The largest wildfire in Wisconsin in 33 years has been 100% contained, according to fire officials battling the Germann Road Fire near Barnes, Wisconsin. While the fire is fully contained, crews still face several days of work, putting out small hotspots including piles of smoldering debris and stumps that could otherwise rekindle.

The fire, which started southwest of Barnes earlier this week, and has burned over 9,000 acres of land including 47 structures. Of those 47 structures, 17 were homes, 15 garages, and the remainder are various outbuildings. Fire crews have managed to save 77 additional buildings that were threatened by the fire. Some of those buildings saved were a matter of mere feet from burn lines in surrounding grass.

The Wisconsin DNR has set up a hotline which residents potentially impacted by the Germann Road Fire in Douglas County can call to learn about the status of their homes and property. The phone number, 715-376-4185, will connect residents directly to Incident Command where staff are prepared to help update them regarding the status of buildings on their property. The hotline is staffed from 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

As crews continue to work on extinguishing hotspots, the investigation of what started the blaze will begin. As of right now, the official cause is undetermined. Below we have a map of the impacted area, as well as photos from around the perimeter of the fire.

UPDATE: 05/16/13 12:18 pm – Cause of the fire determined and confirmed – (Click here for details).

Map of Barnes, WI Wildfire After Containment (05/16/13)

Full-size PDF map (here)

Other wildfires are burning in various places in Minnesota, including one near Red Lake, Camp Ripley, Virginia, Salo, Sturgeon Lake, and Hinckley. Fire danger levels are still high across Minnesota and Wisconsin, and extra care is urged. Many places have total burning bans, while others have restrictions. Before any sort of planned fire, people are asked to check the latest restrictions. You can see the latest Minnesota information here, and the latest Wisconsin information here.

Current Fire Danger Map (05/16/13)

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Entering the game, both teams had made offensive statements in their previous section playoff games. The Lumberjacks skated past Forest Lake in a 6-2 victory on February 19, while the Greyhounds had a 15-0 lights-out shutout over St. Michael-Albertville on the same night.

After a scoreless first period, Ryan Lundgren netted a power play goal for the Greyhounds early in the second. From there, there was no looking back for the Greyhounds, as they continued to pressure the offensive zone and outshoot CEC.

Lundgren struck again shortly after opening the third period of play, assisted by Meirs Moore and Alex Toscano. With a 2-0 lead and the clock running into the final minutes of regulation, Ryan Lundgren hit the net for the third time for the Greyhounds with help from Moore and Toscano again.

CEC closed the game being outshot 30-15 by East. Penalties proved to be the biggest problem for the Lumberjacks through the course of the game. The Jacks served two more penalty minutes than East (10 minutes to 8 minutes) and the Greyhounds power play unit took advantage, scoring all three of their goals on the advantage.

Ryan Lundgren’s hat trick adds to his four-goal night against St. Michael-Albertville for a total of 7 goals so far in the section playoffs. Through the course of the regular season, Lundgren netted a total of 17 goals (tied for 3rd on for the Greyhounds).

The Greyhounds go on to face Grand Rapids, who beat Elk River 2-1 after 2 overtime periods of play in the other Section 7AA semifinal game. The Section Championship between Duluth East and Grand Rapids will be at Amsoil Arena in Duluth Thursday, February 28 at 7:30 pm.

Section 7AA Semifinals Photos – Duluth East vs. C-E-C

Contest update: Live Nation Global Touring has confirmed that the remainder of the Lady Gaga Born This Way Ball performances have been canceled. The Lady Gaga #BreakFree To Miami Sweepstakes has been suspended until further notice.

Please check back for more updates.

RECENT SUBMISSIONS

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After the show, Buzzfeed did a feature of photos and GIFs displaying how Beyonce’s show was “fierce”, offering all kinds of visual evidence. After the story hit the web, Buzzfeed received an email on Tuesday (February 5) from Yvette Noel-Schure of Schure Media (Beyonce’s publicist) asking the photos to be removed. The email referred to specific shots as being of particular concern, with extra emphasis on getting those photos removed.

Buzzfeed has not removed the photos as of today (February 6).

See Some of the Worst Photos Beyonce’s Publicist Wanted Removed

Twilight fans most likely have their tickets for the opening of the “Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2″ already.  The latest and final installment of the series opens Thursday night, but last night the stars were out in L.A. at the Premiere.

Team Jacob or Team Edward? Do you think it’s weird that Stevie Nicks and Jaleel White were also in attendance?

Check out the photos:

Mother Nature was smiling on all of the Northland, and The Lake Superior Zoo this past Saturday, as Ghosts, Goblins and Super Heroes descended upon the zoo to get some treats.

What a great event for kids to show off their costumes, see the animals and of course get candy galore! We were set up across from the new  barnyard attractions and it was great to see all the new animals enjoying their new home.

Thankfully we did not run out of candy since we were handing out handfuls at a time, and were told by more than one child that we were the best booth at the zoo, Thanks you to all the staff and volunteers at the zoo who always make this such a great event every year!

For many young girls their Barbie doll or dolls were a prized possession, and so were all her accessories. But, times are tough and Barbie is selling her dream house on Craigslist.

For $100 you can own a piece of the dream and the house is located in Bloomington. The owner goes by the name of Leif, and I am just curious if this little treasure was his or is he getting back at his sister or maybe an ex-girlfriend?

I will never forget the day I cut all the hair off my sisters Barbie doll….oooof that was a bad day. Let’s just say I think I ran at least a mile before she finally stopped chasing me. In case you are wondering, the pool and yacht in the picture are not included. For more info. click here

It is that time of year again as the ghosts and ghouls take over the William A. Irvin Haunted Ship and they are waiting for you!

Yes, my favorite time of year,,,Halloween, and what better way to celebrate than the William A. Irvin Haunted Ship and this year the theme is Zombie Outbreak. How lucky are we that we have this great historic ship. as a backdrop for one of the scariest attractions in the Midwest.

For years I have broadcast from the Haunted Ship and I have to admit that I love seeing the look on everyone’s faces as they are waiting in line. The fear, the anticipation, and the shrill of screams from inside the ship.   Join me this Saturday from 6:30-8:30pm.

For more information click here

Animal Allies hosted a huge adoption event this past weekend in the Petco parking lot and true to form the Northland came out in droves to help out.

I was lucky enough to be out at the event and of course fell in love with a number of adorable animals, especially a batch of female Lab Shepard mix puppies. As with all of these events you here some great stories, like a couple who just put down their older dog, and they adopted  a young female puppy,  giving her a new life in her forever home!

The happy look on behalf of this couple and many others is more than words can describe. At the end of the day 26 cats and 16 dogs were adopted, spending the night with their new families in their new  homes.

Thank you again to everyone in the community for your support and to all the staff and volunteers from Animal Allies for all they do everyday.

This Sunday get the family and enjoy a FREE outdoor event at the 4th Annual Bubble Festival at the Duluth Children’s Museum.  The event runs from noon until 4pm and yes, it’s FREE!

Kids of all ages will enjoy the bubbles, and grown-ups who want to feel  like a kid again too!Bubbles large and small!

A bubble you can stand inside

and a giant bubble wall!

FREE t-shirts for the first 200 guests!

FREE ice skating!

FREE rock climbing! (ages 6+ ONLY)

Check out the Duluth Children’s Museum in their Clyde Park location at 115 South 29th Ave West in Duluth’s Lincoln Park.

Help is pouring in from all over the country to help our community deal with the devastating flooding of the last week. One such example of this generosity and thoughtfulness comes from the “Dave Ryan in the Morning Show” on Twin Cities radio station KDWB.

I’ve had the chance to work for Dave and we’ve become friends over the years and he’s always been a caring individual, that’s why I wasn’t surprised when he contacted me on Sunday and asked what we needed up here.

The morning show went on the air on Monday with the intention of coming up with something to do for Duluth and surrounding communities, by the end of the show they had a car wash planned for the next day to collect cleaning supplies and cash donations.

A steady stream of cars came by the car wash yesterday to donate supplies and money for the cleanup and relief effort, Ryan said of the event “Minnesota is such a great state. We have a culture here of wanting to help other people who through no fault of their own, need a helping hand. When we put the word out that we wanted to help people affected by the floods in Northern Minnesota, not only did we get a great turnout, but dozens of offers from locals businesses to pitch in to make that event even more impactful.”

The supplies will be delivered today to the Cloquet National Guard Armory.

My first car (bought and paid with my own money) was a 1981 Ford Grenada.  It was a pale yellow.  I was not the prettiest car ever.  But now that I’ve seen this car, I think my old “grenade” could have won a Best in Show award compared to this piece.  And I only paid $375 for my car!  Would you buy this for $3,000?

This car is being sold on Craigslist in Knoxville, Tennessee.   Here is the original ad, complete with typos and all:

for sale 1962 international truckcar, has every optional that a car could have ,has frontwheel drive driveline disk brakes all around , has air bags that are in working order has oldsmobile dash with tilt cruise , power seats , air -did work but i low of freon due from setting -can drive it anywhere, every light works as well as new cab lights allready has grandam door handles installed and work great, has alloy wheels and this truck has a good title which is titled as a international, has a grand am rear with the original duel exhaust, car is fuel injected and there are no check engine lights on?everthing is in working order but the aircondition is low of freon call if interested to much to list lots of time put in this car , have to many other projects to ,do so call 606 XXX 7738 -no emails please -price is firm -have probly twice as much invested .-this vehicle will be sold where is as is…thanks

As awesome of a deal as this sounds…I’m going to have to pass.

In case you’re interested, you can check out the original listing HERE.

An amazing set of pictures from Tammi stuck on Spirit Mountain:

We aren’t under water but up here on the hill by Spirit Mountain about ten homes are land locked, meaning we can only get out with a four wheeler or by foot and that is when we can find a way across the running water. These pictures should be pretty rare since they are taken along West Skyline Parkway. On the East side just past 100th Ave West where they want to restore the historic park and the old bridge which lasted better then any repairs the city has done. Those should be the sixth picture and on, the first five pictures are of the main way out towards Spirit Mountain the closest road to that be 96th Ave West which are the two roads we are stuck between.

Tammi

 If you have original photos or videos of flooding you’d like to share, please email tony@mix108.com or laura@mix108.com.

First Off, Congratulations to all the Runners in this years Grandmas Marathon, you did it! And to Duluth native Kara Goucher, for not only winning the women’s division of the half marathon, but setting a new course record!

Being someone who would never have the guts or determination to take on such a feat, I have to say I love being a part of the marathon on the broadcast end of it. To feel part of such a great event is not only fun, but inspiring. Mix 108 was camped out at the Vista Fleet this year, and the cheers and inspirational chants form the crowd were the best.

One gentleman who was running the full, had stopped for a second in front of us, he was bent over trying to catch his breath and rubbing his leg. In obvious pain, he was just trying to muster up the energy to keep going. Someone from the crowd yelled out to him, “You can do it buddy you are almost their!” He stood straight up, shook out his legs and started slowly running towards the William A. Irvin.

The cheers from the crowd and clapping were deafening! That to me is what Grandmas Marathon is all about, form a spectators prospective. Being that motivational voice form the side lines, cheering these athletes on, and helping them get through that next mile.  Complete strangers all coming together on this one day out of the year, and being part of something truly special.

Also, thank you to all the volunteers, with out you this marathon could not happen every year!

Congratulations to all involved in the 20th Annual Walk For Animals, which took place this past Saturday at Bayfront Festival Park.  300 walkers and 80 volunteers, strong helped raise lot’s of money to help Animal Allies keep homeless animals in the Northland safe, healthy and ready for a forever home.

Being someone who has a very soft spot in my heart for animals it was so great to see so many people out with their 4 legged friends, and one gentleman even had a duck along for the walk. Although I do believe he carried him most of the way.

The weather was perfect,  and great job to all the volunteers who were on hand to make sure all the animals had access to fresh water and a few dog treats too. To everyone at Animal Allies thank you for all you do,  we are so happy to be a part of such a fun and important event!

Would it make sense to cast an unknown actress, or someone well established in Hollywood?

A recent Twitter poll voted Alexis Bledel and Emmy Rossum as top contenders.

Here are some of the suggested actresses who may be in line to play Ana.  Who would you like to see cast as the female counterpart to “50 Shades?”

Unless you’ve been hiding in a cave or don’t have ears, you’ve heard about the latest “Must Read” book.  Well, at least for the ladies that is.  After hearing the buzz about this amazing book on Twitter (from a Kirstie Alley Tweet actually) I decided that I had to check it out.

And check it out I did!  It wasn’t so much the…um…naughty parts that intrigued me the most.  It was the relationship between the two main characters that called me back to the book at the most inopportune times…

I’m a pretty fast reader usually.  It took me a week and two days to read all three books.  I would have read them faster, but I do have a job, kids and a husband (and boy did he come in handy!) that I needed to attend to at the same time.

In case you haven’t picked it up yet, the book centers on 21 year old college student Anastasia Steele and her “relationship” (which centers around the S+M lifestyle in particular) with single, handsome, billionaire Christian Grey.  Some critics have dubbed the book “Mommy Porn.”  But quite honestly, it wasn’t as graphic as it could have been. (Note: That’s just my opinion.  And I’m pretty liberal.)

Here are some of the suggested actors who may be in line to play Christian Grey.  Who would you like to see cast as “50 Shades?”

Teams were walking in memorandum of lost loved ones and others, like the team I walked for ‘Keepin’ It Renal’, were walking in support of individuals that are currently affected by kidney problems.

The ‘Keepin’ It Renal’ team was walking for 18 month old Jackson Beattie, who is in need of a kidney transplant in the very near future, the team raised over $17,400, $4,000 of which was raised by Jackson’s big sister Brooklyn, way to go B!!

Thanks to everyone that showed up in support of the event, it was a perfect morning for a walk and keep all the people affected by kidney illness, especially little Jackson in your thoughts and prayers.