MADISON - A new report finds that special interests that support easing regulations so a new iron ore mine can open in northern Wisconsin far outspent opponents.
The government watchdog group the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign reported Monday that supporters of the mine donated $15.6 million to the Republican-controlled Legislature and Governor Scott Walker between 2010 and June 2012.
The report says environmentalists who oppose the bill donated only about $25,500 over the same period.
Walker received $11.3 million from those who support mining while members of the Legislature got $4.25 million.
The single largest benefactor in the Legislature was Republican Sen. Alberta Darling of River Hills.
The report says she got just over $467,000. She spent more than $1.2 million in 2011 to defeat a recall effort.
(Copyright 2013 Associated Press - All Rights Reserved)
MERRILL - Farmers in Lincoln and Langlade Counties may need to make a longer drive or call a different office for USDA services.
The Merrill Service Center will be temporarily split up between Rhinelander, Wausau, and Medford.
The Farm Service Agency will move to the Wausau Service Center and the Natural Resources Conservation Service will be relocated to the Rhinelander and Medford Centers.
MINOCQUA - These plants may look pretty but they're taking over our rivers and lakes. Michele Sadauskas is Oneida County's Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator. She is working to map and control the yellow iris, the plant you see here. She and two other conservation workers spent the day weeding Stacks Bay.
"They invade our wetlands. They're a really robust, aggressive plant. What they do is they crowd out our native species and make actually the wetland a lot less diverse," says Michele Sadauskas, Oneida County AIS Coordinator.
Removing yellow iris is a slow process. It takes three hours of work just to properly map and control 20 feet of shoreline.
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