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DNR offers summer water safety tips

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Summer is here and more people will be heading out on the water, but the Department of Natural Resources is reminding you be safe out there.

Chief Warden Todd Schaller says the best way to prevent accidents is to wear your personal flotation devices and be sure your surrounding are safe.

“Wisconsin’s a great place to enjoy the outdoors, and certainly our waterways. And we want you to do it for years to come and not have that tragic event.”

People need to be especially careful in the Great Lakes this time of year, because even a short time overboard can be deadly. “It might be 80, 90 out, but those water bodies, their temperatures lag behind ,and hypothermia can set in even in July.”

Schaller says people also need to be very careful on rivers this time of year, because even seemingly calm rivers and streams are moving large amounts of water and it only takes one mistake to get pulled downstream.

Wisconsin DMV recommends getting REAL ID soon before federal enforcement starts

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Federal officials are finally putting the REAL ID standard into use for airline travel, so now’s the time to get your license upgraded.

The change will come in October of 2020. Wisconsin DMV deputy administrator Patrick Fernan says the state has been issuing the upgraded licenses since 2013.

“So everyone in Wisconsin will have had the opportunity, when 2020 rolls around, to provide the documentation necessary to get a REAL ID during their normal renewal time.”

He says the process to get an upgraded REAL ID requires a few more documents than the usual license or ID. 

“A birth certificate or passport is required in order to prove date of birth and citizenship. Then, proof of address and some other things that are on the website.”

 You can find a complete list of valid document and schedule a time to come out and get the new ID online at http://wisconsindmv.gov.

 

DNR: fewer hunters harvest more deer this season

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Fewer hunters were in the woods harvesting more deer during this year’s gun deer season. That report from the DNR on Tuesday.

Ecologist Kevin Wallenfang says the decline in hunting sales for the gun hunt doesn’t concern them so much, because totals from the other seasons make up for it.” As crossbows and as the archery season and some of the added seasons out there such as holiday hunt and the antlerless hunt have been added on, we see more of the harvest getting taken outside of the regular gun deer seasons.”

The total deer harvest was up about 7 percent. Wallenfang says this is a rebound after poor weather last year snarled the deer hunt. 

“It’s kind of a typical season really, in that some areas increased and some areas went down a bit, so there’s really not anything surprising about the season at this point.”

More hunters are also taking advantage of CWD testing this year. “We’ve got crews working out at our C W D testing labs, pretty much all hours of the day trying to get animals processed as quickly as we so that we can get results back to hunters as quickly as we can,” says Wallenfang.

The hunt is also one of the safest on record, with no gun fatalities and only three injuries during the whole nine days.

GOP lawmakers ask Evers to retain Klett as tourism secretary

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Republicans members of the Wisconsin state Assembly are making an unusual push for Governor-elect Tony Evers to retain the state tourism secretary.

Ten GOP members of the Assembly tourism committee sent Evers a letter urging him to keep Stephanie Klett in charge of the Department of Tourism.

The letter says Klett helped grow tourism from a $14.8 billion industry in 2011 to more than $20.6 billion today. Committee chairman Travis Tranel has started an online petition asking for Klett to keep her job. Nearly 2,000 people had signed it as of last Wednesday.

Republican Governor Scott Walker, who lost his reelection bid to Evers, appointed Klett as tourism secretary at the start of his first term in 2011.

Wisconsin nine day gun deer season opens on Saturday

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The Wisconsin gun deer season opens Saturday, and hunters are getting ready to take to the fields and forests to bag a buck or doe.

As you head out to your favorite hunting spot, it’s a good idea to give your tree stand or deer blind a once over.

State hunter education administrator John King says you want to make sure that your stand can still support you on your hunt, before you head out on opening day.

“Obviously on a metal stand we’re going to have some rust, so we want to just make sure that things are still good structurally for that tree stand if we leave it out there from year to year.”

Also check to make sure all the bolts and straps holding your stand to your tree are in good working order and give the ladder you use to get in and out a check as well.

If you’re using a heater in your deer blind, King says you want to make sure it’s working properly ,and to keep combustible materials away from it.

“Through the years we’ve had some people suffer injury and even death because of carbon monoxide poison, and then also we’ve had a few shacks catch on fire and burn to the ground.”

Be sure to sweep out the blind or shack as well, and make sure that there’s no extra critters sharing the space with you inside while you’re out hunting. You should also make sure your windows are clean and ready to open, and that your shooting lanes are clear.

If you find you’ve got an extra deer you can’t fit in your freezer or don’t need this season, consider donating it to charity. The Wisconsin deer donation program is back in action, and local butcher shops and meat processors are ready to handle your extra venison.

Stevens Point based People’s Meat Market co-owner Lee Falkavage says the process is very simple.

“There’s a paper you have to fill out. They want to know kinda where you shot it so if it does turn positive they can track that deer. So all you do is sign it off and drop it off and on your way you go.”

Hunters have donated over 90-thousand deer since the program started in 2000, which has put 3.6 million pounds of meat into food pantries.

You can find a list of donation locations online at https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/hunt/deer.html

Unique geographical point in Marathon County gets new marker

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A very special point in Marathon County has a new geological marker.

That marks the point of 45 degrees north, 90 degrees west, the center of the north half of the Western Hemisphere.

Central Wisconsin Convention and Visitors Bureau director Richard Barrett says it’s a unique draw to the little town of Poniatowski. “This has always been listed as one of our tourist destinations but it wasn’t really utilized that much because the marker was never here”

It’s a a one of a kind location. “There’s only four in the world. Two are underwater, one is in the mountains of China, we’re the only accessible one.”

The newly developed marker on the point has been bringing in tourists and curiosity seekers from around the world.

WJFW

Madison Ironman to run on Sunday, despite flooding

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The Madison Ironman will go on this Sunday, despite historic flooding in the city. 

Organizers say flooded sidewalks and trails will force minor changes to the race’s 112 mile bike course, but everything else is good to go.

The annual race is known as one of the best in the world. It combines a 2.4 mile swim through flooded Lake Monona, and then a full Marathon that will finish downtown.

Organizers say participants should be aware that there could be debris floating in the water and to be alert.

More than 24-hundred participants are expected to take part.

Ashwaubenon to restrict some vendor sales outside Packers games

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Ashwaubenon is considering banning people who don’t have proper sales permits from hawking goods outside of Lambeau Field or in its vicinity during Packers events.

Village Attorney Tony Wachewicz says this change in the ordinance is geared towards having proper documentation for vendors.

“Making sure that people get a direct sellers permit so that we know who they are, and we can identify them with their particular license on Packer game days.”

The ban was already listed on temporary sales permits, but wasn’t expressly stated in village ordinance, according to Wachewicz. “

All the vendors that currently exist and sell from a fixed location will still continue to be able to operate.”

The measure passed the village’s public protection committee on Tuesday, and will have to go before the full village board to be finalized.

Busy Labor Day travel to be snarled by flooding

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Labor Day is here, and that means busy holiday traffic. Flooded roads and road closures are only going to make travel worse in parts of Wisconsin.

State transportation safety director David Pabst says you should call 511 or visit http://511wi.gov to find out if roads near you are flooded out.

“Bottom line, that has the most up to date information. I couldn’t even begin to guess today or the next few days with the rain.”

Major road work will be cancelled for the weekend, but there will be road cones and barrels up on parts of Wisconsin’s highways.

“Construction zones are dangerous whether there’s workers there or not, and you need to put your phone down if you’re in a construction zone,” says Pabst.

Pabst reminds people to give themselves plenty of time to get where they’re going, and to put down those cell phones while driving.

Antlerless deer tag sales start next week

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Wisconsin hunters can start getting their doe tags next week.

Those antlerless hunt authorizations are the best tool the DNR has at controlling the population of the deer herd, according to big game ecologist Kevin Wallenfang.

“We basically focus on the antlerless population, because it’s the does that are dropping fawns out there.”

Every county except Iron County will have authorizations this year, thanks to a milder winter and less pressure on the deer herd over the last several years.

He says that doe tags also give you a chance to put tasty, fresh deer meat in your cooler. “You might choose to use those older deer for making sausage and things like that, and focus on those younger deer and those prime cuts of meat for your steaks and things like that.”

Tag sales start on Monday, August 13. You can get them at your local outdoors shop, or online at http://gowild.wi.gov.