Green Bay News

MILWAUKEE (AP) – Authorities have identified the 22-year-old Milwaukee woman accused of drunken driving in the crash that killed her 7-month-old son.

Regina Mitchell was charged Thursday with homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle with a prohibited blood-alcohol concentration and driving with a suspended license causing death.

A criminal complaint states Mitchell had a blood-alcohol level of 0.124, about one-and-a-half times the 0.08 limit for drivers in Wisconsin.

Milwaukee police say Mitchell was driving at a high rate of speed when she lost control of her vehicle early Wednesday morning. Police say the vehicle went off the road, struck a fence and a building, and then flipped.

Investigators say the baby was in infant carrier that was not secured in the vehicle.

It wasn’t immediately known if Mitchell has an attorney.

MADISON (AP) – A Dane County Board supervisor has surrendered his pass card and keys to the City-County Building after he opened its doors to more than 100 protesters who were upset about the fatal shooting by a white police officer of an unarmed biracial teenager.

Madison Police Chief Mike Koval said the actions of Supervisor Leland Pan on March 7 were inexcusable and endangered police officers and civilian employees, as well as the protesters themselves, the Wisconsin State Journal reported Friday.

“Our resources were stretched extremely thin, yet the protesters grew in numbers and their anger increased as they neared the police department,” Koval said in a letter of complaint. “In addition to commissioned officers working in this building 24 hours a day, there are civilian employees. Quite frankly, these civilian employees were very scared for their safety.”

Several County Board members are also unhappy, and at least one is considering proposing that the board censure Pan, but board chairwoman Sharon Corrigan said there’s no substantial action the board can take against him.

Pan didn’t respond to the newspaper’s phone and email requests for comment.

But Corrigan said Pan has agreed he won’t seek to regain his pass card and keys.

Travis Myren, the county’s director of administration, said the protesters left peacefully and he was aware of no property damage or injuries.

The protest came after a white Madison police officer shot and killed 19-year-old Tony Robinson on March 6 in an apartment house near the state Capitol. He was responding to calls that Robinson had attacked two people and was running in and out of traffic. Other peaceful protests have taken place several times since then.

GREEN BAY – It’s the first day of Spring!  And to celebrate, Shana and Liz from Make Me Hot Meals are whipping up some tasty, healthy and light Spring Rolls. They’ve paired the rolls with a Strawberry Cilantro Margarita.

Veggie Spring Rolls

spring roll wrappers
water, in bowl
bean thread/cellophane noodles
organic red bell pepper, thinly sliced
organic carrots, shredded
mushrooms, finely chopped
green onions, sliced
garlic powder
onion powder
salt and pepper
olive oil
1/4 c low sodium soy sauce
1/4 c duck sauce

Cook bean three noodles, rinse with cold water and set aside. Lay out spring roll wrappers, 4 at a time. Place a small amount of noodles, organic red bell pepper, organic carrots, mushrooms and green onions on the lower portion of each spring roll wrapper. Sprinkle with garlic, onion, salt and pepper. Folding in the sides first, roll spring rolls. “Seal” by dipping your finger in the water and wetting the edge of the wrapper. Repeat until you have desired amount of spring rolls. Heat a small amount of olive oil, over medium heat, in a pan on the stove. Place spring rolls in oil. Turn as sides brown. Place on paper towel and repeat until all rolls are finished. Combine soy sauce and duck sauce and serve with spring rolls!

Pork Spring Rolls

Pork tenderloin cooked and chopped
spring roll wrappers
water, in bowl
bean sprouts
organic red bell pepper, thinly sliced
red onion, thinly sliced
cilantro, chopped
garlic powder
onion powder
salt and pepper
olive oil
1/2 c duck sauce
1 T garlic chili paste

(Cook pork tenderloin) Chop and set aside. Lay out spring roll wrappers, 4 at a time. Place a small amount of pork, bean sprouts, organic red bell pepper, red onion, and cilantro on the lower portion of each spring roll wrapper. Sprinkle with garlic, onion, salt and pepper. Folding in the sides first, roll spring rolls. “Seal” by dipping your finger in the water and wetting the edge of the wrapper. Repeat until you have desired amount of spring rolls. Heat a small amount of olive oil, over medium heat, in a pan on the stove. Place spring rolls in oil. Turn as sides brown. Place on paper towel and repeat until all rolls are finished. Combine duck sauce and garlic chili paste and serve with spring rolls!
Strawberry Cilantro Margarita
2 cans strawberry Zevia
2 cans lime Zevia
10 strawberries, sliced
1/4 c cilantro leaves
1-2 c silver tequila

Combine ingredients into a pitcher. Refrigerate overnight. Fill pitcher with ice and serve.

We won’t have any snow to greet Spring 2015.

But that wasn’t the case in March of 2005, when Spring was ushered in with a whole lot of snow.

In fact, Winter Storm Isaac blew in just a couple days earlier, as we see in today’s Flashback Friday with Laura Smith.

APPLETON – Students at James Madison Middle School are hard at work transforming a classroom for a deserving teacher.

This is the second year for the Extreme Classroom Makeover project.

Teachers apply for the classroom makeover by submitting the video and students vote on the winning room.

Since March 17, the students have been volunteering during their lunch hour or after school to work on the classroom.

The final reveal is scheduled for March 23.

This year’s Extreme Classroom Makeover will take place in Jessica Zitzelsberger’s Art room.

FOX 11’s Pauleen Le spent the morning checking in on the transformation.

GREEN BAY – We are getting into the basketball spirit on Good Day Wisconsin!

FOX 11’s Emily Deem spent Friday morning on the basketball court at the Downtown YMCA in Green Bay.

People with the Green Bay Southwest High School Drumline, Creations Galore and Copp’s Food joined Emily to celebrate on the hardcourt!

GREEN BAY- We’re welcoming the first day of Spring with some mild weather.

Skies will be partly cloudy with a high around 56.

Spring officially begins at 5:45 p.m.

A cold front moving in from the north Friday night will bring some rain showers into the area, mainly over northern sections.

This cold front then leaves cooler air for the weekend.

Even with mostly sunny skies the high on Saturday only reaches 44, and only 38 on Sunday.

REEDSVILLE- A house near Reedsville was destroyed after an overnight fire.

The fire broke out around midnight on Sans Road.

An official on the scene told us he doesn’t believe anyone lived in the house.

3:30 a.m. Update:

The area around the Memorial Union has been reopened. The University of Wisconsin-Madison Police continue to investigate.
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MADISON- The University of Wisconsin-Madison Police are investigating a bomb threat at the Memorial Union.

Campus police sent out an alert just before 1 a.m. Friday.

Police are asking the public to leave and avoid the area.

We’ll continue to follow this story and bring you updates as we learn them.

OSHKOSH – The motto on the Oshkosh Police cars reads, “know us before you need us.” They’ve recently launched a new way to help citizens get to know what goes on in the department during a day.

It’s not uncommon for the Oshkosh Police Department to take a lot of calls in a day, but some aren’t for help, per se.

“From citizens just asking, you know, ‘we saw some police cars in this area, can you let us know what was going on?'” explained Officer Joe Nichols.

To answer questions like that, the “Blue Chronicle” was born. It’s a daily newsletter providing details about the previous day’s police work.

“Highlight some of the bigger calls that we had in the City of Oshkosh and it informs the public of what actually occurred the previous day,” said Nichols.

According to Nichols the department responds to about 100 incidents a day. Not all of those, like traffic stops, or health assists are chronicle worthy.

He told us, neither is some, personal information.

“Pretty much scrub it down, take the person’s name out of it, if someone’s been arrested, victims’ names,” explained Nichols.

There are a few ways to follow the Blue Chronicle. One is by following the Oshkosh Police Department on social media, another is by signing up for a daily email.

“In order to get on that team email list you have to go to our website,” said Nichols.

Neighborhood Watch Captain Ann Resop told FOX 11 this is a good step for the police.

“People have always, in the past, complained that they’re not communicating with us enough and I think this is a great way to know you’re being communicated with first-hand,” said Resop.

City manager Mark Rohloff told us police need to take more steps like this toward transparency.

“Because the police department is so much the face of any city that when the public has trust in our police department, they have greater trust in the overall community,” Rohloff explained.

“That’s a great thing for all of us as residents here, to know what’s going on,” added Resop.

Officers told us an important item in the Blue Chronicle is a recent string of burglaries. Since January, they said they’ve had about eight reports of people entering homes through unlocked patio doors.

MILWAUKEE (AP) – A former Milwaukee Police officer who was fired after he killed a mentally ill man began trying Thursday to persuade the city’s police commissioners to reinstate him.

A three-commissioner panel started its hearing on whether to give Christopher Manney his job back. Manney shot 31-year-old Dontre Hamilton during a scuffle in a downtown park in April. Manney, who is white, was responding to a call that Hamilton, who is black, was sleeping illegally in the park.

Chief Ed Flynn fired Manney in October, saying Manney improperly decided to frisk Hamilton. Prosecutors concluded in December that Manney shot Hamilton in self-defense, sparking days of peaceful protests led by Hamilton’s family, who have said that Hamilton suffered from schizophrenia.

Manney sat quietly Thursday at a table in dark suit and blue tie. The room was full of people, including members of Hamilton’s family.

Mark L. Thomsen, an attorney working for the police department, said during his opening statements that officers are allowed to frisk people only if they reasonably suspect a person has weapons and poses a threat. Manney never could explain why he thought Hamilton was armed beyond his general belief that homeless people and mentally ill people typically carry knives.

Manney’s attorney, Jonathan Cermele, countered that Manney did indeed have a particular suspicion that Hamilton was armed. He said after Hamilton stood up to speak with him, Hamilton raised his arms as if he expected to be frisked, making Manney think that perhaps Hamilton was more dangerous than he appeared.

Manney then noticed bulges in Hamilton’s clothing, specifically in his right pants pocket, Cermele said. He noted, too, that Manney never got a chance to actually frisk Hamilton before the fight began.

The hearing was expected to stretch into Friday and Saturday. Hearing Examiner Michael Skwierawski said the proceeding could go even longer, perhaps into next week.

CLINTONVILLE – Newly released police dash camera video captured a dangerous, three-county chase through Northeast Wisconsin, all in pursuit of a stolen vehicle.

That vehicle’s Clintonville owner, Joe Steinke, told FOX 11 he couldn’t believe what had happened.

“It reminded me of one of those chases you watch on TV,” said Steinke.

Randall Wilson, 58, is now charged with three felonies in connection with the pursuit.

The nearly 50 mile chase left four squad cars damaged.

Police say Wilson led them on a chase through Waupaca, Shawano, and Marathon counties, ending in Rib Mountain.

“9:30 in the morning, while I’m drinking my coffee, there goes my vehicle,” said Steinke.

Sitting in his office, Steinke could see someone checking out a vehicle on his car lot that wasn’t for sale. It was his wife’s 2008 GMC Denali, sitting right outside his window with the keys in it.

“I just walked toward the door and next thing you know he took off with it,” said Steinke.

That’s when Steinke got in his car and followed the man toward Marion.

“My blood pressure was probably through the roof and my heart was racing, like I said I didn’t know him, but I didn’t know if he had a weapon on him or that, so that was the scariest part,” said Steinke.

Steinke kept following until police took over.

“He refused to stop,” said Captain Jim Beggs of the Clintonville Police Department. “Our vehicle came off from the south, supported the Marion vehicle. They headed out to Highway 45 and then north on Highway 45 into Shawano County, where Shawano attempted to assist us.”

Authorities tried stop sticks, but the vehicle made its way to Highway 29 and eventually into Marathon County.

“It was a necessity to get him stopped because when he showed intent to place others at extreme risk, we weren’t sure exactly what his intent was,” said Lt. Mark Wagers of the Marathon County Sheriff’s Department.

Eventually, deputies were able to take Wilson into custody after they say the SUV was too damaged to drive.

Two days later, Steinke has been able to see everything his vehicle went through.

“Watching the video back, the vehicle that you put your kids in and your baby seats are in, it’s flying through ditches and everything,” said Steinke. “It’s kind of surreal to see that.”

Now he has the vehicle back where it belongs. However, it won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

“It looked like a big tank, that’s why I put my kids in there,” said Steinke. “It’s demolished now, but the main thing is no one got hurt, no officers got hurt.”

Investigators say Wilson told them he heard voices on the radio that told him to keep going.

He is being held on a $50,000 cash bond. Wilson appeared in a Marathon County court room Wednesday. A competency hearing has been scheduled for next month.

Clintonville Police say they had seven complaints about Wilson since March 7th. They were mostly from businesses that he was causing a disruption. However, police say none of the incidents were anything Wilson should have been arrested for.

PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis. (AP) – A southeastern Wisconsin couple who did not appear in court has been convicted of mistreating animals the same day two unidentified bodies were found on their property.

The Kenosha News reports a jury Thursday found David and Paula White each guilty of 11 counts of felony mistreatment of animals causing death.

Early Thursday, firefighters were called to a farmhouse fire on the Whites’ property. Police Chief David Smetana of the Village of Pleasant Prairie confirms the bodies of two people were found.

Smetana says the bodies have not been identified, and authorities don’t know the cause of death. Autopsies are scheduled Friday.

The Whites were accused of animal neglect after five dead horses were found in stalls at their farm in 2013. Nearly two dozen horses, some malnourished, were seized.

MANKATO, Minn. (AP) – Authorities in Minnesota say three would-be burglars picked the wrong time to pocket-dial 911.

Blue Earth Sheriff’s Capt. Rich Murry says a dispatcher took the call early Thursday morning and heard two voices on the other end. Murry says what she could hear of the conversation suggested the men were involved in a theft or burglary.

Murry says officers were able to use the 34-minute call to figure out where the men were. They and arrested them and a third suspect. He says one of the last things heard on the unintentional 911 call was, “I think I see the police,” followed by sounds of running.

KTOE-AM reports Murry says officers found that a Mankato supply business had been ransacked, with cash and other items taken.

FREEPORT, Ill. (AP) – A woman is being held in Wisconsin who authorities in Illinois say had 85 live dogs and at least 65 dead dogs and cats at a rural rental house.

The Journal-Standard reported that 45-year-old Tina McKinnon was taken into custody in Linn, Wisconsin early Thursday and faces charges of felony aggravated animal cruelty and misdemeanor cruel treatment to animals.

The animals were found Monday morning by Cole Eshleman, the property’s owner, who heard barking while working in a machine shed. More than 30 dogs ran out when he opened the door, he said. He said McKinnon moved in after Christmas.

Animal control warden Kristin Laue said the dogs were given free rein in the house.

“There were feces all over the house, urine, of course, dogs everywhere: dogs in closets, dogs in the stove, in the duct work,” Laue said.

The woman in the house near Freeport, Illinois had contacted animal control and an animal rescue organization in recent weeks, and she told them she was a rescuer and needed help, Laue said. The woman gave away a few animals but didn’t hold up her end of other agreements.

“We tried to help her, but she never took us up on it,” Laue said. “It was just a matter of time before something happened where we found out where she was.”

A local animal hospital is holding most of the dogs, and others are at area shelters. Laue said some dogs would be available for adoption when animal control has a judge’s permission.

Donations are being accepted at the animal hospital, including small towels and rags, newspapers, dog food and dish soap.

Stephenson County, Illlinois Sheriff’s Department officials say they are coordinating with Walworth County, Wisconsin officers for McKinnon’s extradition.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Considering the scare Coastal Carolina gave Virginia last year, Wisconsin fans can be assured the Badgers are giving their opening opponent in the NCAA Tournament their full attention.

The Chanticleers are back as a No. 16 seed, and they will be taking aim at the West Region’s top-seeded Badgers on Friday. A No. 16 seed has never won a game in the round of 64.

Coastal Carolina led by 10 points in the first half against Virginia last March and by five at halftime before losing 70-59.

Badgers coach Bo Ryan said Coastal Carolina (24-9) has shown it’s capable of playing against anybody.

The Badgers (31-3) swept the Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles after reaching the Final Four last year.

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

VALPARAISO, CHILE (CNN) – In Chile, rescue crews and volunteers were surprised when they found nine puppies inside a hole after forest fires in Valparaiso last week.

Apparently, the mother of the puppies, a dog named Negrita, dug a hole in the ground to protect her litter.

It took about an hour to lift all of the puppies out of the hole.

They are all going to be OK.

MADISON — No other team in Northeastern Wisconsin makes the trip to the boys state basketball tournament more than N.E.W. Lutheran.

The Blazers were making their third straight trip to the state tournament on Thursday and fifth trip in six seasons, but in the previous five trips the Blazers never left with a gold ball.

N.E.W. was hoping for a different outcome but first it had to get by Hillsboro in a state semifinal. In a back-and-forth game, the Blazers were left with the ball in their hands in the final seconds trailing by two points.

Nathaniel Schaefer put up a challenged jump shot from about 17 feet that drew nothing and with it N.E.W., last year’s state runner-up, fell short once again at the Kohl Center, 59-57.

“We had a couple options,” N.E.W. coach Mark Meerstein said. “We got a little frazzled. I tried to get one (timeout) … get us a chance to drive.”

N.E.W. Lutheran-Hillsboro Boxscore

Prior to Schaefer putting up the final shot, Meerstein was calling timeout but no official heard or saw him.

For N.E.W. (16-12), though, it looked like it wouldn’t come down to the final seconds midway through the third quarter. With leading scorer Noah Gosse benched in foul trouble, the Blazers opened a 47-39 lead (18-8 run). It was the best stretch of play for the Blazers.

I thought we came out in the third quarter the way we were supposed to start the game,” Meerstein said. “We came out with some intensity. That’s how we’ve been playing. First half we came out tight and it wasn’t because we were nervous. It happens sometimes.”

“The team played well,” Gosse said in reference to when he was on the bench. “In the fourth quarter we let it slip away.”

Hillsboro (23-5) managed a 52-52 tie midway through the fourth quarter and then the Blazers let the game get away. The Tigers scored six straight points to up the lead to 58-52 with 2:06 to play.

N.E.W. whittled the lead to 58-57 and then after one free throw the Blazers had their chance only to see their final shot end their season one game short of the goal.

“We got down six at the end but gave ourselves a chance at the end,” Meerstein said. “I didn’t think we played exceptionally, but we had a chance at the end to win. If we win it, the rest of the game doesn’t matter anymore. I don’t think we did the best we could’ve today.”

Maybe not, but once again N.E.W. Lutheran ended its season in Madison with a host of new players. It hasn’t ended in the Blazers’ favor over the last six seasons, but the team knows it accomplished a lot, especially after opening the season 2-8.

“Ending you season at the Kohl Center is a great thing,” Gosse said. “Obviously, we had a great year. Ending at the Kohl Center is how I wanted it to end.”

“Our kids, for the most part, were all new to this,” Meerstein said. “This was great, from the hotel to the bus ride over here to stepping on the Kohl Center floor.”

Follow Doug Ritchay on Twitter @dougritchay

SCANDINAVIA – A new approach to an essential Wisconsin industry is underway at a Waupaca County farm.

The Mill Stream Dairy near Scandinavia opened last year, and is being run largely on auto-pilot.

On the sixth generation family farm in Waupaca County, Dan Peterson and his wife Sommer are trying something new.

A robotic milking system is the first in the county. 90 cows have numbers, and computer chips placed inside their ears.

“The computer knows if they have milk permission. They’ll get sorted out by the sorting gates and led then into the holding area,” said Dan Peterson, Mill Stream Dairy.

Peterson says the cows are prepped, and then milked. Each cow is milked according to its needs, about three times a day. A camera watches as Peterson monitors on a computer, or smart phone.

“You can do anything you want. You can chase, allow the cows in. We can throw it in the wash, do just about any task. Re-start to get them up and running if they fail, or if there’s trouble with one,” said Peterson.

And there is an automatic feed-pushing unit which slowly trolls the barn keeping the hay close to the hungry cows.

“It hopefully stimulates the cows to get up and maybe attract them to the feed which they do a loop around the barn to get to the feed,” said Peterson.

Peterson says by opening a robotic farm, he was able to get by with less staff than a traditional operation.

Aside from family, he has one full-time worker.

Agricultural agents say each robotic milker can cost about $200,000, keeping many farmers away.

“Aside from the money part, there’s also that training involved. Learning computer programs, learning how to maintain the system and all the unique challenges that that system has,” said Liz Binversie, Brown County Agriculture Agent.

Peterson says he’s learning everyday, and it’s an investment he and his family don’t regret.

“I definitely would do this again. I think this is the only way to go in my eyes,” he said.

Ag officials say there are about 150 robotic milk parlors in the state.

That’s out of a more than 11,000 dairy farms in Wisconsin.

If you want to learn more about them, the Mill Stream Dairy will host an open-house, next week on Saturday, March 28.

Del Monte Foods has announced plans to close its Sager Creek Vegetable Company facilities in Pulaski and Oconto Falls, putting both full-time and seasonal employees out of work.

The state Department of Workforce Development says a total of around 41 salaried and hourly employees and approximately 200 seasonal employees will be affected by the closings.

Del Monte recently bought Sager Creek Vegetable Company.

FOX 11’s Kelly Schlicht is working on this story and will have more information as it becomes available here at http://www.fox11online.com and on FOX 11 News at Nine.