Update 1/2/2026 at 1 a.m.: Alexandria was found. Since she is safely home and no longer being searched for, we have deleted her photos.
Original Article:
A 14-year-old female is missing from a home in Glen Flora, located in Rusk County. A statewide alert has been issued. The broadcast area was widened due to ties in the Racine and Kenosha areas.
Alexandria Kuntz is 5 feet 3 inches tall and about 170 pounds with hazel eyes and brown, shoulder-length hair.
She was last seen carrying a pinkish/reddish Coach purse. She was wearing gray pants, a gray shirt, a black coat, and cream-colored Converse shoes.
Alexandria was last seen leaving the residence on foot at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 27, 2025.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Rusk County Sheriff's Office at 844-222-7322. Sharing this article is also appreciated.
On Tuesday, December 30, 2025, at 2:16 p.m., Sawyer County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a residence on State Highway 27/70 in the Town of Radisson regarding a deceased female.
Deputies discovered a 61-year-old, Radisson woman, Lynette D. Coaty, in the residence. She had died from apparent stab wounds.
According to Sheriff Douglas Mrotek, "During the initial investigation into the incident, deputies were able to identify an individual as a possible suspect in the homicide. At approximately 4 p.m., the suspect’s vehicle was observed traveling westbound on State Highway 27/70 and ultimately stopped by deputies near the Village of Radisson. The driver, identified as Yevhen Kravchenko, age 37, also from Radisson, was arrested in connection with the homicide."
The suspect is currently being held in the Sawyer County Jail for First Degree Intentional Homicide and is awaiting a court appearance.
The death remains under investigation by the Sawyer County Sheriff’s Office with the assistance of the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory and the Medical Examiner’s Office.
A Town of Worcester plow truck was in an accident on Wednesday, December 31, 2025.
The driver "was plowing North Worcester Road when the blade caught and threw the truck across the road into the ditch on the far side," according to Town of Worcester Chairman Jim Michler.
The driver was not injured.
The truck was pulled out of the ditch and towed to the town hall by a towing company from Medford.
Davette Lynne Hrabak, CPA, located at 164 South Lake Avenue in Phillips, specializes in tax return preparation, business start-up services, consulting, bookkeeping, payroll, and all your accounting needs. Call 715-339-6638 or visit Davette's website. Follow her Facebook page.
Park Falls' mayor, Tara Tervort, reflected on the accomplishments of the recent past and is looking forward to next year.
She stated, "Park Falls has experienced significant change over the last few years, with many major projects reaching
completion in 2025. This past spring, Old Abe Memorial Park was completed, finalizing a redevelopment effort that began in early 2020. What was once a city block filled with vacant buildings and contaminated soil from an old gas station has now been
completely transformed. The city removed the structures, remediated the contamination, and sold a portion of the block to Forward Bank, which has since built a beautiful new commercial building on the corner. We also constructed a new parkway and developed a vibrant downtown central park featuring an outdoor performance stage, a concession building with public restrooms, and a renovated open-air pavilion. Working with our local veterans, the Old Abe Memorial eagle statue was also relocated to its new home in the park."
The mayor also mentioned the completion of the YMCA and medical center renovations, resurfacing of Highway 13, and the conversion of highway streetlights into LED fixtures.
In 2026, Tara stated the city will put together a comprehensive plan; the most recent plan dates back to 2010. She said, "This update is long overdue and will play an essential role in guiding future development. A current comprehensive plan not only strengthens our eligibility for federal and state grants but also provides important direction for developers seeking to invest in our community. As part of this effort, we will also develop a strategic plan for the former paper mill property. Both plans will require strong public input. We want to hear your thoughts, your hopes, and your vision for Park Falls. There will be multiple opportunities for you to participate in public meetings dedicated to this process. Whether your interests involve housing, lodging, retail, industry, recreation, or any other aspect of growth, your voice matters."
Park Villageoffers affordable, active living in a park-like setting for those 55+ and disabled persons in Park Falls. Rent is based on 30% Adjusted Gross Income. Small pets under 30 pounds are welcome. Contact Park Village at 715-762-4747.
Gavin Esterholm, the school board's student liaison for Phillips High School, reported updates regarding various sports, groups, and events at the high school as of December 14, 2025. Gavin interviewed students about their high school experience with these activities.
BAND
The band had their Christmas Concert in early December, featuring the 6th grade band, the 7th and 8th grade band, and the high school band. They each performed various pieces and there were extremely good comments from members of the audience following the concert. The ban also performed some Christmas songs in the commons and for the elementary school in the mornings before
school.
CHOIR
The choir members were working hard at perfecting the music since early fall and held their holiday concert earlier this month. Along with the band, choir members had their fruit sale fundraiser, which was a great success this year, practically filling the band room with fruit boxes.
FBLA
FBLA has been fundraising with their one dollar chocolate bar fundraiser, and it seems as if almost every student sells very well. Emmet Knudson said, "FBLA co-organized a food drive with the Sources of Strength. Together, they helped raise over 400 pounds of food for the Phillips Food Bank. They say thank you to everyone who helped and donated! FBLA had its members (who wished to compete) pick a competitive event. Those who were interested were registered. Some members will have the chance to present their work on February 7th at the Regional Leadership Conference in Loyal, and others may have the opportunity to take a test for their event before that date. All members are invited to this conference, and there will be more details as we get closer to it!”
HOCKEY
I was fortunate enough to make my way up to Park Falls for two of the hockey games this season, and I didn’t realize how exciting and fun hockey was to watch, with players competing on the co-op team with the Chequamegon and Butternut school districts. Players from Phillips include Senior Kalan Chuzles, Junior Audrey Hueckman, and Sophomores Nick Pesko and Finn McCardle. They are
on a three-game winning streak, putting them 3-3 on the year. Last Saturday, they played Green Bay United and won 6-0 with a notable goal by Finn McCardle, earning him the team's hard hat, which recognizes the team's pick of player of the game.
STUDENT COUNCIL
The student council planned and put on a the talent show.
MOCK TRIAL
Mock Trial has been meeting on Mondays and Wednesdays. They have been working through their direct and cross-examination questions in preparation for the first trial at the Price County Courthouse on Monday, December 29. They posted many posters around the school looking for fellow students to act as a “mock jury.”
TEEN COURT
The teen court is part of the deferred prosecution agreement, where kids who face consequences with the law at the age of 16 or younger get the decision to go to a group of their peers from the surrounding schools, including Chequamegon, Prentice, and Phillips, where the teen members question and determine the consequences of their actions. They have had a few cases this year. Last month, they had the chance to hear from Callie Podmolik, who gave a good rundown of what her role as the Juvenile Justice
Intake Worker is and what she does for the kids they don’t see as they end up her way, not at the Teen Court.
BOYS' BASKETBALL
The boys' basketball season is now in full swing, with three games thus far, playing Auburndale, Washburn, and Newman Catholic. During the first home game against Auburndale, Senior Jeffrey Heikkinen had a notable 39 points and tied the most completed 3-point shots by a Logger. Jeffrey said, "Everyone is very young, and it's a completely different team from last year, with
me being the only returning varsity starter. It will be a fun learning experience for everyone, but things will start working themselves out through the season. It's a very big change from last year.”
GIRLS' BASKETBALL
The girls' basketball team has played five games this season. Leah Harper said, “We have been adjusting well to the new coach and are improving every day. We have been enjoying doing some new team bonding experiences and are hoping to get a win soon. We think that the rest of the season will go well, and we will keep getting better.”
November Eagle Award winners from Park Falls Elementary School of the Chequamegon School District were recognized for "being safe."
Front Row Left to Right: Kieko Sohl, Thomas Wagner, Bennet Wagner, Lila Hammond, Keana Mudong, Liam Kontny, and Everleigh Tesnow
Back Row Left to Right: Ariel Sprangers, Drew Branch, Zayda Dannelley, Dawsyn Purdy, Hazel Singer, and Henry Weiler
SOAR AWARDS
November Soar Award winners from Park Falls Elementary School of the Chequamegon School District demonstrated "perseverance."
Front Row Left to Right: Paisley Purvis, Baylee Malach, Jaxon Fincham, and Amir Akis
Middle Row Left to Right: Iris Spurrier, Reed Damrow, Faith Velarde, Namine Stewart, and Adeline Klepac
Back Row Left to Right: Daxon Singer, Marcie Hilgart, Isaac Kjetland, Blake Schmidt, and Breylyn Zielke (The article continues after the ad; keep reading.)
Park Village offers affordable, active living in a park-like setting for those 55+ and disabled persons in Park Falls. Rent is based on 30% Adjusted Gross Income. Small pets under 30 pounds are welcome. Contact Park Village at 715-762-4747.
POP TAB WINNERS
November pop tab winners of Park Falls Elementary School of the Chequamegon School District are in Ms. Weinberger's second grade class. They collected 33.88 pounds to support the Ronald McDonald House in Marshfield, Wisconsin. There were 100 pounds of tabs collected by the entire school.
Front Row Left to Right: Josh Hilgart, Mackenzie Miesbauer, Aleigha Naegele, Adalyn Schneider, Jayla Hilgart, Brooks Nelson, and Hendrix Scott
Back Row Left to Right: Brookes Eichman, Ms. Amy Weinberger, Rowan Gerwing, Emery Volk, Layla Rauschenbach, Myah Cole, Faith Velarde, Henry Weiler, Carson Bay, and Atea Silbanuz
The property of 235 North Lake Avenue has been some type of gas/service station for many years. Many locals remember it being owned by Steve Augustine and known as Augie's Shell. In July of 1988, George and Steven Thaler purchased the property, and the younger generations came to know it as Express Mart. It remained in the Thaler family until a few years ago when it closed. Plans to upgrade the gas station were discussed by the business owner and city at meetings in 2021, but those plans were abandoned. In August 2024, Next Stage Designs 2 LLC, (Lynda Ludwig), purchased the property for $220,000.
According to the "Friends of Price County United Limited," the property is expected to be leveled. The tentative schedule is that the canopy that was over the gas pumps will come down on Friday, December 26, 2025. The building will be demolished on Monday, December 29, 2025.
Some residents are wondering about the gas tanks and if there is contamination, which My Price County will be asking Lynda Ludwig, along with other questions posed by the community. As a partial answer, this gas station was mentioned in the "Phillips Lionite Property, Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment" that was completed on November 9, 2023 before Price County United Limited (PCUL) purchased the "Lionite" property on April 1, 2024 for two million dollars. In the report, "Lionite" is referred to as the "subject property."
The document states, "Finding 7: An environmental records search was performed identifying sites within their respective ASTM E 1527-13 search radii of the Property that may represent RECs, HRECs, or de minimis conditions. Three historical/current gasoline stations were located adjacent to and west of the Subject Property. The first gasoline station formerly operated at 235 N. Lake Avenue and BRRTS Case No. 03-51-097044 was opened in 1996 when petroleum contamination was discovered onsite, including free product. Remedial activities occurred starting in 2000, and the case was closed in 2012 with residual soil and groundwater contamination onsite, offsite and in the rights of way. Detections in monitoring wells installed near the Subject Property boundary were below health-based standards as of 2011."
In reference to this gas station, the document continues, "Opinion 7: The former gasoline stations at 235 N. Lake Avenue and 125 S. Lake Avenue have been investigated and/or remediated and contamination appeared limited to the sites and adjoining rights-of-way. Therefore, historical releases of petroleum products at these two gasoline stations are not a REC, CREC, or HREC for the Subject Property."
Updated 12-27-25: The canopy and building got demolished on Friday, December 26, 2025. According to the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection, five gasoline tanks are considered "closed/removed," including two unleaded, two diesel, and one leaded. This was done by the previous owners, the Thalers.
Three Price County supervisors have filed for non-candidacy as of December 23, 2025.
Incumbents from Districts 4 (Towns of Hill and Ogema), 8 (Towns of Harmony and Elk - Ward 1), and 13 (City of Phillips - Ward 1, Town of Worcester - Ward 2, and Town of Elk - Ward 2) will not be seeking re-election on the board of supervisors. Those individuals include Jeffrey Hallstrand, Alan Barkstrom, and Brian Ernst.
We reached out to all three men to find out their reasons. Thus far, Brian Ernst replied as follows, "I’m in the process of moving to a different district, from #13 to #8. As Mr. Barkstrom is not running, I have submitted paperwork to be on the ballot for his district #8."
Anyone interested in seeking any county supervisor position (or other positions being elected in the spring) must file nomination papers by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, January 6, 2026.
If a primary is necessary, it will be held on Tuesday, February 17, 2026.
The election will be held on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.
View the video of PACC's 2025 Christmas Parade in Phillips by clicking this link. View photos of decorated homes below. Merry Christmas!
(The article continues after the ad.) Davette Lynne Hrabak, CPA, located at 164 South Lake Avenue in Phillips, specializes in tax return preparation, business start-up services, consulting, bookkeeping, payroll, and all your accounting needs. Call 715-339-6638 or visit Davette's website. Follow her Facebook page.
Deer Creek Angus, LLC has a large selection of Black Angus burgers, steaks, roasts, and other beef products sold by individual packages and in quarters, halves, and whole. Contact Deer Creek Angus, LLC at 715-550-6156, find products & pricing on their website, and follow their Facebook page.
The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has created a lawsuit against United Pride Dairy LLC, a dairy farm in Phillips.
The EEOC asserts that United Pride Dairy "violated federal law when it subjected three employees of Mexican origin to disparate treatment in the terms and conditions of employment and also subjected a female employee to sexual harassment."
According to EEOC, United Pride allegedly "promised three Mexican nationals professional and/or management positions when they were hired and submitted the same information to the U.S. Embassy for their TN Visa applications, but when the three Mexican nationals arrived on the farm, the dairy denied the promised positions and instead gave them laborer positions and assigned more arduous tasks and shifts to Mexican workers. When a Mexican worker complained, a manager at United Pride Dairy justified the disparate work assignment based on a negative stereotype of American workers, saying 'Americans are lazy.'"
The complaint also alleges that a "female Mexican employee’s direct supervisor subjected her to sexual harassment when he frequently shared demeaning pornographic images with her and repeatedly made sexually offensive comments to her."
EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas said, “Workplace actions based on unlawful stereotypes about any group of workers — including assumptions that foreign workers are somehow ‘better’ than Americans — are a serious violation of federal law. The law is clear: employers cannot abuse the visa process to import foreign labor under false pretenses. The EEOC is committed to vigorous enforcement of our laws so all workers in this country are treated fairly and lawfully.”
The EEOC's Chicago District Office is responsible for processing these charges.
Nicole Marklein is the attorney representing United Pride Dairy LLC. She asserts that the farm was working in full cooperation with the investigation and feels no evidence was revealed to support these claims. She told My Price County, "We are disappointed and concerned to learn that the EEOC has filed this lawsuit despite my client’s full cooperation with an investigation that has revealed no evidence of unlawful discrimination or harassment. To preserve the integrity of the judicial system and prevent inappropriate communications to potential jurors, applicable rules of professional conduct prohibit attorneys from making certain public statements regarding pending litigation. Therefore, I am even more alarmed by the press release issued by the EEOC regarding this pending lawsuit, particularly because the release makes allegations against my client that are simply false. Due to my professional obligations and respect for the integrity of the civil justice system, I am unable to provide details regarding this lawsuit. However, my client denies that it discriminated against or otherwise mistreated any of its employees—regardless of their race, gender, nationality, or any other protected basis. While my client and I wish the EEOC would use its resources to investigate and remediate true instances of employment discrimination, we have no choice but to vigorously defend this baseless lawsuit."
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