RHINELANDER - Ask any parent and they'll tell you, feeding their growing kid isn't always easy. Add in a struggling economy and it gets even harder.
The Rhinelander Area Food Pantry runs a program called Backpacks for Kids. The program provides food for the weekend to students who receive free or reduced lunches on weekdays at school.
Program coordinator Kari Lazers says more students have taken advantage of the program in the last 3 years.
"So last year there were 160 kids involved in the Backpack Program and this year we're at 206. So the need has gone up," says Lazers
Many families find the program helpful during tough times and hope to give back to it. But your help is also needed.
"From the public, it would be donations, either monetary or food for that, and also volunteers. Every Thursday we have a team of volunteers that come because that is the day we fill the backpacks up, we fill them, and take them back to the schools," says Lazers.
You can stop by the Food Pantry located in Rhinelander or visit them online.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - We got to see and hear Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin give her first speech on the floor Wednesday morning.
The first-term Senator focused mainly on optimism and bipartisanship during her 11-minute speech.
She spoke on a day when the Senate took up debate on the so-called 2013 Farm Bill.
The bi-partisan effort would help limit the risks many farmers take while saving taxpayers billions. It's the kind of work Baldwin would like to see the Senate do more of.
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.
WAUSAU - If you drink and drive, don't expect to get away with it. Especially when you've already been caught seven other times. A Weston man is facing his eighth drunken driving charge.
Twenty-nine year-old Cole Knapp appeared in Marathon County Court today. Prosecutors say an officer tried to pull Knapp over for a traffic violation May 11 when Knapp took off.
Knapp eventually stopped and got out of his vehicle with his hands in the air.
During a background check, Knapp fled on foot and was arrested a short time. He has seven previous OWI convictions dating back to 2002 in Bayfield, Ashland, Lincoln and Marathon counties.
LAC DU FLAMBEAU - In Vilas County the courts have a new option for treating drug and alcohol offenders, instead of putting them behind bars.
Today the new Wellness Court was named in Lac du Flambeau. Circuit court judge Neal Neilsen and Tribal Court Judge Gary Smith will work together to help those involved with drugs and alcohol get the treatment they need.
"A traditional court would, more than likely sentence the person to jail or prison, and we've seen studies where that just doesn't work anymore. We need to get creative," said Lac du Flambeau Tribal Chief Judge, Gary Smith.
MILWAUKEE - Ministry Health Care plans to lay off several hundred employees, citing a drop in the number of patients and cuts in federal reimbursement levels.
Ministry operates 15 hospitals and 47 clinics across Wisconsin.
The facilities include Saint Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield and Saint Michael's Hospital in Stevens Point.
Ministry spokesman Geoffrey Huys says about 225 to 250 employees will be cut, mainly through attrition and job eliminations.
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