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Hatchet Golf Team Finishes Second at Triangular Published on 05/22/2023 under Sports

Tomahawk's golf squad wrapped up their regular season finishing second in their triangular at Inshalla Country Club Friday, finishing with a score of 170. The Hatchets finished just five strokes behind Northland Pines and 23 strokes ahead of Ashland in the nine-hole triangular.

Owen Dickrell finished as the medalist in the meet, posting a low score of 38. Austin Lamer posted a 42, while Senior Drew Albert scored a 47 in his final meet at Inshalla Country Club.

Postseason play for the Hatchets begins Tuesday with the WIAA Division 3 Regional Meet at Turtleback Golf Course in Rice Lake. The meet begins at 9:00 Tuesday morning.

In Other News

DNR Taking Public Comment on Beaver Management Plan

Published on 01/09/2026 under News The DNR is updating their Beaver Management Plan, and the public has an opportunity to provide feedback. The plan offers a guide to practices and priorities for management of the state's beaver population. The current plan was adopted in 2015, and is updated every 10 years. Among the goals was beaver populations, habitat management, damage mitigation, along with education and data collection. The Beaver Management Plan Committee, comprised of various stakeholders began meeting last year. This month they are accepting public feedback. An online public input form and supporting information are available on the DNR's Beaver Management Plan webpage for those interested in submitting comments. Later this month, the Committee will host two in-person public hearings, though neither is in our listening area. There is also a virtual hearing that will be held online on January 26. The deadline for comments is January 31.

Published on 01/09/2026 under News Lake Nokomis will be filled with hundreds of anglers for a fun-filled tournament this weekend. Coming up tomorrow AMVETS Post 724 and the NCO club will host it's annual Lake Nokomis Ice Fishing Tourney. Now in it's seventeenth year, the event has continued to grow and they have plenty of family activities in addition to the fishing, with door prizes, raffles, and food. All proceeds go to benefit Northwoods veterans organizations and programs, and they have been quite successful in that mission, typically exceeding $20,000 raised. With an event dedicated to Military members, the organizers continue to cater to veterans. As they traditionally do, they'll provided a heated ice shack, drilled holes and equipment for any participating purple heart recipient. They'll be set up at the Highway N boat landing with same-day registration starting at 6am with fishing from 8am to 2pm.

Published on 01/09/2026 under Sports The Hatchet Hockey squad came back to defeat Mosinee at the Indian Rec Center Thursday night, winning, 4-3. Mosinee scored the first goal of the game late in the first period on a power play. Tomahawk responded :37 seconds later when Landyn Seymour scored and the game would be tied 1-1 after the first. Both teams scored one goal in the second period, Tomahawk first off the stick of Jonah Dickens, assisted by Seymour and Tomahawk led 2-1. Mosinee would score with :54 second left in the second and the game would be tied. Mosinee took a 3-2 lead early in the third period, with Tomahawk responding 14:30 left in the game. Jonah Dickens scored a short handed goal to tied the game at three. Jett Reilly scored the game winner, again short handed with under 11:00 minutes to play. The Reilly goal was assisted by Dickens and Seymour. Tomahawk outshot Mosinee 39-19. The win puts Tomahawk at 9-2 on the season and 5-0 in Great Northern Conference play. The Hatchets will head up to the Wisconsin-Minnesota border Saturday afternoon to take on Superior. Puck drop is at 2:00.

Published on 01/09/2026 under Sports Tomahawk's wrestling squad continued their dominant stretch during the season, defeating Rhinelander in a Great Northern Conference dual at the Jim Miazga Gymnasium, 61-12. The Hatchets got four pins and won 12 of the 14 weight classes in the match. The win puts Tomahawk at 6-1 on the season and 3-0 in Great Northern Conference play. The Hatchets are back in action next Thursday for a home triangular with Crandon and Merrill. Tune in for the broadcast on Northwoods 92.5 WJJQ with the Fehrman Orthodontics Radio Prematch Show at 5:10 and opening events begin at 5:30.

Published on 01/08/2026 under News For the first time in a decade, Tomahawk will have a new mayor come spring. Tuesday was the deadline for candidates to submit their nomination papers to appear on the ballot for the upcoming elections. Current Tomahawk Mayor Steve Taskay is not seeking re-election after ten years in the office. Taskay was first elected in 2016, emerging from a four-candidate field. He would go on to win four additional elections, three times running unopposed. As for Taskay's successor, two political newcomers to city office will vie for mayor; Michael Habeck and Jeffery Koth both submitted paperwork to run. As for Tomahawk City Council, there are actually five seats up for election, but only three names will appear on the ballot. Starting with the on-cycle, three-year terms... in District 1, Pat Haskin will seek reelection and is running unopposed. In District 2, current alderman Dale Ernst filed non-candidacy papers. Former Councilor Don Nelson submitted paperwork to get back on and will run unopposed. In District 3, Steve Bartz did not submit papers, but may still run as a write-in. There are also two partial terms following a pair of mid-term resignations. In District 1, Bob Soward was appointed this past year, but did not file paperwork. Clerk Amanda Bartz said Soward indicated he would register as a write-in candidate. The other partial-term is an unfilled seat in District 3 following Tadd Wegener's resignation. In a twist, Wegener filed paperwork to run for his old seat and will run unopposed. These races will appear on the April ballot.

Published on 01/08/2026 under News School referendums have become a common occurrence, but the mechanism can also be used by municipalities. Another Northwoods community is exploring the idea. At a special meeting Wednesday, the City of Tomahawk Finance Committee discussed asking voters for a levy increase. The idea has been brought up briefly at past meetings, and comes after several consecutive years of difficult budget decisions. The state restricts the ability of municipalities to increase their tax levy without voter approval. The levy allowance is calculated by a formula largely given by net new construction. Repeatedly brought up during last night's discussion was that costs have outpaced the levy on everything from health insurance to road salt. (Clerk Amanda Bartz noted over the past decade, the allowable increase in levy was 12% while inflation was 35%.) The referendum, if approved by voters, would increase the base-level of the levy moving forward. The Committee discussed five different amounts ranging from 5% to 25%. After discussion, they focused on 20%. That equates to a $276,000. It would result in an increase of $75 for a $100,000 property. Over the past decade, the city has pursued numerous mechanisms to increase the levy. Voters approved a Premier Resort Area Tax or PRAT, however it was never implemented, as it requires approval from the Wisconsin state legislature. They also explored, but never went forward with a transportation utility fee. And over the past year, the Finance Committee has been reviewing and selling property to raise funds. Finance Chair Mickey Loka noted the referendum was always going to be their last option. The City can look north to Minocqua where voters approved a levy referendum in 2024 for $750,000. As they brainstormed, the committee highlighted the importance of communication. If the referendum is officially placed on the ballot, they plan to schedule public informational meetings and other outreach. The meeting packet included an example of a handout that could be distributed to the public outlining the reasons for the request. The Council will take up the resolution at a meeting next week.

Published on 01/08/2026 under News Travelers continue to take advantage of flying here in Northern Wisconsin. The Rhinelander-Oneida County Airport shared their passenger data for 2025. They reported 30,686 passengers flew out of Rhinelander this past year. According to the announcement, this is an 18 year high. In the announcement, they said, "With this momentum, we're ready to fly even higher in 2026. Thanks for being part of the journey." Currently, the Rhinelander-Oneida County airport offers daily service to Minneapolis/St. Paul through Delta. They also offer seasonal flights to Chicago O'Hare on United, expanding their capacity and connection opportunities during the summer months.

Published on 01/08/2026 under News Expect to see plenty of little Henrys and Charlottes running around the Northwoods in the coming years. Those are among the top names selected for babies born at Aspirus in 2025. Over the past year, there were just over 3,200 babies born at Aspirus hospitals. That's up slightly from 2024. As for the names, Henry was the most named boy for a second consecutive year and third time in five. Oliver shared the top spot with Henry; and Theodore rounded out the top three. As for the girl names, Charlotte moved up one spot on the list to claim number 1. That was followed by Eleanor and Nora. Beyond the most popular choices, Aspirus says families also embraced individuality when naming their children. Parents selected 745 different boy names and 864 different girl names, which they said underscores the diversity of families and traditions served by Aspirus hospitals.

Published on 01/08/2026 under News One week after widespread snowmobile trail openings, mild weather is already causing some trail closures. On Wednesday, the Lincoln County Forestry, Land, and Parks Department announced that trails in zones 2, 3, and 4 would close effective immediately. This is due to the rapidly deteriorating conditions, and in an effort to preserve the base until winter weather returns. As of Thursday morning, Lincoln County trails in Zone 1 will remain open. Marathon and Langlade Counties made a similar closure decisions for their trails this week. After a snowy and cold first week of January, this week has had multiple days of rain and daytime temperatures above freezing. There is some hope coming this weekend, with snow in the forecast.

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.

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