HURLEY - The National Rifle Association has donated nearly $15,000 to make improvements to a state-run shooting range in far northern Wisconsin.
The grant will be used to expand the Snaketrack Public Shooting Range in Iron County.
The NRA had previously given a pair of $25,000 grants to upgrade two other Wisconsin ranges: one at Yellowstone Lake State Park in Lafayette County, and the other in the Kettle Moraine State Forest.
Warden Keith Warnke of Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources says all three grants will be matched 3-to-1 from federal grants.
Those grant revenues are taxes that shooters and hunters pay on ammunition and equipment. DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp says it's only appropriate for the money to go back toward providing more shooting opportunities.
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.
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."
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.
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