BOULDER JUNCTION - People in Boulder Junction dusted off their cook books to battle the lingering winter. But they didn't just get together to fight the winter blues. The event benefited the Community Food Pantry.
The Lion's Club and Jim Tait Realty held first ever "Soup's On" cook-off at the community center. The turnout far exceeded organizer's expectations.
"We had 22 different types of soup. Everywhere from squash, to chicken noodle, to a gumbo, to a stroganoff. It was all wonderful," says Jim Tait, from Jim Tait Real Estate, and board member of the Boulder Junction Lion's Club.
Around a hundred people came out to find out who the "Master Souper" of the Northwoods was.
Donations for the food pantry were accepted at the door.
"By serving others and serving each other, as a lot of people were doing today, it really brings a community together. It strengthens not only the community, but the area, the county and the state," says John Ader, Boulder Junction Lion's Club President.
The event collected nearly $800 and two crates of food for the food pantry.
Help signing up for the affordable healthcare website
Submitted: 12/11/2013
RHINELANDER - Most people can now successfully get through the online healthcare website. The Obama administration announced today about 365,000 people have successfully signed up.
That's well behind what the administration had hoped for at this point. Some people are still having trouble because the website isn't completely fixed. But the federal marketplace is paying some people to help.
Aylee Herr is a certified application counselor. He helps people navigate the healthcare.gov website. Today he was helping people sign up in Rhinelander.
In two months three workers in his office have only signed up 30 people in Northcentral Wisconsin.
"The number is actually going up and we are enrolling more people not just them but through our educational processes people are able to do this on their own, that's actually helping these numbers go up and the website is actually working a lot better now," says Aylee Herr, a Certified Application Counselor.
The website was designed to be at a sixth grade level. Before logging onto the site, it’s important to understand your family arrangement and household income.
“Once you get that number worked out the second step we want you to do is figure out what hospitals and doctors you prefer," says Herr. "Once you have those two in a way figured out its very easy for you to navigate the website."
The Obama administration and counselors like Herr will continue their enrollment push through the New Year. People enrolling by December 23rd can get coverage by the first of the year.
MADISON - Gov. Scott Walker's administration plans to schedule round table discussions around Wisconsin for people to discuss the state's tax code and propose changes.
Walker says he wants to lower the overall tax burden every year he is in office. The round tables are to discuss the state's tax structure, not any specific proposal.
Walker and the Republican Legislature this year passed a $650 million income tax cut and a $100 million property tax reduction.
Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and Revenue Department Secretary Rick Chandler hosted the first tax reform round table discussion on Monday at Beloit College. Walker says more will be announced in coming weeks.
WHITEWATER - Wisconsin has made the Peace Corps' Top 10 list for number of volunteers per capita.
Peace Corps volunteers spend two years working in a developing country. Tasks might include teaching English, digging wells and tending gardens.
According to rankings released Wednesday, for every 100,000 Wisconsin residents, 3.7 join the Peace Corps. That's ninth best in the nation, just behind Minnesota (3.8). Vermont is No. 1 at 7.8 volunteers per 100,000 residents.
Many of Wisconsin's volunteers come from the Whitewater area, which was ranked No. 10 in metro areas per capita.
President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps in 1961 to foster a better understanding between Americans and people of other countries. More than 215,000 Americans have served in 139 countries worldwide.
EAU CLAIRE - Gov. Scott Walker has signed into law a pair of bills designed to help students who are pursuing a technical college education.
One bill Walker signed provides incentive grants to school districts that promote career and technical education programs. The grants of up to $1,000 per school district will be available starting next school year.
The other bill Walker signed provides scholarships to full time students at technical colleges. Between one and six scholarships worth $2,250 will be available at each school.
Both measures passed the Legislature unanimously earlier this year. Walker signed the bills in Eau Claire.
State Superintendent Tony Evers had proposed the incentives last year and thanked Walker for signing the bills into law.
GREENLEAF - A Wisconsin dairy farm owner says he did not learn of abusive practices on his farm until a few weeks ago and he's still shaken up by it.
Mark Wiese and his brother own Wiese Brothers Farm in Greenleaf, Wis.
The animal rights group Mercy For Animals released video Tuesday showing workers hitting, kicking, stabbing and whipping sick and injured cows. The video was taken in October and November.
Wiese says he became aware of the abuse when he received an email in late November that included the video.
He says all the employees in the video were assigned to work with sick animals that had problems moving. Two were fired.
Wiese says a supervisor is now being called whenever an animal goes down to oversee its care.
MADISON - Democrats in the Wisconsin Legislature are calling on Republicans to hold a public hearing on a bill to increase the minimum wage.
Twenty six Democrats, including possible gubernatorial candidate Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, sent a letter Tuesday requesting the hearing.
The bill was introduced in January. It would increase the minimum wage from $7.25 to $7.60 an hour and then have it go up automatically based on inflation.
The request for a hearing comes as President Barack Obama and Democrats nationally have been calling for an increase in the minimum wage.
Republican Sen. Glenn Grothman says he doesn't support the bill, saying a higher minimum wage won't help his goal of finding more entry level jobs for teenagers. Grothman chairs the Judiciary and Labor Committee.
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