Brian Jopek

Recent Stories

Storage units and contents destroyed in fire

Firefighters and equipment from five different counties responded to a storage unit fire in Minocqua on Saturday, July 26. Minocqua fire chief Rich Carani said he and some of his firefighters and trucks were at the Woodruff fire department’s Hog and Hops fundraising event when the call came through.

Vilas County board of adjustment hears Towanda Lake Association appeal

The five-member Vilas County board of adjustment Tuesday unanimously voted to uphold, or reaffirm, the May 1 decision by the Vilas County board’s zoning committee to approve a conditional use permit (CUP) application submitted by Chad Metzger, owner of Lakeland Disposal in Arbor Vitae.

Fifield fire in late June claims a third victim

The death toll as the result of an early morning house fire off Shady Knoll Road in the town of Fifield on June 29 is now three. Tom Birchell, 57, died Sunday at the Hennepin Healthcare Burn Center in Minneapolis from burns to nearly 50 percent of his body sustained in the fire.

Concerns raised over County G Landfill liability

Liability concerns regarding the County G Landfill in the town of Cloverland have prompted some questions among members of the Landfill Venture Group (LVG).

Dual-language highway signs unveiled in Lac du Flambeau

The most recent unveiling of dual- language signs in the state of Wisconsin took place during a ceremony in Lac du Flambeau on July 23. The new signs identify Lac du Flambeau’s tribal boundaries and four lakes in both the Ojibwe and English languages.

Bangstad suit against Oneida County P&D committee and BOA dismissed

Oneida County circuit court judge Mary Sowinski last week dismissed a lawsuit filed against members of the Oneida County board of adjustment (BOA) and the Oneida County board’s planning and development committee by Minocqua Brewing Company owner Kirk Bangstad.

Two truck collision results in a trailer jack knife

There were no injuries in the collision of two pickup trucks on State Highway 70 near the intersection of Hill Lake Road on Minocqua’s west side on Sunday, July 20.

First ‘Saluting Heroes’ balloon rally is this weekend

This Friday and Saturday, the Hodag Countryfest grounds in Rhinelander will host the first Saluting Heroes Balloon Rally. “It’s the first ever summer balloon rally in the Northwoods,” event co-organizer Steve Woller said. “We do have over 25 balloons coming and we are trying to make enough money in a year or two to replace one of the cabins at Camp American Legion. It’s basically a ‘balloon glow,’ is what we call it.”

Proposed 89-room Woodruff hotel annexed into the Lakeland Sanitary District

The board of directors for the Lakeland Sanitary District (LSD) Tuesday gave approval to add, or annex, a proposed 89-room hotel in Woodruff to the district’s system.

To offer or not to offer

A proposed sale of land to the Landfill Venture Group (LVG) of the nearly 170 acres it occupies and leases from Vilas County in the town of Cloverland was once again discussed in a closed session of the LVG’s executive committee at its July 16 meeting in Arbor Vitae.