Green Bay News

MARINETTE COUNTY – Signs of Spring.

Some area waterfalls are starting to make some noise after months and months of ice covered the area.

One of those is Dave’s Falls near Amberg in Marinette County, the self-proclaimed waterfalls capital of Wisconsin.

“It’s another crisp day at Dave’s Falls Park,” said Kirk Witte, Marinette County Parks Foreman.

Witte checked winter conditions at the park Wednesday.

“There’s a lot of foot traffic through here. The people are definitely using the park, even though it’s officially not open,” said Witte.

Witte says it’s quiet this time of year, but there are sounds of Spring.

“The ice is thick, but you can still hear the water gurgling under. And there are some open spots where the ice is fractured and then pushed up from the force of the water,” said Witte.

The Pike River flows through the park, creating two separate waterfalls.

You have some real rocky relief. Cliffs over the falls. The upper falls are smaller than the main, lower falls. It’s still got a character all its own,” said Witte.

Witte says the park has a different look in the Winter.

“The terrain is partially-covered by snow, but some of the larger features still push through,” he said.

Like a frozen boulder.

“The sun has melted some of the snow on the top. But as it melted down the rock it froze. So we have this sheet of ice,” said Witte.

Witte says he experiences something different each time he visits.

“It isn’t just walking to the falls and turning around and going back. You can take a short hike, or as much as you want,” he said.

GREEN BAY- Cold air will be in place for the rest of the week.

Our temps are well below normal (normal high is 32).

Temperatures will be below zero until 9 a.m. and the wind chills will be -20 at times.

We’ll see a mix of sun and clouds throughout the day with a high near 11.

Another bitterly cold morning is expected Friday with a temperature near -8 at 6 a.m. and wind chills near -20.

Our afternoon highs on Friday only get into the teens with mostly sunny skies.

For Pete Petoniak’s complete forecast, click here.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — For two straight days this week, 2,000 union members converged on Wisconsin’s Capitol to rally against a new right-to-work bill, chanting, marching and hurling profanities at GOP lawmakers and Gov. Scott Walker.

The tone of the rallies has been bitter and angry but hasn’t come close to matching the energy that coursed through the building four years ago during massive protests against Walker’s proposal to strip public workers of most of their union rights. This time around, union members said Republicans are moving too fast to organize large crowds. Some have even conceded it’s a lost cause and the governor is bound to score another victory against organized labor.

“People are tired,” said Gerry Miller, a 44-year-old welder from Milwaukee and United Steelworkers member who joined Wednesday’s rally. “You do have a moral base that feels helpless.”

The dynamics of the right-to-work fight are very different than the 2011 battle.

Republicans who control the Legislature are moving at lightning-speed to get the bill through to Walker. They introduced the measure on Friday, and the Senate passed it Wednesday, making it difficult for unions to mobilize large-scale protests during the work week.

In 2011, public unions had weeks to organize and hold daily rallies against what became known as Act 10 because minority Democrats in the Senate decided to flee to Illinois in an ultimately futile attempt to block a vote in that chamber.

The Senate needed a quorum to vote on Act 10 because it had a fiscal effect on the state, a requirement Republicans eventually got around by stripping the fiscal elements out of the measure so they could pass it without the Democrats. Leaving the state wouldn’t help Democrats this time. The right-to-work bill has no state fiscal effect.

“(Republicans have) gotten smarter,” said Perry Kettner, leader of the Milwaukee and Madison Allied Printing Trades Council. “They’re trying to push it through quickly when people can’t come in. On a weekend when workers get out of the factories, they’d be here.”

Right-to-work also doesn’t have the novelty or scope of Act 10.

Twenty-four states already have enacted right-to-work laws, which generally prohibit businesses and private-sector unions from mandating workers pay union dues regardless of whether they’re union members. The laws don’t restrict unions’ bargaining powers like Act 10 did.

Union membership has declined in Wisconsin, too. Last year, 11.7 percent of public- and private-sector workers combined belonged to unions, based on figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — down from 12.3 percent in 2013 and 14.2 percent in 2010.

There’s an air of inevitability hanging heavy over this fight as well. Republicans have the votes to pass it in the Assembly following its clearing the Senate, and Walker, who is mulling a 2016 presidential bid, has said he’ll sign it into law.

Union members are exhausted after watching Walker push through Act 10, survive an ensuing recall attempt and win a second term in November, said Seth Markgraf, a 34-year-old construction worker from Arlington.

“You fight the good fight against Walker and he beats you,” said Markgraf, who belongs to construction-trade union LIUNA’s Local 113 Milwaukee chapter. “They beat us in the recall and they beat us in another general election. It’s just apathy. How do we beat Scott Walker?”

Miller acknowledged the bill will pass, which means unions will have no choice but to work harder to convince people to join them.

“We start again with what other right-to-work states have done — explain why it’s important to be a member,” he said. “We have a whole other agenda now.”

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Associated Press writer Dana Ferguson contributed to this report.

INDIANAPOLIS — Kellen Dunham scored 22 points and Kameron Woods added 14 to lead No. 23 Butler to a 73-52 win over Marquette on Wednesday night.

The Bulldogs (20-8, 10-5 Big East) rebounded from their worst loss of the season by winning their 20th game of the season for the 20th time in school history. Butler also avoided losing back-to-back games for the first time since mid-December.

Marquette (11-16, 4-12) was led by Luke Fisher with 17 points. It has lost four straight.

The short-handed Golden Eagles still managed to make things tough on Butler for nearly 30 minutes.

But after taking a 37-30 halftime lead, the Bulldogs finally seized control on Dunham’s back-to-back 3s. That gave Butler a 44-35 advantage with 15:53 to play. The Bulldogs then used a 7-0 run to push the lead to 59-42 with 8:43 left, and the Golden Eagles never challenged again.

It was a badly needed win for Butler, which lost by 17 points on Saturday against Xavier after starting forward Andrew Chrabascz went down with a broken bone in his right hand. Chrabascz didn’t play Wednesday, either.

But this time, though, the Bulldogs had plenty of options to make up for Chrabascz’s absence.

In addition to Dunham and Woods, Roosevelt Jones had 10 points, six assists and four rebounds. Freshman Tyler Wideman matched his season high with eight points, all in the first half, and grabbed eight rebounds. And another freshman, Kelan Martin, scored nine points off the bench.

The combination was simply too much for Marquette, which had only eight scholarship players available.

Butler took full advantage by jumping into the lead in the opening minutes, never trailed and continued pulling away over the final five minutes.

TIP-INS
Marquette: The good news was that the Golden Eagles had their top scorer and leading rebounder back Wednesday. The bad news: They didn’t play well. After missing four games with a concussion, Matt Carlino wound up with 10 points. And Juan Anderson, who missed Saturday’s game against Villanova with an ankle injury, grabbed no rebounds.
Butler: For the Bulldogs it was milestone night. Jones became the second Bulldogs’ player this season to top the 1,000-point mark. Dunham moved into the top 20 on the school’s career scoring list and now has 1,319 points and 200 career 3s. Woods had seven rebounds, tying Matt Howard (884) for No. 3 on the school’s career list. Howard’s father, Stan, sang the National Anthem, too.

UP NEXT
Marquette: Travels to Providence on Sunday.
Butler: Visits DePaul on Saturday.

GREEN BAY — Natisha Hiedeman has confidence in her game.

When she needs a basket, she knows she can get it.

Don’t believe her, then read this: “If I need to hit a shot I just tell myself I can do it no matter who’s on me. I would tell myself that if Michael Jordan was guarding me.”

That approach has allowed Green Bay Southwest’s Natisha Hiedeman to reach her goals on the basketball court as on Feb. 17 she became the Green Bay metro’s all-time leading scorer in girls basketball, surpassing Green Bay Preble’s Kenzie Perttu (1,626 points).

Entering Friday’s regional semifinal against Seymour, Hiedeman is sitting at 1,664 career points.

Basically, my whole life I’ve just been looking at the school record and then once that got into reach I was focused on the metro record and I wasn’t going to be satisfied until I got it,” she said.

Hiedeman’s not done yet, either. She has a chance to become the metro area’s all-time leading scorer as she trails the boys’ all-time leading scorer, N.E.W. Lutheran’s Adam Jones (1,734 points), by 70 points.

Hiedeman has gotten this far because she works tirelessly. Junior teammate Clare Zakowski said watching Hiedeman work so hard at her game makes everyone else on the team do the same.

That’s why Hiedeman can hit a step-back 3-pointer, drive to the basket after a few behind-the-back dribbles and when the defense is focused on her, she can find the open player for a shot.

That’s why the left-hander is sixth in the state, averaging 25.3 points per game.

“When she was an eighth-grader, we had her over practicing without JV team; we could see she was special, someone who was going to be with the varsity as a freshman year,” Southwest coach Casey Zakowski said. “As far as scoring 1,600 career points and bringing the program where it is, I don’t think anybody thought that she’d be this good.”

But she is. She’s so good that she has signed with Marquette, where her half-brother, former Seymour star, Sandy Cohen plays.

She hopes to have a longer tournament run than Cohen did a year ago, when Seymour lost in a sectional semifinal. Hiedeman hopes to lead her team to the state tournament.

“This is my last shot at doing something in the tournament and I know that it would mean a lot to the team,” she said. “If we cannot just make it past the first or second round, but continue on.”

Southwest (16-6) is in a difficult Division 2 bracket as it opens tournament play Friday by hosting Seymour (17-5). Then if it wins, the Trojans would likely play Pulaski (17-5), which it has split two games with this season.

And that’s just to get to sectionals. Time will tell how far the Trojans will go, but the player who’s called “T-Spoon” by her friends has had quite a career.

“It’s amazing,” Clare Zakowski said. “It’s really fun. I’ve been watching her since middle school and seeing how far she has come. And just playing on the team with her, you’re like part of it, kind of. It’s awesome. It’s been really fun watching her.”

Follow Doug Ritchay on Twitter @dougritchay

GREEN BAY – The one-time toxic Renard Island, just off shore from Bay Beach Amusement Park is ready for limited use.

However, there could be problems accessing the 55-acre island.

“It’s kind of like the bridge to nowhere at that point,” said Brown County Board Member Bernie Erickson of a temporary causeway to the island.

Brown County is in the process of taking over ownership of the island.

Erickson says the county could take ownership of the causeway, but for that to happen, the Army Corps of Engineers is requiring a permanent easement, or a way to get between the road and the causeway. It’s something the city of Green Bay hasn’t been willing to agree to.

“That easement could be as simple as a parking lot on that end of Bay Beach,” said Erickson.

The city says it wants to keep the land where the easement would go flexible for Bay Beach expansion.

“Right now it’s considered maybe additional parking space area and or areas that we would put an open shelter eventually in there, or even in the future a bathhouse,” said Dawne Cramer, the city’s parks director.

The city believes those options are more attractive than what they call limited possibilities for Renard Island. County leaders say the island is ready for possible walking trails, fishing, or an amphitheater.

“That island would be very valuable to go at for additional development,” said Erickson.

That won’t be possible without the easement. The Corps of Engineers has said without an easement, it would take out the causeway.

“We would hope that we could reach an agreement, some way to make it work for everybody,” said Cramer.

The city’s parks committee voted to do more research before making a decision.

GREEN BAY – For college-bound high school seniors and their families, filling out federal financial aid forms can seem daunting.

Students and parents received a crash course at Green Bay East High School Monday night, at one of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s “College Goal Wisconsin” events.

But the lesson came with a warning: Federal aid may not go as far as you are hoping.

Senior Kayla Beyersdorf from Bonduel sat down with her mom, ready to tackle the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, also known as FAFSA.

And they’re hoping for a good chunk of change.

“I plan on going to UW-Milwaukee for biomedical sciences, and it is 22 grand a year. So, obviously, anything will help. And then med school is very expensive,” said Beyersdorf, who plans on being a medical doctor.

Guidance counselors helped families through the forms Wednesday night at Green Bay East High School.

“The best opportunity is if they were to get a grant which is a form of financial aid where they don’t have to pay it back. There are also different student loans. They can also get work study opportunities,” said Green Bay Schools Guidance Counselor Angela Buchenauer.

To apply, students and parents needed to provide a long list of personal information, as well as 2014 tax info, and savings, investments and other assets.

Federal Pell Grants generally go to the lowest income students. Many middle class families find themselves only qualifying for subsidized loans. So, we asked families filling out forms here if FAFSA is worth it.

“It would be nice to not have to take out a high interest loan for schooling for her that she has to make payments on during schooling,” said Lisa Beyersdorf, Kayla’s mother.

“For me, my child will not receive a ton of money,” said Buchenauer. “But, there would be opportunity for her to do work study as well as do some loans.

Guidance counselors say even if you don’t receive a scholarship from FAFSA, filling out the form could open up doors.

“You have to have your FAFSA form filled out to apply for those scholarships,” said Buchenauer.

Beyersdorf says she plans on applying for other scholarships outside of the FAFSA form—trying to find one more piece to the puzzle of paying for a college education.

The tuition and fees for a four year UW-system education, for a Wisconsin resident, is at least $30 thousand. Housing, food and other expenses are in addition.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) – People across northern Arizona couldn’t use the Internet, their cellphones or landlines for several hours Wednesday after someone vandalized a fiber-optic line that brings communications to a large part of the state, officials said.

Businesses couldn’t process credit card transactions, ATMs didn’t function, law enforcement databases were unavailable, and even weather reports were affected in an area stretching from north of Phoenix to Flagstaff, about 100 miles away.

CenturyLink spokesman Alex Juarez said the problem was first reported around noon. Internet and phone service started to come back to some residents and businesses in Flagstaff by 6:30 p.m.

Juarez said all customers should be back online by 3 a.m. Thursday. He didn’t have an estimate of how many were affected.

Phoenix police said CenturyLink employees found that the fiber-optic cable in far north Phoenix had been completely cut through.

The cable, which CenturyLink owns, is near a riverbed in an area that isn’t accessible to vehicles. It carries signals for various cellphone, television and Internet providers that serve northern Arizona.

According to Juarez, technicians from Monroe, Louisiana-based CenturyLink had to go through a long, tedious process of inspecting the line “mile by mile.” Meanwhile, Flagstaff’s 69,000 residents tried to go about their daily business.

Zak Holland, who works at a computer store at Northern Arizona University, said distraught students were nearly in tears when he said nothing could be done to restore their Internet connection.

“It was kind of a slap in the face if the Internet goes down,” Holland said. “It just goes to show how dependent we are on the Internet when it disappears.”

Many students told Holland they needed to get online to finish school assignments. University spokesman Tom Bauer said it was up to individual professors on how to handle potentially late assignments.

Kate Hance and Jessie Hutchison stopped at a Wells Fargo ATM to get cash because an ice cream shop couldn’t take credit cards without a data connection. They left empty-handed because the outage also put cash machines out of service.

“It’s moderately annoying, but it’s not going to ruin my day,” Hutchison said.

Staff at Bookmans Entertainment Exchange in Flagstaff said they tried for about 45 minutes to restore their Internet connection before employees realized their equipment wasn’t the problem.

People often go to the popular bookstore and cafe to do homework, listen to music, watch movies and browse jobs online. Some set down their computers Wednesday only to walk out minutes later after learning Internet service was down.

Staff suggested to kids bewildered by the technical problem that they should read a book.

Cordell Charley just finished some online banking when the outage happened and shut off his computer to grab lunch.

“You just feel lost,” he said. “It’s like, what happened?”

Mark Goldstein, secretary for the Arizona Telecommunications and Information Council, said CenturyLink’s cable likely has bundles of fibers that can be leased to multiple service providers. If the line follows only one direction with no alternative paths to reroute service, then any damage to the line will wreak havoc.

At Flagstaff City Hall, employees were unable make or receive calls at their desks.

“It’s quieter than usual,” said Stephanie Smith, assistant to the city manager. “The good thing is there is still lots of work to get done even without phones ringing.”

The city was relying on the Arizona Department of Public Safety to assist with dispatching police and fire services.

In Prescott Valley, about 75 miles north of Phoenix, authorities said 911 service was being supplemented with hand-held radios and alternate phone numbers. Water and sewer facilities switched to manual operations, and residents needed cash to make utility and court payments.

Yavapai County spokesman Dwight D’Evelyn said 911 lines were limited Wednesday afternoon and authorities couldn’t access law enforcement databases.

Weather reports from the region weren’t able to reach anyone. During their evening newscasts, Phoenix television stations showed blank spaces on their weather maps where local temperatures would normally appear.

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Associated Press writer Terry Tang in Phoenix contributed to this report.

LA CROSSE, Wis. (AP) – A La Crosse woman will spend 18 months on probation for breaking into an Onalaska animal shelter to steal her cats back last year.

Forty-seven-year-old Lee Ann Shore was sentenced Wednesday. The complaint alleges Shore shattered a window at the Coulee Region Humane Society in late May to steal 15 cats, including eight seized from her apartment.

The La Crosse Tribune reports while on supervision, Shore cannot have contact with the humane society or own more than four cats. She also must pay restitution and serve 80 hours of community service.

Defense attorney Vincent Rust says Shore tried to rescue her cats from euthanasia.

Judge Todd Bjerke praised Shore’s respect for animals but told her there “are other things you can do besides damage and harass the humane society.”

BAYFIELD, Wis. (AP) – Apostle Islands National Lakeshore officials say the popular ice caves are set to open to the public Saturday if conditions don’t change.

The National Park Service made the announcement Wednesday. But officials urge caution for people who make the trek on Lake Superior ice.

Minnesota Public Radio News reports lakeshore planning chief Julie Van Stappen warns the ice is slippery.

Van Stappen says unlike last year, “it’s almost glare ice for a good chunk of the way.” Officials recommend people use crampons and use ski poles.

The ice caves drew more than 138,000 tourists last year as the deep freeze made the caves accessible to pedestrians for the first time in nearly five years. The park system plans a $5 fee this year for visitors age 16 and older.

The Red Planet, Mars, has been home to a few robotic instruments over the past few years, most recently the Curiosity rover.

And in the past couple days, its sensors picked up on a curious occurrence.

The Curiosity rover is capable of taking atmospheric measurements like pressure and temperature, though sometimes that data is a little slow to come in.

The most recent temperature measurement available is from this past Saturday, when it measured a high of 28 degrees Fahrenheit.

What was the high temperature that day in Green Bay?

Why, 28 degrees Fahrenheit.

That’s right, we were just as cold as Mars this past Saturday.

The day before, Curiosity, just south of the Martian equator, measure a high of 32 degrees– twice that of Green Bay’s high, which was 16.

This might be the only time of the year that this coincidence is possible.

According to Alan J. Peche, director of the Barlow Planetarium at UW-Fox Valley, “Mars just started is southern hemisphere summer a little bit more than a month ago. And they’re at the closest point of their year to the sun. So they’re very close to the sun, so all that stuff is adding up.”

But it’s not all sunshine and warmth on Mars in the summer.

Never mind that you wouldn’t be able to breathe on the surface, low temperatures drop below zero at night– WAY below zero, down to about minus 100 Fahrenheit this past Saturday.

ERROR NOTE: The planetary body shown in the opening and closing side-monitor shots is not that of Mars, but of the Moon during a recent “blood moon” event. We apologize for the error.

Omro played at Freedom on Tuesday in a Division 2 girls basketball regional opener.

Freedom won, 65-33.

TOWN OF VANDENBROEK – It’s about that time to start thinking about doing some spring cleaning. But there’s a renewed push not to just throw stuff away.

Stuff like clothing.

And with a little help, Outagamie County’s making the push to help its landfill.

“It’s the lifeblood of what we do,” said Dan Flannery, Vice President of Communications for Goodwill Industries of North Central Wisconsin. “We have to keep the lights on and the door open.”

The non-profit takes people’s donations and sells the items to others, supporting hundreds of jobs and programs across the state.

And now a new pilot program between Goodwill and Outagamie County is opening another door to donations – saving them from the county landfill.

“It’s actually one of these, ‘why we didn’t think of this before’ ideas,” said Flannery. “We use these donations that are given to us in as many different ways as we possibly can.”

Donation boxes at the landfill will be collected for use in Goodwill stores, bulk sale on the secondary market or re-purposing.

“If you’re taking valuable material in the landfill and burying it, there is no good in that,” said Jill Martin, Outagamie County’s recycling administrator.

County officials estimate up to 125 tons of textile materials are sent to the trash heap in a given year – 250,000 pounds of stuff that could be diverted.

The amount pales in comparison to the more than one billion pounds of waste the landfill saw last year; about 194 million pounds of recyclable commodities (metals and plastics) were diverted.

“Anything we can do to direct any of the commodities that are going into the land fill is a great benefit to the landfill and the community,” said Martin.

And the county.

“There’s a huge cost savings,” said Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson. “As the cost of setting this up, it isn’t that big.”

It’s just a small effort to address a problem that isn’t going to go away anytime soon.

Goodwill says you shouldn’t feel uncomfortable donating well-worn items. Clothing items that are maybe worn out, or tattered can be re-purposed and re-used for businesses like auto shops and painters.

ATLANTA – De Pere native Jason Berken is getting another shot at the big leagues, signing a minor league contract to go to training camp with the Philadelphia Phillies.

The right-handed pitcher had knee surgery in the off-season to repair some torn cartilage in his left knee, the plant leg for a pitcher, that he had injured near the end of last season.

“I’m excited to get another opportunity, still chasing the dream,” Berken told Fox 11 today. “I need to pitch well in camp, and hopefully I’ll get another chance to pitch in the major leagues.”

Berken, in Georgia working out for the off-season, will get to Phillies camp in Florida on March 5th, with no guarantee he will get a spot on the roster.

“I feel better than I have my whole career,” said Berken. “My arm feels great, and now my knee is healthy, I’m looking forward to having a great spring. I know I have to perform to make the team, so I’m just focused on going out there and showing what I can do.”

Berken, who pitched for West De Pere High School, broke in with the Orioles, and last pitched in the big leagues for the Cubs in 2012. He has a 10-20 record, with a 5.36 ERA in four seasons in the majors.

OSHKOSH – An agricultural construction company is moving it’s operations to the Fox Valley, expecting to bring 30 full-time positions to the area.

AgriSteel will move their entire operations from Seymour to Oshkosh so they can combine all their operations under one roof.

The move to the new facility is planned to be completed by March 2, 2015.

They expect to bring 20 full-time positions to the area by March and then add an additional 10 full-time positions by the end of 2015.

Not only will the move increase efficiency in work-flow but will also be more employee-friendly adding modern office spaces, breakrooms and locker facilities.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Results of tests given to Wisconsin public school students this year would not be used on the state’s report cards and teacher evaluations would be delayed a year under a bill that’s been put forward in the Senate.

Republican Sen. Paul Farrow is circulating the proposal with a Thursday deadline for co-sponsors.

The measure comes after Gov. Scott Walker proposed eliminating the Smarter Balanced test after this year. The test is aligned with the Common Core academic standards.

Farrow has said that it’s not right to hold teachers and schools accountable based on a test that’s only going to be used for one year.

State Superintendent Tony Evers sent school administrators a letter last week saying he supported a delay like the one Farrow proposes.

NEW YORK (AP) – The owner of T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods stores became the latest retailer to boost pay for its U.S. workers, putting pressure on other chains to do the same.

TJX Cos. said Wednesday that it will increase pay for its U.S. workers to at least $9 an hour starting in June. The announcement came a week after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it would increase starting wages for its U.S. employees to at least $9 per hour by April and by at least $10 by Feb. 2016. Home furnishings retailer IKEA and Gap clothing chain also have raised pay recently.

John Challenger, CEO of global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., said the moves could create a domino effect in which other companies follow suit in order to compete for top talent.

“Other retailers may have no other choice but to follow,” he said. “The pool of available labor is starting to shrink and it will take more than a store discount to attract the best of available candidates.”

The moves by the major retailers to raise wages come at a pivotal time when the plight of hourly workers has made national headlines.

Protests by fast food workers asking for higher pay have increased. Labor-backed groups have taken aim at Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest private employer with 1.3 million workers, to start entry wages at $15 per hour. And President Obama is endorsing a bill in Congress that includes a proposed increase in the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour, while several states are considering raising their minimum wages.

At the same time, there’s much national debate about what is a “living wage,” or enough money for a worker to make in order to make ends meet. Most retail workers already make more than the federal minimum wage but not much more. In fact, more than half of retail workers make $10 or less, according to David Cooper of The Economic Policy Institute.

According to the most recent government data, the average that hourly retail workers in a non-supervisory role earn is $14.65, but that includes people who work at auto dealers and other outlets that pay more than traditional retailers. The average hourly pay is $9.93 for cashiers and low-level retail sales staff, according to Hay Group’s survey of 140 retailers with annual sales of $500 million.

Whatever the major players in the U.S. retail industry decide to do will have a big impact on the job market as a whole. In fact, the industry supports one in every four U.S. jobs, representing about 42 million workers.

Still, the industry has mostly shunned the idea of higher wages. The National Retail Federation, which represents some of the nation’s largest retailers, is fighting President Obama’s proposal, saying the financial burden could force them to raise prices or reduce workforce.

Target Corp. executives weighed in on the issue Wednesday during the company’s earnings conference call, saying that it is always assessing the marketplace to determine competitive wages. But they said the recent announcements from Wal-Mart and others haven’t changed their views on wages. Executives declined to comment on Target’s average hourly wage rate, but they did say all of Target’s workers make more than the federal minimum wage. A Credit Suisse report estimates Target pays $9.06 per hour, based on a sample size of 985 workers.

“Our goal is to make sure we have the very best team in retail,” Target’s CEO Brian Cornell told investors Wednesday. “And we’re going to continue to invest in their development and make sure …  we’re very competitive with the wages we provide.”

TJX spokeswoman Doreen Thompson declined to say what its workers currently earn, but a recent Credit Suisse report estimates TJX’s current hourly pay at about $8.24, based on a sampling of 116 workers.

In addition to higher starting wages, TJX, which has 191,000 workers globally that restock shelves, greet customers and ring up purchases, said that in 2016, the company plans to pay all workers who have worked at its stores for more than six months at least $10 per hour.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The state Department of Natural Resources’ board has approved county advisory councils’ local deer population goals.

Gov. Scott Walker’s so-called “deer czar” Dr. James Kroll recommended the DNR form the councils as a way of improving deer management in Wisconsin. The DNR complied and asked the councils to recommend whether to increase, maintain or decrease their local herds over the next three years.

Most councils recommended increasing or maintaining. Councils in nine counties threatened by chronic wasting disease recommended growing or maintaining their herds despite scientists’ advice that thinning the herd is the best way to slow the disease’s spread.

The board adopted the recommendations without making any changes Wednesday. The councils will start reconvening in March to develop antlerless permit quotas to help move the local herds toward goal.

The Green Bay Packers have released linebacker A.J. Hawk. The transaction was announced by Executive Vice President, General Manager and Director of Football Operations Ted Thompson Wednesday afternoon.

Hawk is the franchise’s all-time leader in tackles with 1,118. The nine-year veteran was drafted by the team in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft.

In nine seasons, he appeared in 142 of the team’s possible 144 regular season games, making 136 starts. The standout also played in 13 postseason games, starting 11.

The Ohio State product led the team in tackles five times and made the Pro Bowl in 2010.

SNOQUALMIE, WA – Warmer winter weather out west may be causing bears to come out of hibernation early and their search for food is taking them to people’s homes.

There is a new push to keep bears away from people and their garbage. Police started the push for tougher rules to keep bears out several years ago but the efforts have stepped up after a bear killed a dog recently.

Now, if a person leaves unsecured garbage out as food, they will face a fine.

Police chief, Steven McCulley, “I know our residents vary and I think with information, education, and maybe a general warning, and if they have to get the can I think it won’t be a problem.”

The first time police are called it’s a warning, but after that, it is a fine of $128.