Melrose
LATEST NEWS
Wild Ones to host Save Our Songbirds speaker
ANTIGO — The Northwoods Gateway Chapter of Wild Ones will host a free presentation on protecting endangered songbirds tonight, Aug. 14, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Pollinator Garden near 2nd Ave. alongside the Johnson Electric Coil Company. The presentation will be given by Lisa Gaumnitz, a former public information officer for the Wisconsin DNR that now coordinates SOS Save Our Songbirds, an initiative by the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Partnership to raise awareness about native birds endangered in Wisconsin. ...
Wisconsin body camera rules vary too widely
Body cameras have become standard equipment for most police departments and there are some parameters for how they are to be used. But those parameters vary widely. In Wisconsin, the Legislature passed a law that regulates the use of body cameras. It basically says every police department should have policies in place for the use of body cameras. There are rules on how long the video footage is to be retained, and there are restrictions about releasing footage that shows minors or victims of violent crime. But there don’t seem to be rules that stipulate that police body camera footage is public record. It is generally assumed that body cam video is covered by the state’s open records laws, and therefore are presumed public record, with limited exception. But in Brookfield, a young teen was arrested, accused of starting a fire on railroad tracks then running from police. The body camera footage would show he wasn’t guilty of starting the fire, and didn’t know the person telling him to stop was an officer, because the officer didn’t identify himself. The boy’s mother was denied the ability to see the officer’s body cam footage, with the city saying it doesn’t release footage involving juveniles. He ended up pleading guilty to something he didn’t do. Our lawmakers, whenever they get back to work in Madison, should tighten the wording of the laws regulating body cameras so that each police department in Wisconsin doesn’t have its own rules, and so an innocent teen doesn’t have to plead guilty even though recorded footage would have exonerated him.
First Alert Weather: Moderate rain is possible on Thursday
WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAW) - Wednesday will be our last day with, at least, some blue skies before rain takes over the second half of the week. Temperatures will be about as warm as yesterday: low-80s for most of north central Wisconsin. We will start out with mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies before more clouds move in later in the day.
Meet Jared Schutz, the enthusiast behind Wisco Dive Bar Reviews
Jared Schutz’s dream dive bar features vintage signage, cheap beer, shot ski, a wooden bar top riddled with divots and a classic jukebox. Schutz has had a lot of time to think about dive bars. Recently, he’s toured every one Wisconsin has to offer. Schutz, creator of “Wisco...
Farmers hoping for long growing season to help guide crops
Farmers want Mother Nature to help them get good corn and soybean crops off their fields this year. According to the United States Department of Agriculture's Crop Progress and Condition Report, Wisconsin farmers had over five days suitable for fieldwork last week, overcoming some early week rains to harvest small grains and cut hay. Corn silking is at 84 percent, which slipped off last week's pace from one to four days behind last year. Five percent of the crop is at the denting stage, the first sign corn shows on its way toward getting harvested. In Kewaunee, Deer Run Dairy owner Duane Ducat says farmers are starting to see their crops turn the corner after being challenged earlier in the year, something a long growing season will only help.
2 Wisconsin schools transition to net-zero energy, use tax credits to be more sustainable
In Dane County, Forest Edge Elementary students and teachers will soon return to what the New Buildings Institute called one of the largest “all-electric” buildings in North America. And a middle school in the Fox Valley is hoping to open a similar school next year. The elementary school...
Thousands of Wisconsin businesses receiving refunds after scam, including dozens in the Northwoods
RHINELANDER, Wis. - Thousands of Wisconsin businesses will receive refunds after being targeted by a business certificate scam. This includes 30 Rhinelander businesses, 14 Tomahawk businesses, 21 Antigo businesses, 33 Merrill businesses, 77 Wausau businesses, 20 Minocqua businesses, 15 Eagle River businesses and 1 Phillips business. A full list of businesses affected by the scam can be found here.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.