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Lights of Northwoods Returns for 8th Season

Published on 12/02/2024 under News With the calendar turned to December, the holiday season is in full swing. That includes an impressive light display in Rhinelander that switched on over the weekend. Entering an 8th season, Lights of the Northwoods continues to grow each year, now featuring more than a quarter million lights and displays along the path through Hodag Park. Over the past few weeks, organizers have been putting the final touches on the festive Christmas light tour which kicked off Sunday. Attendees have two options, a slow drive through the park, or if the weather allows, a walking tour. The organizers also invite revelers to give back to the community and help area non-profits. Last year they collected more than $12,000 and 4,600 pounds of food which were distributed to area food pantries and non-profits. The first few years, the event took place in the week around Christmas. Due to popularity, they now welcome visitors throughout the month of December. While the lights are nightly, organizers have special activities on weekends including bonfires, visits from Santa, and snacks and cold weather refreshments. The full calendar is available on the Lights of the Northwoods website. Like year's past, they'll also wrap up Lights of the Northwoods with a January 1 fireworks display.

Published on 12/02/2024 under News Through a series of nationwide lawsuits with opioid manufacturers, distributors, and retailers, Lincoln County has received around a half million dollars in settlement payments. Now they're looking for some input from the community on how those dollars should be spent. These settlements come with spending restrictions; the funds are earmarked for opioid remediation through prevention, awareness, or treatment. The Lincoln County Board previously created an Opioid Task Force who will develop a spending plan. This past week, the task force launched a community survey to gather information on community perceptions, usage, and barriers to treatment of substance abuse. Erin Ray, opioid Grant Coordinator, explained that community feedback is an important part of the process. She says, "In order to develop a plan to combat the opioid crisis that is specific to our residents, we need to hear from (them) about the challenges facing our county." The survey is part of a larger assessment that will also incorporate listening sessions, interviews, and data analysis. As for the survey, Lincoln County residents can complete it online. We'll include the link. The survey is confidential and takes about 5-10 minutes to complete. The deadline is January 8.

Published on 12/02/2024 under News As the temperatures begin to fall, the Rhinelander Chamber is kicking off a campaign to ensure community members stay warm this winter. The Chamber announced the return of their Big Bundle Up campaign. If the name sounds familiar, the Big Bundle Up used to be a statewide collection effort. While the state program came to an end, the Rhinelander Chamber has kept it active locally. They're inviting residents to drop off new or gently used warm weather gear like coats, hats, mittens, and sweaters. Items donated will be given to Warm for Winter Clothing Pantry which holds twice monthly distribution events. In announcing the new campaign, the Chamber says, "Donating warm winter items is the perfect way to give to local families in need as the holiday giving season approaches." In addition to the Rhinelander Chamber, the Hodag10s and Northland Insurance Agency are also serving as collection sites for the Big Bundle Up. The collection kicks off Monday and will run through December 30.

+ Read More Safe Shopping Cyber Monday

Published on 12/02/2024 under News After Black Friday and Shop Small Saturday, today marks the third in a holiday shopping trio...Cyber Monday. The Better Business Bureau is reminding online consumers to shop safe and shop smart. Over the years, more and more consumers have shifted to online shopping for at least a portion of their holiday purchases. The Bureau says a little bit of extra research can held avoid these Grinches and their holiday scams. First make sure your browser and anti-virus software is up-to-date. •Watch for misleading advertisements, lookalike websites, and untrustworthy sellers. •Be wary of unsolicited offers and those that appear 'too good to be true.' •Before clicking 'buy' double check shipping and return policies and read all fine print. •Finally, keep a paper trail and monitor your bank and credit card statements throughout the holiday season.

Published on 11/29/2024 under News With Thanksgiving now behind us, the Tomahawk Community is wasting little time in transitioning to Christmas. Coming up Saturday, the community is hosting the annual Kick Off to Christmas, the first of several weekends of festive activities in Downtown Tomahawk.The events are organized by a group of volunteers known as Tomahawk Hometown Christmas. They set out a few years ago to revitalize the holiday festivities of yesteryear. Earlier this week, we were joined by three lead organizers Roxanne Consolver, Dalpha Halverson and Michelle Arnott. The theme of this celebration is 'Presents or Presence.' Halverson explained the play on words, both memories of gifts, as well as being in the moment with family or community. Consolver offered a quick rundown of tomorrow's activities including photos with Santa, Christmas story time, and wagon rides. Those events will be based out of the VFW during the afternoon. Action will then shift down town for the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony in the boulevard at the east end of Main Street at 5pm. Halverson noted the tree was donated by the Swanson family in memory of Ken Swanson and Tammy Swanson Lundberg. The upcoming weekend activities are just an appetizer for the companion Hometown Christmas celebration on December 13 which includes the parade, live window displays and caroling. Arnott, owner of Diamond Rock Glass Studio, noted that Hometown Christmas is an event that everyone in the downtown district looks forward to each year. She says she spends time throughout the year planning for her displays. In addition to organizing these activities, the Hometown Christmas group has assisted other groups, fundraisers, and sponsors in many of the new holiday decorations around the community such as the stars on the light poles on Veterans Memorial Bridge. You can visit the Hometown Christmas Facebook page for more information and we've got that conversation in the WJJQ audio center.

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Sports Headlines

Hatchet Hockey Team Starts the Season with Two Wins

Published on 12/02/2024 under Sports Tomahawk's hockey team opened the 2024-25 season with a sweep in the Amery Tournament over the weekend. The Hatchets began the year with a 6-3 victory over the host Amery. Half of Tomahawk's goals came on the power play. Austin Lamer, the reigning Piskula Award Winner, had a goal and two assists, as did Brayden Lamer. Tomahawk also got goals from Jett Reilly, Jonah Dickens, and Sawyer Hanna. The Hatchets continued their explosive offense with a 7-4 win over Menomonie Saturday. The trio of Austin Lamer, Jett Reilly, and Brayden Lamer combined for six goals and 12 points, respectively. Tomahawk also outshot Menomonie, 32-18, and scored all seven of their goals in the first two periods. Tomahawk begins the season 2-0. The Hatchets are back in action for their next game, a nonconference road showdown at Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln Tuesday. Tomahawk's home opener is Thursday against Waupaca. The home opener will be broadcast on Sports Talk 810 AM/97.7 FM WJJQ with Alex Koch and Zach Garner in the broadcast booth.

Published on 11/22/2024 under Sports The Hatchet Girls' Basketball Squad opened the 2024-25 season with a strong second-half performance to defeat Butternut Thursday, 42-35. After struggling with taking care of the ball in the first half, Tomahawk bounced back using great defense and timely shooting. Senior Claire Albert led the way for the Hatchets with 17 points, including 11 in the second half Albert also added eight steals and 6 assists. In her first game, Freshman Anita Ziert came in off the bench to finish with 11 points and nine rebounds. Tomahawk begins their season 1-0 and begin Great Northern Conference play December 3rd against Antigo. Join Alex Koch and Matt Theiler for the Fehrman Orthodontics Radio Pregame Show at approximately 6:50 and tip at 7:15 from the Hatchet House in Tomahawk.

Published on 11/20/2024 under Sports Rookies Of The Year: (Boys) Joe Zastrow (Girls) Ellie Micke Most Improved: (Boys) Elliot O'Connor & Jeremiah Johnson (Girls) Jennie Fredrickson & Reese Molitor Coaches Awards: (Boys) Dawson Jones (Girls) Norah Mann Scholar Athletes: (Boys) Dawson Jones, Luke Morrison (All 4.000's Progress Term 1) (Girls) Norah Mann, Ellie Micke, Joa Reilly Captains Awards: (Boys) Sam Zastrow (Girls) Alli Palmer Punchy Reich Memorial: Sam Zastrow & Alli Palmer (as picked by his/her teammates) GNC All-Conference: (Boys) Sam Zastrow (1st Team), Dominic Boos (1st Team), Joe Zastrow (HM), Jeremiah Johnson (HM), Beau Stromberg (HM) GNC All-Conference: (Girls) Alli Palmer (1st Team), Lydia Shaney (2nd Team), Ellie Micke (2nd Team),, Abbie Rosenmeier (2nd Team),, Elise Gibeault (2nd Team) Most Valuable: (Boys) Sam Zastrow (Girls) Alli Palmer State Qualifier Awards: Alli Palmer, Lydia Shaney, Norah Mann, Ellie Micke, Abbie Rosenmeier, Elise Gibeault, Faith Derleth, Joa Reilly (alt), Reese Molitor (alt) Service Award: Shannon & Dawn Boneck

Published on 11/04/2024 under Sports On Saturday, the Tomahawk Hatchet varsity girls team headed south to Wisconsin Rapids to compete at the WIAA Division II State Cross Country Meet. This being the 50th year of WIAA girls cross country. Since 1975 the Tomahawk girls have competed, as a team, at the state meet 25 times (6th most state qualifications of any Wisconsin school). This particular state meet was a cold, but sunny, day that saw a total of the 16 best Division II teams in the state compete against the Hatchets for the WIAA State Championship. The Division II race included two of the fastest runners in the entire state, including Divisions I & III, as Emmerson Drobac of Deerfield/Cambridge ran the course in 17:38 and Ciara Hartman of Bloomer covered the course in 17:43. The Division II race kicked off at 12:40 PM. The primary objective of the girls team was to get out early in the race and push themselves while also experiencing the course for the first time. The girls did just that and in the first mile of the highly competitive race they were in 13th place. After the mile however the girls dropped placement and remained in 15th for the rest of the race. The lady Hatchets scored 315 points finishing ahead of Prescott. Leading the team with an exceptional time on the challenging course was senior Alli Palmer taking 66th in a time of 20:42 in her final high school cross country race of her career. Unfortunately for the girls there was a sizable gap between Alli and the rest of the team which led to the lower placement, but nonetheless the girls banned together and finished with a good pack running effort. The pack included sophomore Elise Gibeault with a seasonal best time of 21:39 for 103rd, sophomore Abbie Rosenmeier with a time of 21:42 for 108th, freshman Ellie Micke in a time of 21:45 for 111th, and junior Lydia Shaney in a time of 21:53 for 115th. Rounding out the girls' great effort was sophomore Norah Mann in a time of 23:04 for 137th and junior Faith Derleth with a time of 23:57 in 146th. There were 151 runners in the girls race with finishing team results as follows: University School of Milwaukee-60, Bloomer-80, Mount Horeb-108, Lancaster-138, New Berlin Eisenhower-158, Little Chute-163, Kiel-212, Saint Croix Central-223, Shorewood-237, Watertown Luther Prep-237, WestSalem-275, Berline-290, Shawano Community-294, New Berlin West-300, Tomahawk-317, and Prescott-349. Other Great Northern Conference performances included the Rhinelander boys taking 14th in the boys Division II race. Antigo's Lillian L'Esperance took 53rd in a time of 20:26. Medford's Lindsay Kahn took 69th in a time of 20:43. Lakeland sent two individuals with Stella Meza taking 77th (20:54) and Ashton Bremer taking 34th (16:57).

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