Investigative Reporter
Recent Stories
County weighs closing boathouse loophole
Oneida County officials are considering changes to the county’s boathouse permitting process after discussing a potential loophole that could allow applicants to clear the shoreland area without ever constructing the boathouse that the permits are intended to authorize.
Oneida County sheriff’s officers: Flock cameras are beneficial
Unreasonable surveillance or tempest in a teapot?
A widening national controversy over the use of Flock automated license plate reader cameras has prompted multiple Wisconsin municipalities to abandon the technology amid mounting privacy concerns, but, in Oneida County, where six of the cameras are deployed, sheriff’s department officers say the system has proven to be a valuable tool that saves taxpayer dollars, accelerates criminal investigations and helps locate missing and endangered people.
State agents, police seize alcohol at Minocqua Brewing Company
State DOR, Minocqua PD on-site at MBC in Minocqua, Madison
Agents with the state Department of Revenue (DOR) Division of Alcohol Beverages were on-site at the Minocqua Brewing Company (MBC) Thursday, June 11, and at MBC’s Madison location, seizing alcohol at the establishments over compliance concerns.
Wisconsin’s tourism industry smashed records in 2025
Oneida, Vilas counties see robust growth
Wisconsin’s tourism industry shattered previous records in 2025, generating a record $27 billion in total economic impact, attracting nearly 120 million visits, and producing more than $1.5 billion in state and local tax revenue.
Report: Housing demand falls as workforce shrinks
State still faces critical housing and economic issues
Wisconsin will need to build substantially fewer housing units by the end of the decade than previously projected, according to a new report, but the author says the revised estimate reflects not an improving housing market but a rapidly shrinking working-age population.
GOP lawmakers challenge Evers’s revival of commutations
Piwowarczyk: Victims should not be blindsided
Republican lawmakers took aim last week at Gov. Tony Evers’s decision to revive Wisconsin’s commutation process, warning that the program could undermine victims’ rights, reopen traumatic wounds for families, and erode confidence in the state’s criminal justice system.
Judge rejects Bangstad effort to federalize privacy lawsuit
Conley sends Walker, Holmes case back to Oneida County circuit court
A federal judge has rejected Minocqua Brewing Company owner Kirk Bangstad’s attempt to move a state invasion-of-privacy lawsuit against him into federal court, ruling that the dispute is fundamentally a state-law tort case rather than a federal campaign-finance dispute.
Judge tosses Bangstad First Amendment lawsuit
Court says MBC owner repeatedly violated permit conditions
Minocqua Brewing Company owner Kirk Bangstad suffered yet another major courtroom defeat last week, as a federal judge dismissed his First Amendment lawsuit against the Oneida County planning and development committee, ruling that the evidence overwhelmingly showed officials revoked his zoning permit because of repeated violations, not political speech.
Pfizer, Valneva report promising results in Lyme vaccine trials
Scientists hope second time could be the charm
A new Lyme disease vaccine candidate developed by Pfizer and Valneva has posted promising clinical trial results, raising hopes that the first widely available human Lyme vaccine in more than two decades could soon return to the market.
Oneida County board backs DNR land purchase
Another purchase as Stewardship heads toward expiration
In a strong show of support for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ land acquisition program, the Oneida County Board of Supervisors voted 15-2 Tuesday to support the agency’s proposed purchase of private land in the town of Minocqua using Knowles Nelson Stewardship tax dollars.