Public hearing to be held on plan to honor Rouman family
Unsure whether to honor the Rouman family by renaming Eisenhower Parkway or West Side Park, the Rhinelander Common Council voted Monday to hold a public hearing on Aug. 26 to gather community input.
City well taken offline for treatment of bacteria, biofilm
Officials: No health danger to residents
The City of Rhinelander is operating with just two functioning wells after Well No. 4 was taken out of service in late June due to “increased bacteria and biofilm.” According to city officials, Well No. 4 was taken offline so that it can be rehabilitated, a process that is expected to last until the end of August.
Three-generation business reaches final chapter with retirement of founder’s grandson
After 50 years and countless completed projects, Rick Larson called it a career on July 1, closing the book on a three-generation business responsible for the construction of numerous homes in the Rhinelander area.
Police department marks 20th anniversary of officer’s sacrifice
On the Fourth of July, the Rhinelander Police Department’s Facebook page featured just one post. The brief message commemorated the 20th anniversary of the death of Sgt. Stephen G. Martin.
School district receives state tech ed grant
The School District of Rhinelander is celebrating a substantial boost to its ongoing effort to modernize technical education facilities and equipment at James Williams Middle School and Rhinelander High School.
Celebrating Smokey’s enduring message
Forest Service icon visits Rhinelander
Smokey Bear celebrated his 80th birthday last Tuesday evening with a visit to the home of another legend of the woodlands — the Rhinelander Hodag.
Citation issued in connection with fatal crash
A 20-year-old Crandon woman involved in a traffic accident in Lincoln County last month that resulted in the death of a Rhinelander man has been cited for “failure to keep vehicle under control.”
City gearing up for $9 million street project in Hodag Park neighborhood
Public hearing on July 22
A public hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. July 22 to allow the public to weigh in on a major street/utility project the City of Rhinelander is planning for 2025.
City council considering permanent memorial honoring Rouman family
A community effort to honor the Rouman family by bestowing their surname on a city street reached the Rhinelander Common Council Monday evening. Attorney Brian Bennett broached the topic during public comment, referencing the untimely loss of George Rouman in a car accident earlier this month and the death of patriarch Mike Rouman last August.
Lariviere gets 15 years in prison
Judge: ‘I don’t know which you is really you’
At the end of a Friday afternoon sentencing hearing that lasted over 90 minutes, and featured markedly different descriptions of the defendant, Judge Daniel Overbey of Vilas County told Jasmine Lariviere he wasn’t sure if she’s calculative and manipulative, as the state alleged, or remorseful and committed to living a different life as she suggested in her statement to the court.
Former governor shares love story, advice for Alzheimer’s caregivers
When a teenage Marty Schreiber first laid eyes on Elaine Thaney in a high school classroom more than seven decades ago he knew immediately that his life and hers would be intertwined.
Community remembers Rhinelander’s showman
In the days since news broke that local business owner George Rouman, president of the Rouman Amusement Company and owner of the Fun Factory Sweet Shoppe, had died in a car accident in Lincoln County on June 9, individuals and organizations across the greater Rhinelander area have been sharing their memories and expressing gratitude for his considerable contributions to the community.
Artus appointed to school board
Bonds sold to finance tech ed project
The School District of Rhinelander’s board of education is back to full strength with the appointment Monday evening of Doug Artus to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of David Holperin on May 28.
Groundbreaking for Rhinelander library expansion expected in 2025
Wendt: ‘The library is our community’s living room and it needs our help’
2025 promises to be momentous year for the historic Rhinelander District Library as the groundbreaking for a long-desired renovation and expansion project is expected to take place.
Rhinelander businessman killed in head-on crash
“Consummate showman” and beloved community leader George Rouman was killed Sunday evening in a head-on crash on U.S. Highway 51 south of Tomahawk.
Man gets four years for parking lot shooting
A 28-year-old Woodruff man has been sentenced to four years in prison after pleading no contest to two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety in connection with a shooting incident in the parking lot of the Minocqua Walmart store in May 2023.
Defendants signal intent to fight effort to certify PFAS lawsuit as a class action
A recent filing in the federal drinking water contamination lawsuit lodged by a group of Town of Stella property owners indicates the complex litigation that began in August 2023 is a long way from any sort of resolution.
Charges filed in golf course vandalism case
Retail store also burglarized
A Rhinelander 17-year-old has been charged with three felonies and a misdemeanor in connection with two separate investigations, one involving vandalism at a local golf course and the other involving a burglary at a retail store.
District announces school board vacancy
Just two months after the last election, a resignation has led to a vacancy on the School District of Rhinelander’s board of education.
Police investigating vandalism at Rhinelander Country Club
Rhinelander police are investigating after several golf carts were damaged in a vandalism incident at the Rhinelander Country Club during the early morning hours of Thursday, May 30.
School board approves new bus contract, STEM trip
The School District of Rhinelander and Bowen’s Bus Service have finalized a new five-year rolling contract for the transportation of students.
Remember that you will... always be a Hodag
‘Class of ‘24 bids farewell to RHS
They entered high school in the midst of a pandemic, navigated their way through four years of exams and projects, triumphs and setbacks, counting the days until they would arrive at a bittersweet milestone.
Prison time for former MMA fighter convicted in Oneida County domestic violence case
Former mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Frank R. Schuman of Lac du Flambeau, who competed under the nickname “the Nightmare,” was sentenced Tuesday to more than 7 years confinement after a jury convicted him of physically assaulting his former girlfriend and an acquaintance in separate incidents dating back to 2021 and 2022.
Remember and honor
Community pauses to recognize the cost of freedom
“It is said that those of us who serve actually experience three deaths,” Col. Douglas H. Stubbe (U.S. Army, Ret.), the guest speaker at the 2024 Oneida County Memorial Day ceremony, told those gathered in the John and Dori Brown Performing Arts Center Monday morning.
Rhinelander man sentenced to prison for meth-related sexual assaults
A Rhinelander man convicted of providing methamphetamine in exchange for participation in sex acts was sentenced last Wednesday to 10 years in prison to be followed by 10 years extended supervision and five years probation.
School board chooses manager to oversee tech ed construction project
Counter remains board president
The School District of Rhinelander’s board of education has chosen a project manager to oversee the additions to and remodeling of James Williams Middle School and Rhinelander High School authorized by district taxpayers on April 2.
Council approves new land sale policy
Citing a need to improve “transparency and consistency” in transactions involving city-owned property, the Rhinelander Common Council signed off last week on a specific policy to be followed when city-owned land is sold.
Splashpad project moving forward
Three weeks after he introduced the local Kiwanis Club’s plan to add a splashpad to Rhinelander’s Hodag Park, club representative Brandon Karaba was back before the common council last Monday to provide an update on the project.
Council sets new speed limit for Timber Dr.
Attention motorists, the speed limit on Timber Drive from Highway 17 to Iverson Street has been reduced from 35 to 25 miles per hour.
Memo: DNR will not take action against farmers for unintentional PFAS contamination
According to an internal memo, the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is following the lead of the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in signaling that it will not take action against farmers whose property has been impacted by PFAS (per-and polyfluoroakyl substances) contamination due to land spreading.
City grappling with tourist house conundrum
Tourism is an essential component of the local economy but the potential proliferation of tourist houses — Airbnbs, VRBOs and the like — is a concern for those who believe short-term rentals may pose a risk to residential neighborhoods.
Plan commission recommends rezoning of former St. Mary’s Hospital site
More than a dozen years after the old St. Mary’s Hospital on Kabel Avenue was torn down the new owner of the property is planning to redevelop the site as part of an effort to provide affordable housing for Rhinelander’s “working class.”
School board to take up busing contract
The next meeting of the School District of Rhinelander’s board of education is expected to include discussion/action on a new five-year rolling contract with Bowen’s Bus Service for transportation of students to and from school.
DNR announces another expansion of PFAS testing in Stella
The Department of Natural Resources is expanding the boundaries of its free private well testing program in Stella township. During an informational meeting Wednesday evening at James Williams Middle School in Rhinelander, DNR officials announced free PFAS (per-and polyfluoroakyl substances) testing of private wells located within a 2.5 to 3 mile radius of the town hall.
DNR requests more information on paper companies’ past PFAS practices
As part of its ongoing investigation of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) contamination in Stella township, the Department of Natural Resources has sent letters to the current and former owners of the Rhinelander paper mill seeking information, records and documents related to the “generation, transportation, treatment, storage and/or disposal of PFAS at sites or facilities within a three-mile radius of the Village of Starks...”
Attempted homicide case resolved short of trial
The 27-year-old Woodruff man charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide in connection with a May 2023 incident in the parking lot of the Minocqua Walmart store will be back in court on June 11 for sentencing.
Former MMA fighter convicted of all charges in domestic violence case
An Oneida County jury deliberated for just over two hours Friday before finding former mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Frank R. Schuman of Lac du Flambeau guilty of substantial battery, second-degree recklessly endangering safety, strangulation/suffocation, false imprisonment and battery.
District responds to civil lawsuit over 2018 assault
Former janitor references failure to preserve evidence
The School District of Rhinelander has filed a written response to a civil lawsuit filed by a local family related to an assault in a local elementary school in November 2018.
Council affirms plan commission decision on Woodland Drive tourist house CUP
The Rhinelander Common Council voted unanimously Monday evening to affirm the city plan commission’s April 2 vote approving a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) application submitted by a property owner seeking to operate a tourist house/short-term rental on Woodland Drive.
Making a SPLASH
New playground, splashpad, art installation coming to Hodag Park
Big changes are on the horizon for Rhinelander’s Hodag Park in the form of a 13,000 square foot playground, a 3,000 foot splashpad and a unique art installation addressing the issue of social isolation.
Stella residents to hear PFAS update
Wausau Paper, 3M respond to lawsuit
State and county officials are headed back to Stella to provide an update to residents regarding the township’s ongoing struggle with PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) contamination.
Federal appeals court affirms dismissal of jail death lawsuit
A federal appeals court last week affirmed a lower court decision dismissing a lawsuit brought by the estate of a 20-year-old Rhinelander man who took his own life while he was an inmate in the Oneida County jail.
City street projects to begin this week
Potholes on Timber Dr. to be repaired
Orange season is about to begin in full force with the City of Rhinelander poised to complete its Oneida Avenue and Timber Drive projects and make repairs to Courtney and Pelican streets, among others.
District outlines project timeline following successful referendum vote
At a time when it’s a significant achievement to get more than 50 percent of a particular population to agree on anything, the School District of Rhinelander’s ad hoc capital projects committee is celebrating the successful passage of a referendum with two-thirds voting in favor of the district’s plan to add and renovate technical education facilities at James Williams Middle School and Rhinelander High School.
Lariviere convicted of reckless homicide
Just shy of two years ago, 29-year-old Kyle Polinski spent a moment in his driveway in the Town of Pelican purchasing what he thought were Percocet pills from a couple in a beat-up Cadillac Escalade.
DOJ releases file on River St. shooting
One charged with harboring/aiding a felon
Just under three weeks after Oneida County district attorney Jillian Pfeifer announced no charges would be filed against the five officers involved in an incident at a River Street residence on Jan. 20 that ended in the death of 33-year-old Steven Kincaid, the state Department of Justice has released the investigative file generated by the agency’s Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) in the course of its independent investigation of the officer-involved incident.
Council OKs skate park design proposal
After more than three years of study and planning, there is an approved design proposal for a skate park to be located at Rhinelander’s Hodag Park.
Overdose death trial underway in Oneida County court
A jury of six men and eight women are hearing the case of a 25-year-old Rhinelander woman charged with first-degree reckless homicide/drug delivery in connection with the overdose death of 29-year-old Kyle Polinski on April 18, 2022.
Voters approve tech ed referendum
James Williams Middle School and Rhinelander High School students will soon enjoy the benefit of updated technical education facilities thanks to a resounding vote Tuesday in favor of a $26 million referendum to fund renovations to both school buildings.
Timeless Tiles
Former kindergarten classroom to be featured in book about historic elementary school art
In the fall of 1939, the children of west-side residents took naps on the floor of a new, showpiece kindergarten classroom, warmed by a fireplace surrounded by ceramic tiles depicting well-known nursery rhymes.