Green Bay News

GREEN BAY- Our recent warm weather is melting a lot of snow.

Much of the U.S. has seen a warm up and that has melted snow cover.

Four days ago the U.S. snow cover was 39%. Tuesday it was down to 16%.

A visible satellite image shows the snow cover on March 2nd compared with the snow cover Tuesday.

More melting is expected in the next 7 days.

Click on the video to learn more.

LA CROSSE, Wis. (AP) – A western Wisconsin man accused of killing his girlfriend and texting a photo of her corpse to another man is being held on $500,000 cash bond.

Twenty-nine-year-old Bryce Anderson made his first court appearance in La Crosse County Tuesday. A judge entered a not guilty plea on Anderson’s behalf to a charge of first-degree intentional homicide.

A criminal complaint says Anderson suspected Kristen Johnson was having an affair. Prosecutors contend Anderson struck the 28-year-old victim with a hammer several times and cut her throat at the couple’s duplex in Holmen March 1. The couple’s two young boys were home at the time, but were not harmed.

Johnson’s body was found in a car parked in the garage.

Online court records didn’t list a defense attorney who could be contacted for comment.

RACINE, Wis. (AP) – Racine police say a 15-year-old girl was shot in the face while standing on the front porch of her home.

Witnesses have reported Destiny Finch was struck by a bullet Tuesday night after two groups of teenagers got into a fight near her home.

The girl’s aunt, Mary Williams, says the family wasn’t involved in the altercation. She says they walked onto the porch to see who was shouting outside, and then a bullet hit Destiny in the cheek.

The family says the high school freshman is expected to recover.

An investigation is ongoing.

Burger King says it will no longer automatically offer soda with its kids meals.

It will offer fat free milk, 100 percent apple juice or low-fat chocolate milk.

You can still get a soda but you’ll have to ask for it.

Child health advocacy groups have been pressuring fast-food chains to make the switch.

APPLETON – There are plenty of things happening at Riverview Gardens in Appleton.

FOX 11’s Emily Deem made her way to the gardens to check out what folks are working on!

Riverview gardens right now is focused on seeding, their greenhouses and even a new sifter.

Click here to learn more about Riverview Gardens.

GREEN BAY- Warm weather continues throughout the entire forecast, even a few highs near 60 degrees.

It will be a bit cooler but still well above normal (normal high for this time of year is 37) Wednesday with a high near 50, sunny skies and northwest winds at 5 to 10 mph.

Expect a high of 54 Thursday under mostly sunny skies and south/southeast winds at 10 to 15 mph, which will keep it cooler by the Lake.

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) – Seven Marines and four soldiers are missing early Wednesday after an Army helicopter crashed during a night training exercise at Eglin Air Force Base in the Florida Panhandle.

Base officials say the Marines are part of a Camp Lejeune-based special operations group and the soldiers are from a Hammond, Louisiana-based National Guard unit.

Eglin spokesman Andy Bourland says the helicopter was reported missing around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday and search and rescue crews found debris from the crash around 2 a.m. Wednesday.

The helicopter went down during a routine training mission on a remote swath of beach between Pensacola and Destin. The beach is owned by the military and is used for test missions.

Ingredients:

1 boneless corned beef brisket (3 to 4 pounds) with seasoning packet
4 ribs celery, cut into large chunks
2 medium onions, cut into quarters
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 bottle (12 ounces) beer

Directions:

Place celery and onions in the bottom of a slow cooker. Top with corned beef brisket. Sprinkle contents of seasoning packet over brisket. Add water, chicken stock, and beer. Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours, or until brisket is fork-tender. Serve with boiled or roasted potatoes, carrots and cabbage.

Notes:You can also add potatoes, cabbage and carrots to the slow cooker the last 2 hours of cooking.

GRAND CHUTE – A street in Grand Chute is back open after it was closed because of a gas leak.

Lynndale Drive was closed between Grand Chute Boulevard and Edgewood Drive after 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The fire department says an excavator hit a natural gas line.

A nearby home was evacuated as a precaution, and gas service to the neighborhood was shut down.

Fire and utility crews were able to contain the leak a little before 9 p.m., and the street was reopened.

GREEN BAY-A Silver Alert has been issued for Philip Jeanquart, 68. His family last heard from him around noon on Tuesday. Jeanquart, of Green Bay, suffers from dementia.

He may be driving a gray 2008 Buick Lucerne with the license plate 854-WMN. He may also have a gray and white Shih Tzu with him.

Anyone with information is asked to call the police department at 920-448-3200.

ASHWAUBENON – For UW-Green Bay men’s basketball fans, it’s been a long 19 years without an NCAA tournament appearance.

“Excruciating, it’s been a long time coming,” said Chuck Keehan, a season ticket holder for the Phoenix.

“19 years ago I was in high school, probably trying to skip class and go watch the game in 1996,” said Mike Keehan of De Pere.
Phoenix fans filled the Bar on Holmgren Way for a watch party Tuesday night, trying to cheer their team back to the tournament.

For the game’s first 30 minutes, a return to the big dance looked promising.

“Real good, real good being at they’re ahead,” said Chuck Keehan.

Unfortunately for Phoenix fans, the early momentum gradually went to Valparaiso in the second half, eventually leading them to victory.

“It was tough,” said Brett Tabis of Green Bay. “I mean it’s a tough way to lose. Seniors on this team probably deserved to go to the NCAA tournament. It’s unfortunate and kind of tough to not see them make it there.”

“All in all they put their heart on the floor, so that’s good,” said Steve Teclaw of Green Bay. “They put a solid effort in. Refing was kind of spotty as well, but it was a hard fought game and that’s what we like to see with Phoenix basketball. “

With a close call this year, fans say they are already looking toward next season to break the NCAA Tournament drought.

“They can go back next year, go Phoenix,” said Amber Keehan.

MADISON – The 1100 block of Williamson Street – better known to locals as ‘Willy Street’ – seems to be back to normal on this sunny Tuesday.

Save for several network news crews and the memorial of balloons gracing the curb, outside the home where 19-year-old Tony Robinson was shot by a Madison Police officer last Friday evening.

Some stopped at the site to pay their respects to the 2014 Sun Prairie High School graduate, including some former classmates, like Jagena Gleason.

“We graduated together and I knew him through a lot of friends,” said Gleason, 18, a home health nurse.

Gleason was part of the roughly 1,500 people that marched on the state Capitol Monday, voicing concerns that changes need to be made in policing and use of force.

“It was just a really heartbreaking to (find out about his death) and to not give him a chance to be alive,” she said.

Investigators say Officer Matt Kenny fired his weapon after he said Robinson attacked him inside the apartment. Robinson is biracial, Kenny is white.

Kenny was responding to a disturbance call for an alleged assault suspect jumping in out of traffic. The state department of justice is investigating the officer-involved shooting, as required by state law.

Gleason doesn’t believe Robinson’s death should be viewed as a matter of race, but wrong place, wrong time – but it’s still a topic she wrestles with.

“Because I am mixed, just like he was,” Gleason said. “So it’s kind of hard to be like, ‘well, it wasn’t a race thing.’ But it definitely is, it has a part in it, but I just think that Tony needs justice, before judgment.”

Her friend, and current Sun Prairie senior, 17-year-old Aczareyen Lyles, says if Robinson’s skin color should be brought up in the conversation surrounding the facts of his death, now isn’t the time.

“We have to take it one step at a time and I feel like, right now, everyone should be focused on supporting the family,” Lyles said.
Across the street from the home, Sarah Dollhausen snapped a few photos of the memorial with her cell phone, before heading home to Milwaukee.

“Really looking at the idea of race – a lot of people want to kind of say this isn’t about race, but it is,” said Dollhausen. “You know, we’re now just seeing it on camera, we’re seeing it more through technology, but at the end of the day, solutions are really changing the system. And really looking at what institutional racism looks like.”

Dollhausen says it is an issue she works with daily, as the founder and executive director of TRUE Skool, a Milwaukee-based non-profit that uses arts and humanities to engage high school-aged youths, from various racial and social backgrounds, in social justice and community service, to find their voice and mission in life.

“How do we heal that community and how do we empower ourselves to be part of the solution to the problems that we see?” she said.
Problems demonstrators sought to bring to the front of Dane County government officials Monday evening.

About 150 people lined Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, outside the City County building, Tuesday evening.

Organized by Young, Gifted & Black, supporters of all races walked into Dane County Board chambers, ahead a Public Protection and Judiciary committee meeting. It was slated to take up agenda items that involved mental health and racial disparities in the county jail and criminal justice system. However, those items were removed from the agenda.

“Is this a race issue? Is this a matter of a white officer and a biracial man being killed, or is this something larger than that, that needs to be addressed?” I asked one of the organizers, Eric Upchurch.

“I think that it’s both,” he replied.

“There are certainly elements here that everyone experiences, by violence, by the police. Every group experiences poverty and different forms of state violence, every group is incarcerated. What we’re saying here and what we’ve realized is that over time, the disparities in incarceration and the disparities in police violence has largely impacted people of color, mainly black people the most.”

“We are far from seeing this tragedy come to resolution,” said Madison Mayor Paul Soglin Tuesday.

Soglin says the city works to address the economic and educational challenges in the city, surrounding people of color. He says he also appreciates the show of support for Robinson, and his family, through peaceful protests against the Madison police department – as the issues being brought up are complex.

“Is there bias in the Madison Police Department? That’s the wrong question,” Soglin said. “The bias and disparity is in the entire Criminal Justice system.”

NEW LONDON – On the Wolf River a lone fishing boat sits just underneath the Pearl Street Bridge in New London.

“We’ve come to put Pete and Joe out, we do it every spring!” exclaimed Barry Halsey with the New London Fish & Game Club.

Pete and Joe are the passengers in that boat. They’re a pair of fiberglass dummies put there by the New London Fish and Game Club.

“If they could talk they’d have an interesting story to tell, because they’ve had a lot of fun out on that river,” said Dale Sternhagen, the club’s treasurer.

The boat is attached to a string. The string is attached to this pole, which will have a clock in it. When the ice breaks, the string will come loose, stopping the clock.

“Then we know exactly what time the ice went out,” explained Sternhagen.

The club’s kept track of when the ice has broken since 1851. Pete and Joe came along sometime in the 19-60’s, although no one’s sure what year exactly.

This year, the rapid warmup was a surprise.

“This came up real fast. We didn’t expect this whatsoever,” Sternhagen told us.

Club members said they weren’t planning on putting Pete and Joe on the river until later this month, but with slush forming on top of the ice, it’s time.

“There’s water on the top, but the ice is pretty heavy yet,” explained club member Tim Deshaney.

Still, club members told FOX 11 Pete and Joe’s appearance should serve as a warning to anyone with a pulse.

“Stay away from it. That’s actually what we should be saying,” said Sternhagen.

As for Pete and Joe, they don’t say much, although they’ve been through a lot in some 50-years.

“They’ve been stolen. We found them as far away as Fremont,” said Sternhagen.

And we had to ask, why the names?

“I don’t know! Just somebody came up with the names Pete and Joe and it stuck!” exclaimed Sternhagen.

“It’s been Pete and Joe as far as I know forever!” exclaimed Halsey, laughing.

“Pete and Joe? It’s been their names since the beginning of time! I suppose the first guys that put them out named them,” added Deshaney.

According to the club’s records the earliest ice break was February 26th in 1998. The latest was April 21st 1856.

ASHWAUBENON – One area high school marching band is getting its final tune-up before a big parade next week.

“One, two, roll-off, and!” shouts band director Marc Jimos through a megaphone Tuesday evening.

These students are marching their Badger state pride all the way to the Big Apple.

“I think I’m most excited for seeing the crowds and watching with such a big group of people,” said Sophia Jimos, a sophomore clarinet player.

Next week Tuesday, the Ashwaubenon High School marching band will fit in just fine with their green attire. They’ll be performing in the New York City St. Patrick’s Day parade.

“I’ve done the trip three other times. We always have a great time doing it,” said Marc Jimos. “New York is really in love with St. Patrick’s Day, and they really do it up.”

But it will be the first time playing in front of millions for most of these band members.

“The only places I’ve marched are in Green Bay,” said the younger Jimos, the director’s daughter.

It will also be many students’ first time out east.

“I’m really excited because it will be my first time in New York,” said percussionist Trent Williams.

The idea of millions of eyes watching makes a few of the young musicians a little nervous.

“Doing that shouldn’t make me nervous, but in front of that many people, I don’t know, we’ll have to see,” said trumpet Spencer Schauer.

“I’m like calling the cadences this year, so if I mess up, that won’t be good,” said Williams.

“Maybe if I trip or something ,” said Sophia Jimos.

But they know the months of hard work and practice will pay off, as they gear up for an experience of a lifetime.

“I think it’s a really good chance to see what it’s like to play in front of people in the real world,” said Schauer.

“It’s going to be cool to see where I am and soak it all in,” said Jimos.

It will be the band’s fourth New York Saint Patrick’s Day in 16 years the Ashwaubenon band. The trip will include sight-seeing and two Broadway shows.

DALLAS (AP) — Called into a courtroom to testify, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones sparred Tuesday with an attorney for fans suing the NFL over a seating mess at the 2011 Super Bowl in his billion-dollar showplace stadium while acknowledging regret that some ticket-holders didn’t have a place to sit.

Jones spent about 2 1/2 hours on the stand Tuesday, the highlight of a federal trial made a little more dramatic by several terse exchanges between the talkative owner and plaintiffs’ attorney Michael Avenatti.

U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn had to intervene at one point, telling both men to quit talking over each other and later admonishing Jones by telling him to simply answer the attorney’s questions and “don’t figure out what he’s implying.”

About 1,250 temporary seats were deemed unsafe hours before the game in which Green Bay beat Pittsburgh, forcing about 850 ticket holders to move to new seats and 400 others to standing-room locations. Seven fans sued, saying they didn’t have seats or their seats had obstructed views. The lawsuit alleges the NFL breached its ticket contract and that settlement offers failed to fully compensate them.

The NFL has said it fully compensated displaced fans. Commissioner Roger Goodell, who provided videotaped testimony last week, said the league was responsible for the issues.

Jones, who is also team’s general manager, smiled and looked directly at the eight-person jury early in his testimony just hours before the opening of NFL free agency. But when Avenatti started pressing him about whether he had a strong desire to set a Super Bowl attendance record, Jones grew agitated, frequently pointing at the attorney and talking even after being told to stop by the attorney and the judge.

Avenatti showed several emails with references to Jones’ interest in the Super Bowl attendance record of 103,985, set in 1980 at the Rose Bowl. The crowd for the 2011 game was 103,219.

“Just answer my question,” Avenatti said at one point as he asked Jones whether he had shared his desire to break the record.

“You will not accept my answer,” Jones replied after earlier referring to the fact that the stadium was designed to hold 111,000 people, though not all of them would be seated. “The record was automatically broken when we built the stadium.”

Avenatti shot back: “But people still had to have seats.”

Later, during a quiet moment, Jones turned to the judge and asked: “Is this fair?”

Avenatti asked whether it was fair that people ended up without seats, and Jones said, “No. No. I regret that. I regret that.”

Jones said the NFL decided against his recommendation to sell standing-room tickets the same way the Cowboys do for home games. Temporary seats were constructed in the plazas of both ends zones and in some parts of the concourses in the 80,000-seat stadium.

Installation of the seats didn’t run on schedule, and officials were scrambling on game day to try to finish before the fire marshal declared several sections unusable.

Jones said he believed the league was responsible for the seating problems, but said he had a stake in the issue “because no matter what happens there at the stadium, I would be accountable in the public eye.”

The Dallas owner was initially named in the lawsuit along with the franchise, but Lynn excluded both in one of her pretrial rulings. Jones tried to avoid testifying in a hearing attended by his attorneys last week, but the judge ruled otherwise.

Jones repeatedly said he didn’t recall conversations with NFL executives about seating issues in the days before the Super Bowl, and said he believed the league and the team did everything possible to finish the seats in time.

Closing arguments were expected Wednesday in a trial that started last week.

VALPARAISO — The drought continues.

Looking to clinch its first NCAA tournament bid since 1996, the Green Bay men’s basketball team played at Valparaiso on Tuesday in the Horizon League championship game with the winner receiving a bid to tournament.

The Phoenix was in good shape in the second half, leading, 39-31, but the Crusaders used a 15-0 scoring run to open a 46-39 lead and held on to beat the Phoenix, 54-44.

The loss drops the Phoenix to 24-8 and likely means it will return to the NIT, where last season it lost at home to Belmont in the first round.

After falling behind by seven points, the Phoenix closed the gap to 46-44 on two Keifer Sykes free throws with 3:24 to play. However, the Crusaders scored the game’s final eight points to clinch their second trip to the NCAA tournament in three seasons.

Sykes finished with 14 points, the only player on Green Bay in double figures.

Green Bay finished the game 16-for-53 from the field for 30 percent, including 7-for-28 in the second half.

GREEN BAY — After signing wide receiver Randall Cobb on Monday, the Packers seem to be locking up another key free agent.

According to multiple reports, Green Bay is expected to re-sign offensive lineman Bryan Bulaga to a five-year deal.

Bulaga, who will turn 26 this month, returned from a knee injury in 2013 to start every game but one in 2014. The former first-round draft pick helped bolster an offensive line that produced a 1,000-yard rusher in Eddie Lacy and protected M.V.P quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

As for other Packers free agents, cornerback Davon House says he has signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars, while Tramon Williams is still fielding offers.
The Packers also made qualifying offers to injured lineman Don Barclay and safety Sean Richardson, meaning they can match any offer those players may get.

FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) – Ferguson city leaders are staying mum on whether more personnel changes may come during a meeting Tuesday night following a scathing federal report that already has led to a Missouri appeals court judge being tapped to overhaul the local court system.

The City Council in the St. Louis suburb, beleaguered by unrest since a white police officer fatally shot 18-year-old Michael Brown last summer, is scheduled to hold its first public meeting since the U.S. Department of Justice last week accused its police force and municipal court system of racial bias.

The Justice Department investigation already has resulted in a shakeup: Racist emails included in the report led to the firing of the city clerk and resignation of two police officers last week. And on Monday, Municipal Judge Ronald J. Brockmeyer resigned and was immediately replaced by the Missouri Supreme Court with a state appellate judge empowered to overhaul court policies to “restore the integrity of the system.”

Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Russell warned that other changes may be coming, saying in a statement that “extraordinary action is warranted in Ferguson.”

Mayor James Knowles III said the city would begin seeking Brockmeyer’s permanent successor on Tuesday. In a statement, he said the city looked forward to working with Missouri Appeals Court Judge Roy Richter “as it begins to regain the trust of the Ferguson community.”

“We understand there has been mistrust for some time, but the naming of Judge Richter will begin a new chapter for our court,” Knowles said.

He said he’s asked the city clerk to begin advertising for “a reform-minded judge” who would lead the court in a new direction and “allow offenders to leave with a belief that they were treated fairly.”

Whether other changes will be imposed in Ferguson remains unclear. The City Council held a closed-door meeting Monday, gathering in public only long enough to adjourn. City Manager John Shaw was escorted to his vehicle by a police officer afterward, though it was unclear why.

The state Supreme Court also assigned staff from the state court administrator’s office to aid Richter in reviewing Ferguson’s municipal court practices. Richter is scheduled to assume his new role on March 16.

Ferguson has been under state and federal scrutiny since police officer Darren Wilson fatally shot Brown, a black 18-year-old resident who was unarmed during the confrontation Aug. 9. The shooting prompted protests in the St. Louis area and across the nation.

A St. Louis County grand jury concluded in November that no charges would be filed against Wilson, who has since resigned. The U.S. Justice Department concurred last week, saying Wilson acted in self-defense.

But the Justice Department said in a separate report that Ferguson’s police and court systems functioned as a money-making enterprise that heightened tensions among residents. The report noted that Ferguson was counting on revenues from fines and fees to generate $3.1 million, or nearly a quarter of its $13.3 million budget for the 2015 fiscal year.

The federal report also cited several instances in which Ferguson’s municipal judge, court clerk or city prosecutor helped “fix” tickets for colleagues and friends, evidence of what investigators called “a double standard grounded in racial stereotyping.”

An attorney for Brockmeyer, the municipal judge who resigned Monday, said Brockmeyer had been “fair and impartial” as a part-time judge and that the court clerk bore the primary responsibility for day-to-day operations of the court.

Messages seeking comment from the former court clerk, Mary Ann Twitty, were not returned. Twitty was fired Thursday, while the two police officers also allegedly involved in the racist emails, Capt. Rick Henke and Sgt. William Mudd, resigned Friday.

Police Chief Tom Jackson remains in charge of the 54-member police force. The department gave the state racial data related to its traffic stops Tuesday, shortly after Attorney General Chris Koster said it was among 17 law enforcement agencies at risk of losing state funding for failing to submit the data by March 1. The information is used in a statewide report.

___

Associated Press writers Jim Suhr in St. Louis and David A. Lieb in Jefferson City contributed to this report.

BELLEVUE – Despite a chilly start, temperatures warmed quickly into the 50’s on Tuesday afternoon.

And that drew people outside to try to enjoy this first real taste of spring in 2015.

It’s especially welcome at the outside driving range at the Mr. Golf in Bellevue.

Its simulator is open year-round, and, technically, the covered driving range is, too.

But that doesn’t mean it’s always good business there.

Says owner Randy Van Ess, “It’s covered and people will hit all year round but when the temperature is zero, even the craziest golfers are not gonna come out and hit golf balls. That’s just the way it is.”

The nice weather has Van Ess hopeful for a warmer spring than the last two.

It’s the first chance that some have had to swing a club all winter.

“Watch and dream about it, but I haven’t had a chance to actually swing and make sure I can still do it… I’d be doing it all winter if I could. If I had enough money I’d have a simulator in my basement and the full practice range but I gotta rent them out from other people,” says Spencer Kilps of Green Bay.

The Fox River Trail was also busy in De Pere.

But the warm-up isn’t just nice for people wanting to get active outside.

Sometimes it’s nice just to be outside.

Jenny Knorr, a veterinarian at Riverside Animal Hospital near the Fox River Trail, was sitting in her car with the windows down, reading a book, “just enjoying a nice sunny afternoon reading a book on my lunch hour. I just thought the day is nice, the sunshine is out, and I’d try to get out of the office for a few minutes.”

Farther north along the trail in downtown Green Bay, lunch hour was a nice chance to break up the day for some Breakthrough Fuel employees.

According to Matt Muenster, an employee of the company situated along the trail, “It’s a daily lunchtime ritual. Get out and enjoy the weather if we can, especially now that it’s nice… the river is open again, there’s sunshine, it’s beautiful.”

When spring first starts to spring, there’s just something about it that feels refreshing after a long winter.

Says Muenster, “Spring is certainly a special time of the year because we leave the winter behind us so it feels like a new beginning.”

Knorr simply had this to say — “The sunshine is good for the soul.”

CHICAGO (AP) – A Chicago woman is charged in the death of her 7-month-old granddaughter, who was struck in the head multiple times before having her throat cut with a power saw, prosecutors announced Tuesday.

Police have said the baby girl, Rose Herrera, was killed Monday, apparently because she would not stop crying. The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office said Tuesday that the baby’s 52-year-old grandmother, Manuela Rodriguez, was charged with first-degree murder in Rose’s death.

An autopsy concluded that the baby was already dead when her throat was cut. It concluded that not only was the girl struck in the head with an object, but that she also likely suffocated on a sock that was “placed in her mouth,” according to a county medical examiner’s log that includes the infant’s death.

Rodriguez, who police say attempted to take her own life after the attack, was taken to a hospital for treatment for injuries that were not considered life threatening. The State’s Attorney’s Office said Rodriguez is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday. It did not immediately know whether Rodriguez had an attorney who could comment on the charge.

Residents of the quiet street in the predominantly Hispanic Little Village neighborhood where Rose was killed said the Rodriguez had some health problems but was always pleasant. State child welfare officials said they had no record of ever being called to the brick home. Neighbors said the woman and her family were always polite and did not cause trouble.

“She would help everybody and if you needed a glass of milk or something she would give it to you,” said Maria Gentil, who has known Rodriguez for several years and said she was a doting grandmother. “When my mother died, she went up and down the street asking for money for her funeral.”