48°F

51°F

49°F

47°F

49°F

44°F

50°F

55°F

49°F
WJFW News

Northwoods Drought Conditions Update Submitted: 06/08/2012

Play Video
EAGLE RIVER - After a prolonged period of drought across the Northwoods, good news comes after a surplus of rainfall last month. But the impacts of the drought remain.

The Climate Prediction Center has lifted just about every Northwoods county out of the Abnormally Dry category. In other words coming out of lingering rain total deficits.

The Northwoods has been under this abnormally dry condition since the end of last summer.

But with an extra an inch and a half of rainfall last month, the condition has been lifted. As of May 29th, a majority of the Northwoods stands drought free.

Even severe drought conditions just to our southwest in Minnesota have been dropped completely.

However only a few areas are still experiencing abnormal conditions, like Florence County, and portions of Iron and Vilas counties. The length of the abnormal period here still has long lasting effects.

Effects which can correlate with a 30 year drop of more than 5 feet in lake levels, like Anvil Lake in Eagle River, according to Wisconsin Lake Vice President Sandy Gillum. "From my perspective here in Vilas County, we have not seen lake levels rise very much. We are impacted because we have small water sheds, and we have lakes that have not recieved a lot of precipitation of Winter or the Spring even.

At Anvil Lake, Sandy says she has seen the lake levels drop even though we are now out of abnormal conditions. Her dock steps were covered over by an inch of water, now that level has dropped by more than three inches.

"We have experienced a lot of wind, and sun, and an early ice out. Which all adds up to warmer lakes for this time of year, which drives evaporation and lake levels dropping." Gillum also says a main reason our lakes are slow to rebound is our under ground water table. "The bottoms are made up of sand, and gravels and clays, and bolders, some of those matrices allow water to seep through. Lakes feed into the ground water system, they don't always hold water like a bath tub."

So far it's been a relatively slow start for rainfall totals here in June, even with the rainfall we've seen today.

The Climate Prediciton Center has forcasted for an average summer in terms of total rainfall.

While Gillum says an average season won't raise lake levels, she says it's a start in balancing out our ground water table, which in the future could lead toward a rebound in lake levels.

Story By: Ryan Michaels

Text Size: + Increase | Decrease -
 Print Story Print Story | Email Story Email Story
Sponsored in part by HodagSports.com
 In Other News:
Walleye Plan Excites Local Fishermen Submitted: 05/23/2013

EAGLE RIVER - The initiative will help to rebound what's thought of as a suffering walleye population by adding hundreds of thousands of the fish to Wisconsin lakes.

The project could improve fishing for the state's most popular game fish and tourism in the state. George Langely, a local fishing guide at Eagle Sports bait shop in Eagle River, says walleye fishing isn't what it used to be.

"The walleye population has pretty much suffered in the last twenty years and it's really nice to see Madison recognizing that and taking some steps to do something about it. It will take a while but it's a great start."

+ Read More
Plan Announced to Boost Walleye Numbers Submitted: 05/23/2013

MADISON - Governor Walker hopes greater walleye numbers can help boost state tourism.

Walker announced a nearly 13-million dollar effort to boost walleye production.

The plan would allow the state to borrow millions to expand hatcheries.

It would also give several million in grants for private walleye production plants.

The plan also includes money for aquaculture work, buying fingerlings from private vendors, and expanding a program that gives tribal youth jobs on natural resources-related projects.

+ Read More
Winning Lottery Ticket Sold in Rhinelander Submitted: 05/23/2013

RHINELANDER -
A ticket sold in Rhinelander matched all the numbers in last night's Badger 5 lotto drawing.

The lucky winner bought the ticket at Trigs in Rhinelander.

The winning numbers last night were 5, 16, 18, 25 and 28.

The winner has 180 days to claim the 293-thousand dollar prize.

+ Read More
Unemployment Down for Most of State Submitted: 05/23/2013

MADISON - Some northwoods counties got left behind as unemployment rates IMPROVED almost everywhere in Wisconsin last month.

The state Department of Workforce Development said yesterday that unemployment got worse in April in Price, Menominee and Calumet counties.

Unemployment stayed the same in Iron and Langlade counties.

Rates improved in the other 67 counties.

+ Read More
Accused Lac du Flambeau stabber faces attempted intentional homicide charge Submitted: 05/22/2013

Play Video

EAGLE RIVER - Thirty-year-old James Peterson faces a serious charge this week.

Peterson is accused of stabbing a 19-year-old man in Lac du Flambeau early Sunday morning. He made his initial appearance in court today.

Prosecutors want to charge him with first degree intentional attempted homicide.

Both he and the stabbing victim were treated at the hospital. The victim was taken to Ministry St. Joseph's in Marshfield for further treatment.

Peterson remains in jail Wednesday night on $15,000 cash bond.

+ Read More
Rhinelander's Open House of Storefronts a Success Submitted: 05/22/2013

Play Video

RHINELANDER - Rhinelander needs new businesses to fill empty stores downtown.

This past weekend 26 properties had an open house. It was organized by Downtown Rhinelander, Inc. (DRI) and Flanders Reality Group. Finding the right home for a business can be hard. But the event tried to help those on the hunt.

"This way, you know, your here, you look, your able to talk to someone who knows the property. And you can really make a really good decision right now today," said Maggie Steffen, DRI Executive Director.

+ Read More
State Funding for Rural Schools Problematic in the Northwoods Submitted: 05/22/2013

Play Video

RHINELANDER - State budgeting can sound like a dry topic. For many people, and even elected officials, it is.

But when a state budget impacts your child's school directly, people tend to pay attention.

Some people in Rhinelander think Wisconsin is not giving its fair share to districts in northern Wisconsin. They met in town tonight to talk about it.

Staff and parents in the School District of Rhinelander want to make sure state officials know just how much they're hurting. They met tonight to hammer that point home.

"Because there are fewer of us in northern Wisconsin than in the big cities, we're going to have to be louder," says Kelli Jacobi, District Director of Instruction, and future Superintendent.

Rhinelander voters passed a $3 million referendum in February. That meant the district could raise more money from property taxes. But it doesn't fix a bigger problem - how much money the district gets from the state.

"There's a huge discrepancy in terms of the school funding formula because it's based on property values and has nothing to do with income," says Marta Kwiatkowski, District Director of Business Services.

That creates an odd situation. Rhinelander is considered a high property value district. That means it doesn't get a whole lot of financial help from the state government. At the same time, it's a high poverty district too.

"If you look at the income, our income is approximately $35,000 on average, where state average is $52,000," says Kwiatkowski.

The wide difference between property values and actual family incomes in Rhinelander creates a challenge. It's been that way for years - since the state Legislature set up school funding rules.

"It's kind of a situation that wasn't taken into account when the current school funding formula was established," says Jacobi.

Now, the only thing school districts like Rhinelander can do is push hard for their state legislators to help them financially.

"We say, hey, what are you going to do for us? We did it for you because we voted you into office. If we don't like (what you're doing), we're going to find somebody that we will like and vote them in," says Brian Carpenter, a parent and middle school teacher.

A temporary fix could be a plan by Senate Republicans Mike Ellis and Luther Olson. They suggest raising the amount of funding devoted to each student by $200 over Governor Walker's budget proposal. Rhinelander leaders strongly support that plan.

"We let people know what our concerns are, what our problems are, and that we need help," says Jacobi.

+ Read More
+ More General News
Search: 


Click Here


Copyright© 2013 Rockfleet Broadcasting / Northland Television, Inc.
WJFW is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Disclaimer: All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed and should be independently verified.
Neither Rockfleet Broadcasting / Northland Television, Inc. nor By Request Web Designs shall be responsible for any typographical errors, misinformation, or misprints.

Site Design By: