For this week's A Northwoods Moment in History , Gary Entz tells us about the incredible journey of Thomas O’Brien in 1913. In 1913 Thomas O’Brien was just on ordinary resident of Rhinelander. While his brother John O’Brien was a respected member of the Rhinelander Police Department and served his community honorably, it was the younger brother Thomas who did something remarkable. Thomas O’Brien undertook an incredible journey that few people even today would dare attempt. Thomas O’Brien was a

Spring is a busy time of year for Wisconsin’s wildlife. Here is the Masked Biologist with a few springtime wildlife tips for this week’s Wildlife Matters . Spring has been giving winter a run for it’s money, and although we may still have remnants, reminders or memories of the winter we’ve come through, wildlife has embraced spring. Here are a few thoughts about what we usually see this time of year, and what preparations or precautions you might want to take if any. Snakes are emerging from

For this week's A Northwoods Moment in History , Gary Entz tells us about a cold case that exists in Rhinelander from 1939. A cold case is a criminal case where probative investigative leads have been exhausted but could be reopened pending the discovery of new evidence. Such a cold case exists in Rhinelander’s history, and it is a grisly case of alleged murder. In early May 1939, Merrill Warren, owner of the Rathskeller on Coon Street, thought he hit on a winning idea to bring new patrons into

Did you know that Earth Day has its roots in Wisconsin? The Masked Biologist takes a glimpse back at the origins and early years after the original Earth Day in this week’s Wildlife Matters . Happy Earth Day! How familiar are you with the establishment and early years of Earth Day? I thought perhaps I would share some insight from someone who knew it far better than I, earth day founder and Senator from Wisconsin Gaylord Nelson, in his own words. “When April 22, 1970, dawned, literally millions

For this week's A Northwoods Moment in History , Gary Entz tells us about the Soo Line Passenger Trains. The Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad, more commonly known as the Soo Line, formed in 1884 and became a significant part of Northwoods history. Although the company was primarily a freight railroad and was never one of the nation’s great passenger railroads. It nonetheless provided passenger service to the Northwoods with a branch of its Laker passenger train. The Soo Line

Black bears are easily one of our most intriguing wildlife species up here. A few weeks back an anonymous listener from the Rhinelander area submitted a question to our Curious North series: What time of year do bears come out of hibernation? In this week's episode of Wildlife Matters , the Masked Biologist answers that question and more, as he discusses some of what is going on in the life of a bear as it emerges from winter. Black bears are a continual source of questions for folks who contact

It remains uncertain when the first automobile appeared in the Northwoods, but what we know for sure is that they were not welcomed with open arms. Gary Entz has the story for this week's A Northwoods Moment in History . The gasoline-powered carriage, or automobile, has been commercially available since 1886 when Karl Benz in Germany patented his Benz Motorwagen. In the United States the first successful commercial car company was the Duryea Brothers of Massachusetts, who started selling cars in

For this month's Field Notes feature, Susan Knight discusses Wild Rice, and its amazing transformation from spring to fall. It’s almost spring. You can feel warm air wafting amidst the chill. The lakes are starting to melt; it will be paddling time soon. My favorite paddle any time of year is the south basin of Allequash Lake. If you could take a time lapse sequence of yourself paddling on Allequash you would see a remarkable metamorphosis. In the first frames you are paddling on a quiet lake in

As our state loses numbers of hunters, it also loses the license revenue that funds wildlife management. This is the topic the Masked Biologist tackles in this week’s Wildlife Matters . When I took firearms safety 35 years ago, we were taught a statistic that was still accurate when I became a hunter education instructor twenty years ago. About 10-12% of Americans were hunters, and about the same number, 10-12%, were anti-hunters. The remaining 75-80% of Americans were in the middle, not really

There is a growing market for locally grown food produced without the use of synthetic chemicals. In Antigo, the 100-year-old Grandview Orchard in Antigo is slowly being transformed to organic production. Jim Skibo continues our We Live Up Here series with the story. Have you ever dreamed of quitting your job and buying a farm? Lisa Rettinger has done just that. Four years ago, she quit her job in the Twin Cities and purchased a 110-year-old apple orchard just a few miles east of Antigo. Lisa