We all use them to pay for food, fun or even our gasoline to fill up our vehicles, credit and debit cards.

We dine out for 25 percent of our meals, but are you sure those meals are safe? NewsChannel 7 looked through food safety reports for the highest-revenue restaurants in Marathon County.

You may have seen the National Geographic show "Doomsday Preppers," and wondered if it really is all that common. It turns out; there are preppers all over the nation, including central Wisconsin.

Since I'm closing in on 50, I decided to have my first colonoscopy. The folks at the Marshfield Clinic were kind enough to let us take a camera along in on the procedure, just to show how easy and painless it is. And to get the word out on how effective it is in preventing colon cancer.

The yard is a place where many of us get away to find some peace and quiet. Some traquility to unwind from the hustle and bustle of life. There's one greenspace in the area where those mini get-aways take on even more importance, the Hospice House Garden in Wausau.

It’s turned into a war of numbers between Democrats and Republicans in the weeks leading up to the recall election. Both Gov. Scott Walker and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett are using different numbers to highlight Wisconsin’s progress on the jobs front.

Before you plug headphones into your iPod, think twice about it. You could be affecting your hearing for years to come. It all comes down to how loud you’re playing those tunes. And the younger you are the worse it can be.

In an effort to discredit Tom Barrett’s ability to govern the state, a political attack ad from the Right Direction Wisconsin PAC, targets the mayor’s record in Milwaukee. The ad blames Barrett for the increases in government spending, taxes and unemployment rates.

“There’s a girl lying in the ditch that was hit on a bicycle.” Those chilling word were spoken to a 911 Wood County dispatcher 17 years ago.

They're aquatic invaders from the Far East that are making inroads in the Midwest. Asian carp are threatening the fishing and boating industries in the Great Lakes Region. We take a look at what the state is doing to prevent the spread of the invasive species.

Chances are if you own a smartphone, you’ve taken a photo and posted to a social media website. What you may not know is that embedded data in the picture can allow a stranger to pinpoint your exact location.

NewsChannel 7 took a closer look at a recent political attack ad targeting women voters, to find out what’s true, what’s misleading and what’s completely false. The TV ad is from Rep. Donna Seidel (D-Wausau), who's running for the 29th Senate District seat against Rep. Jerry Petrowski (R-Marathon). The ad jabs at Petrowski on several points. The major one is the recent repeal of a 2009 provision of Wisconsin Fair Employment Law.

It's been nearly 30 years since 20-year-old Jeanette Baneck disappeared while walking home from the North Central Health Care in Wausau in late February in 1983. There were few clues and little evidence surrounding Jeanette’s disappearance.

Almost every political candidate will use robocalls at some point in their career. That's despite studies that show the automated phone calls do not work, but there is something you can do.

In 2011, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, or SANES, at Ministry St. Clare's Hospital in Weston treated 52 patients who had been abused. Sixty-five percent of them were children.

When Governor Scott Walker signed the state budget, closing a 3.5 billion dollar budget gap, no area saw steeper cuts than education. But Districts are finding ways to balance their budgets.

It’s been seven months since Gov. Scott Walker signed the controversial Budget Bill to close a $3 billion deficit over the next two years in Wisconsin.

Meth is known by law enforcement as one of the most addictive drugs available, but what is it? Why is it so addictive? What effects can it have on its users. We answer those questions while looking at the state's meth problem.

26 year old Courtney Erickson of Chippewa Falls granted us an interview during her 7 month stay in the Clark County Jail for meth charges. She tells us, she lost 8 years of her life to the drug, but believes she's kicked her addiction for good. She's speaking out now, to help others who are dealing with the same issues.

More than five years after the murder of 58-year-old Ken Juedes, no arrests have ever been made. And the one person of interest that detectives have identified tells us they're focusing on the wrong person.

As part of a special series of reports on cold cases, NewsChannel 7 is investigating several unsolved homicides throughout North Central Wisconsin.

On Oct. 12th, 2002, Cathy Nameth spent the day running errands, and capped it off at her parents' cottage on Loon Lake. A location her husband David says, was her favorite place on earth, but a place where her life would end.

Every week, you can watch one of TV's most popular crime shows, C.S.I., right here on Newschannel 7. Many may not realize that there's a real life crime lab right here in Wausau.

They're homicide cases that are unsolved, often referred to as cold cases. Over the next six weeks, Newschannel 7 is shining a spotlight on these unsolved crimes, hoping someone out there may have the tip that will bring closure.

Six people have died and 70 more say they are suffering from serious illnesses and they say it's all because their Wausau neighborhood was polluted with dangerous chemicals. An unprecedented lawsuit could soon be heading to the Wisconsin Supreme Court alleging that a former Wausau company is responsible for the chemical pollution.