Green Bay News

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The Ho-Chunk Nation is looking into a development near its Madison casino that could include a sports complex, museum and entertainment venue.

The tribe is working with city officials, property owners and others to explore the potential for almost 48 acres next to Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison.

Mayor Paul Soglin tells the Wisconsin State Journal the city’s interested, but discussions are still at an early stage.

Missy Tracy is the municipal relations coordinator for Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison. She says it’s too early to estimate a cost or timetable.

The leading ideas include a sports complex, cultural attraction or museum and entertainment venue. Tracy says the development could also include retail, lodging and ecotourism.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – It’s Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, where a who’s who of coaches is trying to beat each other to reach Monday’s men’s national title game.

National championships, multiple Final Four appearances, impressive won-loss records year after year. Whatever your criteria for deciding the best of the coaches, this year’s Final Four group has it.

Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski is one ring away from a hand full of championship jewelry. He’s tied with John Wooden for most Final Four appearances and his overall career victory total stands alone at 1,016.

Michigan State’s Tom Izzo has one national title and seven Final Four appearances. He is the Spartans’ all-time winningest coach and he is just five wins from 500 in 20 seasons. Izzo’s upstart Spartans take on Coach K’s Blue Devils in tonight’s first game, which starts just after six p.m. eastern time.

Kentucky’s John Calipari, in addition to being two wins away from an unbeaten season, is trying for a second national title in his sixth Final Four, although trips with Massachusetts and Memphis were vacated for NCAA violations. He has 635 wins. He’s also the runaway AP coach of the year, receiving 40 of the 65 first-place votes.

Wisconsin’s Bo Ryan is in his second straight Final Four at the Division I level, but he led Wisconsin-Platteville to four Division III national championships and two of those were with unbeaten teams. He has a combined win total at three schools of 739 in 31 seasons. Ryan has the AP player of the year in 7-foot center Frank “The Tank” Kaminsky, who’s averaging 18.7 points and 8 rebounds a game while shooting 54.9 percent from the field and 41.5 percent from 3-point range.

Calipari’s 38-0 Wildcats tackle the Badgers in the second national semifinal tonight.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice has issued a Silver Alert for an endangered missing Portage County man.

Officials say Vincent Bach was last seen on Friday, April 3 at 1:30 p.m.

The Stevens Point man is said to be suffering from dementia or some other cognitive impairment.

Bach is missing on foot, but is known to hitchhike and has previously attempted to return to areas of former residences including Marshfield, Spencer, Unity and Medford.

The DOJ issued the Silver Alert statewide because of Bach’s history of hitchhiking, but there is no vehicle information at this time.

Bach is described as 5’4″ tall, 130 lbs. The 82-year-old has gray hair, blue eyes, and no upper teeth. He was last seen wearing a tan coat, black & green cap, blue jeans and black shoes.

If you have any information pertaining to this alert, you’re asked to call the Portage Co. Sheriff’s Office.

MILWAUKEE (AP) – A security guard at Milwaukee’s Notte Nite Lounge was shot and injured after he confronted a group that was denied entry to the nightclub.

WISN-TV reports that the shooting happened about 12:40 a.m. Saturday.

The 44-year-old guard is expected is to survive.

Police say officers arrested a 23-year-old man after a short foot chase. A pistol was recovered that appeared to have been recently fired.

Police are still investigating.

WAUPACA – Michael Roberts is walking across America to raise awareness for amputee veterans.

“From talking to a lot of the amputee veterans, it’s the little things in life that they can’t provide for their families. The can’t take their daughters for a walk. They can’t take their sons for a walk,” Roberts said.

Roberts retired from the military as a staff sergeant in Army. He says he’s always felt like amputee veterans deserve more attention.

“This is for them. This is to show that the people in the United States do care about them still,” Roberts said.

Roberts plans to have his dog, Boots, with him every step of the way.

Along the nearly 9,000 mile trek which he’s calling “Boots 2 Boots”, Roberts will be accompanied by veterans.

Army National Guard Specialist Jamie Ritchie decided to join Roberts at the beginning of his journey in Waupaca. She’s walking with Roberts to Oshkosh.

“There are some  [veterans] that can’t [walk] so I do it for them,” Ritchie said.

As for Roberts, he plans to make stops along the way. He’ll pass through Connecticut, North Carolina, and California. The veteran says his trip will take about a year.

He’s also hoping to raise $10,000 to help fund his walk and help veterans in need.

“The money I’m raising is for homeless veterans that, should I find any along my route, I’m going to provide them with funds. I’m going to give them a coat if they need one, shoes of the need them, and food if they need it,” Roberts said.

For updates on Roberts’ journey click here.

If you’re interested in donating to his Boots2Boots cause click here.

WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) – Police in Waukesha say they’ve arrested a 17-year-old girl for writing messages in a bathroom at South High School that referenced the 1999 Columbine High School shootings.

A police statement Friday said the message read, “This is the new Columbine.”

Police say the girl confessed to the school resource officer and was arrested for disorderly conduct.

Staff at South High School told police they believe there was no real threat to the safety of the school or students. Police say girl used the words because it was a recent topic in one of her classes, and that she didn’t understand it would be perceived as a threat of violence.

The Waukesha School District will handle any internal discipline from the case.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Gov. Scott Walker has transformed Wisconsin politics, winning three elections in four years and signing laws that weaken unions, crippling a key ally of the Democratic Party.

But the likely Republican presidential contender has had less success changing Wisconsin’s economy and budget. The state lags in job growth and its budget faces a shortfall. It’s a record that complicates Walker’s path in early primary states as he sells himself as a reformer.

“Most of his activity was more politically focused than economically, job-creation focused,” said John Torinus, a Milwaukee businessman and venture capitalist who nevertheless praises some of Walker’s moves. “He was going to concentrate on job creation with a laser-like focus and he got distracted.”

Wisconsin has added private-sector jobs at a lower rate than the national average since July 2011 – six months after Walker took office. Walker promised in the 2010 campaign that if elected his policies would create 250,000 private sector jobs. But only about 145,000 such jobs were created over his first four years.

Wisconsin ranked 40th in private sector job growth for the 12 months ending in September, said the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Walker has called hiring in his state the “gold standard” for measuring his performance.

Still, there are positive economic signs Walker relies on to defend his record. Wisconsin’s unemployment rate has dropped from 8.1 percent to 5 percent over his time in office. The state has seen a higher rate of new businesses starting than the rest of the country and income growth for Wisconsin residents has exceeded the national average.

Per capita income growth in Wisconsin exceeded per capita American income growth.

Walker “wasn’t afraid to set big, bold goals to get Wisconsin back on track,” said AshLee Strong, spokeswoman for Walker’s political group, Our American Revival. “The governor is now taking his reform ideas that led to this economic success in Wisconsin and sharing them nationally.”

Heavily reliant on manufacturing, Wisconsin has perennially lagged the nation in job creation and often used fiscal tricks to paper over budget deficits. Walker vowed to change that when he ran in 2010. His most renowned move, just six weeks into his first term in 2011, was to curtail public unions’ collective bargaining power while also forcing them to pay more for pension and health care benefits.

Following weeks of protests, and the fleeing of Democratic state senators for three weeks to try to block a vote, Walker got his way. That drama, along with Walker’s 2012 recall victory and other laws he’s signed legalizing concealed weapons, requiring photo ID at the polls and last month’s right-to-work law, are central in his stump speech as he presents himself as a man of action with a record of conservative accomplishments.

M. Kevin McGee, an economist at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, said Wisconsin’s job performance kept pace with its Midwestern peers until Walker took office. Then it fell behind. His theory: Walker’s public sector union moves, and subsequent benefit cuts, shocked those workers into cutting consumer spending.

“What happened here changed the behavior of enough people in the state that it affected economic growth,” McGee said.

Other analysts question that, noting that Walker’s union changes did save taxpayers $3 billion in health and pension costs, translating into more money in people’s wallets. On the trail, Walker emphasizes those savings and about $2 billion in personal and corporate income tax cuts he also signed into law.

Still, the state isn’t on firm financial ground.

Last year, facing forecasts of a nearly $1 billion increase in tax revenue, Walker and Republicans who control the Legislature passed an $800 million tax-cut package. The state is on pace to collect only about half of the tax revenue previously projected, exacerbating the latest budget problem.

“We dug our own hole,” said former state Sen Mike Ellis, a Republican, adding that he still thinks the fiscal picture is better than when Walker took office.

Heading into this year the state faced an $800 million shortfall just to continue spending at the current level and $2.2 billion when state agency requests were taken into consideration. His plan calls for cutting education money and borrowing more than $1 billion to pay for roads. The proposal has run into widespread opposition, including from Republicans.

Todd Berry, president of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, said Walker’s initial budgets were responsible, but the more recent ones resemble those of his Democratic precedessor, Jim Doyle.

Berry said the state’s lackluster jobs record shows Walker overpromised in the campaign. Governors, he noted, rarely have a significant impact on job creation. “This slow rate of job growth is nothing new,” Berry said.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Once a football hero celebrated in New Orleans for his role in the Saints’ Super Bowl season, Darren Sharper is returning to the city in disgrace to complete plea deals on charges that he drugged and sexually assaulted women.

He has resolved similar charges with pleas in Las Vegas and Arizona and a no-contest plea in Los Angeles under a multi-jurisdictional plea deal announced last month.

His first appearance on federal charges in New Orleans is set for Monday afternoon. A Tuesday hearing is set in state court.

However, it is unclear whether he will enter his final pleas on those days. Monday’s appearance is before a magistrate judge who cannot accept a guilty plea, although an appearance before a district judge could be set later in the day.

Locked up since early last year, he will serve at least another nine years in prison.  Convictions at trial could have meant life in prison.

Sharper, 39, was a safety who had nine interceptions during the Saints’ 2009 season, which ended with a Super Bowl victory in February 2010. He retired after the 2010 season and was working as an analyst for the NFL Network before being fired after the rape allegations surfaced.

He was arrested on suspicion of rape in Los Angeles in January of 2014. Formal charges were filed the following month there, followed by charges in the other states, culminating in December with state and federal grand jury charges in New Orleans.

The two Louisiana state counts of aggravated rape stemmed from accusations that he sexually assaulted two drug-impaired women at his apartment in September 2013.

The federal indictment charged Sharper and another man with distributing the drugs alprazolam, diazepam and zolpidem – more commonly known by the brand names Xanax, Valium and Ambien, respectively – with the intent to commit rape.

On March 20, attorneys announced plans for resolution of the charges in all four states. Sharper, who has been jailed since early 2014, pleaded no-contest in Los Angeles to raping two women he drugged after meeting them in a West Hollywood bar. He will face 20 years in the California case when he’s sentenced July 15. The California no-contest pleas have the same effect as a conviction, and state sentencing rules will have him serve about nine years.

Sharper pleaded guilty March 24 to a reduced felony attempted sex assault charge in Las Vegas. Sentencing is scheduled June 25. Sharper appeared by Internet video hookup from a courtroom in Los Angeles to a courtroom in Las Vegas. The plea agreement calls for Sharper to serve 38 months to eight years in prison for the Nevada conviction, but at the same time as sentences from California, Arizona and Louisiana.

In Arizona, Sharper was quickly sentenced to nine years in prison for his guilty pleas last month to sexually assaulting one woman and trying to sexually assault another woman in November 2013 at a Tempe apartment after a night of drinking at bars.

During Sharper’s sentencing in Phoenix, Superior Court Judge Warren Granville said Arizona agreed to give the federal government primary jurisdiction over Sharper. He also said Sharper will serve his sentence in federal custody, and that the Louisiana case will be resolved through a federal court.

His pleas won’t end the case in Louisiana. The state charges also involve two co-defendants, Erik Nunez and Brandon Licciardi. Licciardi also is a co-defendant in the federal case. Nunez and Licciardi have pleaded not guilty.

Sharper was selected All-Pro six times and chosen for the Pro Bowl five times during a career that included stints with the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings. He played in two Super Bowls, one with the Packers as a rookie and the 2010 game Saints victory.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser stepped down from a drunken driving case this year after he apparently went outside court proceedings and contacted a state lab.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports the court was notified that someone claiming to be Prosser contacted the Laboratory of Hygiene on Feb. 19 and asked questions that could related to the case.

Judges are supposed to decide cases based on facts presented, not information gathered independently.

The day that contact became public, Prosser withdrew.

Messages left Saturday at Prosser’s office and with a court spokesman seeking comment from Prosser weren’t immediately returned to The Associated Press.

Prosser’s withdrawal leaves six judges on the case, which deals with an unsettled area of law on when analysts must testify in drunken driving cases.

MILWAUKEE (AP) – Milwaukee police say they’ve arrested a 15-year-old girl who stole a car with a 14-month-old baby inside from a gas station parking lot.

And police say they caught her as she exited another stolen car later the same evening.

A police statement says a Milwaukee woman left her boy unattended in her car Thursday morning, with the engine running and the keys in the ignition. As the mother was inside the gas station buying a soda, she saw her car drive off with the child inside. Witnesses tried to follow but couldn’t keep up.

An officer found the stolen car about 45 minutes later, still running, with the child in a car seat and unharmed. The boy was reunited with his mother.

The 15-year-old could face juvenile charges.

INDIANAPOLIS – The Wisconsin Badgers are in Indianapolis, getting ready to face Kentucky Saturday night in an NCAA Final Four game.

FOX 11’s Justin Felder is at Lucas Oil Stadium to catch all the action and he joined us live on Good Day Wisconsin.

GARISSA, Kenya (AP) – A survivor of the killings at Garissa University College was found on Saturday, two days after the attack by Islamic extremists killed 148 people.

Cynthia Cheroitich, 19, told The Associated Press from her hospital gurney that she hid in a large cupboard and covered herself with clothes, refusing to emerge even when some of her classmates came out of hiding at the demands of the gunmen from the al-Shabab group.

She was rescued shortly before 10 a.m., according to Kenyan officials.

Cheroitich said she didn’t believe that rescuers urging her to come out of her hiding place were there to help, suspecting at first that they were militants.

“How do I know that you are the Kenyan police?” she said she asked them.

Only when Kenyan security forces had one of her teachers appeal to her did she come out, she said.

“I was just praying to my God,” Cheroitich, a Christian, said of her ordeal.

Cheroitich appeared tired and thirsty, sipping on yoghurt and a soft drink, but otherwise seemed in good health.

She said she drank a lotion because she was so thirsty and hungry while in hiding.

Al-Shabab on Saturday warned of more attacks in Kenya like the assault on Garissa University College, according to the SITE intelligence monitoring group,

The Islamic militant group issued a statement which said the attack on Garissa college was in retaliation for killings carried out by Kenyan troops fighting the rebels in Somalia.

The attack on the college in northeastern Kenya on Thursday killed 148 people.

“No amount of precaution of safety measures will be able to guarantee your  safety, thwart another attack or prevent another bloodbath,” said the statement.

“Kenyan cities will run red with blood … This will be a long, gruesome war of which you, the Kenyan public, are its first casualties,” said the statement, issued on Shabab affiliated webites and Twitter accounts.

(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

SUAMICO – There will be plenty of new and ‘egg-citing’ things to check out at this year’s EggStravaganZoo event at the NEW Zoo.

The fun-filled day starts at 9 a.m. with an Easter egg hunt throughout the Zoo where children can collect eggs in exchanges for treats and prizes.

Visitors can also meet the Easter Bunny and enjoy free games and carousel rides.

Guests are also invited to participate in the event’s first ever marshmallow Peeps show by entering a decorated display made of Peeps marshmallows for a chance to win a prize package from the zoo.

Saturday also marks opening day for the Adventure Park at the NEW Zoo. Visitors can ride the zip line and try their luck in the “Zoo Zip Egg Drop Challenge” to win prizes.

The Adventure Park is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

FOX 11’s Pauleen Le spent the morning checking out what’s in store for this year’s EggStravaganZoo event.

For more information on EggStravaganZoo 2015, click here.

ASHWAUBENON – NEW Motorama, motorsports expo is going on this weekend in Ashwaubenon.

Both Shopko Hall and the Brown County Arena will feature something that the car lover will enjoy.

Some of the organizers with the event joined FOX 11’s Emily Deem and meteorologist Phil DeCastro on Good Day Wisconsin.

The event kicked-off on Friday.  It will continue both Saturday and Sunday.

Click here to learn more about the event.

GREEN BAY – Wings will be a popular item on the menu this weekend!

If you are hosting a party to cheer on the Badgers — we have some great ideas for you!

The folks from Legend Larry’s joined FOX 11’s Emily Deem on Good Day Wisconsin to fry-up some great ideas!

Legend Larry’s offers wings, fried shrimp, great sauces and plenty of side dishes.

Click here to learn more about Legend Larry’s — find a location near you!

At Lucas Oil Stadium Saturday night, Badgers fans will have their hearts in their throats, maybe none more so than the parents of the players.

We wanted to show you the experience through their eyes, so during Wisconsin’s open practice Friday, we caught up with the Ferris family

Matt Ferris is a freshman forward out of Xavier High School in Appleton and his cheering section drove down today.

APPLETON – April First may have come and gone, but that doesn’t mean the fooling around is over.

Friday night was the 5th Annual April Fools’ 5K in Appleton.

In the past runners and walkers have gotten decked out for the April Fools’ 5K. This year was no different.

“Hey, it’s fun to dress in Superman attire!” exclaimed race director Courtney Vosters.

The 2015 theme was super heroes.

“Another opportunity to kick back and to celebrate those people who are heroes everyday!” laughed runner Brian Pierce.

Even the Easter Bunny got in on the fun…or should we call her Super Bunny?

“Easter! It’s Easter weekend, so here’s a super hero Easter Bunny! Just to bring some smiles to some people’s faces,” she told us.

But the run is about more than fooling around. The Orthopedic Sports Institute of the Fox Valley organizes the event for a cause.

“Money’s all going to the school district here in the Appleton area. It’s a fantastic reason to get out and have some fun,” explained Pierce.

“Appleton East, North and West, all of the money raised gets split to their athletic programs,” added Vosters.

Racers told us helping out the local schools is a cause they can get behind.

“Anything that we can do to take some of the pressure of the teachers and the coaches, it makes it worthwhile,” said Pierce.

“It’s just another way that we can help support the kids and have them grow up with a healthy lifestyle,” said Vosters.

And they told us this is a good way to kick off the spring season and a holiday weekend.

“Get out there, have fun and have a Hoppy Easter!” exclaimed the Easter Bunny.

Over its first four years the event raised $60,000 for Appleton Schools.

BROWN COUNTY – Fish sizzled and friend around Northeast Wisconsin tonight.

Good Friday is one of the busiest days of the year for fish fries.
Restaurants say a perch shortage earlier this year had them fearing the worst for the busy Lent season.
It’s the Settlement Bar’s busiest day of the year.

“On Good Friday, we’re just generally busy all day,” said Chuck Bouche.

Chuck Bouche and his staff at The Settlement Bar will coat, batter and fry more than 75 pounds of perch.

But, it’s an inventory they weren’t sure they’d have.

In February, the fish suppliers and other restaurants like the Lorelei Inn told us they were facing a perch shortage.

“It was week to week. We were just getting whatever we could get as the week went on. Our supplier would call us and say hey I have this much, and we’d say sure we’ll take it, whatever we can get,” said Megan Colombo with the Lorelei Inn.

We came back to the Lorelei Inn on Good Friday, and found they had enough fish to go around.

“They ended up having enough perch and as of now, we are ok. But, next week might be another story yet. We made it through, though,” said Colombo.

Restaurants we spoke with said they were able to keep their prices steady. The Settlement says it’s actually seen an increase demand for perch this Lent.

“I guess the lack of perch made people feel like they’re not going to get it, so they came out for it. It’s been a pretty good year for us,” said Bouche.

And folks like Karen Haas say Good Friday isn’t the same without their plate of perch and good friends.

“It’s just the thing you do. It’s in Wisconsin and our parents did it, so we do it, too,” said Karen Haas of Green Bay.

The worries over the perch supply came mainly from poor ice on the Great Lakes. And with the supply in question, the price is also generally up.

GREEN BAY – Two people were injured in a crash in Green Bay early Friday evening.

Police say the crash happened between two vehicles in the intersection of Main and Mason Street around 6:20 p.m.

Police said one of the drivers was cited for drunk driving.

Officials are still investigating how the crash happened.

GREEN LAKE COUNTY – A dairy farm in Green Lake County is going big, really big, to celebrate UW-Madison in the Final Four.

They’ve colored their prize cow in Badger red and it’s getting quite the attention.

There are 1,200 cows at the Hilltop Dairy near Markesan. Some white ones, some black ones. But there is another, number 616, also known as Rhona, that is going red.

The Greenfield family used temporary animal marking paint and a stencil to make the two-foot high “W.”

“It just kind of came to us, I guess. We wanted a way to show that we love our Badgers in a big way, and I guess this is how we did it,” said Andrew Greenfield, Hilltop Dairy.

Andrew Greenfield is a freshman at UW-Madison studying dairy science. He and his Father Loren Greenfield are lifelong basketball fans.

“The ties to the Badgers, it’s just really, really strong. And Rhona just seemed to be this cow that fits the whole March Madness thing,” said Loren Greenfield, Hilltop Dairy.

And what would March Madness be without a little trash talk?

“We’ve been challenging people from Kentucky,” said Greenfield.

“If you know Chick-fil-A, they say eat more chicken, and we thought we’d run with it, and say eat more Wildcat,” he said.

The challenge even included Rhona demonstrating how she “treats” the Wildcat, played by a small, stuffed lion.

“We didn’t know it was going to get this crazy,” said Greenfield.

Greenfield says the big red cow has gone viral. Even Badgers basketball players are getting in on the action.

“I know Bronson Koenig tweeted, and re-tweeted and stuff. Our facebook page is going bonkers lately,” he said.

The Greenfields say the 2,200 pound Rhona seems to enjoy the spotlight.

“This is a great way for us in the dairy industry to not only support ourselves, but the State of Wisconsin, as Wisconsin Badgers,” said Greenfield.

The Greenfields say the non-toxic animal marking paint wears off in about a day.

So, they say they’ll do daily touch-ups, hopefully through Monday.