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State of Emergency Declared in Northern Wisconsin due to Ice Storm Damage; WPS Restoration Continues Published on 04/02/2025 under News

A state of emergency has been declared for Northern Wisconsin following a weekend ice storm left tens of thousands of residents without power.

Governor Evers made the declaration yesterday with the encouragement of legislators from the region including Senate President Mary Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk), Representative Rob Swearingen (R-Rhinelander), Representative Jeff Mursau (R-Crivitz), and Representative Calvin Callahan (R-Tomahawk).

The declaration will help ensure state agencies, local partners, utilities, and emergency management officials can continue working together and respond quickly to damage and effects caused by recent severe weather.

Governor Evers says, "As Northern Wisconsin still works to recover from severe weather over the weekend, with more storms on the way tonight, this declaration will help support local efforts to restore power where there are outages, support local efforts to clear debris, set up warming shelters, and respond to local emerging needs, and keep folks, families, and communities safe."

The Administration continues to be in active communication with local community officials, utility companies, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, and Wisconsin Emergency Management.

In Other News

Hatchet Golfers Finish Third; Albert 2nd / Hanna Third

Published on 05/14/2025 under Sports Tomahawk's golf squad bounced back with a third-place finish at their Great Northern Conference Meet at Minocqua Country Club Tuesday. The Hatchets finished with a team score of 330, seven strokes behind Mosinee and Lakeland. The Hatchets' top finisher was Jake Albert, placing second overall with a 76. Sawyer Hanna finished third overall with a 77. Oliver Childers finished third on the team and tied for eighth overall with an 82. Tomahawk's next Great Northern Conference meet is at Eagle River Country Club, hosted by Northland Pines. Tee-off is at 3:00 Friday afternoon.

Published on 05/14/2025 under Sports Tomahawk's track and field squads had a successful night at the Tomahawk Home Invite Tuesday. The Hatchet girls squeaked out a first-place team finish, their first of the season. The Lady Hatchets had four first-place finishes. The Hatchets' individual top finishes were from Elise Gibeault in the 300 meter hurdles, Sienna Caulkins in the triple jump, and Lydia Shaney in the 3200 meter run. Tomahawk's first-place relay finish came from the 4x800 meter relay team of Alli Palmer, Abbie Rosenmeier, Norah Mann, and Lydia Shaney. The Hatchet boys finished fifth with a team score of 79, placing ahead of Hurley and Spencer. Tomahawk had two first-place finishes in the meet. Beau Stromberg finished first in the high jump and Hudson Seymour set a personal best with a 123'5" throw in the discus. The Hatchets' next track meet is Thursday in Rhinelander.

Published on 05/14/2025 under Sports Tomahawk's softball squad suffered another double-digit Great Northern Conference loss, this time at the hands of Medford Tuesday, 12-1. The Hatchets were blitzed for eight runs in the first inning. The biggest bright spot was the first home run in the career of Ella Peissig. The Hatchets also got two hits from Anita Ziert and one from Aubrey Seubert. The loss drops Tomahawk to 7-12 on the season and 3-8 in Great Northern Conference play. The Hatchets will have Senior Day Thursday against Wausau East. Alex Koch and Matt Theiler will be in the broadcast booth with the Fehrman Orthodontics Radio Pregame Show at 4:05 and first pitch at 4:30 on Sports Talk 810 AM / 97.7 FM WJJQ.

Published on 05/14/2025 under Sports The Hatchet baseball squad lost their third straight game, this time at home to Wittenberg-Birnamwood, 6-2. The loss drops Tomahawk to 5-10 on the season and 4-6 in Great Northern Conference play. The next games for the Hatchets are Friday when they take on Ironwood (MI) in a doubleheader. The games will be broadcast on Sports Talk 810 AM / 97.7 FM WJJQ with the Fehrman Orthodontics Radio Pregame Show at 3:35 and first pitch at 4:00. Alex Koch will be in the broadcast booth.

Published on 05/14/2025 under News Last weekend, letter carriers asked people to take part in the largest single day food drive in the country. And the Tomahawk community once again stepped up, donating more than a ton of food, literally. The food collection is part of Stamp Out Hunger, a national effort organized by the Association of Letter Carriers in cooperation with the US Postal Service. Each year, on the second Saturday of May, residents asked to place non-perishable food items in their mailbox for their carriers to collect. This week we heard from an appreciative Craig Boardman, a local carrier who helped organize the Tomahawk collection. He says the community donated just over 2,200 pounds of food items, along with an additional $150 in cash donations. Those items were split and delivered to the Nokomis and Tomahawk Food Pantries. In addition to organizing the drive and collecting the food, the local letter carrier union added another $300 to each donation. On behalf of the local effort, they wanted to thank the community for their continued support of Stamp Out Hunger and the food pantries.

Published on 05/14/2025 under News While there are still a few weeks left before the end of the school year, the Tomahawk School District is already gearing up for summer school. As in the past, the summer sessions will feature a mix of academic support courses coupled with enrichment classes aimed at fun learning. At their meeting Tuesday, the Tomahawk School Board received an update from Megan Barker who's overseeing the Summer School Program. They've got more than 400 student enrollments, which is a high in the current format. They'll be offering 48 classes along with the ever popular swimming lessons. Barker gave a few examples of the classes including a gardening course, art around the world, and STEM Lego robotics. Other classes include peddle to paddle which is a kayaking/biking class; cooking courses; and even fishing. Barker noted that many of the most popular courses were filled within an hour of the opening of online registration. The day will be divided into four periods, two in the morning and two in the afternoon. Some classes are a double period. Summer School in Tomahawk begins June 10 and runs for three weeks.

Published on 05/14/2025 under News The Tomahawk High School Drama Department will take to the stage one last time this school year with their comedic take on the fairy tale genre. For their annual spring Children's Play, the students will present Magic Golden Apples. The story is complete with classic fairy tale elements including princes and princesses, an evil worm wizard and a good fairy queen, and of course magic apples. For six seniors it will be their final performance and director Michele Balda highlighted them Ella Hilgendorf, Cedar Hoffman, Sarah Kallerud, Julia McGovern, Scarlet Mckenzie, and Tamara Stenberg. They'll offer daytime performances for elementary and middle school students. Tonight it's the public production at 7pm in the school auditorium. Admission is free, but a good-will donation to the THS drama department is welcome. Following the play, the annual THS Fine Arts Awards will recognize THS drama and forensics students.

Published on 05/14/2025 under News A new project in Oneida County is looking to help people get involved in their community. Recognizing that one of the biggest challenges for new residents is building connections, a group from Leadership Oneida County developed a user-friendly resource to help. They said in the announcement, "Whether individuals are interested in creating connections through service, networking with local professionals, or looking for others with the same hobbies or interests, this initiative makes it easier to get connected." Jessica Mellinger was a participant in Leadership Oneida County said, "This partnership is about making Oneida County feel like home. We want to make sure newcomers have a clear, welcoming pathway to become part of the fabric of our community." While initially geared towards newcomers to the area, the resource guide can also be useful for locals looking to connect. The Rhinelander Chamber will serve as the main point of contact for this resource, while Leadership Oneida County participants will assist with outreach and ongoing updates. Rhinelander Chamber CEO Lauren Sackett says, "Our region thrives when residents feel empowered to contribute. This collaboration reflects our shared commitment to a vibrant, connected community." The resource guide will be available online via the Rhinelander Chamber website, while printed guides will be available and also distributed in the Oneida County Welcome Packet.

Published on 05/14/2025 under News The Daisy Award is a prestigious honor presented to nurses, and we regularly highlight Northwoods recipients. The latest honoree proved that nurses are always looking to help, even when off-the-clock. Aspirus Howard Young Medical Center recently honored RN Sarah Martin with a DAISY award. Martin works in the intensive care unit, but her extraordinary actions took place at an area restaurant. Martin was nominated by a community member who wrote:My entire family is forever grateful for Sarah's immediate and selfless response that we credit with saving my mom's life. My mom was out to dinner for her birthday, and as she got up to leave collapsed with what sounds like sudden cardiac arrest. I understand that Sarah, also a diner at the restaurant, immediately rushed over and initiated CPR. That fast response is so critical with CPR, so we credit that with saving our mom. I was lucky enough to meet Sarah when she visited my mom in the ICU while she was next working. Thank you, Sarah, for giving my mom the best birthday gift EVER and for not hesitating to use your skill and knowledge outside of the hospital too! As a Daisy recipient, Martin 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 05/14/2025 under News The Tomahawk School District continues to use an annual survey to gauge perceptions and progress. The Tomahawk School Board heard a lengthy and data-filled summary of their School Perceptions survey as Daren Sievers walked the board through the results. The survey is offered to students, parents, and staff members each spring. It not only offers a snapshot of opinion, but also trends from year to year. Before diving into the actual results, he highlighted excellent participation rates, especially among students. Questions covered a wide range of topics in areas such as learning, connection, experiences, and campus environment. Not only did the district receive generally high marks, but also showed some improvements from last year. As for how the data is useful to the board, Administrator Wendell Quesinberry noted the results are incorporated in the district's strategic planning in building goals for the future. While the district earned high marks, Quesinberry noted there is always room to improve. The Board will continue to review the data.____ The May meeting of the Tomahawk School Board is the re-organizational meeting of the board. It was also the first meeting for Jen Black and Steve Heinrich. The Board also selected their board officers with no changes-Ron Zimmerman will continue to serve as chair; Kay Kissenger-Wolf as Vice Chair; Deb Velleux as clerk; and Dave Long as Treasurer. Ann Swenty was selected as Wisconsin Association of School Boards representative; while Velleux will serve as CESA 9 Representative.

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