Green Bay News

U.S. Hwy. 41 is now Interstate 41.

Gov. Scott Walker’s office has announced that the stretch of highway from Howard to just south of the Wisconsin-Illinois border is now part of the Federal Highway Administration’s Interstate system. It’s the culmination of 10 years of planning and preparation.

“The official designation of I-41 is tremendous news that will support the safe, efficient movement of people and commerce for many years to come,” Wisconsin Department of Transportation Secretary Mark Gottlieb said in a news release. “Along with Governor Walker’s leadership, I want to thank former Congressman Tom Petri, our current Congressional delegation, state legislators, local government officials, and community leaders who helped make I-41 a reality.”

I-41 passes through the four largest cities in Northeast Wisconsin: Green Bay, Appleton, Oshkosh and Fond du Lac. For Appleton, Oshkosh and Fond du Lac, it’s the first time an Interstate passes through those cities.

State leaders say signs will be changed this summer. About 3,000 signs will have to be placed along the route.

NEW YORK (AP) — About 30,000 cases of Sabra hummus sold nationwide is being recalled due to a possible Listeria contamination.

Listeria is a food-borne illness that can cause high fevers and nausea in minor cases, but the infections can be fatal to people with weakened immune systems and young children, along with causing miscarriages in pregnant women.

It is the second listeria-related recall this week. Blue Bell Creameries on Tuesday recalled banana pudding ice cream that tested positive for listeria, expanding an earlier ice cream recall. Eight people in Texas and Kansas have been afflicted by tainted products and three have died.

There have been no reported illnesses associated with the hummus recall. The Sabra Dipping Co. is a joint venture of PepsiCo and Strauss Group.

The recalled products include:

—Sabra Classic Hummus in 10-ounce sizes with UPC/SKU 040822011143 / 300067

—Sabra Classic Hummus in 30-ounce sizes with UPC/SKU 040822014687 / 300074

—Sabra Classic Hummus without Garnish in 32 ounce sizes with UPC/SKU 040822342049 / 301216

—Sabra Classic Hummus in 17-ounce six-packs with UPC/SKU 040822017497 / 301290

—Hummus Dual Pack Classic/Garlic 23.5 ounce with UPC/SKU 040822342209 / 301283

 

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – California Public Utilities Commission voted Thursday to penalize Pacific Gas & Electric Co. $1.6 billion for a deadly 2010 gas-pipeline.

The commission voted 4 to 0 on the penalty proposed last month by Commission President Michael Picker.

The fine is $200 million higher than one recommended by administrative law judges last year for PG&E, the state’s largest power utility.

Picker’s proposal would require PG&E shareholders to pay $850 million that would go toward gas transmission safety improvements. It also orders PG&E to pay a $300 million fine that would go into the state’s general fund, and it mandates the utility pay $400 million in bill credit. It directs approximately $50 million toward other remedies.

Federal investigators faulted both PG&E and lax oversight by the utilities commission in the 2010 explosion, which killed eight people in the San Francisco suburb of San Bruno.

Picker’s proposal also devotes more of the utility’s penalty payments to pipeline safety upgrades. An earlier proposal considered by commissioners on Thursday would have sent most of the penalty payment into California’s general fund.

The San Bruno explosion has led to state and federal investigations into back channel dealings between PG&E executives and the utility commission’s former head, Michael Peevey, whose term expired earlier this year. No results of the investigations have been announced.

PG&E has said it wants a penalty that is “reasonable and proportionate” and that takes into account the utility’s past spending to improve safety, utility spokesman Greg Snapper said in a statement Tuesday.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A broad swath of the Midwest girded for hail, damaging winds and possibly tornadoes Thursday as a strong storm front continued to rumble east.

The National Weather Service’s “enhanced risk” area stretched from northeast Texas to Michigan, Wisconsin and across the upper Midwest. Forecasters say Philadelphia, Washington and other parts of the Atlantic coast could see the same weather patterns Friday, including Augusta, Georgia, where the Masters golf tournament is taking place through the weekend.

“It’s quite an expansive area,” said Greg Carbin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma.

In Wisconsin, an interstate north of Milwaukee was closed for several hours Thursday morning after several vehicles became partially submerged in flood water due to heavy rain.

Tornadoes were reported Wednesday and early Thursday in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, but those areas saw minimal damage from the year’s first widespread bout of severe weather.

In central Indiana, a 75-year-old woman died Wednesday night after being swept into a rain-swollen creek near Indianapolis. Pittsboro Fire Chief Bill Zeunik said the woman, identified as Doris D. Martin, was clearing debris from a water-filled ditch in her front yard along with her husband when she fell in and was swept away into a drainage pipe. Martin’s body was found in a creek nearly one mile away.

MADISON (AP) – Gov. Scott Walker’s European trade mission that begins this weekend is heavy on private meetings with business and government leaders in Germany, France and Italy.

Walker’s office provided details of the trip to The Associated Press on Thursday.

The most high-profile event on Walker’s itinerary comes Tuesday when he’s slated to deliver a 15-minute speech on opportunities for bilateral trade and investment at the Hannover Messe trade show in Germany.

Walker’s office says that is the world’s largest industrial fair.

Walker is leading a 22-member coalition that includes executives from seven Wisconsin companies.

The weeklong trip comes amid Walker’s expected run for the White House. But no staff from Walker’s political committee is traveling with him on the trade mission, which was organized by the state’s chief jobs agency.

APPOMATTOX, Va. (AP) — The surrender of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee to Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant 150 years ago on Thursday was a milestone event in the end of the Civil War. This is a rolling account of Thursday’s commemoration of anniversary events that include a reenactment of Lee’s last clash with Grant’s troops and of the Confederate surrender in a Virginia farmhouse on April 9, 1865. Interspersed are historical accounts from 150 years ago:

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2015:

Ahead of the battle reenactment, the boys of the Confederate 11th Virginia were as pretty a cool bunch as those portraying Union troops gathered several fields away at Appomattox Court House amid the rolling farm country dotted by brick buildings and white picket fences.

But a stoic Chris Ferree couldn’t contain his excitement when asked about his role in the 150th commemoration of Lee’s surrender 150 years ago on Thursday.

“This is an awesome place to be,” said Ferree, a Roanoke resident. “We’re all excited to be here.”

The Confederate re-enactors were a ragtag, mismatched group of heavy wool coats, ill-fitting trousers and more types of hats than a haberdashery. Dozens stood along a rough wooden fence, their muskets at the ready.

The Union and Southern re-enactors spent the night encamped in tents at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park.

This April 1865 image provided by the Library of Congress shows Federal troops in front of the Appomattox Court House near the time of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrender to Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, in Appomattox, Va. (AP Photo/Library of Congress, Timothy H. O’Sullivan)

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2015:

The smell of wood smoke greeted the first of thousands of visitors thronging the park the next several days of commemorative events. The outline of Union troops in formation could be seen in fields as visitors approached.

Perry Miller of Salisbury, a re-enactor with the North Carolina 28th from Salisbury, explained the strategy succinctly: “We’re trying to break through the Union lines.”

Thomas Holbrook, a park ranger on loan from Gettysburg, went down the line of re-enactors for a quick briefing before battle.

“This is part of what I like to call the armistice that was signed on April 9, when Gen. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia,” he said.

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1865:

Lee’s forces were in increasing disarray in the hours before Lee formally called it quits in April 1865. So the Associated Press reported 150 years ago this week. AP reported that ragged Southern soldiers, many straggling while running from federal forces, began giving up alone and in small bunches even before the official surrender.

Lee’s forces, seeking an escape route, had crossed the Appomattox River while burning bridges, AP reported then. Union forces “attacked them vigorously” in the hours before the formal surrender, convincing Lee the fight was over. AP reporting from accounts as saying “the road for miles was strewn with broken down wagons, caissons, and baggage of all kinds, presenting a scene seldom witnessed on the part of Lee’s army.”

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2015:

In a place where historically accurate fashions abound, the Rufeners of Ohio stood out.

Cousins by marriage, Kim and Mary Rufener carefully stepped through soaked turf and muddy roads at Appomattox to keep their hoop skirts mud-free. The two also wore bonnets as they watched Union and Confederate reenactors clash.

Amid the hundreds if not thousands lined along a fence watching a battle re-enactment, the two women drew attention as they posed for photographs. They talked about re-living history in period clothing.

“It just enhances the experience for us,” Kim Rufener said amid booming cannons and the crackle of muzzle fire. “It makes it more alive. It’s an important part of history that we need to remember.”

“We’re just having fun,” Mary added.

Asked if the reproduction outfit had hampered her travels, Mary said, “Well, it is muddy.” She modestly lifted the hem of her hoop skirt, revealing laced black boots that were slightly muddied.

The Rufeners have been to other Civil War commemorative events, but Appomattox was the first in period costumes. “This is a big deal,” Mary Rufener said, adding “We won’t be around for the 200th.”

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This image provided buy the Library of Congress shows an artist rendering of the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee to Union General Ulysses S. Grant in the front parlor of the McLean house at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. (AP Photo/Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Kurz and Allison)

2015:

Many artifacts once used by Lee’s fighting forces are preserved and many went on display at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park and a nearby museum. Those included Lee’s copy of Grant’s terms of surrender. There’s also an inkwell from the farmhouse parlor of businessman and slave owner Wilmer McLean, the reluctant host of the surrender. The inkwell was taken as a memento from the McLean house by the brother of Union Maj. Gen. Phillip H. Sheridan. Of course, a trove of battle flags and Lee memorabilia are also displayed — even a gleaming sword Lee carried to the surrender.

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1865:

AP’s reporting described the waning hours for Lee’s army: “After crossing the Appomattox the bridges were burned, and before our troops could get over the enemy had taken a position a mile from the river, where they erected works and made a stand in order to allow their wagon train to get out of the way … The (Union’s) 2d division, under General Crook, attacked them vigorously, driving them back some distance. But they had a force dismounted, lying in ambush, which poured a severe fire into our men as they advanced to the second attack, and they were compelled to fall back on their supports. The rebels soon after departed from this place, not being disposed to await another charge … ”

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2015:

The National Park Service has 145 staff members helping with the commemoration, even a black powder specialist who watches after gun safety for the fighting re-enactments.

“He checks weapons to ensure they’re safe and well-maintained, and also that there is no ammunition,” explained Katie Lawhon, who came down from Gettysburg National Military Park to serve as a public information officer for Appomattox.

Appomattox is considered a plum assignment, she said. The 145 comprise what the Park Service calls an incident management team. Besides big events, they also respond to disasters, such as an oil spill on a National Parks beach or a natural disaster.

The Appomattox crew draws from 33 different units of the National Park Service, including parks and regional offices — many skilled in logistics and planning, medical services, law enforcement and resource management.

MADISON – The state Parole Commission denied Keith Kutska’s first request for release on his sentence for participating in the 1992 murder of Tom Monfils – despite an endorsement of his release by the judge who sentenced him.

The board’s decision was made Wednesday and released Thursday by the state Department of Corrections.

Kutska can next be considered for parole in three years.

While the report did not refer to Judge James Bayorgeon by name, it noted a letter he sent to the state: “The sentencing Judge, who is now retired, also wrote in and stated, ‘I believe Mr. Kutska should be granted parole at the earliest possible date.’ ”

However, the commissioners were critical of Kutska.

“You also indicated that your case is under appeal and stated, “They are going to prove the police framed me for murder because I hurt their pride.” You accepted no responsibility for introducing the tape into the work environment which enraged others toward the victim. Despite your stance of being innocent, you remain convicted of taking part in the killing of a man and as such the Parole Commission believes more time needs to be served to address the seriousness of your crime,” the report states.

“The Parole Commission remains concerned with the seriousness of your offense which involved loss of life, the need to serve additional time so as not to depreciate the seriousness of your offense, and the need to complete identified (treatment). Serving additional time in a positive manner, completing (treatment) and eventually transitioning successfully through reduced custody to prepare for a return to the community will all help to demonstrate a mitigated level of risk. A release at this time would pose an unreasonable risk to the community when considering the aforementioned information,” it states.

Michael Piaskowski’s conviction was overturned by a federal court, and he was released. So far, parole requests have been denied for the other four: Dale Basten, Michael Hirn, Michael Johnson and Rey Moore. They remain incarcerated.

WAUKESHA (AP) – A University of Wisconsin System regents committee has approved plans to raise nonresident and graduate student tuition at nine campuses to help offset $300 million in cuts Gov. Scott Walker has proposed for the system.

The regents’ finance committee unanimously approved the increases Thursday at the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha. Tuition would rise at schools in Madison, La Crosse, Milwaukee, Parkside, Platteville, River Falls, Stevens Point, Stout and Whitewater.

Tuition at most of the satellite campuses would rise by at least several hundred dollars starting next year. UW-Madison proposed a four-year plan that calls for raising non-resident undergraduate tuition by $10,000 by 2018-19. The committee approved only the first two years, which would translate to a $6,000 nonresident increase by 2016-17.

The full Board of Regents will consider the plan Friday.

WAUKESHA – The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents is meeting Thursday and Friday at UW-Waukesha while the system waits to learn more about its budget for the next fiscal year.

Gov. Scott Walker’s budget plan includes a $300 million cut over two years to the UW system. That’s 2.5 percent of the system’s overall funding and 13 percent of the system’s state funding.

At Thursday afternoon’s meeting, UW System President Ray Cross is scheduled to update the regents on the current status of the 2015-17 biennial budget. Questions and a discussion are also planned.

The budget is now in the hands of state lawmakers. Key Republicans on the Legislature’s budget committee have signaled the cut to the UW system won’t be as severe as the governor proposed, especially if state tax collections improve.

FOX 11’s Andrew LaCombe will have balanced news coverage from Waukesha tonight on FOX 11 News at Five.

MILWAUKEE (AP) – An interstate was closed north of Milwaukee after several vehicles became partially submerged in flood water due to heavy rain.

Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Lt. Cory McCormick says no one was hurt when the water flooding their vehicles in the southbound lanes of Interstate 43 early Thursday. The sheriff’s department closed about 100 yards of the interstate near the Port Washington exit from about 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.

The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the Milwaukee River near Cedarburg in Ozaukee County Thursday.

LINCOLN (AP) – Owners of a 4,000-cow dairy farm in northeast Wisconsin say the operation isn’t polluting drinking wells amid allegations from environmental groups.

Press-Gazette Media reports owners of Kinnard Farms said in a statement Wednesday that they’re surprised by the allegations. They said the Kewaunee County farm follows strict regulations and strives to protect water.

Three environmental groups say the farm in the town of Lincoln is behind or contributing to pollution through the spread of millions of gallons of liquid manure on fields. According to research compiled by the groups, as many as half of private wells in the town of Lincoln are contaminated.

The groups want the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to investigate and take action against the farm and keep it from expanding. A state permit would let the farm grow to more than 6,000 cows by late 2017.

MADISON – AnchorBank is closing three Northeast Wisconsin branches and selling another.

Madison-based AnchorBanCorp says it is closing six branches, including the branches at 110 N. Fox River Dr. in Grand Chute, 130 Main St. in Menasha and 16 Washington Ave. in Oshkosh. Branches in Janesville, Franklin and Madison are also closing.

In addition, the Winneconne branch is being sold to Premier Community Bank of Marion.

In all, 30 full- and part-time positions will be lost. Those employees have the option to apply for openings at other branches; the company also promises to help those employees find jobs outside AnchorBanCorp. The company has also offered a voluntary separation package to 137 of its 705 employees.

“These measures are designed to improve business delivery and customer service, streamline operations, and improve overall profitability for the company,” president and CEO Chris Bauer said in a news release. “Addressing operational efficiency head-on allows us to remain competitive in our markets, provide exceptional service to our customers, and improve profitability for our stockholders.”

AnchorBanCorp recapitalized in 2013, meaning it restructured its mixture of debt and equity. An initial public offering of company stock was made last year.

APPLETON – Lawrence University will hire a full-time athletic director, the school announced Thursday.

Current men’s hockey coach and athletic director Mike Szkodzinski will remain with the Vikings as the hockey coach.

“It has been a pleasure working with Coach Szkodzinski during my tenure here. Even with Mike’s high energy and strategic approach to leading our athletic and hockey programs, it is evident that a full-time director of athletics is something Lawrence needs to reach our aspirations,” Lawrence President Mark Burstein said in a statement. “Traditionally, the model at the University has been to have one of the coaches also serve as the director of athletics but bearing that sort of workload has become simply too much even for Mike.”

Lawrence will conduct a national search for a new director of athletics, said Burstein, who praised the work done by Szkodzinski on a variety of fronts.

“Intercollegiate athletics are an integral component of our liberal arts mission and Mike has been a strong leader for our coaches and student-athletes,” Burstein said. “With our growing investment in the athletic program, we want to be certain we continue the positive momentum Mike has started in the department of athletics. Having a full-time director of athletics is a crucial part of that formula for success.”

Burstein added that Szkodzinski will remain at the head of the department of athletics, which consists of 20 full-time coaches and staff overseeing hundreds of student-athletes, until a successor is named.

“Mike has done outstanding work in leading our department of athletics, but I know, in his heart, he is first and foremost a hockey coach,” Provost Dave Burrows said. “I know he wants the hockey team to have greater success in the best conference in the nation. To do that, he needs to devote all his energies to that team.”

Szkodzinski was named the director of athletics in July 2009 and has coached the Lawrence hockey team for nine seasons. He has balanced that workload with family commitments to his wife, Tori, and three young children.

“This is something I’ve been thinking about for some time and the support of President Burstein and Provost Burrows made it possible for me to hand over the reins of the department of athletics with the confidence that we are moving in the right direction,” Szkodzinski said.

The department of athletics has seen a number of changes during Szkodzinski’s tenure. Szkodzinski worked to increase the number of full-time staff members and was responsible for the hiring of standout coaches like Jason Fast (men’s and women’s cross country, track), Lisa Sammons (women’s soccer), Steve Francour (men’s and women’s tennis), Ashley Wellman (women’s basketball) as well as Rob McCarthy, Lawrence’s new football coach.

In addition, Szkodzinski has played a leading role in the renovation of the Banta Bowl, which is underway. Szkodzinski’s leadership, in partnership with Lawrence’s development office, has spearheaded efforts to raise more than $4 million for the renovation of the venerable stadium. A renovated Banta Bowl will debut in fall 2015 to celebrate its 50th birthday and serve as the home of Lawrence football as well as men’s and women’s soccer.

Under Szkodzinski’s leadership, the Lawrence tennis courts were recently resurfaced and had lights installed. Other facilities upgrades include a new track surface for Whiting Field and improvements to Alexander Gymnasium as well as both the baseball and softball fields.

“I am so proud and pleased with what we have been able to accomplish over the past six years,” said Szkodzinski, who has won more hockey games than any coach in Lawrence history. “I believe we are positioned to succeed in the Midwest Conference and the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association. I’m excited about the prospect of returning my primary focus to our hockey team, but I’m ready to assist the new director of athletics as well.”

MILWAUKEE (AP) – A mother who left her 1-year-old child in a car that was stolen won’t face charges in Milwaukee County.

Amber Strube says a prosecutor told her he didn’t want to add more stress to a terrifying situation. Strube ran into a gas station and left her child sleeping inside the running vehicle last week in Milwaukee.

A 15-year-old girl is charged with stealing the car, which was later found abandoned with the child safe inside.

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina police officer charged with murder for shooting an unarmed man in the back was allowed to stay on the force despite a 2013 complaint that he used excessive force against another unarmed man.

In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, Mario Givens, who is black, recounted Wednesday how he was awakened before dawn one morning by loud banging on the front door of his family’s North Charleston home.

On the porch was Patrolman Michael Thomas Slager, the officer now charged in the shooting death of Walter Lamer Scott, which was captured in dramatic cellphone footage by a bystander Saturday.

Givens, who was clad only in a T-shirt and boxer shorts, cracked open his door and asked what the officer wanted.

“He said he wanted to come in but didn’t say why,” said Givens, now 33. “He never said who he was looking for.”

Then, without warning, Slager pushed in the door, he said.

“Come outside or I’ll tase you,” he quoted the officer as saying, adding: “I didn’t want that to happen to me, so I raised my arms over my head, and when I did, he tased me in my stomach anyway.”

This photo provided by the Charleston County, S.C., Sheriff’s Office shows Patrolman Michael Thomas Slager on Tuesday, April 7, 2015. Slager has been charged with murder in the shooting death of a black motorist after a traffic stop. North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey told a news conference that city Slager was arrested and charged Tuesday after law enforcement officials saw a video of the shooting following a Saturday traffic stop. (AP Photo/Charleston County Sheriff’s Office)

Givens said the pain from the stun gun was so intense that he dropped to the floor and began calling for his mother, who also was in the home. At that point, he said another police officer came into the house and they dragged him outside and threw him to the ground. He was handcuffed and put in a squad car.

Though initially accused of resisting the officers, Givens was later released without charge.

Asked about the 2013 incident on Wednesday, North Charleston police spokesman Spencer Pryor said the department plans to review the case to see whether its decision to exonerate Slager was correct. Pryor said he had no timetable for the review.

Givens’ relatives remember the encounter vividly.

“It was very devastating,” said Bessie Givens, 57, who was awaked by her son’s piercing screams. “You watch your son like that, he’s so vulnerable. You don’t know what’s going to happen. I was so scared.”

It turned out that Givens’ arrest was a case of mistaken identity. Officers had been looking for his brother, Matthew Givens, whose ex-girlfriend had reported that he came into her bedroom uninvited, then left when she screamed and called 911.

The woman, Maleah Kiara Brown, told The AP on Wednesday that she and a friend had gone to the Givens home with the officers and were sitting outside when Slager knocked on the door. The second officer had gone around to the back of the house.

She had provided the officers with a detailed description of her ex-boyfriend, Matthew Givens, who is about 5 feet, 5 inches tall. Mario Givens stands well over 6 feet.

“He looked nothing like the description I gave the officers,” Brown said. “He asked the officer why he was at the house. He did it nicely. The police officer said he wanted him to step outside. Then he asked, ‘Why, why do you want me to step outside?’ Then the officer barged inside and grabbed him.”

Moments later, she saw the police officers drag Mario Givens out of the house and throw him in the dirt. Brown said she kept yelling to the officers that they had the wrong man, but they wouldn’t listen. Though Givens was offering no resistance, she said, she saw Slager use the stun gun on him again.

“He was screaming, in pain,” she said. “He said, ‘You tased me. You tased me. Why?’ It was awful. Terrible. I asked the officer why he tased him and he told me to get back.”

“He was cocky,” she said of Slager. “It looked like he wanted to hurt him. There was no need to tase him. No reason. He was no threat — and we told him he had the wrong man.”

She said she later told a female police supervisor what she had seen.

The next day, an angry Mario Givens went downtown to police headquarters and filed a formal complaint. He and his mother say several neighbors who witnessed what happened on the family’s front lawn also contacted the police, though they say officers refused to take their statements.

The incident report filed by Slager and the other officer, Maurice Huggins, provides a very different version of events. In the report, obtained by The AP through a public-records request, Slager wrote that he could not see one of Givens’ hands and feared he might be holding a weapon. He wrote that he observed sweat on Givens’ shirt, which he perceived as evidence that he could have run from Brown’s home, and then ordered him to exit several times.

When Givens didn’t comply, Slager said he entered the home to prevent him from fleeing and was then forced to use his stun gun when Givens struggled with him. The officers’ report describes the Givens brothers as looking “just alike.”

After Mario Givens filed his complaint, the department opened an internal investigation. A brief report in Slager’s personnel file says a senior officer was assigned to investigate. After a couple of weeks, the case was closed with a notation that Slager was “exonerated.”

Brown is listed as a witness in the investigative report, but her purported statement included none of the details she said she provided about Slager shocking Givens while he was on the ground. She said she was never contacted as part of the police investigation and had not spoken with anyone about that night until she was contacted by an AP reporter Wednesday.

The report includes statements from Givens and from another woman who was there that night, Yolonda Whitaker, who said she saw Slager stun Givens “for no reason.” Efforts to reach Whitaker by phone and the addresses listed for her in the police report were unsuccessful.

Givens said he was never contacted as part of the internal investigation and learned the case had been closed only after he went to the station about six weeks later and asked what happened.

“They never told me how they reached the conclusion. Never. They never contacted anyone from that night. No one from the neighborhood,” Givens said.

Givens shook his head Wednesday when asked about his reaction to learning Slager had been charged with murder. Slager is being held without bail.

“It could have been prevented,” Givens said of Scott’s death. “If they had just listened to me and investigated what happened that night, this man might be alive today.”

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Biesecker reported from Raleigh, North Carolina. Associated Press writer Jeffery Collins in North Charleston, South Carolina, contributed to this report.

MADISON (AP) – Republican Rep. Chris Kapenga, of Delafield, says he is running for the state Senate.

Kapenga announced his candidacy on Thursday to replace Republican Sen. Paul Farrow. Farrow won election as Waukesha County executive on Tuesday.

Gov. Scott Walker will have to call a special election once Farrow resigns from his Senate seat. Farrow said Thursday he will not step down until after the state budget is passed and signed into law, likely in June or July.

The Senate district in Waukesha County is heavily Republican. The Senate is currently controlled by Republicans 19-14.

The 43-year-old Kapenga was first elected to the Assembly in 2010. He is a certified public accountant and owns a technology company.

No one else has announced plans to run.

MADISON (AP) – A Wisconsin man traveled to the Middle East in a failed attempt to join the Islamic State group, federal authorities said Thursday.

Joshua Van Haften, 34, of Madison, was arrested Wednesday night at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago after returning on a flight from Turkey. He is charged in a criminal complaint with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

Van Haften was scheduled to appear Thursday morning in federal court in Madison.

The criminal complaint, which had been under seal since Oct. 28, alleges that Van Haften talked to people about his plan before leaving the United States in August for Istanbul.

The complaint cites Facebook posts from Van Haften that said he was unable to cross the border from Turkey into Syria. In one post, Van Haften complained that the people who were supposed to help him just wanted his money, that he had almost no cash left and that he was dropped off on a road in the country and never picked up.

• Click here to read the full complaint

Wisconsin court records showed several previous convictions for Van Haften, including felony battery in 1998, second degree felony sexual assault in 1999 and disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor, in 2007, online court records show. All of the offenses occurred in Rock County.

Van Haften was sentenced to three years’ probation on the battery conviction in 1998, but his probation was revoked in 1999 and he was sentenced to a year in jail. He was sentenced to eight years’ probation on the sexual assault charge in 1999, but that was revoked in 2000. He was then sentenced to seven years in prison.

Check back with fox11online.com throughout the day and watch FOX 11 News at Five for the latest on this story.

MILWAUKEE (AP) – Former Gov. Jim Doyle is remembering his administrative cabinet member as someone who was motivated by his selfless and caring nature.

Marc Marotta died suddenly Wednesday at age 52. Marotta served as secretary of the Department of Administration under Doyle. The former governor said in a statement that Marotta “worked tirelessly to see that schools were funded, that kids received health care, that older people could stay in their homes, and much more.”

Marotta was currently the chairman of the Milwaukee Bucks arena board. The Bucks say Marotta had a “generous heart and an amazing spirit.”

Marotta’s alma mater, Marquette University, was among those confirming his death. Marotta was a three-time Academic All-American as a college basketball star. He was drafted by the New York Knicks after graduating in 1984, but chose Harvard Law School instead.

Oshkosh – The Oshkosh Public Library is hosting a LEGO exhibit called “The Art of the Brick”.

Karla Szekeres joined Good Day Wisconsin Thursday morning to talk about some of the exhibit’s iconic pieces.

Click here for more information.

Walgreens plans to close about 200 U.S. stores as the nation’s largest drugstore chain expands on a $1 billion cost-reduction plan it announced last August.

The Deerfield, Illinois, company said Thursday that it also will reorganize its corporate operations and streamline its information technology and other functions. It expects the moves to add $500 million to its estimate for cost savings from its three-year plan.

The store closings amount to about 2 percent of the 8,232 drugstores it runs in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Walgreen said its moves will lead to a “faster and more agile company.” It expects to book pre-tax charges for the restructuring of between $1.6 billion and $1.8 billion as it implements the program.

Late last year, Walgreens completed a nearly $16 billion deal to purchase the remaining stake of European health and beauty retailer Alliance Boots that it didn’t already own. The company was renamed Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.

Walgreens initially bought a 45 percent stake in Alliance Boots, which runs the United Kingdom’s largest pharmacy chain, in 2012 for about $6.7 billion in cash and stock. Analysts expect Walgreens will get added negotiating muscle over supplies like pharmaceuticals from the Alliance Boots deal and another ownership stake it acquired in pharmaceutical wholesaler AmerisourceBergen Corp. But the drugstore chain disappointed investors last August when it also lowered a forecast for earnings it expects after combining with Alliance Boots.

Walgreens also said Thursday that it earned $2.04 billion, or $1.93 per share, in its fiscal second quarter. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were $1.18 per share.

That topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 14 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 94 cents per share.

But the drugstore chain’s revenue of $26.57 billion fell short of analyst forecasts for $27.73 billion.

Walgreen also announced a forecast for full-year earnings in the range of $3.45 to $3.65 per share.

Analysts expect, on average, earnings of $3.62 per share, according to the data firm FactSet.

Walgreens shares edged up 32 cents to $88 in premarket trading about 90 minutes before the market open. The stock had already climbed about 15 percent so far this year, as of Wednesday.