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Three Seats, Two Candidates for Tomahawk School Board

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.

Published on 01/07/2026 under News Three competitive races, an open seat, and a pair of former supervisors seeking re-election highlight this year's Lincoln County Board ballot. 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. Of the 22-member Lincoln County Board, 17 supervisors filed their candidacy paperwork and will run unopposed. Two new candidates will run unopposed after current supervisors chose not to seek re-election. This includes: District 4, Derek Woellner did not file paperwork, newcomer Scott Pergolski did. *Because Woellner did not file non-candidacy paperwork, the deadline has been extended to Friday. In the 9th district, Christine Vorpagel is not seeking reelection. The man she defeated two years ago, Don Friske is looking to take back the seat. In District 18, Ken Wickham did not seek re-election, and Andy Tomaszewski filed for the seat. Among competitive races, in District 2, current supervisor Lori Anderson-Malm filed non-candidacy. Newcomers Mark Bares and Scott Doerr will compete for the seat. In the 10th district, current Board Chair Jesse Boyd will face Joshua Oxborrow; in the 17th district, former supervisor Don Nelson is looking to get back on the board, challenging current board member James Meunier. And finally, in the 13th district, Alan Bishop chose not to seek re-election, and no candidate filed meaning the race will come down to a write-in. DistrictCandidateCandidateNote1Bill Bialecki (incumbent) 2Mark BaresScott DoerrIncumbent Lori Anderson Malm not running3Elizabeth McCrank (inc) 4Scott Pergolski Incumbent Derek Woellner not running; Nomination period extended5Andrew Zelinski (inc) 6Norbert Ashbeck (inc) 7Don Dunphy (inc) 8Laurie Thiel (inc) 9Don Fiske Incumbent Christine Vorpagel not running10Jesse Boyd (inc)Joshua Oxborrow 11Randy Detert (inc) 12Julie Depasse (inc) 13Write-In Incumbent Alan Bishop not running, no candidates filed14Marguerite Lyskawa (inc) 15Marty Lemke(inc) 16Dana Miller(inc) 17James Meunier(inc)Don Nelson 18Andrew Tomaszewski Incumbent Ken Wickham not running19Joseph Dorava(inc) 20Angela Cummings(inc) 21Eugene Simon(inc) 22Greg Hartwig(inc)

Published on 01/07/2026 under News The City of Tomahawk has been exploring a PFAs treatment facility. As part of the planning process, the city, working with MSA Professional Services, solicited bids for geo-technical exploration and engineering work. Last week, the Board of Public Works recommend a service contract; last night the City Council approved the contract with American Engineering Testing Inc. The City received two bids which were just $5 apart. At $7,280, AET was the low bid. The city has worked with the Wausau-area firm previously. The Council approved the bid with minimal discussion. The contract includes four borings of varying depths; an assessment of existing conditions and recommendations for utility construction, foundation design, and best practices. Back in the fall of 2023, routing testing for PFAs in the Tomahawk water system came back elevated. The proposed treatment facility would filter out these forever chemicals. The price tag is approximately $6.2 million, and the city is pursing funding through the state Clean Drinking Water program. _____ A few other quick notes from a relatively short meeting...Following Committee updates and a presentation from the Lincoln County Economic Development director Sara Guild, there were just two other action items on the agenda. The Council approved the transfer of two liquor licenses due to ownership changes. The Council approved the special event application for the annual Friends of Lake Mohawksin Fire and Ice Bonfire.

Published on 01/07/2026 under News First responders and road crews were kept busy throughout the day Tuesday. A winter rain fell, quickly freezing on the cold pavement leaving roads to resemble skating rinks. This led to numerous traffic incidents starting in central Wisconsin during the morning hours and gradually shifting in the afternoon hours including Tomahawk. During a mid-day update, the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office noted calls for vehicle slide-offs and collisions were coming in faster than they could respond. At one point, they said they responded to more than two dozen traffic incidents during a two hour period. They did not provide any details on specific crashes. As for the Highway Departments, they were regularly out salting, sanding and scraping primary roads. Here in Tomahawk, city crews actually had to deal with flooding areas. The Public Works Department spent the afternoon clearing out catch basins to drain the excess water. Fortunately, those crews will have a chance to recover with few driving difficulties reported during the Wednesday morning commute.

Published on 01/07/2026 under News Each spring, the Wisconsin Conservation Congress offers an opportunity for people to weigh in on various topics related to the state's natural resources. The WCC is an independent organization made up of citizens. Their efforts help advise the DNR and Natural Resources Board. One way do they do so is their annual spring hearing. The survey gauges public opinion on a wide range to topics. Just a few recent examples include wake boat regulations, the use of lead ammunition, and underwater cameras as fishing aids. Starting this week, and over the next month, the WCC will accept resolution proposals from the public. Among the criteria for the resolutions: they must be of statewide impact; they must be practical, achievable, and reasonable; and they must be within the mission and vision of the WCC.People are allowed to submit up to two resolutions and can work with their WCC County Chair for guidance. The DNR has a WCC website with additional information. As for the spring surveys, those will take place in mid-April.

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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

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