaken identities, gossip, and double entendres. The cast and crew have been busy over the past few months with rehearsals, and it's finally showtime. Tonight begins a run of six shows in nine days. Thursday, Nov. 13 at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16 at 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21 at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22 at 2:00 p.mThe Lakeside Lounge Bar opens at 6:30 p.m. for evening shows and serves beverages and small bites. Admission is free for Nicolet College students, $15 for the general public, and $12 for K-12 students and seniors. Advanced tickets can be purchased through the Nicolet Theatre website.

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Sports Headlines

Hatchet Football Seasons Ends With Sectional Championship Loss

Published on 11/10/2025 under Sports Tomahawk's football squad's dream season would end in the WIAA Division 5 Sectional Championship against three-time defending state champion Stratford at Hatchet Field Friday night, 29-0. The Hatchet defense stepped up in the first half and forced three turnovers, including intercepting Tiger quarterback Brady Berg twice. However, Tomahawk would fail to score off of those three turnovers and mustered just over 100 yards of offense. Jett Reilly would lead the Hatchets in rushing, running for 31 yards on eight carries. Tomahawk was also held under 100 yards for the first time this season. The Hatchets finish the 2025 season with a 10-2 record, the most wins in school history. Tomahawk also graduates 11 seniors. They are Wally Horabik, Jason Watkins, Rex Reilly, Jonah Dickens, Nathan Reimer, Logan Norman, Kenny Turner, Ethan Gibeault, Kaiden Kapellusch, Nathan Norman, and Michael Samundsen. The Hatchets also finished with their first playoff win since 2015 and their first trip to the Sectional Championship since 2007.

Published on 11/03/2025 under Sports In the WIAA Division 5 Football Playoffs, #1 Seed Tomahawk would advance to the Sectional Championship for the first time since 2007, defeating #5 Seed Spencer/Columbus Catholic Halloween Night at Hatchet Field, 34-12. The Hatchets jumped out to a 21-0 Halftime lead thanks to a stout defense and two time-consuming touchdown drives. After Spencer/Columbus Catholic cut it to nine heading into the fourth, Tomahawk forced two of the Rockets' three turnovers on the night. Jonah Dickens would come up with a key interception that would pave the way for touchdown runs by Tiegan Sarazin and Max Larson. Sarazin would rush for 100 yards and two touchdowns. The Hatchets also got a touchdown run from Rex Reilly and a 19-yard scoring pass from Jett Reilly to Jonah Dickens. The win gives Tomahawk its first double-digit winning season in school history, moving to 10-1 on the season. The Hatchets will play for their first state semifinal berth since 1990 in the Sectional Championship next week against three-time defending state champion Stratford. Tune in for the Fehrman Orthodontics Kickoff Cabin at 6:10 and the opening kick at 7:00 next Friday. Alex Koch and Jon Long will be in the broadcast booth.

Published on 10/24/2025 under Sports On Friday night, the Tomahawk Hatchet Football Team won their ninth game of the season, with a 41-14 Level One WIAA Playoff victory over Omro. Tomahawk dominated the line of scrimmage all night, as they rushed for 290 yards and had over 35 minutes of possession offensively. On the other side of the ball, Tomahawk held Omro to just 39 yards rushing. Rex Reilly had three rushing touchdowns, and carried the ball 13 times for 59 yards. Jonah Dickens also had three touchdowns, two touchdown catches, both from Jett Reilly, one from 43 yards out the other from ten. Dickens also added a nine yard touchdown run. Jett Reilly, along with those two touchdown passes and 72 yards through the air, had 76 yards on the ground. Tomahawk is now 9-1 on the season and will host Spencer/Columbus Catholic on Friday night at Hatchet Field. Spencer/Columbus defeated New Holstein 31-12. The #1 seed Hatchets and #5 seed Spencer/Columbus will play at Hatchet Field on Friday night at 7:00 pm. Northwoods 92-5 will have the Fehrman Orthodontics Kickoff Cabin at 6:10 pm, and the opening kickoff at 7:00 pm. In other scores from Level One action: In D-5: Stratford beat Richland Center 41-9 In D-4: Mosinee defeated Turner 41-7 In D-3: Merrill defeated Lakeland 38-12, Rhinelander lost to Edgewood 35-7, Wausau East lost to Mount Horeb/Barneveld, and Medford lost to Grafton 49-14

Published on 10/24/2025 under Sports The Tomahawk Hatchet boys and girls cross country teams competed in the Division Two WIAA Sectional Meet at the MARC in Merrill on Friday. The Hatchet girls will have an individual qualifier at the WIAA State Meet next Saturday at the Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids, as Freshman Charlee Lund in fifth place overall and will competed at state. The Hatchet girls finished in fourth place overall, Abbie Rosenmeir was 18th, Lydia Shaney finished 20th, Faith Derleth was 35th, and Elise Gibeault was 38th. Wittenberg-Birnamwood finished first and Shawano was second. On the boys side, Tomahawk was fifth. Lakeland ran away with the boys race scoring 45 points and Shawano qualifies for state with their second place finish. Caiden Reichelt let Tomahawk and finished just one place out of qualifying. Reichelt was 10th overall, Connor Zorn was 37th, Jordyn Carew was 39th, Dawson Jones 42nd and Ryan Montag was 48th. The WIAA Division Two Girls State Race will be at 2:25 pm next Saturday and will feature Hatchet freshman Charlee Lund.

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