NORTHWOODS - Bass fishermen now think of Northwoods lakes as great fishing water. But twenty years ago, that wasn't the case. It was bad enough, the DNR voted to push the start of bass season from early-May to mid-June. That keeps spawning fish from being harvested.
But now, the DNR wants to let people catch and keep largemouth bass in early May once again. Eagle Sports Owner George Langley has been selling fishing gear for over 3-decades.
He's aware of how mediocre bass fishing used to be before the current rule.
“It just was not a large factor, everybody fished for walleye, and they fished for musky of course and northerns. We now have a world-class bass-fishery up here and it's because of the present regulations so why change it?”
DNR fisheries biologist John Kubisiak can see why people don't want a change. But on some lakes, the regulations might hurt the largemouth bass quality.
“The concern with the catch and release season going off isn't that we're going to harvest too many bass. It's that we're going to find the biggest fish in the lake and remove them. So trying to find a balance where there are enough special rules, but not over doing it where you don't know the ruling on any individual water.”
If you want to voice your opinion on bass-fishing---attend your county's Spring Fish and Wildlife Public Hearing on April 8th.
Check out the link below to learn about other topics the DNR will cover at this year’s public hearing.
MERRILL - You won't find candy bars or chips in the new vending machine at Ministry Good Samaritan in Merrill. This machine dispenses prescription medication.
It won't replace the regular pharmacist. But it will help patients who visit the hospital late at night.
"It allows patients to receive full prescriptions after hours for the local pharmacies. So if you have babe in arms that's sick that needs a prescription, we can fill that full prescription and get you on your way within less than five minutes," says Pharmacy Manager Jim Mason.
The machine has anything you would need for infections or pain; the kind of things a person goes to the ER for.
It's the fifth machine in Ministry facilities. Pharmacy Manager Jim Mason says they have a track record of safety. Each prescription is triple checked before it's dispensed.
"There has never been an error from dispensing the InstyMeds. So it's extremely safe, and it's well over a million prescriptions through InstyMeds," says Mason.
So far the Good Samaritan machine has filled around a hundred prescriptions. Doctors and patients say it's worked out well.
WOODRUFF - The capitol may be far away but one of our local legislators wants to bring it closer. Assemblyman Rob Swearingen is meeting with constituents around the 34th district.
He visited Woodruff and Eagle River today.
Swearingen is five months into his freshman term. He wants to make sure people can put a face to his name.
He also wants reach those who might be skeptical of him because of his political party.
"You get that, just because I have the "R" in the back of my name that you're automatically not going to be friendly to those issues. And we encourage you to reach out. I may respond and it may not be the response you want to hear, but if you're going to ask me an honest question I'm going to give you an honest answer," says Rep. Swearingen.
Swearingen says everyone's working hard on the budget in Madison. He's hearing a lot of concerns about school funding locally.
"I just really feel that people should be engaged with their own local legislators so the legislator knows them, and knows how they feel. And I showed him my tax bill and he got a real perspective for someone who's on a fixed income and how all the costs for education impact one of his constituents," says Shirley Kufeldt, from Conover.
"We're looking for more funding for the K-12 funding program. I think there's been a lot of heightened awareness in the capital on both sides of the isle and in the Governor's office. So I'm looking for hopefully some good results to help rural schools as the budget moves forward before the Governor signs it in the first part of July," says Rep. Swearingen.
Swearingen's first budget motion was to allow Nicolet College to be eligible for state aid based on enrollment. That motion passed unanimously.
He says his weekly drive to his office in Madison is a reality check.
"There's the state capitol and you realize that your office is inside that building. It's a really surreal feeling to walk into that building each morning. Every time I press that button, whether it's green or red, I am voting on behalf of over 50,000 people in the 34th Assembly District. And that is something you don't take lightly," says Rep. Swearingen.
Swearingen will continue district dialogues on Monday. He'll be in Florence, Rhinelander and Crandon.
Florence, May 20th 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM Maxsells Restaurant Inn & Pub, 209 Central Ave, (US Highway 2)
Crandon, May 20th 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM Forest County Courthouse, Board Room
ACROSS THE NORTHWOODS - A week with little to no rain pushed fire risks dangerously high across northern Wisconsin. A fire in Bayfield spanning 9-thousand acres destroyed 17 homes. Fire crews want everyone to be smart about burning this time of year.
A small burn got out of control on Loop Heights Road in Pine Lake today. Fire Chief, Brian Gehrig, says the weather conditions make it easy for fires to get out of control.
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