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DNR: Bonus Tags for Spring Turkey Season Being Sold this Week Published on 03/17/2025 under News

Turkey hunters seeking additional tags and those who missed the drawing for the upcoming spring turkey season have another opportunity.

The DNR is selling bonus authorizations for the spring turkey season this week. The spring turkey season is comprised of seven zones; with six, week-long periods. The initial tags were awarded through a drawing in December.

According to the DNR, nearly 100,000 bonus turkey harvest authorizations are available in zones 1-5. They said that all available permits for zones 6 and 7 in far northern Wisconsin have been issued.

This week, tags will be made available on a daily basis starting with Zone 1 on Monday and wrapping up on Friday with authorizations for Zone 5. Each morning, at 9:45am, customers can enter a queue on the DNR's Go Wild online portal.

The turkey season begins with a youth weekend on April 12 and 13. The regular season begins the following week.

In Other News

Northwoods High School Students Earning College Credit Through Nicolet Dual Credit Program

Published on 08/22/2025 under News A growing number of students around the Northwoods are graduating high school each year with college credits thanks to partnerships with Nicolet College. Earlier this month, we looked into the success Tomahawk students have had through the Nicolet dual credit program. But students and school districts across the Nicolet footprint are taking advantage of these partnerships and programs which allow students to earn both high school and college credit for the same class. During the past school year, nearly 900 high school students participated in a Nicolet Dual Credit course. Combined, they earned more than 4,000 college credits. These classes are offered at no cost to the student, saving them the equivalent of $670,000 in tuition. And 47 students actually earned a college credential while in high school in fields such as nursing assistant, EMT, welding and metals fabrication. The dual credit courses are typically offered in three ways: courses taught at Nicolet by a Nicolet instructor; courses taught at a high school with a Nicolet instructor; or courses at a high school by a qualified high school teacher. Nathan Zorn is the dual credit coordinator at Nicolet College. He says, "Our rural school districts face unique challenges in offering a variety of college-level coursework. It is truly rewarding to partner with so many amazing educators in our district and to help young people get a head start on their college and career ambitions." According to Nicolet, the number of students enrolled in a dual credit class has jumped 43% in just three short years.

Published on 08/22/2025 under News In just a few short weeks, Northwoods students will be heading back to the classroom. That means back to school shopping is in full swing. With rising costs, a little extra planning can help avoid breaking the bank. According to the National Retail Foundation, parents of k-12 students anticipate spending a little more than $500 on school supplies and back-to-school clothing. That would actually be down slightly from last year. But by shopping smart, experts say parents can find some savings. It all starts with a shopping list, and more importantly sticking to it. Keep purchases to necessary or essential items by following the district's classroom supply list. Before you even head to the store, consider 'shopping' at home. Items leftover from previous school years can often be re-used. Another creative solution is to team up with relatives, neighbors or classmates to buy supplies in bulk; then divide up the supplies and share the savings. They recommend watching for back-to-school sales and close out deals. While you may have to make extra stops, they note those saving can add up. And finally, take advantage of local organizations and community groups that host school supply drives, distribution events, and back-to-school picnics to offer assistance.

Published on 08/22/2025 under News A popular ice cream shop in the Northwoods recently got some national praise. ChowHound is a well-known website dedicated to all things food. In a recent article, they selected the Best Ice Cream Shop in every single state. The Windmill was actually the top pick for the state of Wisconsin. With the lines of people regularly spilling out the door, it's no surprise. Being the dairy state, the author noted Wisconsin had a lot of worthy candidates. Before getting to the ice cream specifically, she highlighted the scenic setting of the Windmill along the shores of Nokomis which allows people to visit by land, lake, or trail. And when it comes to the ice cream, she noted the regular rotation of flavors with more than two dozen available at any given time. Another thing mentioned, the generous serving sizes. The full list from Chowhound's The Best Ice Cream Shop In Every US State

Published on 08/22/2025 under News A member of the Wausau Fire Department was arrested following an investigation into missing pain medications. The Wisconsin Department of Justice-Division of Criminal Investigation announced charges against Jared J. Thompson. Thompson was in charge of the department's emergency medical program. Among his duties was ordering medications including controlled substances used for pain. The criminal complaint alleges that, between Jan. 1, 2025 through June 16, 2025, approximately 486 vials of hydro-morphone and approximately 612 vials of fentanyl purchased by the Wausau Fire Department were either unaccounted for and/or diverted. For comparison, in 2023, the department purchased approximately 11 vials of hydro-morphone and approximately 92 vials of fentanyl. Thompson allegedly stole those missing medications. As a result, he has been charged with three felony counts of misconduct in public office and two counts of misdemeanor theft. He is currently on leave and is expected to make his initial appearance in Marathon County Court on Friday afternoon.

Published on 08/22/2025 under News Earlier this year, ArtStart in Rhinelander launched a fundraiser to help replace a century-old boiler used to heat their building. And thanks to a donation in memory of a founding member, they have nearly met their goal. ArtStart announced that the family of Ken Juon made a $25,000 donation towards their 'Keep it Hot' campaign. Juon had been involved in ArtStart since it was established in 2011. He passed away in 2024. In making the donation, the Juon family joked that it was Ken's self-appointed mission to care for the building's 100-year boiler. They wrote, "Ken had many names for the old dame — most of them uttered softly and not repeatable. So when ArtStart decided to fundraise for a new boiler, we knew we had to honor all the love Ken had given her for the past 13 years, and donated what we hope will help secure ArtStart's heating needs for many more years." According to director Ashley McLaughlin, ArtStart had previously received an anonymous donation of $100,000 and were awarded a Focus on Energy grant of $50,000. With the Juon family gift and many other individual contributions, they are now within $10,000 of their goal. The boiler replacement is scheduled to begin in mid September.

Published on 08/22/2025 under Sports Tomahawk's girls' swim squad opened up the season with a ninth-place team finish in the Fun in the Sun Outdoor Relays in Merrill Thursday. The Hatchets finished with 124 team points, just six behind Wisconsin Rapids. The top finish from Tomahawk in the Relays came in the 200 freestyle and 400 Medley relay. The team of Anita Ziert, Emma Hoff, Kaylee Roberts, and Kami Gabrich finished with a time of 2:02.45 in the 200 freestyle. In the 400 Medley Relay, Roberts, Hoff, Aubrey Tollefson and Morgan Kretzchmar clocked in at 5:12.11. Tomahawk will head back on the road for the next meet Thursday, which is a triangular at Black River Falls with the host and Eau Claire North.

Published on 08/21/2025 under News A proposed recreational trail connecting Merrill and Wausau took another small, but important step this week. At their meeting Tuesday, the Lincoln County Board adopted the master plan for this project, which has been in the works for several years now. Partners including Marathon and Lincoln County have worked with engineering firm MSA to develop a plan for the approximately 15.5 mile recreational trail connecting the two communities and counties. The adoption of the Master Plan is considered a critical step in the process, important for the purpose of fundraising and grant applications, and even land acquisition if needed. The trail would primarily be used for hiking and biking. The segment would be one missing link in what could become a much larger trail network. Continued development north towards Tomahawk would link to the Hiawatha and Bearskin Trails and up into the many Northwoods trail systems. At the southern end, the Mountain-Bay trail already connects Rib Mountain and Green Bay. The resolution states it is a long term plan with construction occurring in phases as funding becomes available. Approval of the master plan Tuesday does not commit the County to anything further than planning. Over the past several years, the Lincoln County Board has made a several investments into development and improvement of outdoor recreational amenities at campgrounds, parks, and trails. The partners had previously created a website with information on the project, though it hasn't been recently updated.

Published on 08/21/2025 under News Northwoods hospital campuses typically feature nicely manicured lawns. At many of these facilities, it's not the grounds crew taking care of the mowing duties. Aspirus continues to expand their autonomous lawn mowing program. Aspirus Langlade Hospital in Antigo is the latest to add battery-operated, self propelled mowers. They are now featured at seven Aspirus facilities including Tomahawk, Rhinelander, Merrill, and Wausau. Jason Noskowiak, Manager of Maintenance, Facilities and Environmental Services. He says, "Switching from gas-powered mowers to these autonomous mowers was an easy choice." He added, "The mowers are getting a great response from our patients and employees…" But benefits of the autonomous mowers extend well beyond entertaining onlookers. They reduce air and noise pollution and have no direct emissions. They're lightweight, so they don't compact the soil; and they mulch, returning nutrients the grass. They require minimal maintenance; and they free up Noskowiak and his team for other projects and tasks. The mowers feature navigation, sensors and programming allowing them to mow at a desired height in a desired pattern. They operate rain or shine, night or day. And they even return to the docking station when recharging is needed.

Published on 08/21/2025 under News The Northwoods provides excellent opportunities to view the stars. This weekend, conservationists are encouraging people to take steps to reduce light pollution while celebrating the skies above. It's part of the Northwoods Lights Out! Campaign. During select summer weekends, they're highlighting the importance of minimizing outdoor light overnight, which can impact nocturnal wildlife. To kick off this weekend's outreach, they're teaming up with Nicolet College to host a 'Star Party.' Once the sun sets they'll have some fun activities, viewing opportunities, and some expert speakers including Jim Head, NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador from the Northwoods Explorers of Space and Astronomy and Michele Sadauskas, an Oneida County Conservationist. That event gets underway Thursday at 8pm. And as the weekend continues, they're also encouraging people to assess light pollution at their homes and cabins. Revisiting some of the simple steps they shared earlier this summer. Try to close curtains, shades and blinds at night, using energy efficient bulbs in warmer colors, position outdoor lighting so the beams face down, and consider motion sensor lights. The Oneida County Land and Conservation team has additional information on their website.

Published on 08/21/2025 under News Charges have been filed, an initial appearance scheduled for a Vilas County man arrested in connection with a stabbing late last week. Following a brief search, Scott Moxham was taken into custody last Friday morning. Investigators identified the 36 year old as a suspect in a stabbing the previous night. At shortly before midnight last Thursday, responders were paged to a Woodruff property for an injured party following the altercation. According to court records, Moxham is now facing charges of 1st degree reckless injury, disorderly conduct, and bail jumping. He is scheduled to make an initial appearance in Oneida County Court on Friday.

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