We'll send breaking news and news alerts to you as they happen Have the latest local news delivered every afternoon so you don't miss out on updates Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: WI – What started as a simple birthday request has turned into an overwhelming show of love and appreciation for one of Wisconsin’s oldest veterans is set to celebrate his 104th birthday on March 19th Wanting to make the milestone extra special his granddaughter took to social media with a heartfelt plea: she asked for people to send him 104 birthday cards—one for each year of his incredible life What happened next was beyond anything the family could have imagined Reuben has received more than 8,100 birthday cards—and the number keeps growing But it hasn’t stopped at just cards Thoughtful well-wishers from across the country have also been sending parcels eager to share their gratitude for Reuben’s service and longevity The sheer volume of mail was so great that the Antigo Post Office stepped up in a big way Instead of having the family collect the ever-growing stacks of mail postal employees began offering home deliveries to ensure the cards and gifts reached Reuben with ease The local post office also took the celebration a step further Letter carriers arranged a special meet-and-greet with the birthday veteran posing for photos and sharing in the excitement of the moment and heartfelt words of thanks for Reuben’s service and incredible life journey “This is beyond anything we expected,” said Reuben’s granddaughter “It’s truly heartwarming to see how many people care We’re so grateful for everyone who took the time to send him a card or a message.” there’s no telling how many more letters and gifts will arrive One thing is for sure—Reuben Kolpack’s 104th birthday will be one for the history books filled with the love and appreciation of thousands who now know his story The United States Postal Service is an independent federal establishment, mandated to be self-financing and to serve every American community through the affordable, reliable and secure delivery of mail and packages to 169 million addresses six and often seven days a week. Overseen by a bipartisan Board of Governors, the Postal Service is implementing a 10-year transformation plan, Delivering for America restore long-term financial sustainability dramatically improve service across all mail and shipping categories and maintain the organization as one of America’s most valued and trusted brands The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage products and services to fund its operations Copyright© 2025 United States Postal Service Share on FacebookShare on X (formerly Twitter)Share on PinterestShare on LinkedInANTIGO (WSAW)—The Unified School District of Antigo has announced plans that will change the 2025/2026 school year for elementary students which is located on 7th Avenue on the east side of town District Administrator Glenda Oginski explained the decision was made based on the building’s age and the need to ensure stability during construction All students and staff at East will move to other schools The district is building a new elementary building near the city’s high school on Western Avenue voters said ‘yes’ to a $54 million capital referendum to build a new consolidated elementary school The new building would house all 4K through fourth-grade students and eighth grades would be at the middle school eighth-grade students are in the high school building The current elementary school buildings were constructed in the 1960s and no longer meet students’ needs also on 7th Avenue on the city’s west side will serve students in 4-K through first grade will serve students in grades second through fourth Oginski said the moves this fall will save $1.2 million in a single year (WSAW) - All Antigo School District Schools will be closed Friday due to illness Superintendent Glenda Oginski said the closure would allow the district to conduct a comprehensive and thorough deep cleaning of all facilities including after-school programs and extracurricular events The closure will allow school custodians to clean the properties with hospital-grade disinfectants “Please continue to encourage good health practices at home including frequent handwashing and monitoring for symptoms of illness we recommend consulting with your healthcare provider students must be fever-free for 24 hours without medication before they should return to school,” Oginski stated Below is the latest respiratory health summary from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services for the northern region (WSAW) - The city of Antigo’s 27th annual chili cookoff and holiday parade will be held Wednesday in the downtown area Chili samples will be served starting at 5:30 p.m Organizers said more than 40 floats will be in the parade This year’s theme is Christmas Around the World Mary & Hyacinth Catholic Church parking lot The Antigo Police Department said this year the city will use barriers to keep paradegoers safe Officers said people need to stay behind the barriers at all times Floats that plan to hand out candy must throw it over the barriers The barriers will be set in place starting at 4 p.m 5th Avenue will be closed from Superior/Hwy 45 west to Lincoln Street starting at that time (WSAW) - A WWII veteran in Antigo will turn 104 this month and the community is aiming to make it a memorable birthday The goal is for Rueben Kolpack to receive 104 birthday cards by March 19 To send a card mail it to the address below: The City of Antigo has been in the dark over the weekend and early this week with power outages with many still without power Monday There have been several locations in the community that stepped up and opened their doors for others still without power (WJFW) -- The City of Antigo has been in the dark over the weekend and early this week with power outages trees are down and other ice-related damage is visible throughout town Jim Young is an Antigo resident whose house is currently at max capacity with family members staying with him due to the power outage He and others are doing everything they can to help each other during this time He is worried for the warmth and safety of the Antigo community and this has got her staying in and hunkered down Hopefully the power comes back on soon here because otherwise we're going to have to find a place for her to go." "I was talking to one gentleman that works at the high school and that's where now they have an emergency place for people to go," Young said Some other warming shelters listed on Antigo's city website are the Ainsworth Town Hall Email notifications are only sent once a day (WJFW) – Many people struggle to train for even one marathon But running multiple marathons before the age of 20 That’s nothing if you talk to 20-year-old Antigo native who just returned home after running the 129th Boston Marathon on Monday “My time in Boston…it’s beautiful,” Higgins said “And it’s nothing that I’ve ever experienced before.” When Higgins found his love for running about ten years ago he wasn’t sure where the journey would take him After joining the Cross-Country team in Middle School It didn’t take long for that to change in a big way “Then I realized it was something that I really liked doing,” Higgins said my time started improving and I just really go into it I had really good coaches and teachers behind me that pushed me.” This week’s Boston Marathon was Higgins’ first World Major Marathon Having already run in marathons in Green Bay the journey hasn’t been without its setbacks That really set me back – I didn’t know where I wanted to go I really worked hard that summer and I kind of got everything that I lost back.” When asked what it felt like to reach the finish line in Boston’s Copley Square and it was the best feeling in the entire world running down that last final stretch.” Although he is still dealing with the soreness from Boston Higgins’ days of being a marathon runner have only just begun Whether you’re older or younger than Higgins Higgins offered some advice for any runner who might Stay disciplined and just keep putting in the work and it definitely pays off.” East Elementary School will be permanently closed The district will be restructuring the two remaining schools and adding fourth grade to the elementary level (WJFW) — Big changes are on the way for the Antigo School District after the community approved a $5.4 million referendum “It’s an exciting time for the Antigo School District,” said Glenda Oginski This referendum allows the Antigo School District to consolidate and build a new elementary school Oginski couldn’t believe the support they received during the election “We were all over the moon because our community really came out and supported the school district,” Oginski said all 4k through first grade students will attend West Elementary and grades 2-4 will attend North Elementary “This was an opportunity for us to be able to bring our students together so they have time to make new relationships with new friends and meet new teachers,” Oginski said “So that when we do transition into the new building some of that anxiety will already have been taken off of them.” The closure of East will also save over $1.2 million that can be invested back into the district Oginski anticipates that students could be moving to the new school building in the middle of next academic year The restructuring of the schools will not only benefit students but also the staff members “They will be also be to collaborate as a unified grade level for the first time in a long time because each of our buildings typically hold 2 of each grade level,” Oginski said The district is currently working with architects to finalize building plans District leaders hope to have a groundbreaking ceremony before the end of the current school year “It’s a great day to be a Red Robin,” Oginski said The referendum is to determine if council and mayor candidates can have unlimited terms (WJFW) – The spring election is just five days away and a key decision for Antigo voters is whether city leaders should have term limits In the city of Antigo there is currently no limit on how many consecutive terms someone can be mayor or a city council member That could all change next week when a referendum will be voted on to set term limits for those posts The council voted against the referendum 8-1 and that one vote was from 5th Ward but we’ve had some long-term council members - over 20 years," Edwards said "And I just feel other people should have the opportunity." candidates will not be able to serve more than four consecutive two-year terms If they serve those four consecutive terms then they must wait six years before running again If passed some current council members will lose their seats when their current term is up “I still say that it’s the people’s choice," Edwards said "I prefer that the people make this decision If passed the referendum will go into effect in 2026 when the current two-term years expire “I do think we need change because I think the city has stagnated and I believe it's because we’ve had people in place for too many years," Edwards said Election day is April 1st and not only will Antigo be voting for a mayor but also term limits on all city council members No member elected would be able to serve more than eights straight years and would not be eligible to run again for six years after "You're almost denying the voters the chance to vote for the people of their choice," said Tom Bauknecht much of the current city council would be over their term limit threshold you have a hard time finding anybody else to run," said Bauknecht "You don't get paid a lot and most of them I swear would probably do the job for nothing." The mayor adding that it would set the city back "It takes a lot to get on your feet and learn the job itself it would be detrimental to the city if this passes," said Bauknecht Voting 'Yes' on the ballot means Antigo will have term limits that are retroactive to January 1st Bauknecht saying that's one of the flaws in the proposal however he isn't totally opposed to term limits I think it's really flawed," said Bauknecht "If they were to take out the retroactive part of it but to do it and almost punish long term people that have been dedicated and been here to me is unfair." City council rejected the proposal 8-1 before getting sent to referendum The members want to let the citizens of Antigo make their decision The sawmill is the only one like it in the country NTC decided Antigo was perfect for the mill (WJFW) -- With the swift cut of a ribbon the brand new $5 million facility was turned loose for students looking to sharpen their craft in the sawmill business This facility allows students to learn and gain experience on equipment they'll be using daily in the workforce one of the things that's most important to Northcentral Technical College is that we want to make sure our students are learning on and about the latest and greatest technology," said Jeannie Worden "As they go out into the workforce they're able to support their employers and learn on the latest technology." "All of the technical colleges are invested and making sure that they represent their local workforce and the employers in this area," Worden said "The woods inter-industry happens to be one of the biggest in Langlade County Thomas Gibson said the decision to work with NTC was one that wasn't difficult to make "They have expertise in sawmill technology it was a no-brainer for UWSP to partner with NTC in this way," Gibson said the ballot is looking a little different this year with a referendum question seeking to set term-limits for city council members (WJFW) — The upcoming spring election is right around the corner and for the city of Antigo the ballot will look a little different this year On the ballot will be a referendum question seeking to set term-limits for city council members The referendum would not only set term limits for future elected officials selecting 'Yes' on the ballot would also immediately remove over 70% of the current city council members after their current term no one person can be Mayor or an Alderperson for more than four consecutive terms and will not be eligible for re-election for six years after the term limits expire “I think there is an appetite for term limits but we would have to have a resolution offered that we could vote on that wouldn’t go back retroactively,” said Tom Bauknecht Bauknecht said this referendum is flawed and unfair and it’s a punishment for the people who are already on the council “This is a way to legislate them out of the office rather than letting people vote for the people of their choice,” said Bauknecht He said the reason for staggered elections is so that you have some experienced people in office rather than starting out with all new people Voting yes for this referendum would wipe out two-thirds of the council members at once in recruiting candidates to run for office," Bauknecht said essentially and several times we’ve had to take letters of interest because people didn’t even run." he believes this was politically motivated a way to get people out of office without running a fair election dedicated people (who) are in this office for the right reason," Bauknecht said "They run because they want to do something for the city and I tell you they don’t make a lot of money." If passed the referendum would be applied retroactively to January 1 “To arbitrarily to ask them to leave after their term Mayor Bauknecht said he’s not against being open to a term limit He just hopes people understand the wording of the referendum and what the repercussions may be when they go to cast their ballots