Green Bay News

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — The state of marriage in Alabama was thrown into confusion Wednesday as probate judges struggled to decide whether to follow the state high court’s ruling banning same-sex weddings or a federal judge’s earlier order to issue licenses.

At least one probate office — in Mobile County, one of the state’s largest — said it had quit issuing licenses altogether. It was unclear what judges in the state’s other 66 counties would do.

The Alabama Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the state’s ban on same-sex marriage is legal despite a federal court’s decision to the contrary. The all-Republican Supreme Court sided with a pair of conservative groups and ordered Alabama’s 68 probate judges to stop issuing marriage licenses to gay couples.

A previous ruling by U.S. District Judge Callie Granade that gay-marriage bans violate the U.S. Constitution does not preclude the judges from following state law, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman, the court ruled.

The probate court in Mobile, which Granade previously ordered to issue same-sex licenses, posted a notice on its website Wednesday saying it would quit issuing marriage licenses while reviewing the decision.

“We regret having to take this action, but feel that it is necessary given the unprecedented circumstances that currently exist,” the announcement said.

An attorney for the Alabama Probate Judges Association did not return a message seeking comment on how he would advise the state’s judges to proceed.

Elmore County Probate Judge John Enslen, who had refused to issue licenses to same-sex couples, applauded the justices’ decision. In a statement posted on his Facebook page, Enslen said gay marriage could never be equal to straight marriage because of simple human anatomy.

“I am saddened for my nation that the word ‘marriage’ has been hijacked by couples who cannot procreate,” Enslen said.

The court gave state judges five days to respond if they believe they shouldn’t have to follow the decision, but such a move could be politically risky in much of the deeply conservative state.

The U.S. Supreme Court, which already has agreed to decide the legality of same-sex marriage nationwide, also could be asked to review the ruling.

A six-member majority of the nine-member Alabama court did not explicitly invalidate the marriages of hundreds of same-sex couples who obtained licenses in the state in recent weeks. But the decision used the term “purported” to describe those licenses.

The court’s most outspoken opponent of gay marriage, Chief Justice Roy Moore, recused himself and did not participate in the writing of the unsigned 134-page decision.

After Granade’s ruling, Moore told probate judges not to issue same-sex marriage licenses. His stance created widespread confusion, prompting some judges to refuse to issue the licenses and others to shut down their operations.

Of the other justices on Alabama’s high court, one agreed with the ruling while citing some reservations, and one, Justice Greg Shaw, dissented.

In his dissent, Shaw said it was “unfortunate” that federal courts refused to delay gay marriage in the state until the U.S. Supreme Court could settle the issue nationally. But, Shaw said, the state Supreme Court doesn’t have the power to consider the issue and is creating more confusion by “venturing into unchartered waters (sic)” outside its jurisdiction.

The court’s ruling came in response to a request from the Southern Baptist-affiliated Alabama Citizens Action Program and the Alabama Policy Institute, a conservative think tank, which asked the justices to halt same-sex unions.

Joe Godfrey, executive director of the Alabama Citizens Action Program, said he was excited about the decision.

“We are concerned about the family and the danger that same-sex marriage will have,” Godfrey said.

He said the decision would provide some stability in Alabama until the U.S Supreme Court rules later this year. The court will hear oral arguments in April and is expected to issue a ruling by June regarding whether gay couples nationwide have a fundamental right to marry and whether states can ban such unions.

An attorney representing couples who filed suit to allow gay marriages said the Alabama Supreme Court showed “callous disregard” and overstepped its bounds.

“It is deeply unfortunate that even as nationwide marriage equality is on the horizon, the Alabama Supreme Court is determined to be on the wrong side of history,” said Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

David Kennedy, a lawyer for the couple in the case that resulted in Granade’s ruling overturning Alabama’s gay-marriage ban, said the U.S. Supreme Court spoke on the Alabama case when it refused to block Granade’s decision.

“The Alabama Supreme Court has now demonstrated a willingness to defy and nullify a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and the federal district court for the southern district of Alabama,” Kennedy said.

The Alabama court ruled the state’s ban on gay marriage isn’t discriminatory because it bans both men and women from marrying people of the same sex, and it said the law has a rational basis because it is meant to recognize and encourage ties “between children and their biological parents.”

While “traditional marriage” can be considered a fundamental right, gay marriage cannot since same-sex unions amount to a redefinition of the term, the court ruled.

It’s not enough to decide that gays should be able to wed because they are in love, the justices wrote, adding that polygamy would be legal were that a main test.

In advance of a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court, Alabama is among several states dealing with a tide of lower federal court rulings favoring same-sex marriage. In North Carolina, a legislative committee scheduled debate for Wednesday on a bill that would let courthouse workers cite religious objections for refusing to carry out duties involving gay unions.

___

Associated Press writer Kim Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama, contributed to this report.

NEW YORK (AP) – McDonald’s says it plans to start using chicken raised without antibiotics important to human health and milk from cows that are not treated with the artificial growth hormone rbST.

The company says the chicken change will take place within the next two years. It says suppliers will still be able to use a type of antibiotic called ionophores that keep chickens healthy and aren’t used in humans. The milk change will take place later this year.

The announcement comes as the fast-food giant struggles to shake its junk-food image amid intensifying competition from smaller rivals positioning themselves as more wholesome alternatives.

Many cattle, hog and poultry producers give their livestock antibiotics to make them grow faster and ensure that they are healthy. The practice has become a public health issue, with officials saying it can lead to germs becoming resistant to drugs so that they’re no longer effective in treating a particular illness in humans.

McDonald’s Corp. has long battled negative perceptions about its food, but the issue has become a bigger vulnerability as more people shift toward options they feel are made with higher-quality ingredients. Chipotle and Panera, for instance, already say they serve chicken raised without antibiotics. The “clean label” movement has prompted companies across the industry including to rethink their supplier standards and the ingredients they use.

After seeing customer visits to U.S. stores decline two years in a row, McDonald’s had recently hinted changes could be on the way. Franchisees were told of the chicken and milk changes Tuesday night at a “Turnaround Summit” in Las Vegas.

Scott Taylor, a McDonald’s franchisee who was at the conference, said ingredients are “becoming more and more important” to customers. He said the company was suggesting it needs to “be where our consumers want and need us to be.”

“You’re going to see more stuff like that in the future,” Taylor said.

In a statement, chicken supplier Tyson Inc. said it looks forward to working with McDonald’s to meet its new standards. Tyson noted that it has reduced the use of antibiotics used on humans by more than 84 percent since 2011.

As McDonald’s fights to hold onto customers, the company has also made a number of leadership changes, admissions of shortcomings and declarations that changes are in the works.

The pressures reached the top of the company in late January, when the company said CEO Don Thompson would be replaced by Steve Easterbrook, its chief brand officer who also previously led its European division.

The CEO change officially took effect this week, and Easterbrook was at the franchisee summit in Las Vegas.

Already, McDonald’s has been pushing back at critics.

Last year, it launched a campaign inviting people to ask frank, sometimes squeamish questions about its food, such as whether its beef contained worms (the answer was no). McDonald’s has also been hammering home the fact that it cracks fresh eggs in stores to make its McMuffins in ad and signs in stores.

MADISON (AP) – State Transportation Secretary Mark Gottlieb is defending Gov. Scott Walker’s budget plan to borrow $1.3 billion for road construction.

Walker’s fellow Republicans have bristled at the borrowing. Gottleib, a Walker appointee, told the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee on Wednesday that interest rates are favorable and if bonding is reduced without raising gas taxes or vehicle registration fees current and future projects will be delayed.

He warned that the state’s highway system will still deteriorate even with the borrowing. Reducing the amount would accelerate that deterioration and lead to larger repair costs in the future.

The committee’s co-chairman, Rep. John Nygren, asked Gottlieb what road building would look like if legislators chopped the borrowing by $500. Gottlieb said major projects around the state not completed by 2017 would be substantially delayed.

PORTAGE (AP) – Authorities have charged a prisoner with first-degree intentional homicide in the strangulation death of a cellmate at the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage.

The charge against 42-year-old Dexter Ewing carries a penalty of life in prison with no possibility of parole because it designates him as a persistent repeater. He makes his first court appearance Friday via videoconference from the Waupun Correctional Institution.

The criminal complaint says 40-year-old Jerome Scott was found dead Feb. 12. Ewing told detectives he decided to kill Scott, his cellmate of two weeks, after Scott threatened him with a pen. Ewing said he threatened Scott with a shank, tied his hands behind his back with a bedsheet, then strangled Scott with a cord.

Ewing was previously convicted of killing a Milwaukee woman and taking hostages.

GREEN BAY – If you like books that are dark and mysterious you might want to check out one of these titles from your local library. Mary Krauss of the Brown County Central Library selected the following three books for this week’s Good Day Reads list.  You can find previous lists right here on the library’s website.

1. The Never List by Koethi Zan
2. In the Woods by Tana French
3. The One I Left Behind

All are available from Brown County Library.  Available formats vary with the title (Large Print, Book on CD, downloadable e-Book, downloadable audiobook).

MADISON (AP) – The Wisconsin state Assembly’s Labor Committee is meeting to consider changes to the right-to-work bill, although it’s nearly certain that none will be adopted.

Republicans who control the Assembly agreed to hold the meeting Wednesday in negotiations with Democrats who objected to the original plan that did not include holding an executive session on the measure.

Democrats will be able to offer amendments. The right-to-work bill passed the Senate last week, so if the Assembly changes it the Senate will have to vote again.

The committee meeting comes before the full Assembly plans to debate the bill over a 24-hour period scheduled to end by 9 a.m. Friday.

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) – Defense attorneys are crying foul after an ex-Kenosha police officer admitted he planted evidence in a homicide investigation.

The Kenosha News reports that Kyle Baars admitted during a homicide trial this week that he planted an ID and a bullet in a backpack seized in a search stemming from an investigation into a fatal robbery.

Baars resigned in January amid an internal investigation into his actions.

Attorneys for the three men charged in the homicide case say the state didn’t disclose Baars’ actions until days into the trial for Joseph-Jamal Brantley, one of the defendants.

But District Attorney Robert Zapf says his office shared the information with defense attorneys in late January, within days of his office receiving Baars’ report about his conduct.

Brantley’s attorney wants the case dismissed.

BOSTON (AP) – Two dramatically different portraits of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev are expected to emerge when prosecutors and Tsarnaev’s lawyers give their opening statements at his federal death penalty trial.

Was he a submissive, adoring younger brother who only followed directions given by his older, radicalized brother? Or was he a willing, active participant in the attacks?

The trial that begins Wednesday is expected to be one of the most closely watched terror cases in years.

Two busloads of people hurt in the bombings arrived at the federal courthouse at 7:30 a.m. They entered through a side entrance, away from reporters and photographers gathered at the main entrance.

Marc Fucarile who lost a leg in the attack, went in the front entrance, but did not comment to reporters.

Tsarnaev’s lawyers have made it clear they will try to show that at the time of the bombings, Tsarnaev, then 19, looked up to his older brother, Tamerlan, 26, and was heavily influenced by him. They plan to portray Tamerlan as the mastermind of the attack. He died following a shootout with police days after the bombings.

But prosecutors say Dzhokhar was an equal participant who acted of his own free will. He faces 30 charges in the bombings and the fatal shooting days later of a police officer from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Seventeen of the charges carry the possibility of the death penalty.

Three people were killed and more than 260 were hurt when twin bombs exploded near the finish line seconds apart on April 15, 2013.

Tsarnaev’s trial will be held in U.S. District Court in Boston under extremely tight security. During jury selection, dozens of police officers and federal security officers were stationed inside and outside the courthouse, armed U.S. Coast Guard boats patrolled Boston Harbor and a side street leading to the courthouse was blocked.

Tsarnaev’s lawyers fought right up until the last minute to have the trial moved outside of Massachusetts, arguing that the emotional impact of the bombings ran too deep in the state and too many people had personal connections to the case. Their requests were rejected by Judge George O’Toole Jr. and the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

A jury of 10 women and eight men were chosen Tuesday to hear the case. The trial will be split into two phases – one phase to decide guilt and the other to decide punishment. If Tsarnaev is convicted, the same jury will decide whether he’s sentenced to life in prison or death.

The trial is expected to last three to four months.

The list of witnesses remains sealed from public view, but among those expected to testify are first responders who treated the wounded, marathon spectators and victims who were badly injured in the explosions.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Weinreb will lay out the prosecution’s case in opening statements.

Attorney Judy Clarke, a well-known death penalty opponent, will deliver the opening statement for the defense. Clarke has saved a string of high-profile clients from the death penalty, including: Atlanta Olympics bomber Eric Rudolph; Unabomber Ted Kaczynski; and Jared Loughner, the man who killed six people and wounded former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in a 2011 shooting rampage in Tucson, Arizona.

We’re out at the NEW Zoo in Suamico and we’re getting a closer look at the albino alligator! Not too close though!
The alligator is off exhibit right now until spring because he is getting a new exhibit at the NEW Zoo.

The NEW Zoo is offering it’s new April hours! They’re open all weekends so be sure to come out and visit!

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A furniture company has decided against pursuing a $6 million tax credit from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.

The job-creation agency’s board approved the tax break last year with terms that would have allowed Arcadia-based Ashley Furniture to cut its Wisconsin workforce in half. The company would have donated the money to Arcadia for a flood control project that would have allowed the company to expand its headquarters.

The Wisconsin State Journal reports the company says its decision to stop pursuing the tax credit won’t affect its operations or employees in Arcadia. Ashley says it will continue to grow there and is committed to continuing a strong presence in Wisconsin.

The company says it employs 4,500 people in Wisconsin and has added 350 jobs over the last three years.

NEENAH- We’re checking out some beautiful orchids on Good Day Wisconsin.

Orchids and All That Jazz, the Northeastern Wisconsin Orchid Society’s annual show is March 7 and 8.

It’s being held at the Holiday Inn Neenah Riverwalk.

Mary Stewart, a member of the orchid society shared some tips on caring for orchids along with information on the show.

GREEN BAY- We’ll be cold Wednesday and Thursday, but our weather takes a major shift starting Friday.

Friday’s high will be around 28.

The weekend will bring even milder weather with partly to mostly cloudy skies and highs in the low to mid 30s.

This warming trend could continue well into next week.

MILWAUKEE (AP) – A second teenager has been charged in a hit-and-run crash that killed a Milwaukee couple.

The 17-year-old was charged Monday with operating a vehicle without the owner’s consent as a passenger. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports police identified the teen as one of five passengers in a stolen SUV that collided with a car before continuing eastbound, striking another vehicle and then coming to a stop.

The driver and passenger of the car, 74-year-old Bernard Hanson and 64-year-old Mary Hanson, were killed in the Feb. 22 crash.

Authorities say the driver of the stolen SUV, 18-year-old Michael Hobbs, and all five of the teenage passengers fled the scene.

Hobbs is charged with second-degree reckless homicide, hit and run resulting in death and driving a vehicle without the owner’s consent.

Online court records don’t list an attorney for Hobbs.

GREEN BAY- Expect a mix of sun and clouds Wednesday with breezy west winds at 10 to 20 mph and a high near 11.

Temperatures drop Wednesday night and lows on Thursday morning reach -8.

A breeze around 5-10 mph will result in wind chills ranging from -20 to -25. It will be a bitter cold, but clear, night.

Thursday will be mostly sunny, but the high temperature will only reach 14 degrees (the normal high is 34).

After that, our weather pattern will start to undergo a major shift.

Director of Meteorology Pete Petoniak will have more on Good Day Wisconsin.

Target is making changes to its grocery aisles in hopes of attracting younger shoppers.

The company is concentrating on seven categories, from granola and yogurt to candy and snacks.

It looks like Target will become less reliant on packaged and processed foods that don’t appeal to millennial consumers.

Grocery sales account for about 20 percent of Target’s 73 billion dollars in annual sales.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup diced onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup finely diced carrot
Salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 to 4 pre-cooked chicken Italian Sausages, sliced or diced
4 cup chicken stock
3 cans (15 1/2 ounce each) great northern beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons fresh chopped rosemary, plus extra for garnish
2 to 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese for sprinkling on top

Directions:

Heat oil in a soup pot. Add onion, celery, and carrots. Sauté for about 5 minutes, or until they just start to soften. Season with salt and pepper. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds stirring constantly. Add sausage and cook a few minutes. Add beans and stock. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer. Simmer about 5 minutes, stirring once or twice. Use a potato masher to mash up beans a bit. Stir in rosemary. Taste to see if more salt and pepper is needed. Serve in bowls with a little Parmesan cheese and rosemary on top. Great with crusty bread for dipping..

MANITOWOC – A Manitowoc home was damaged in an overnight fire.

It happened after 10 p.m. Tuesday on the 3300 block of Michigan Avenue.

Fire officials say the blaze started in the attached garage. Crews were able to put out the fire within 15 minutes.

The fire did cause smoke damage throughout the home. No one was hurt.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The Red Cross is helping out those who live in the home.

GREEN BAY – Power has been restored following a power outage that impact around 800 customers in Green Bay Tuesday night.

The outage impacted portions on the east side near Astor Park for about two hours.

Wisconsin Public Service says the outage was caused by equipment failure in a power pole at the corner of Porlier St. and Adams St. However, WPS officials did not what caused the equipment to fail in the first place.

Power was restored in the neighborhood shortly after 9:30 p.m.

WPS officials say if you are still without power give them a call at 1-800-450-7240.

Click video for boys regional basketball highlights from Tuesday.

Tuesday’s Scores
BOYS’ BASKETBALL

Division 1 Sectional 1
Regional First Round
Appleton East 52, Appleton North 35

Division 1 Sectional 2
Regional First Round
Manitowoc Lincoln 47, Green Bay Preble 43
Waukesha West 49, Waukesha South 34

Division 1 Sectional 3
Regional First Round
Janesville Craig 64, Watertown 54
Janesville Parker 69, Kenosha Tremper 50

Division 1 Sectional 4
Regional First Round
Greenfield 56, Franklin 49
Milwaukee Juneau 98, Milwaukee Pulaski/Arts 88

Division 2 Sectional 1
Regional First Round
La Crosse Central 64, Sparta 54
Mosinee 63, Medford Area 53
New London 62, Waupaca 57
River Falls 49, Ashland 37
Tomah 55, La Crosse Logan 40
Wausau East 67, Lakeland 37

Division 2 Sectional 2
Regional First Round
Grafton 79, West Bend East 48
Green Bay Southwest 65, Marinette 52
Luxemburg-Casco 65, Notre Dame 52

Division 2 Sectional 3
Regional First Round
Edgewood 52, Reedsburg Area 47
Jefferson 59, Milton 58, OT
Monroe 52, Portage 47, OT
Union Grove 64, Delavan-Darien 60, OT
Waunakee 62, Baraboo 34
Westosha Central 75, Elkhorn Area 66

Division 2 Sectional 4
Regional First Round
Messmer 44, Nicolet 38
Milwaukee Bradley Technical 55, Cudahy 53
Shorewood 63, Milwaukee Madison 60
Waukesha North 83, New Berlin West 55
Wauwatosa West 61, Milw. Samuel Morse-Marshall 54
Whitnall 64, Catholic Memorial 56

Division 3 Sectional 1
Regional First Round
Baldwin-Woodville 40, Somerset 32
Barron 57, Amery 38
Black River Falls 70, Mauston 54
Bloomer 61, Durand 52
Elk Mound 46, Neillsville 35
Osceola 47, Ellsworth 43
St. Croix Falls 58, Spooner 35
Westby 58, Viroqua 48

Division 3 Sectional 2
Regional First Round
Cedar Grove-Belgium 55, Oostburg 53, OT
Denmark 48, Kewaunee 44
Freedom 75, Winneconne 36
Kiel 70, Sheboygan Falls 57
Little Chute 39, Berlin 27
New Holstein 61, Chilton 55
Omro 59, Fox Valley Lutheran 48
Roncalli 65, Two Rivers 30
Tomahawk 63, Northland Pines 56
Wittenberg-Birnamwood 60, Oconto Falls 54
Wrightstown 62, Sturgeon Bay 45

Division 3 Sectional 3
Regional First Round
Big Foot 44, Clinton 42
Edgerton 55, Brodhead 33
Lake Mills 73, St. John’s NW Military Academy 36
Lakeside Lutheran 71, Whitewater 58
Prairie du Chien 60, Richland Center 10
Wautoma 55, Nekoosa 46
Westfield Area 43, Wisconsin Dells 40

Division 3 Sectional 4
Regional First Round
Brookfield Academy 77, Milwaukee Career & Tech. Ed. 47
Brown Deer 91, Milwaukee School of Languages 50
Campbellsport 68, Kewaskum 65
Columbus 82, Mayville 51
Kenosha Reuther 54, Milwaukee Saint Anthony 52
Laconia 79, Saint Lawrence Seminary 36
Milwaukee Lutheran 71, University School of Milwaukee 60
Saint Thomas More 59, Tenor/Veritas 54
Watertown Luther Prep 57, Lomira 42
Winnebago Lutheran Academy 65, North Fond du Lac 50

Division 4 Sectional 1
Regional First Round
Athens 67, Colby 65
Cameron 82, Cumberland 29
Chetek-Weyerhaeuser 55, Webster 40
Colfax 48, Spring Valley 35
Glenwood City 40, Boyceville 27
Grantsburg 51, Ladysmith 43
Hurley 71, Lincoln Hills 48
Mondovi 61, Augusta 58
Osseo-Fairchild 72, Cadott 59

Division 4 Sectional 2
Regional First Round
Bonduel 79, Manawa 53
Crandon 63, Coleman 59
Edgar 41, Stratford 27
Gibraltar 55, Reedsville 36
Manitowoc Lutheran 48, Mishicot 32
Menominee Indian 68, Oconto 61
Shiocton 69, Rosholt 60
Spencer 74, Pacelli 63

Division 4 Sectional 3
Regional First Round
Aquinas 57, Luther 54
Belleville 43, Palmyra-Eagle 27
Blair-Taylor 77, Whitehall 58
Cochrane-Fountain City 63, Necedah 37
Cuba City 64, New Glarus 41
Iowa-Grant 53, Lancaster 50
Riverdale 59, Montello 55
Waterloo 68, Parkview 44
Wisconsin Heights 64, Brookwood 47

Division 4 Sectional 4
Regional First Round
Lake Country Lutheran 55, Dodgeland 36
Markesan 46, Princeton/Green Lake 30
Martin Luther 48, CEO Leadership Academy/Milwuakee Collegiate Academy 37
Racine Lutheran 53, Kenosha Christian Life 44
Random Lake 43, Horicon 32
Saint Mary Central 57, Weyauwega-Fremont 51
The Prairie School 63, Shoreland Lutheran 60

Division 5 Sectional 1
Regional First Round
Clayton 58, Bruce 48
Drummond 57, Bayfield 40
Frederic 66, Lac Courte Oreilles 25
Luck 70, Shell Lake 27
McDonell Central 50, Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran 36
Mellen 75, Mercer 51
New Auburn 64, Clear Lake 44
Northwood 62, Birchwood 35
Owen-Withee 65, Flambeau 40
Prentice 74, Gilman 52
Rib Lake 73, Cornell 29
Siren 53, Solon Springs 52
South Shore 76, Winter 52
Thorp 47, Lake Holcombe 44
Turtle Lake 80, Prairie Farm 72
Washburn 84, Butternut 13

Division 5 Sectional 2
Regional First Round
Almond-Bancroft 70, Tri-County 34
Assumption 59, Bowler 31
Columbus Catholic 58, Abbotsford 48
Florence 52, White Lake 30
Goodman/Pembine 43, Niagara 30
Green Bay N.E.W. Lutheran 74, Gillett 41
Greenwood 65, Loyal 59
Gresham Community 89, Sevastopol 52
Lena 51, Oneida Nation 49
Newman Catholic 72, Northland Lutheran 49
Phelps 37, Three Lakes 34
Pittsville 55, Wisconsin Valley Luth. 40
Port Edwards 70, Tigerton 27
Saint Thomas Aquinas 50, Suring 45
Wausaukee 77, Elcho 42
Wild Rose 57, Marion 56

Division 5 Sectional 3
Regional First Round
Alma/Pepin 82, Lincoln 59
Barneveld 48, Belmont 44
Eleva-Strum 68, Granton 37
Fennimore 54, River Ridge 49
Gilmanton 81, Independence 45
Hillsboro 70, Weston 50
La Farge 60, Kickapoo 44
North Crawford 53, Ithaca 42
Potosi 71, Southwestern 55
Royall 58, Cashton 53
Seneca 65, Highland 55
Shullsburg 61, Benton 25
Wauzeka-Steuben 45, De Soto 39, OT
Wonewoc-Center 48, New Lisbon 37

Division 5 Sectional 4
Regional First Round
Abundant Life Christian/St. Ambrose 69, Argyle 55
Albany 45, Juda 40
Catholic Central 63, Trinity Academy 25
Central Wisconsin Christian 52, Oakfield 40
Fall River 47, Cambria-Friesland 43
Heritage Christian 51, Faith Christian 31
Hilbert 85, Valley Christian 71
Hustisford 53, Rio 49
Living Word Lutheran 56, Kohler 44
Milwaukee Academy of Science 68, Eastbrook Academy 26
Randolph 56, Wayland Academy 31
Sheboygan County Christian 48, Elkhart Lake/Glenbeulah 33
Sheboygan Lutheran 64, Stockbridge 22
Williams Bay 70, Monticello 38

MENASHA – It’s one of the most traveled streets in Menasha and police say it is also the street that makes up 20% of all car crashes in the city.

We’re talking about Racine Street. Menasha Police told FOX 11 they are focusing on a roughly 8-block section between 9th and 1st Streets, hoping to make things safer.

During rush hour on Racine Street, car and foot traffic can make for a risky mix.

“It’s a heavy, heavy traffic area. There’s semis coming through here all the time. They’ve gotta do something,” said driver Dave Arft

Officer Aaron Zemlock told FOX 11 one-fifth of all city car crashes happen on and along Racine.

“It threw up a red flag for us that there’s a problem,” he said.

There are businesses, homes, the Menasha High School and soon-to-be Boys and Girls Club on Racine.

“We have had pedestrian-vehicle crashes, we’ve had, you know, at larger intersections, we’ve had rollover crashes,” explained Zemlock.

One step the police department is taking is to work with Valley Transit to move a bus stop at Third and Racine farther from the intersection. According to Zemlock a good deal of crashes happen there.

“Kind of a first step, something small, but just try to eliminate some of those crashes,” he said.

The department plans to put in new signage.

“Utilizing some of the digital speed limit signs just to give drivers that awareness of how fast they may be going,” Zemlock said.

According to Zemlock that would cost the department a couple hundred dollars a sign. He told us there will also be more officers in the area.

“Reaching out to the neighbors and the businesses that live along that corridor, asking, maybe for permission to even sit in a driveway,” Zemlock explained.

Zemlock told FOX 11 these are low or no cost steps that can be taken in the next few months. He said in the future the department wants to work to physically change the structure of the road, but that would need approval by the city council.

Business owners we spoke with off camera said they’d welcome work to make things safer and less congested. So did drivers.

“I think they should. I think they should’ve done it a long time ago,” said Arft.

Menasha’s mayor declined to comment on this story.

We reached out to the Menasha Joint School District for comment also, but did not hear back.