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Lincoln County Health Department Announces October 7 Community Baby Shower Published on 09/23/2025 under News

Over the past few years the Lincoln County Health Department has successfully helped new families through their Community Baby Showers. They're encouraging people mark their calendars for their next outreach on October 7.

This is the third year for the Community Baby Showers which offer a one stop shop of information and outreach for new parents, grandparents, or caregivers. Public Health Educator Lexi Buntrock helps coordinate the event. She notes that they've received near unanimous positive feedback from past attendees.

They cover a wide range of topics like safe sleep, car seats, and child care. Some booths are informational, while others may have resources for attendees. Buntrock says they do still have a few more spots left for agencies, organizations, or groups to participate. The deadline is Wednesday September 24.

They will follow their alternating pattern. After hosting in Tomahawk this spring, they'll be back in Merrill at the Lincoln County Service Center. That's once again October 7. We'll offer up a reminder and preview as that date approaches.

In Other News

Dewey Reilly of Tomahawk High School named Green Bay Packers High School Coach of the Week

Published on 09/25/2025 under Sports The recognition continue to take notice for Tomahawk's football team and this time it is coming from Wisconsin's NFL Team. The Green Bay Packers announced Football Coach Dewey Reilly was named their High School Coach of the Week. Reilly has led the Hatchets to their first 5-0 start since 1969 and are ranked fifth among all Division 5 programs Statewide according to the Bound Wisconsin Coaches poll. Away from the field, Reilly, who is a 1997 Tomahawk High School Graduate, emphasizes the importance of the team being positive role models for the Tomahawk Community. Reilly also played Linebacker at Minnesota State-Mankato. As a result of the award, the Packers and the NFL Foundation will donate $1,000 to Tomahawk's Football program and will be recognized of the award on packers.com, boundwisconsin.com, and wifca.org. The Hatchets take on Mosinee in their Homecoming Football Game Friday night. Tune in for the Fehrman Orthodontics Kickoff Cabin at 6:10 and opening kick at 7:00 with Alex Koch and Jon Long in the broadcast booth.

Published on 09/25/2025 under News For many Lincoln County residents, the local Aging and Disability Resource Center provides invaluable services like meals and general information. And with an increasingly aging population locally, those services are as important as ever. While most ADRC offices are county-based, the ADRC of Central Wisconsin is actually a partnership of Lincoln, Langlade, Marathon and Wood Counties. At their meeting last week, the Lincoln County Board heard the annual presentation of executive director Michael Rhea. Perhaps the service that reaches the most people is their food services. Between meals-on-wheels and in person dining, they serve hundreds of meals in Lincoln County each week. Across the four county region, they provided more than 170,000. That hasn't been without challenges, Rhea noted they continue to deal with increasing food costs while maintaining a relatively flat budget. He also teased some experimental changes to their congregate dining in the Merrill area including some new community locations. Beyond food, the 'R' in ADRC stands for resource and the staff provide valuable information on other programs and assistance available on topics such as public benefits, health care, transportation assistance, and home care options. One of the goals of the ADRC is to allow residents the ability to 'age in place' or remain in their homes as they grow older, if they choose.

Published on 09/25/2025 under News The Rhinelander School District's Cedric A Vig Outdoor Classroom or CAVOC is typically a pretty quiet, calm place, allowing students to connect with nature. Coming up this weekend, the trails will be filled for a race, and it all benefits a local veterans project. After a successful debut last fall, the Rhinelander High School FBLA/DECA chapter is bring back their Run for Our Heroes 5K. Proceeds will go towards the Northwoods Veterans Homestead project. For those unfamiliar, the non-profit is building a tiny home village comprised of 16 tiny homes and a community center. The goal is to provide an opportunity for homeless veterans to get back on their feet through not only housing but also connecting them with resources to assist with employment, permanent housing, and other steps in self-sufficiency. Last year, Run for Our Heroes had around 60 participants, and they're hoping to grow in year two. The run/walk is coming up Saturday morning at CAVOC, opening ceremonies at 10am. They will have on-site sign up or you can pre-register. We'll include the link in the online version of the story.

Published on 09/25/2025 under News UW-Stevens Point and North Central Technical College are teaming up in a move aimed at improving opportunities for students in the region. The two schools recently announced a collaboration that will allow UWSP at Wausau (formerly UW-Marathon County) to relocate to the NTC campus. This will allow the schools and students to share space, programming, services and extracurricular activities. According to the announcement, NTC will continue offering associate's degrees, with UWSP at Wausau offering bachelor's and master's degrees at NTC starting fall 2026. A working group, including school officials and members of the Marathon County Board, provided critical guidance that helped lead to this partnership. NTC President Jeannie Worden says, "NTC and UWSP have shared a strong and lasting partnership, and this next step deepens our commitment to the students and communities we serve." Discussions will continue to determine the future use and timeline for the current UWSP at Wausau facilities.

Published on 09/25/2025 under News Fresh off hosting a successful, week-long Major League Fishing-team event, another major bass tournament is coming to the Northwoods. The Minocqua Area Visitors Bureau announced the Wisconsin Bass Team Trail Championship will be fished on the Minocqua chain of lakes next month. The two day tournament will feature 36 teams, and is the conclusion of a summer-long series of tournaments. Sherry Hulett, Sports & Group Travel Director at the Minocqua Area Visitors Bureau says, "The Minocqua Chain is a fantastic place for bass fishing." Hulett added, Tournaments like these really help draw attention to our fishing opportunities and help support our local economy with overnight stays, dining, and shopping while the competitors and fans are here." The Wisconsin Bass Team Trail That tournament recently fished Lake Mohawksin in Tomahawk. The Championship will be held October 4 and 5.

Published on 09/25/2025 under News Tom Tiffany's decision to enter the Wisconsin Governor's race opens up his congressional seat. One candidate has already entered the race to succeed him in Washington. Republican Jessi Ebben announced her candidacy for the 7th congressional district covering most of Northern Wisconsin. In the campaign announcement, Ebben described herself as 'a Trump Conservative' with 'more than a decade working in the healthcare and manufacturing industries.' This isn't the first time Ebben has run for office. In 2022, she lost Derek Van Orden in the Republican primary for the state's 3rd congressional district. Like the Governor's race, the primary is next August and the general election in November 2026.

Published on 09/24/2025 under Sports Tomahawk Swim Club registration for the 2025-2026 season is now open! Tomahawk Swim Club is a competitive swim program open to the youth of the Tomahawk community for ages 6 to 18 for anyone who can swim 25 yards (or one length of the pool). Participants are coached in the 4 competitive racing strokes, starts, underwater techniques, and turns and are given the opportunity to compete against other swim clubs against swimmers of similar ages and abilities if desired, although not required. The ultimate goal of the club is to develop all its members to their fullest individual potential by promoting a safe and respectful environment, develop character, build a family-like community, and emphasize positive attitudes, self-confidence, teamwork, sportsmanship, health lifestyles while instilling a lifelong love of swimming. For more information and to register go to https://tomahawkswimclub.swimtopia.com/ or follow us on FB. Practices will start on October 14th.

Published on 09/24/2025 under Sports On Tuesday night the Hatchet Volleyball Team traveled to Lakeland for a Great Northern Conference match. The T-Birds win the match to remain undefeated in the GNC, three games to one; 25-20, 25-19, 18-25, 25-22. With the loss, Tomahawk falls to 2-2 in the GNC and 10-11 overall. On Thursday the Hatchets are back in action, hosting Abbotsford, Antigo, Marathon, Newman and Prentice in a Varsity Quad beginning at 4:00 pm at the Fieldhouse.

Published on 09/24/2025 under News We're still three months from Christmas, but a Lincoln County group is already preparing for an annual gift distribution for families-in-need. We spoke with Chris Copiskey, a volunteer with Christmas Spirit-Lincoln County. Each holiday season, the non-profit works with local partners to make sure it's a Merry Christmas for kids in Tomahawk, Merrill and surrounding areas. Their mission is to fulfill gift requests for parents and guardians struggling financially who may not be able to provide presents for their children during the holiday season. Copiskey shared they were able to fill the requests of more than 150 families and nearly 400 children last year. In addition to traditional gifts, they also look to provide items of need like jackets and winter gear, hygiene products, or even bedding. She called it 'a heartwarming and humbling process' noting, 'the generosity is unbelievable.' The first step in the mission is already underway, the applications and wishlists. Despite a November 5 deadline, participating parents are encouraged to get those filled as quickly as possible. Applications are available here at WJJQ. Down in Merrill, the Chamber and the Fire Department have applications. Once those requests are sorted, the tags will be placed on gifting trees where community members can purchase items. Then come early-December the volunteers will organize and distribute the gifts, one of the most rewarding parts for the volunteers. They've got a Facebook page with more information, and you can hear that entire conversation in the WJJQ audio center.

Published on 09/24/2025 under News A lawmaker from Northern Wisconsin has thrown his hat into the ring for Wisconsin Governor. In a move that was widely expected, Tom Tiffany has officially entered the race. Tiffany, who currently serves as a congressman representing Northern Wisconsin's 7th district, a position he held since winning a special election in 2020 following the resignation to Sean Duffy. Prior to that, he spent one term in Madison as an assemblyman and two terms as a State Senator. In his announcement, Tiffany says he gives Republicans the best chance to win in 2026. In a news release he said, "As governor, I will freeze property taxes, protect our farmland from Communist China, and fight every day for families, for farmers, and for the hardworking people who make this state great." Wisconsin Democrats quickly seized on Tiffany's ardent support of President Donald Trump, targeting issues such as tariffs. It's an open race after Governor Evers announced this summer that he would not seek a third term. Tiffany becomes the highest profile Republican to enter the race, with current challengers Washington County executive Josh Schoemann and Milwaukee businessman Bill Berrien. The Democratic fields also continues to grow with a half dozen candidates. In addition to a crowded field, Tiffany will have to overcome a geographic hurdle. It has been decades since Wisconsin's Governor has come from the northern half of the state. Primaries will be held next August, the general election, one year from November.

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