RHINELANDER - Nothing says summer time like ice cream, but with cool temperatures this week and more to come next week, it doesn't feel much like summer.
One local ice cream shop says that hasn't stopped people from buying the treat. Jet's Dairy Bar in downtown Rhinelander has had a steady flow of business, despite the cold.
"Pretty consistent because of the holiday week and a lot of the Country Festers are up. So I think a lot of them were just kind of chilling around town waiting for Country Fest to start," said Aimee Kubiak, Jet's Dairy Bar Employee.
Employees believe tourists keep sales regular. Business for Jet's this Fourth of July weekend was up compared to past years. But surprisingly, Jet's employees say rain, not cold, can slow business.
"Because it won't melt as fast and, I don't know, there's less people here so you have more room to just pick from tables and I like ice cream any temperature," said Kubiak.
Other ice cream shops from around the Northwoods tell us they were also busy the past week despite the cooler temperatures.
BOULDER JUNCTION - Most people look at a piece of wood and that's all they see, but Dan Haack envisions something different.
"I like to take a piece of wood and look at it and carve on it and all the sudden I have a little man's face inside of it," said Haack, who's from Rhinelander.
Haack is one of the 11 instructors at the 21st Musky Area Woodcarvers Workshop in Boulder Junction. "I teach caricature carvings," Haack said.
More than 100 people came to the workshop to learn different ways to carve, paint, and burn wood. "For most of the folks in here it's a hobby," said Phil Strand.
LAC DU FLAMBEAU - On a busy stretch of Highway 47 near Lac du Flambeau -- where hundreds of wheels spin at 55 miles-per-hour each day -- just one tire drags at a slower pace, pulled by one man: the Tire Man.
"I guess I'm the only one nutty enough to do it, I suppose," Frank Tarantino said with a laugh.
Tarantino lives in Mercer, but trains for marathons in Lac du Flambeau. He started pulling a tire on a chain a few years ago after reading about it in a fitness magazine. People often stop to take his picture.
"Little by little you run a little further, a little further," Tarantino said.
RHINELANDER - Cancer survivors and supporters gathered at Ministry St. Mary's Hospital for the 10th annual Celebration of Life Thursday. The event honors those battling cancer or survivors of cancer and shows people what kinds of services the James Beck Cancer Center offers.
The center's namesake lost his life to cancer, but now others will be able to benefit from his gift to the hospital.
"With his vision and his dollars we were able to put this cancer center here in Rhinelander so patients don't have to travel to larger cities," said Director of Cancer Services Kimberly Hetland.
This year's speaker was Mike Regole, a survivor of tonsil cancer. He spoke about his experience at the center, how family and support affected his journey, and how he ran a business while having cancer.
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