I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from my family in Rhinelander and from my Capitol family in Madison! I hope everyone is able to enjoy the holidays surrounded by friends and family. It continues to be a tremendous honor to serve as your State Representative, and I look forward to building on the great progress Wisconsin has made in 2019.
Merry Christmas from my Capitol staff! Legislative Assistant Sascha Glaeser (left) and Research Assistant Joe Mesec (right)
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Swearingen family! (Rob and Amy, Daughters Jennie and Jessie and new puppy Oliver)
Holiday Festivities
I had the chance to attend a couple of annual holiday parades and tree lightings earlier this month. Great fun for the whole family. A big thank you to the organizers for hosting such great community events!
Great crowds along the Rhinelander parade route. Firetruck looks great with the lights. Thank you to all our first responders for their selfless work!
Thank you to St. Germain Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Penny Strom for setting up such a great event!
Great to see so many people out to enjoy the festivities in St. Germain!
Leadership Oneida County Education Day
I had the privilege this week to attend Leadership Oneida County Education Day at Nicolet College. I had the opportunity to brief those in attendance on Wisconsin’s school funding formula and how it affects rural school districts. Great set of speakers to discuss the state of education at all levels in the Northwoods, from Pre-K to University. Thank you to Leadership Oneida County for hosting such an informative event!
JEM Grant Presentation
Congratulations to ArtStart Rhinelander for receiving a $14,690 Joint Effort Marketing Grant from the Wisconsin Department of Tourism. The grant will go towards Project North which aims to promote the Northwoods as a top destination for natural resources and cultural entertainment. ArtStart does a tremendous job in promoting the arts in our community. Congratulations again on this well deserved grant!
Ripco Credit Union Holiday Open House
Stopped by Ripco Credit Union for their holiday open house event this week. Great people and great cookies. Thanks for all you do in the community!
Thanks Diane, Tom & Mary Ellen for adding to the Christmas spirit!
Snowmobile Report
For up to date information on the status of snowmobile trails and snow conditions throughout all of Wisconsin, please visit the Travel Wisconsin Snow Report.
DNR Outdoor Report
Published December 20, 2018 by the Central Office
After another week with minimal to no snowfall and unseasonably warm temperature, snow depth has been going backwards. Some rain and slushy snow this week did not improve the situation.
Iron County remains the only county with any snowmobile trails open and the warm up hit hard last weekend with a lot of melting and trails lost a lot of snow and are in poor condition according to the the Wisconsin Department of Tourism's Snow Conditions Report (exit DNR). About the only state owned cross-country ski trails that are skiable are the MECCA trails in Turtle-Flambeau Scenic Waters Area and the man-made snow loop at the Lapham Peak Unit of Kettle Moraine State Forest. The trails are a bit soggy but so far are holding up to the rain and warm temps. Some other trails are skiable but there are exposed rocks, roots and other debris that could damage skis. However, the lack of snow has been a gift to hikers who have been out in force at many parks and forests. Even some horseback riders have been out this week and properties have seen an uptick in winter campers.
Ice continues to be thick enough in the far north for fisherman to be successful in catching game and panfish. Many positive reports from fishermen indicated good fishing conditions last week. With the mild temps, lake ice has not developed much in the last week in central and southern Wisconsin and some lakes have even started to open up and many channels on flowages remain open water. The Wolf River near New London has been very good for northern pike and some smaller lakes in central Wisconsin have been producing bluegills and crappies. The Bay of Green Bay is open and not safe. Fifteen anglers had to be rescued this week after ice they were fishing on broke off from shore and was blown into the bay.
Deer are moving well during daylight hours and archery hunters have reported some success. Select farmland zone counties of the state have an antlerless only rifle season over the holidays from Dec. 24 through Jan. 1. All hunters in this zone must wear blaze orange/pink including archers. Only antlerless deer may be harvested in the farmland hunt regardless of weapon. Any counties not holding a Holiday Hunt firearm season follow normal archery and crossbow regulations, so archers hunting in those parts of the state can harvest any deer they have a tag for and they do not need to wear blaze.
The mild conditions are allowing for a variety of lingering species such as sparrows, flickers, meadowlarks, ruby-crowned kinglets and various water birds, including at least 11 species of waterfowl as far north as Lake Superior, while numbers of most winter finches, such as grosbeaks, redpolls, and crossbills, remain modest at best.
The winter solstice on December 21, will mark the shortest day of the year as well as having a full moon named the Cold Moon or the Long Night Moon in the night sky. In addition the Ursids meteor shower is active annually between December 17 and 24. The Ursids should have a sharp peak on the morning of Dec. 21, with as many as 10 meteors in an hour. But this year the meteors will pale next to the full moon.
Woodruff DNR Service Center area
Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest - The snow cover on the State Forest remains at a few inches. Although the ski trails cannot be groomed, outdoor enthusiasts can walk just about anywhere with just winter boots. Don't let the snow cover lull you into a sense of security as you hike into that swamp...there still is water everywhere and it may be camouflaged! On the plus side...no bugs! - Rosalie Richter, visitor services associate
Community Events
Please click the following links for upcoming community events!
