Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway made the announcement in a letter released Friday.

The post ‘Price of serving has become too high’: Madison mayor ends reelection bid appeared first on WPR.

Advocacy group Small Town and Rural Seniors sent a letter to DHS in August demanding the agency restore the information on the directory.

The post Wisconsin no longer reports who owns the state’s nursing homes appeared first on WPR.

The Harvest Fuel Relief program will distribute $8 billion to U.S. farmers, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's announcement.

The post Trump administration promises $8B to help farmers cover high cost of harvest appeared first on WPR.

Every vote counts, but residents of a handful of Wisconsin Assembly districts will have more say than most when it comes to deciding who controls state government next year.

The post A handful of districts will decide which party controls the Wisconsin Assembly appeared first on WPR.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Gov. Tony Evers announced Friday that a Federal Railroad Administration program would provide more than $218 million for the final design and construction of Amtrak's Hiawatha West project.

The post Amtrak extension to Madison on track with $218M in federal funds appeared first on WPR.

Officials are still investigating how the new infections started. But Wisconsin has already seen similar clusters of cases this year.

The post Measles is popping up in more Wisconsin counties. Health experts say it may get worse. appeared first on WPR.

While the office of state treasurer has lost much of its power, one of the few tasks left is "improving fiscal responsibility" in Wisconsin. The candidates running for the office this November have differing views on what that looks like.

The post State treasurer candidates call for responsible state spending — but differ on what that means appeared first on WPR.

Residents of the measles-affected counties told WPR that life has largely carried on like normal in recent weeks, and that people aren't likely to talk about the outbreak outside of their own like-minded circle.

The post In Wisconsin communities affected by measles, opinions on vaccines remain mixed appeared first on WPR.

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson rallied a crowd of Republicans in Sparta Wednesday, urging them to help U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden hold onto his seat in Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District.

The post ‘I gotta have him’: US House Speaker Mike Johnson visits Wisconsin to stump for Derrick Van Orden appeared first on WPR.

Chaz Self of Grassway Organics said his operation was licensed by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection in 2020 and has undergone regular inspections.

The post Wisconsin dairy farm fights license suspension over distribution of raw milk appeared first on WPR.

Researchers will partner with eight of Wisconsin's 17 Community Health Centers, or CHCs, to develop, test and sustain improved treatments for tobacco use.

The post New UW project hopes to lower high smoking rates among low-income adults appeared first on WPR.

After initially peaking around May, the tick population sees a second peak in October.

The post Enjoy fall weather? So do ticks, scientists warn appeared first on WPR.

Baldwin said in the letter that employees at the Tomah VA contacted her office to report "severe lapses in patient care" as a result of "poor management and inadequate staffing".

The post Baldwin calls for investigation into Tomah VA after hospice nurse faces patient abuse charges appeared first on WPR.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says industry-funded research and promotion programs cannot fund initiatives focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving environmental sustainability.

The post USDA restricts spending on dairy marketing after lawsuit from Wisconsin producers appeared first on WPR.

On Wednesday, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services announced two new measles cases in Vernon County, including one in a person visiting the county from out of state.

The post Wisconsin health officials hopeful encouraging measles vaccination can stop growing outbreak appeared first on WPR.

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection confirmed the virus was found on a commercial poultry farm in Barron County.

The post Threat of avian flu returns to Wisconsin with new species at risk appeared first on WPR.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

A plane carrying Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany was forced to make an emergency water landing in Wausau Saturday night.

Tiffany, who represents Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District, said the small aircraft lost power during its final approach for landing at the Wausau Downtown Airport.

During a press conference at the Wausau Fire Department Sunday, Tiffany said he believes the pilot, Leonard Boltz, attempted to restart the plane, but was unsuccessful.

“At that point, he just said, ‘Hang on, Tom, and buckle up because we’re going to go down,’” Tiffany told reporters. “It was just real shortly after that, I would guess 10 seconds, we hit the water.”

Boltz landed the plane in the middle of Lake Wausau on the Wisconsin River, according to information shared by the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office.

Tiffany said he lost his phone in the crash, but Boltz was able to call 911. He estimates they stood on top of the sinking plane for roughly 10 minutes, before beginning to swim toward shore. He said they discovered a sandbar after 150 feet and were able to wait there for emergency responders.

The sheriff’s office reported dispatchers received the call at 8:49 p.m. Saturday. Firefighters from the Wausau Fire Department rescued the two men using an airboat around 9:05 p.m.

Tiffany credited Boltz for pulling up the landing gear before hitting the water, which he said likely kept the plane from cartwheeling and may have saved their lives. He estimates the plane was going around 70 miles per hour at the time of the crash. 

“It was quite a night, quite a day, and (I’m) just grateful for the Lord for sparing us to see another day,” said Tiffany, who became emotional when speaking to reporters Sunday.

Tiffany and the pilot were the only people aboard the aircraft. Both were transported to Aspirus Wausau Hospital with minor injuries.

Tiffany said he received 12 stitches to close a laceration in his eyebrow after his head hit the dashboard. The pilot also sustained minor injuries. Both men were released from the hospital Saturday night.

The congressman repeatedly thanked the Wausau Fire Department and other first responders for their quick rescue.

He said the incident would not keep him from continuing his campaign for governor, adding that he planned to be back on the campaign trail Monday.

“I signed up for this job. We’re going to finish the job,” Tiffany told reporters.

An investigation into the loss of power on the Beechcraft K35 airplane will be handled by the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board.

The aircraft remained in Lake Wausau, according to a statement from the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office. Officials asked boaters to avoid the area and use caution until crews can remove the plane.

David Crowley, the Democratic candidate for governor, wrote on X that he is grateful that no one was hurt in what he called a “horrifying incident.”

Airport manager praises pilot for ‘awesome flying’

John Chmiel, Wausau Downtown Airport manager, was among those to survey the waterlogged plane on Sunday morning.

Chmiel noted aircraft incidents like this are incredibly uncommon.

“You think about it, in your community there’s probably multiple car accidents a day,” he said. “In the United States of America, there are less than a half dozen (aircraft incidents) a day in the entire USA, so that kind of puts things in perspective.”

Chmiel said the pilot – in his opinion – had done everything right in identifying the area for the plane to land and guiding it into the water, especially after the sun had gone down.

“Which was a very difficult maneuver to execute safely,” Chmiel said. “And he was able to actually retract the landing gear, so he would have a better result of landing on the water.”

He’s also a pilot and owns Wausau Flying Service.

“Regardless of what happened leading up to the accident, once he knew he was committed to a water landing, he did every single thing right. It was awesome flying,” Chmiel said.

When asked by WPR if this is a normal procedure for an emergency, to look for a water landing, Chmiel said he’s always taught pilots to look for alternative landing areas.

“The beautiful thing about water is there typically isn’t obstructions or people or vessels in there that you have to worry about hitting,” he said. 

That said, actually pulling it off safely is its own art, he added.

“We spend our whole careers trying to prevent that from happening, and sometimes things slip through the Swiss cheese, as we call it,” he said.

When an aircraft accident happens at an airport, the process is different, Chmiel said. In this case, where the plane hit water off airport property – it wasn’t necessary for him to be involved, but he said he was Saturday night.

“It’s not a common occurrence, but we’re always prepared for it, if it does,” he said.

This story was originally published by WPR.

Tom Tiffany swims to safety after plane makes emergency lake landing is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Tiffany suffered a laceration above his right eye that required stitches and was released from the hospital Saturday night, according to information shared by his campaign.

The post Tom Tiffany swims to safety after plane makes emergency lake landing appeared first on WPR.

JD Greenwalt, president and CEO of Westby Cooperative Creamery, said the new equipment will increase their cottage cheese making capacity by 50 percent and allow them to make a more consistent product by using automation.

The post Westby cooperative celebrates first-in-the-nation cottage cheese manufacturing upgrade appeared first on WPR.

On Friday, Trump issued a pair of executive orders filled with policies long called for by American ranchers.

The post Wisconsin meat processors, farmers want more details on Trump proposals to help US beef industry appeared first on WPR.