Green Bay News

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Greg Jennings was comfortable enough in Minnesota to want to settle there after retirement. Mike Wallace was initially disinterested in playing for the Vikings because of the cold climate.

After a pair of sudden roster moves, spicing up an opening week of the NFL’s transactions period that started quietly for the Vikings, Jennings is gone and Wallace has replaced him.

The Vikings released Jennings on Saturday, roughly 18 hours after their trade for Wallace was finalized. Jennings would have counted $11 million against their salary cap this year, so after two unremarkable years with the team he was the latest veteran around the league with a big contract to be let go with less than half of the contract length fulfilled.

Wallace likely would have found himself in that situation with Miami, had the Dolphins not dealt him and a seventh-round draft pick for a fifth-round selection from the Vikings. He brought a $9.9 million salary cap hit for 2015, after playing the last two seasons for the Dolphins on a five-year contract worth as much as $60 million with $30 million guaranteed.

However, the Vikings could cut him in 2016 without any cap hit or future financial obligation. Wallace, in a conference call with reporters, said his deal has not been redone.

His outlook on coming to Minnesota has changed after two disappointing seasons with the Dolphins.

The Vikings pursued him in 2013 before signing Jennings when Wallace went with Miami, and Wallace said on Saturday that his decision was based largely on the weather.

“Palm trees versus trees with no leaves, you know?” Wallace said. “And that was then. This was now. I’m excited to be here.”

He said this on a sunny afternoon with the temperature near 60 degrees in Minneapolis, the type of spring conditions that are often in short supply in Minnesota.

“I kind of feel like everybody is trying to trick me and get me to think the weather is nice,” Wallace said. “One of my good friends, Jamarca Sanford, played here. So he told me about the weather. He told me the weather’s not the best, but the people are great.”

The Vikings have one more season outdoors at their temporary home at the University of Minnesota before moving into their new fully covered stadium downtown.

“Mike’s not going to be outside alone. So as long as I look at somebody else and they freezing their tail off, I think I’ll be fine,” Wallace said.

Wallace was benched by Dolphins coach Joe Philbin in the second half of their final game last season after an argument between the 28-year-old and the coaching staff. Wallace led the Dolphins with 10 touchdowns in 2014, but he rarely clicked with quarterback Ryan Tannehill on long passes and was unhappy he wasn’t targeted more.

Wallace used the words “fresh start” often in his interview on Saturday.

“I wish things could’ve ended better, but that’s life,” Wallace said.

Vikings players Charles Johnson and Captain Munnerlyn were among those who expressed surprise and dismay on Twitter after Jennings was let go, but Wallace took the news in stride about a teammate he never had.

“I got traded yesterday, so nothing surprises me,” Wallace said, adding: “It’s all business. That’s one thing I never will forget about this game.”

The Vikings have been lacking a true, consistent deep threat for the last decade, since they traded Randy Moss, and when his name came up on Saturday Wallace said if he “could be half as good as that guy” then he would “be fine.” With Johnson’s emergence last year, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater should have a couple of options for stretching the field.

The jettison of Jennings likely will elevate the role of wide receiver Jarius Wright in the slot position. He was second on the Vikings with 588 yards receiving. Other returning wide receivers are Cordarrelle Patterson, coming off a disappointing 2014 season, and Adam Thielen, an undrafted player from Division II Minnesota State who was one of the biggest success stories on last year’s team.

Jennings led the Vikings last season with 742 yards and six touchdowns. The $45 million, five-year contract he signed in 2013 came with nearly $18 million guaranteed, and a $6 million salary cap hit in dead money for 2015 after his release. But the Vikings have the option to designate Jennings as a post-June 1 release, a tool teams can use to spread out the cap hits of a recently released player over multiple seasons. That would save the Vikings another $4 million under their cap for 2015, after June 1.

The other major looming roster matter remaining, of course, is the status of running back Adrian Peterson. Team officials have met with him twice this month, but the Vikings still must decide whether to trade him, release him, give him a new contract or bring him back.

The Vikings also wrapped up a visit on Saturday with free agent defensive end Michael Johnson, who left town without a contract. He’s also considering returning to the Cincinnati Bengals.

___

AP NFL websites: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL

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

CHICAGO (AP) – Bronson Koenig scored a career-high 19 points and No. 6 Wisconsin beat Purdue 71-51 on Saturday to advance to the Big Ten Tournament championship.

The top-seeded Badgers trailed by five points at halftime, then held the Boilermakers to 24 percent shooting after the break in their fifth straight victory. Frank Kaminsky led the strong defensive effort and finished with 12 points and Nigel Hayes had 15.

Wisconsin (30-3) reached 30 wins for the fourth time and can match the school record for victories with a win in Sunday’s final against the winner of the second semifinal between Michigan State and No. 8 Maryland. The Badgers also bolstered their case for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament after Virginia and Duke lost on Friday.

A.J. Hammons had 10 points – all in the first half – and seven rebounds for No. 4 seed Purdue (21-12), which managed just six field goals in the final 20 minutes. A.J. Thompson and Kendall Stephens each had nine points.

The Boilermakers led by five at the break, but the Badgers opened the second half with a 14-3 run. Kaminsky, who got off to a sluggish start, seemed to find his game by playing tough defense on Hammons, and Koenig scored five straight points to help the Badgers to a 44-38 lead with 13:51 left.

Thompson’s three-point play got Purdue within 46-44, but the Badgers responded with 13 straight points. Kaminsky started it with a jumper and also found Sam Dekker for a fast-break dunk that drew a big cheer from the pro-Wisconsin crowd at the United Center.

Dekker finished with 15 points and eight rebounds for Wisconsin, which shot 57 percent in the second half.

Hammons helped Purdue get off to a nice start with three blocked shots on help defense in the first half, including two on Kaminsky. He also showed off his offensive skills after Koenig scored five points in a 9-2 Wisconsin run that tied it at 30 with 1:09 left.

Coming out of a timeout, the Boilermakers threw it inside to Hammons, and the junior connected on a jump hook. Thompson hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds to make it 35-30 at halftime.

TIP-INS

Purdue: The Boilermakers advanced with a 64-59 victory over Penn State on Friday. … Purdue went 7 for 14 from 3-point range.

Wisconsin: The Badgers outrebounded the Boilermakers 35-27 and have won the rebounding battle in 24 of their 33 games this season. … Wisconsin has 25 double-digit wins.

UP NEXT

Purdue waits to see where it’s headed for the NCAA Tournament.

Wisconsin faces Maryland or Michigan State in Sunday’s Big Ten Tournament final.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Freedom of information advocates in Wisconsin say the state’s law makes it too easy for officials to drag their feet in filling requests.

The state statute says those receiving requests are to fill them “as soon as practicable and without delay,” but that term leaves room for interpretation, said Bill Lueders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council. And some requesters say they’ve waited months for documents.

Orville Seymer, a top official with conservative group Citizens for Responsible Government, said he waited nearly four months for a records request he made to Milwaukee Public Schools when he wanted to verify an award claimed by a group. Requests to other organizations have also taken months to complete, he said.

“I’m being ignored,” Seymer said. “Journalists have a little bit more moxie, they can put a little more pressure on them to get their request. I can’t do that.”

Seymer said he doesn’t understand why it should take so long for custodians to hand over information in the digital age when they can search and obtain documents electronically rather than searching through filing cabinets.

Mike Browne, deputy director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now, said he has had a few experiences with requests that took months to process. Browne said he waited weeks to receive acknowledgement for a request from the Department of Justice.

“That was an easy request that could have been handled in an hour,” Browne said.

Rep. Cory Mason, a Racine Democrat, said he hasn’t heard complaints about the existing law. He said due to the varying types of requests custodians face it would be difficult to set a definite deadline.

“We have to find ways to get custodians to respond as quickly as they can, but I don’t think there can be a universal time stamp required for these returns,” Mason said.

Lueders said part of the sworn duties of elected officials is to process these requests, but many do not allocate the resources to do so in a timely fashion.

“It’s just too important a function of government to be accountable to the people whose money you take,” Lueders said.

Lueders says unless Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel provides guidance to the people and agencies filling requests about the maximum wait time permissible or a court rules in favor of someone seeking documents, a more definite standard is unlikely.

Schimel said promoting open government is one of his top priorities. Anne Schwartz, spokeswoman for the state Department of Justice, said in a statement Friday that Schimel plans to host a summit to discuss existing holes in Wisconsin’s open records law. Schwartz didn’t yet have details about that event.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Hundreds of people are expected to converge on a high school field house in Wisconsin’s capital city on Saturday to mourn the death of a 19-year-old biracial man who was fatally shot last weekend by a white police officer.

Tony Robinson, whose mother is white and father black, died March 6 after what police say was a confrontation in which he assaulted the officer. A preliminary autopsy showed Robinson was shot in his head, torso and right arm. The autopsy did not say if he was facing or turned away from the officer, who was identified as Matt Kenny.

Robinson’s death was the latest in a string of shootings by police nationwide that have heightened racial tensions. Some protests turned violent in Ferguson, Missouri after an unarmed black man was fatally shot last August, and this week two policemen were injured from gunfire during a demonstration in front of the Ferguson Police Department.

Protests have been peaceful in Madison, where blacks make up only about 7 percent of the 240,000 population. The shooting has highlighted local concerns, prompting open letters from nearly 90 religious leaders and many local politicians calling for action to bridge racial inequality.

Demonstrators on Wednesday marched to the home of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a likely Republican presidential candidate, and posted on the gate a list of demands including an end to what they called unequal policing of poor, black neighborhoods and an increase in funding for public schools. Walker was not there at the time.

Madison police have been more conciliatory than their counterparts in Ferguson since the shooting. Police Chief Mike Koval rushed to the home of Robinson’s family on the night of the killing and prayed with the man’s grandmother in the driveway. He has emphasized the right of protesters to march peacefully.

Under a new Wisconsin law that requires an outside agency to look into fatal police shootings, a state agency has stepped in to investigate.

CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE – Governor Scott Walker’s east coast tour continued today with a speech in New Hampshire.

During his speech Walker talked about the economy and said his Democratic opponents believe economic growth starts in Washington, D.C.

“We grow the economy in cities and towns and villages all across this great country. People create jobs not the government and it’s about time we have leaders that we have leaders that want to help the people of this country grow the economy.”

The governor also talked about reform.

“This president and his allies tend to measure success and government by how many people are dependent on the government…we should measure success by just the opposite; by how many people are no longer dependent on the government,” Walker said.

Walker’s speech is one of many he’s had throughout the country but he still hasn’t formally announced a run for presidency.

The governor has already created a fundraising group, called “Our American Revival.”

He has also hired aids to work on his potential campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire.

FOX 11’s Gabrielle Mays will have the full story tonight on FOX 11 News at Nine.

TOWN OF ROYALTON – The Waupaca County Sheriff’s Department says one person was killed in a hit and run crash early Saturday morning.

The sheriff’s department says around 2:20 a.m. a pickup truck traveling eastbound on Highway 22-54 crossed the centerline near County Trunk Highway KK and struck a westbound mini van.

The driver of the van was pronounced dead on scene.

Authorities say the driver of the truck left the scene but was later located.

The crash remains under investigation.

The name of the victim has not been released.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Scott Walker’s rivals see him as an up-and-comer in the Republican race for president, so they are focusing on the Wisconsin governor’s changing positions on a number of issues.

The still-unofficial campaigns of several Republicans have assembled internal memos, research papers and detailed spreadsheets that highlight and track Walker’s shifts on positions from immigration to ethanol to abortion.

They say Walker has a broad pattern of flip-flopping that will be his greatest vulnerability.

The rush of what’s known in the campaign trade as “opposition research” comes as Walker is in midst of a swing through two early voting states. He travels next week to South Carolina after spending this weekend in New Hampshire.

Steve Duprey, a Republican national committeeman from New Hampshire who is not aligned with any candidate, said Walker is relatively unknown among voters in his state – meaning the governor is subject to definition by his opponents.

“You have to be an authentic candidate,” Duprey said. “If people think you’re flipping left and right, that sticks with you.”

Walker has earned strong reviews for his early performances in Iowa and at several forums attended by other expected Republican presidential candidates.

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who ran for president in 2012, said Friday that Walker and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush are the leading candidates for the Republican nomination.

“Scott is from a Midwestern state, but he has a national profile and a national fundraising capability,” Pawlenty said. “The non-Jeb money is increasingly flowing to him, and he’s used to communicating red messages in blue places.”

In the past week, aides working for other Republicans expected to run in 2016 have circulated materials that highlight Walker’s change in position on immigration, ethanol mandates, Common Core education standards, abortion and right-to-work legislation.

One campaign has a spreadsheet that outlines when Walker changed a position in comparison to 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney. The analysis found that Walker’s shifts on more than a dozen issues came an average of 15 months before the Iowa caucuses – almost a year later than did Romney’s.

“Voters still don’t know the real Scott Walker,” said veteran Republican operative John Feehery, who is not aligned with any of the potential candidates. “And if he thinks he can get them to like him merely by saying things that they want to hear, he is going to run into the same problem that plagued Mitt Romney: authenticity.”

AshLee Strong, spokeswoman for Walker’s campaign-in-waiting, said each issue needs to be examined in detail to better understand his positions.

“Gov. Walker has a proven record of championing big, bold reforms in Wisconsin to limit the government and empower people,” Strong said. “It’s lazy and inaccurate to simply lump all issues into one narrative instead of actually examining the facts.”

Walker has acknowledged changing his some positions, most notably on immigration. As early as 2002, he publicly supported creating a pathway to citizenship for immigrants living in the country illegally. In an interview with Fox News this month, Walker said he no longer supports what he termed “amnesty.”

He defended his shift in view, saying he had done so after talking to governors of border states and voters nationwide. “My view has changed. I’m flat out saying it,” he said. “Candidates can say that. Sometimes they don’t.”

In the heat of his re-election campaign last year, Walker softened his position on abortion, saying in a television ad that the decision on whether to have an abortion is between “a woman and her doctor.”

This month, after drawing criticism from conservatives, Walker said he would sign a bill banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

As a candidate for governor in 2006, Walker was critical of the requirement that gasoline contain a certain amount of corn-based ethanol. “Mandates hurt Wisconsin’s working families,” he said at the time. “And whether they are from Washington or Madison, we as fiscal conservatives should oppose them.”

Speaking at an agriculture summit in Iowa last week, Walker said the fuel standard that requires the use of ethanol is “something he’s willing to move forward on.”

Walker’s first budget as governor supported the Common Core academic standards in 2011, but he called for their repeal last summer. During his recent re-election campaign and in the months that followed, Walker said an effort to pass right-to-work legislation in Wisconsin would be a distraction and he urged lawmakers not to address it.

Last week, after the Wisconsin Legislature did so, he signed the bill into law.

A former Republican National Committee chairman, Michael Steele, said he has heard from other Republicans about Walker’s shifts on policy positions. Steele said it is a matter that will play in the presidential primaries.

“If you’ve taken positions and done things, you’ve got to stay true to that. You cannot reframe it for a presidential race,” Steele said. “Everyone’s trying to find a way to carve these men and women up before they even get out of the gate.”

Caswell – The Forest County Sheriff’s Department says one person was killed Friday night in a traffic crash.

The sheriff’s department says pickup truck traveling on Highway 139 in the Township of Caswell around 10:00 p.m. left the road and crashed into a driveway embankment.

The driver, a 46-year-old Seymour man, was ejected from the pickup and was pronounced dead at the scene by the Forest County Medical Examiner.

The crash remains under investigation.

The victim’s name has not been released pending notification of family members.

GREEN BAY – We are gearing up for St. Patrick’s Day and so are area businesses!

Chad Lardo and Meg Pasterski with The Woods Golf Club and Blitz Sports Pub in Green Bay joined FOX 11’s Emily Deem and Doug Higgins to create some great drinks and food.

Click here to learn more about The Woods Golf Club and Blitz Sports Pub.

Shepherd’s Pie

Ingredients:
Meat Filling
1 T. Vegetable Oil
6 oz. Ground Beef
¼ c. Onion, diced
¼ c. Carrot, sliced thick
1 t. Lawry’s seasoning salt
½ t. Black Pepper
½ c. Guinness
½ c. Beef Gravy
Mashed Potatoes
3 Russet Potatoes
2 T. Butter
1 ½ t. Kosher Salt

2 oz. Shredded Cheddar/Monterey Jack Cheese Blend
½ t. Parsley

Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet or sauce pan.  Add onions and carrots and sauté.  Add ground beef and cook until browned.  Season with seasoning salt and pepper.  Add Guinness to deglaze the pan.  Allow to reduce for about 5 minutes.  Add gravy and simmer 5-10 minutes.  Transfer to a bakeable dish.

In a separate pan, peel, dice and boil potatoes.  Cook until soft and able to be mashed.  Drain, add butter and salt and mash to a smooth consistency.  Add on top of meat and gravy.  Sprinkle with cheese and parsley and bake at 400 degrees for 5-10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and potatoes are slightly browned.
Irish Root Beer Float
1 oz. Jameson Irish Whiskey
1 oz. Bob’s Root Beer Whiskey
1 oz. Bailey’s Irish Cream
1/2 oz. Dr. McGillicuddy Raw Vanilla
3/8 oz. Half & Half

Mix the first 4 ingredients with ice. Strain into martini glass. Pour half & half around the outside rim of the glass. Serve cold.

Doug Higgins’ Irish Delight
2 oz. Rum Chata
1 oz. Green Creme de Menthe
1 oz. Bailey’s Irish Cream
1/2 oz. Milk or Cream
Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup

Line a martini glass with chocolate syrup. In a shaker, mix the other 4 ingredients with ice and shake. Strain and serve in the chocolate-coated glass.

GREEN BAY- Saturday was FOX 11 Meteorologist Doug Higgins’ last day at the station and in television.

He’s starting a new career in Green Bay.

In order to send him off the best way we know how, we threw together a few videos and a photo montage from Doug’s days as a weatherman.

We are going to miss Doug and wish him well in his future.

GREEN BAY – St. Patrick’s Day isn’t until Tuesday, but Green Bay will be celebrating early with its annual parade, Saturday.

The parade starts at 10:30 a.m. at the Shopko landing behind Hagemeister Park and will end at St. Brendan’s Inn for traditional music and family friendly events.

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

For more information on the parade, click here.

ASHWAUBENON – Yesterday high temperature was 63, that was the first 60 degree day since October 27th of last year when we hit 68 in Green Bay. The average high for today is 38 degrees.

Temperatures will be a bit cooler today but still well above normal for this time of year.

We’ll have partly sunny skies with a high of 53 and breezy northwest winds at 10 to 20 mph.

Sunday’s high will reach 57 with a mix of sun and clouds.

The mild weather will continue Monday with highs near 60 and some scattered rain showers in the afternoon.

Temperatures will cool on Tuesday with highs only in the lower 40s.

MADISON (AP) – Saying that biking in Wisconsin is a cyclical thing is true in more ways than one.

First, the state was among the leaders when bicycling had its first boom in the late 19th century. Then, when bicycling became a big deal again 100 years later, the state became and remains a big part of the national story.

That’s what’s at the heart of a new exhibit at the Wisconsin Historical Society that looks at two “booms” of bicycling and makes connections between them. “Shifting Gears: A Cyclical History of Badger Bicycling” is scheduled to run until Oct. 10.

“We’re trying to draw a bigger, broader picture of bicycling,” Joe Kapler, curator of cultural history for the Wisconsin Historical Society, told the Wisconsin State Journal. “We’re using history to take something everyone knows and make connections.”

The exhibit is a partnership with the History Museum at the Castle in Appleton, where the exhibit will go after its run in Madison. It’s also an extension of the Wisconsin Historical Society Press book that came out last year about the early years of bicycling, “Wheel Fever: How Wisconsin Became a Great Bicycling State.” It was written by Nick Hoffman, who is chief curator at the Appleton museum, and Jesse Gant, a UW-Madison history Ph.D. candidate.

“It’s not ‘Wheel Fever – The Gallery Version,'” Kapler said. “We thought we could bring the story forward. We thought we could connect the 1800s with today.”

The oldest “bike” in the exhibit wasn’t even called a bike at the time; it’s an 1869 “velocipede” on loan from Budget Bicycle Center in Madison. The term “bicycle” came later in the century.

Shoot ahead almost 150 years to three very modern bikes that tell the story of what’s happening now: a tiny bike one of the Green Bay Packers rode during the summer training camp tradition of kids loaning their bikes to players; a fat bike called the Fattywompus built by Badger Cycle Works of Appleton; and one of the first B-cycle rent-a-bikes.

“You may not think you’ll see brand new things in a museum,” Kapler said. “But we tell the Wisconsin story. And that story may be days old or decades old.”

B-Cycle No. 99, which had been parked on Capitol Square, has been used 657 times since May 2011. It might be new, Kapler and Hoffman say, but it’s a key part of the story of bicycling in Wisconsin because it touches on the themes of the exhibit: industry – it was made by Waterloo-based Trek – advocacy and transportation. Besides, Kapler points out, it’s not that new.

“It’s all beat up,” he said. “We’ll call that ‘patina.'”

In between are bikes that represent some of the various aspects of cycling. There’s a wooden bicycle made in Grant County, high-wheeled bikes and bikes known as “bone-shakers” for the bumpy rides they provided.

A colorful, tricked-out 1941 bike that would make Pee-wee Herman jump for joy took its design cues from the automobile. The Autocycle Deluxe came from a collector in Cudahy and features headlights, a fake gas tank, a speedometer and a built-in, key-operated lock.

“It’s training you to remember you own keys,” Kapler said.

There are also bikes that bring visitors into the present – a racing bike from Wisconsinite Tom Schuler, a member of the famed 7-Eleven team of the 1980s, one built by former Trek frame-builder Mike Appel under his own name and a contemporary custom bike made by Sotherland Custom Bicycles of Whitewater.

There are 23 bikes in the exhibit, most on loan. By writing the book, Hoffman and Gant had the connections to know where the bikes were. Kapler and WHS staff hit the road to go get them from private collectors and other museums in the state.

“You’re not going to see this mix of bikes anywhere else,” Kapler said.

But the exhibit is not just about looking at bicycles. It’s looking at four main themes important to bicycling in the 19th century and late in the 20th century and beyond – tourism, manufacturing (both the industry and the handcrafted), advocacy and recreation.

Wisconsin’s role in all of that has been important twice, the exhibit’s organizers say. The first era began on Jan. 7, 1869 when what was believed to be the first velocipede ride happened in Wisconsin. That was a man named Joshua G. Towne, who rode down the icy streets of Milwaukee.

It took further into the 1880s for bicycling to really catch on in the U.S. and Wisconsin, where the Andrae family of Milwaukee became well-known in the sport and manufacturing world. Bikes became more affordable and organizations such as the League of American Wheelmen worked to advocate for bicyclists and for better roads.

In 1895, Wisconsin had the highest League of American Wheelmen membership in what it considered the “western” states. An 1896 Wisconsin map in the exhibit features roads for bicycling – and predates the automobile.

It was the automobile that signaled the doom for the bicycle craze. For the next several decades bicycles became something for kids, except for a blip during the Great Depression and World War II.

Yet by the 1970s, a combination of factors – environmental concerns, health awareness, energy issues – put more adults on bikes. And again, Wisconsin was in the midst of it with its recreational offerings, advocacy and manufacturing.

Where the state once had companies such as Julius Andrae and Sons in Milwaukee or Badger Bicycle Works in Oregon, it now has Trek, Saris, Pacific Cycle and Waterford Precision Cycles.

In 2014, Wisconsin ranked No. 3 in the League of American Bicyclists list for bicycle-friendly states, behind Washington and Minnesota.

“This doesn’t happen by happenstance,” Hoffman said. “This exhibit is looking at why this has continued.”

The exhibit gives visitors a chance to experience elements of Wisconsin bicycling, too. An interactive “ride” will give visitors a chance to feel as if they are on the Elroy-Sparta Trail, which opened in 1967 and is considered the first “rails to trails” project in the U.S.

Another “ride” will give visitors the opportunity to be a Green Bay Packer. Last summer, Packers defensive back Micah Hyde rode his borrowed kid bike from Lambeau Field to practice with a camera attached to the bike’s handlebars. The rider in the exhibit will see the crowd from Hyde’s point of view.

“You won’t get paid a million dollars a year, but you have the adoring fans,” Kapler said.

Another unique element to the exhibit will be a wooden monowheel – one giant wheel powered by someone sitting inside it pedaling. It was likely made in the Green Bay area circa 1870, Hoffman said, and comes from the Neville Public Museum there.

“It’s a head-scratcher,” Kapler said. “It’s an oddity and things like that have value. We want people to say, ‘What the heck is that?'”

Though it has one wheel and not two, the exhibit’s organizers say it connects to so many other things that have been part of the history of bicycling in Wisconsin. From the late 1800s to now, bicycling has been about the ride, but it’s also been about the tinkerers and the makers – those who see what’s out there and want to figure out a way to make it better. That might be something people don’t necessarily think about these days when they hop on their hybrid or their fat bike.

“People are going to come here to see cool bikes, but it’s our hope that maybe they look at things a little differently,” Kapler said. “There are a lot of comparisons and contrasts you can make. By bringing it to today, it makes history relevant to people who think it’s not. We as historians do that every day.”

ASHWAUBENON — Divine Savior Holy Angels High School standout Arike Ogunbowale put on a show in a WIAA Division 1 state semifinal game Friday. She scored 55 points, a state record in a tournament game by either boys or girls, in DHSA’s 86-76 overtime win over Middleton High School.

Ogunbowale is committed to play in college for Notre Dame. The state’s player of the year broke the record previously held by Appleton West’s Brian Butch in 2003 when he scored 45 points in a state tournament game.

Ogunbowale’s brother Dare plays running back for the Badgers.

OSHKOSH – Orchestra students showed off what they learned from a true master Friday.

The high school string orchestras played a concert led by a founding member of Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Mark Wood is known for transforming the electric violin and how it’s played.

When you think orchestra music, classic rock might not come to mind, but that is what Oshkosh student musicians have learned from artist in residence Mark Wood. They showed off their new skills in a concert Friday playing songs by bands like The Police, Kansas and Cold Play.

“Be really into the music and be connected with your peers, because htis is all about loosening up and having fun and playing music that’s exciting to play,” said bassist Murphy Osmond, explaining what he learned.

“Kinda pushed my comfort zone, but I’m getting more used to it and I think it’s good that we get to epxerience different things when playing music,” added violinist Justin Xie.

Wood is a classically trained violinist and one of the founding members of Trans-Siberian Orchestra. He travels the world working with students to teach how important music is to all learning.

“We have scientific evidence about that, but I think, mostly, music gives us emotional intelligence, confidence and self-awareness,” explained Wood.

Wood spent this week working with the middle and high school orchestras.

“He connects with the kids on an incredible level and has really mad them do some really impressive work this week,” explained Steve Wucherer the Orchestra Director for two Oshkosh Middle Schools.

“The students have worked so hard and have really experienced a transformation, even, the high school students, within the last 24 hours,” added Yukiko Grine the Orchestra Director for both Oshkosh High Schools

Wood told us his goal is to foster a deeper love and understanding of music of all kinds in students.

“You can like classical music, you can like jazz, you can like rock, you can do it all. So music brings people together,” he said.

It’s a lesson the students told FOX 11 they’ve learned.

“Music is really about what you feel. You can’t let someone tell you that you have to play Bach or Mozart, you just have to play what you want to play,” said Xie.

“Really helps me connect with things and I just love music,” said Osmond.

The middle school orchestras played a separate concert with Wood on Tuesday.

Wood told us he is very impressed the the student and teacher talent in Oshkosh.

The violinist raffled off one of his custom electric guitars during the concerts to help raise money for the student symphonies.

GREEN BAY — Despite leading by 16 at the half, the Green Bay women’s basketball team had to hold off a late charge from Youngstown State to advance to Sunday’s Horizon League Tournament championship game. The Phoenix beat the Penguins 63-54.

YSU came back to within 3 points late in the second half, but Green Bay scored eight of the final ten points in the game. Junior guard Kaili Lukan scored a season high 27 points just days after scoring a then-season high 24 points against UW-Milwaukee in the quarterfinals.

Green Bay will face Wright State Sunday at 2pm at the Kress Center in the tournament title game. Wright State topped the Phoenix in last year’s Horizon League championship game at the Kress Center. GB took both regular season meetings against the Raiders.

APPLETON – This weekend in Appleton, a former NFL quarterback will share the story of his son’s suicide.

Eric Hipple played for the Detroit Lions for ten years in the 1980’s.

In 2000, his 15-year-old son Jeff killed himself.

Hipple, who has become a national advocate for suicide prevention, and his daughter Tarah, will speak at Lawrence University Saturday night about depression, suicide prevention and how Jeff’s death affected them.

Hipple says he learned about his son’s death while he was out of town on business, “I got the call the next day from my wife and she told me that Jeff was dead. And I can’t even explain what that feeling is because at a distance and hearing that, this is not reality.”

Hipple will speak Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in Lawrence University’s Harper Hall. You can read more about the event here.

Hipple will also be on CW-14 Focus a week from Sunday.

If you or anyone you know is considering suicide, we have a list of prevention resources here.

A person with direct knowledge of the deal tells The Associated Press the Minnesota Vikings have acquired wide receiver Mike Wallace from the Miami Dolphins.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Friday because the teams had not yet announced the trade.

The Vikings will send a fifth-round draft pick to the Dolphins for their seventh-round selection in the swap, two years after the Vikings tried to sign Wallace.

Dolphins coach Joe Philbin benched Wallace in the second half of their final game last season after an argument between the 28-year-old and the coaching staff. Wallace led Miami with 10 touchdowns in his second season with the team, but he rarely clicked with quarterback Ryan Tannehill on deep passes and was unhappy not to be targeted more.

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AP Sports Writer Steven Wine in Miami contributed to this report.

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AP NFL websites: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL

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

ASHWAUBENON — The Xavier girls basketball team has won most of its game this season with a defense-first attitude and Friday that attitude was on display.

The Hawks trailed 8-7 after one quarter and then handcuffed Hayward en route to a 44-34 win in a Division 3 state semifinal game at the Resch Center.

Xavier held Hayward to just two free throws in the second quarter, opened a 19-10 halftime lead and never was seriously threatened the rest of the way.

“Played tremendous defense,” Xavier coach A.C. Clouthier said. “To hold a team to two points in the second quarter, especially a team as good as they are, especially down low, athletic as they are was tremendous and that’s our kids stepping up.”

Xavier held Hayward 8-of-36 shooting for 19 percent, and while the Hurricanes (24-3) were struggling Xavier’s 1-2 punch of Peyton Ufi and reserve Kayla Gresl found the range.

Xavier-Hayward Boxscore

Ufi led all scorers with 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting, while Gresl added 12 on 4-of-6 shooting. Gresl points were important because Xavier leading scorer Erin Powers battled fouls most of the game and was held to 7 seven points, half of her average.

When I came off the bench, I kept thinking to myself, ‘Don’t be nervous, this is just a regular game,’” Gresl said.

It wasn’t a regular game but it was a regular performance for Xavier (24-4), which heads to Saturday’s title game against undefeated Whitewater. The players are anxious to win a gold ball.

“The feeling’s definitely indescribable,” Ufi said. “This is our first time at state and we hope we can go out with a bang and just play our best all the way through the game.”

“We have to play our hardest the next game and this is really just a dream come true,” Gresl said.

Clouthier knows his team can’t relax as it prepares for Whitewater.

“We’re going to have to bang a little bit tomorrow and sharpen up our defense,” he said. “Every game you have to tweak a little bit, where you’re pressuring, when you’re pressuring, who you’re pressuring; happy with it obviously.

“Two points in a quarter; satisfied with that, absolutely. I think they were two free throws. There were parts I was very satisfied with, absolutely.”

Follow Doug Ritchay on Twitter @dougritchay

ASHWAUBENON – From parents, to students, to alumni, the Resch Center, in Ashwaubenon, is filled with basketball fans of ages.

Some fans are from the area.

“I’m here to watch the Appleton Xavier Hawks,” said a Xavaier Middle School student.

But others are farther away from home.

“I’m a teacher at the high school so I’m supporting the school and supporting the girls,” said Anthoni Parr from Whitewater.

“We had 10 fan buses come down. Our school just wanted to see our team play,” said Kate Lillyroot of Hayward.

Dressed from head to toe in black and gold, the Hayward Hurricanes school band was there to support the girls basketball team.

“We do practice really hard and put our time and effort into it,” said Amber Helwig of Hayward.

Before the band headed inside, more Hayward fans walked the halls of the Resch.

“This is a big deal for us. This is the only time in our school history that we’ve gone to state. The last time was 1989. I think everyone feels the same way. You’d love to win but just to get here is the best part,” said Catherine Becker of Hayward.

There’s another perk for making it to state, especially for the students and staff rooting for Xavier High School.

“We gave the entire school system the day off so that they could come and cheer on the Hawks. Everybody in our system, all 1,600 students, every one of them is a Hawk,” said Deacon Ray DuBois with the St. Francis Xavier School System.

And since this is the very first time in the female Hawks have made it to state, there’s no shortage of fans.

“We’re just going to be yelling blue and white is right tonight,” said Darren Hinkens of Appleton.

In the game of basketball, you can’t always win, but the fans say it’s still important to show support.

If you’re interested in watching a team play in the tournament, click here.