Green Bay News

OSHKOSH – Looking for a new way to burn some calories?

How about taking an aerial yoga class?

Deb Sommerhalder with Inner Sun Yoga Studio in Oshkosh joined FOX 11’s Emily Deem on Good Day Wisconsin.

Deb offers a wide variety of classes: aerial yoga, restore and renew, mellow flow and more.

Click here for more information about Inner Sun Yoga Studio.

MUNISING, Mich. (AP) – Authorities say snowmobilers from Wisconsin and Illinois have died in separate crashes this week in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

The Alger County sheriff’s department says 44-year-old Jeffery Togstad of Weyauwega, Wisconsin, died following a crash Thursday. Investigators say he was riding with a group on Trail 417 when he lost control of the snowmobile and crashed.

On Tuesday, the sheriff’s department says 45-year-old Donald Stagner of New Lenox, Illinois, died following a crash when he failed to negotiate a corner on Trail 7.

Authorities say excessive speed is believed to be a factor in both crashes, which are under investigation.

GREEN BAY- Click here for a list of school closings and delays.

GREEN BAY- We’re starting Friday off below zero, but we will warm into the teens with snow developing this afternoon.

Accumulations of 1 to 2 inches are expected by Saturday morning. Be careful on your commute home as roads will become snow-covered and slippery.

It will get warmer Saturday with a high near 25, mostly cloudy skies and some afternoon light snow possible.

LAKE TOMAHAWK- One person is dead after a snowmobile crash in northern Wisconsin.

Officials say the crash happened around 5 p.m. Thursday in Lake Tomahawk, that’s in Oneida County.

Witnesses say the man hit a tree. He died at the scene.

3:15 a.m. Update Friday:

Green Bay Police say the 34-year-old man driving the pick up truck died.

No one inside the home was hurt.

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GREEN BAY- A portion of Walnut and Baird Streets is closed due to a crash.

Officials say a truck hit a home in the 1300 block of East Walnut Street around 1 a.m. Friday.

Green Bay Police won’t comment on injuries.

We have a crew on the way to the scene and will bring you updates as we learn them.

Behind 12 3-pointers and five players scoring in double figures, the Green Bay women’s basketball team rolled past Valparaiso, 87-45 Thursday night at the Kress Center.

With the victory, coach Kevin Borseth reaches the illustrious 600-win plateau. He is the 51st women’s basketball coach in history to accumulate the victory total. Borseth has spent 12 years with the Phoenix, compiling 288 wins over the period.

Tesha Buck led all scorers with 16 points, Ellen Edison chipped in with 14 off the bench. With the win, the team improves to 21-4 overall and 11-1 in Horizon League play.

Green Bay can clinch their 17th straight Horizon League Championship Saturday at 1 p.m. when they host UIC. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.

Boys hockey regional finals took place on Thursday night. Click on the video to see highlights of Notre Dame’s win over Fox Cities Stars. Also, a battle between two Eastern valley teams in the Fox 11 top 11 in girls basketball. Boys brackets will be released this weekend. Make sure to tune into Fox 11 Sports Edge on Sunday night for a breakdown of the brackets.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) – Hendrick Motorsports swept Thursday night’s qualifying races for the Daytona 500, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson winning their respective duel.

The Earnhardt and Johnson wins were anticlimactic, with the drama saved for Danica Patrick’s desperate bid to make Sunday’s opening race.

Her second incident with Denny Hamlin in two days led to a frantic effort by her Stewart-Haas Racing crew to make rapid repairs for her to have a shot at making the 500. She restarted 18th with two laps to go and was pushed all the way around Daytona International Speedway by teammate Kurt Busch to finish 10th.

It was good enough for her to make the field – Patrick had to finish inside the top 15 of the second duel – but any joy was immediately lost as she confronted Hamlin on pit road.

An incident between the two in Wednesday’s practice sent Patrick to her backup car, and she felt Hamlin had spun her Thursday night.

They had a heated argument, with Hamlin at times appearing to try to calm Patrick, and he finally seemed exasperated when he covered his face with his hands.

“He cut across my rear bumper and pulls the back end around,” Patrick said. “I get being close. But he’s been going to my left rear and it just gets it light. I don’t want to have these issues, but if we’re going to have these issues then we’re going to have to deal with them. We can’t be putting ourselves out of our race at someone else’s expense and nothing’s happened to him.”

Tony Stewart, her car co-owner, entered the fray and seemed to shout at Hamlin.

“Tony came down and said, ‘You need to watch the replay,’ which is good to hear. My boss obviously was sitting on the pit box and saw it,” she said. “We’re going to have to figure it out because this isn’t going to end well.”

Hamlin was adamant that Patrick’s car was too loose, he didn’t touch her and the spin was an aerodynamic issue.

“I try to treat everyone as equal,” Hamlin said. “If you’re in this Cup series, you deserved your way here and you can handle a lot of situations. I just got close to her and her car got loose again. I just tried to explain that, ‘Danica, oh, it’s you, I’ve got to stay away two feet because your car is loose?’

“We’re trying to move forward. What are we racing for? Eighth in a twin race? It’s not much, but I guess I just have to give more room because once I get close enough to her, her car just gets out of control.”

When Hamlin and Patrick were finally separated, Busch was waiting to congratulate her. He did it by cupping her face with both hands; Busch has been accused by an ex-girlfriend of domestic assault, and he has maintained he merely cupped her face.

Meanwhile, Hendrick Motorsports has dominated qualifying and will start 1-2-3 in “The Great American Race.”

Jeff Gordon and Johnson swept the front row Sunday in the first round of qualifying. Then Earnhardt, the defending Daytona 500 winner, won the first duel to take the third starting spot.

“We’ve had a great car all week,” Earnhardt said. “I’m so glad to get through the duel in one piece because I know how good this car is. We’re going to have a fun day on Sunday.”

Gordon, the four-time NASCAR champion, finished second in the duel and was followed by Joey Logano, Stewart and Clint Bowyer.

Johnson easily won the second duel, leading Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle across the finish line.

MENASHA – Teams from around the state gathered Thursday night in Menasha to show off their robot building skills.

24 teams competed for places in the State Championship at UW-Fox Valley. The students built robots with mentors in small teams.

For four months, they’ve been getting the robots ready for the big championship.

Organizers say this is an opportunity for engineering enthusiasts.

After the State Championship, teams will compete against each other in the World Championship this spring in Kentucky.

GREEN BAY – Stray animals picked up in Green Bay won’t be going to a different facility anytime soon, despite one alderman’s attempt to terminate the city’s animal contract.

At Green Bay’s advisory committee meeting, Packerland Veterinary Clinic employees told city council members there was no reason to reconsider the contract they were awarded 20 months ago.

“Packerland has done nothing to deviate from that contract,” said Sarah Gordon, a Packerland employee.

Green Bay agreed in 2013 to give Packerland $144,000 a year to take care of stray animals picked up in the city.

However, Alderman Tim DeWane wants that contract to go back to the Bay Area Humane Society, which handled the city’s strays for about 50 years. DeWane says he heard concerns about Packerland. People at the meeting shared some of the concerns.

“If you still happen to be looking for your pet after day seven, after the stray hold is up, good luck because apparently even the staff at Packerland are uncertain where certain animals end up,” said Jeffery Parish of Ashwaubenon.

Packerland admitted it has to send animals to other facilities after seven days to make room for other strays. However, that is an issue city council members knew about when they awarded the contract to Packerland.

“If somebody doesn’t think we’re doing our job or doing an animal justice, it’s hard not to take it personal,” said Chanda Holshbach, the owner of Packerland Veterinary Clnic.

In the end, the city’s five advisory council members voted 3 to 2 to receive and place on file DeWane’s request, keeping the contract with Packerland.

“We’ve heard zero complaints, a contract is a contract,” said Holshbach.

As for the Bay Area Humane Society, it’s director of operations, Olivia Webster, said the decision was up to the committee. Webster said she couldn’t comment on Packerland’s performance.

“It’s in the best interest of the animals, so we do need to put our differences aside and work together,” said Webster.

Packerland’s contract ends in 2016.

The advisory committee also put aside a request to have someone outside of city government run the animal control. Right now, the police department handles it.

The city council still must sign off on both decisions.

Grandparents taking on the role of parent has become a rising trend.

But those in the midst of it say it comes with both challenges and rewards.

Like paint for their grandson Jeffrey’s diorama, the Arbogash family home is blended. Not of colors, but of generations.

“Our daughter was in a pretty bad car accident when she was seven-and-one- half months pregnant,” said Dawn Arbogash. “Jeff and she both came to live with us.”

“I like them a lot, because they’re really nice,” her grandson said.

After ten-year-old Jeffrey was diagnosed with autism and Tourette’s syndrome, Dawn and her husband Norman took over care of their grandson full-time.

“To me, it was a no-brainer. That’s just the way it is,” said Arbogash.

“It’s a phenomena that’s happening more and more, and for a variety of reasons,” said Chris Kniep.

Kniep works for the UW-Extension office in Winnebago County. Since 1999, she’s run a support group for people just like the Arbogash family.

“They’re no longer a grandparent, they’re a parent. So they’re teaching rules and boundaries and doing homework,” said Kniep.

Arbogash says she’s found comfort with the nearly 60 other members.

“It’s been great to be with people who have to be in the same position,” she said.

We checked into what resources are available for grandparents as parents. The State Department of Human Services offers Kinship Care.

“It’s a financial program. We’re also talking about medical assistance and daycare programs,” said Joyce Helz with Winnebago County Human Services.

Though kinship care is available statewide, not every county has a support group for grandparents acting as parents.

“Locally, there’s not a whole lot. But grandparents are welcome in our parenting classes. They’re welcome to participate in our home visiting services,” said Franchesca Carley with the Brown County Family and Childhood Resources Center.

The Brown County Family and Childhood Resource Center opens its playrooms to local grandparents.

“It’s a destination to go to that you know is safe and you know that there will be other kids,” said Bobbi Zaker of Green Bay.

Zaker cares for two of her grandchildren, including two-year-old Eliana.

“You’re not the only person out here,” said FOX 11’s Kelly Schlicht.

“No, no, not by a long shot,” said Zaker. “I mean, you see it everywhere you go.”

Zaker says she’s forging a special bond with her grandchildren. But, she says that doesn’t mean there aren’t challenges.

“It’s not easy because you do have to take care of everything. And sometimes you think, well, maybe their mom should do more,” said Zaker. “But, she’s working, too.”

Grandparents say it’s not just the time, but the financial investment as well.

“They’re planning for their own retirement and now they have the financial challenges of raising children again,” said Helz.

“I’m going to have to work until I’m 71 or 72, until Jeffrey gets out of high school. That’s a fact of life,” said Norman Arbogash.

But the Arbogash family says raising Jeffrey has been worth every second.

“I don’t regret it for a second,” said Dawn.

“I don’t either,” said Norman. “To see a smile on his face, fantastic.”

Click here for resources for grandparents in Brown County.

Click here for resources for grandparents in Winnebago County.

Click here for resources for grandparents statewide.

APPLETON – As he considers a run for the White House, Governor Walker has faced some criticism for not having a college degree. So we wanted to know, do voters care about a college degree?

Governor Scott Walker left Marquette University just shy of completing his bachelor’s degree.

“I’ve got two sons in college. I hope they finish, I expect that. My wife and I are helping fund their pathway, along with the hard work they’re putting in. So we value college for those who choose that career, but in the end you don’t have to have that to be successful like many Americans have over the years,” said the governor during an interview with FOX News.

According to the U.S. census about 73% of adults, 25-years and older in Wisconsin do not have college degrees.

The most recent President to not have a degree was Harry Truman.

“I think what the average voter cares about is having the best man for the job and that’s what the system should be about and if he proves he’s the best man, I don’t think this degree’s gonna stop him,” said Outagamie County Republican Party Chair Ron Tusler.

Green Bay area political strategist Mark Graul agrees. He told FOX 11 a diploma isn’t a requirement and won't change many minds.

“Whether or not a person has a college degree I don’t think is gonna be the top of anybody's list of concerns to decide who should be the next President of the United States,” explained Graul.

However, Outagamie County Democratic Party Chair Dottie LeClair told us the Governor could have benefited from finishing his degree.

"He needs more of an education, from my way of thinking, to be President," she said.

LeClair said that includes learning more about policies and cultures from around the world.

“I don’t believe that Governor Walker has those views and that understanding. The President is going to be dealing with world leaders and Walker is totally, it seems he is totally against education of any kind,” LeClair explained.

Walker has said he left college to pursue a job with the Red Cross.

Governor Walker has not officially announced a Presidential run. He has hired staffers in key states like Iowa and New Hampshire.

MANITOWOC – Police in Manitowoc are looking for a man who they say was involved in an assault incident at the Kohl’s store Thursday afternoon.

Police say around 3:00 p.m. the man assaulted another customer at the store, located at 4411 Dewey Street.

The suspect is described as a white man in his 20’s, approximately 5’10” tall and weighing between 130-150 pounds. He was wearing a silver and black wool athletic jacket with a black hood. He has short blonde hair and dark-rimmed glasses.

Police also say he drives a dark-colored regular cab pickup truck.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Manitowoc Police Department at (920) 686-6551 or can remain anonymous and call CrimeStoppers at (920) 683-4466.

MILWAUKEE – A 25-year-old woman who lost control of her SUV and went off a bridge Wednesday, has died, according to her family.

The woman’s vehicle dropped 60 feet into the Menominee River.

A 19-year-old woman was also in the SUV. She was able to get out, and when an officer arrived she was walking around on the shore while the 25-year-old driver was still trapped.

Authorities say when they arrived and were able to get the woman out, but she was not breathing.

At the time, first responders were able to resuscitate her.

Officials are still investigating why the woman initially lost control of her vehicle.

(CNN) Doctors say there is an epidemic, and it’s getting worse. They call it ‘text neck.’

Text neck is where people are hunched over looking at their electronic devices, hours at a time really putting an extreme load on the spine.

A recent study published in the journal ‘Surgical Technology International’ shows that when you are standing or sitting straight, your head weighs, on average 10 to 12 lbs.

Lean 15 degrees forward, it’s as if your head weighs 27 lbs.

A 30 degree tilt, 40 lbs.

A 45 degree angle, it feels like 49 lbs.

And when you are hunched over at a 60 degree angle looking at a mobile device, your head puts a 60 lbs strain on your neck.

And that is putting extra pressure on the discs in the neck and spine, causing increased compression, which can lead to chronic neck and shoulder pain and severe headaches.

So what can you do?

You can do simple exercises by squeezing your shoulder blades together. You can practice keeping your neck back and keeping your ears over your shoulders.

And when using a mobile device try to keep it in front of you, don’t look down. All it takes a little attention to stop this epidemic.

For today’s health minute, i’m holly firfer.

As the Obama Administration focuses on the future in how to deal with the Islamic State, a former CIA officer said Wednesday it may help to start first by looking at the past.

“The U.S. invasion of Iraq simply destroyed the country and its infrastructure and its ruling elite,” said Graham Fuller, a former C.I.A. officer who served more than two decades in the Middle East.

“As a result the country has been in chaos ever since,” he added.

Fuller said that chaos has made for fertile ground for the growth of ISIS.  Many members of the group are Iraqi citizens who felt betrayed and shunned by former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a U.S. backed leader.  Many others hold personal grudges against the west because of the decade-long occupation in their country.

“When people at a very young age have their families, their lives demolished and nothing for them to go for then they fall prey to this kind of ideology,” said Faheem Younus, with the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

And it’s not just Iraq.  An unstable Libya also now has pockets of the country overrun by those faithful to the Islamic State.

In 2011, U.S. forces are believed to have assisted in removing former leader, Col. Muammar Gaddafi, from power.

U.S. and allied forces also spent weeks in the country afterward entangled in war.

“I’m not saying that Gaddafi should have stayed but when we move in and really tear the country apart, we cannot be surprised that all kinds of forces come out of the wood work,” Fuller said.

The mass beheading of Egyptian Christians over the weekend took place on a Libyan beach.

BROWN COUNTY – Investigators say it is Brown County’s most disturbing child porn case ever. And it’s one mental health experts also consider unusual.

62-year-old John Beauchamp of Green Bay faces 20 counts of possessing child porn.

Evaluating and treating someone for child pornography crimes is part of psychologist Frank Cummings’ job. But the case of John Beauchamp is one he’s never seen.

“From what we know, this is an extremely unusual case,” said Cummings.

Brown County investigators say Beauchamp uploaded more than 7 thousand child porn images.

Sheriff’s officials add, in Beauchamp’s basement, they also found a setting he referred to as “his nursery.” They say there were dolls in provocative positions, as well as baby clothes and undergarments. Beauchamp told investigators, “It’s a fetish he has.”

Cummings says Beauchamp’s admitted fetish is not a crime – however possessing child pornography is – and the combination of the two is what makes this case so disturbing.

“The association of the child porn pictures along with an actual setup to live out a fantasy or a fetish is extremely rare, it’s extremely unusual and people just can’t grasp that,” said Cummings.

Investigators say Beauchamp went by “Baby Emily” and he told them he sucks on a nook and drinks from a baby bottle while watching child porn.

According to authorities, the images found on Beauchamp’s computers were primarily of children under age three.

“In my experience, is that when they’re looking at a specific age group of pornographic pictures that the offender or the person that’s looking at that was traumatized at that age in some way shape or form,” Cummings said.

State agents who work on child porn cases say the Internet is a useful resource, but can also be extremely dangerous.

“It’s got a very dark and devious side as well, that unfortunately people who have a sexual appetite for children, use to take advantage of children,” said Eric Szatkowski, a special agent with the WI Dept. of Justice.

Szatkowski says they can do that in a number of ways.

“There is a possibility that the person is not only involved in child pornography, but they’re also involved in the molestation of children,” said Szatkowski.

Law enforcement is still investigating whether Beauchamp had physical contact with any children.

Beauchamp is being held on a $100 thousand bond.

SUPERIOR, Wis. (AP) – A century-old trolley bridge has collapsed at a Superior industrial site, slightly injuring two contractors.

The collapse happened at the Graymont plant along Superior Bay around 3:45 p.m. Thursday.

Plant manager Phil Marquis tells WDIO-TV that contractors were doing preparations for a controlled demolition of the 102-year-old bridge, which had been planned for Sunday.

Marquis says the contractors were able to walk away from the collapse and were then taken by ambulance to a hospital.

Graymont is a supplier of lime and lime-based products. The trolley bridge could be easily seen from U.S. Highway 53 in Superior and Park Point in Duluth, Minnesota.

Hundreds of thousands of workers at the nation’s largest retailer will be getting a raise. Wal-Mart says it will impact about 40 percent of its employees.

The raises will begin in the next six months for 500,000 workers at both Walmart and Sam’s Club stores.

By February, the company says its entry level wages will rise to $10 an hour. Around 6,000 workers currently make the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.

Wal-Mart says it’s also planning to make changes to how workers are scheduled and add more worker training programs.

Walmart’s move could have a ripple effect on other businesses, but some question if the increase is enough.

Even with a pay raise, many Wal-Mart employees’ incomes will still hover near the poverty line.

But because it’s the nation’s largest private employer, the impact of the moves will likely be watched more closely amid a national debate about wages for hourly workers.

Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon outlined what he called a new approach to business in a video to employees Thursday.

“We’ll raise our starting pay and will provide opportunities for further raises based on performance,” said McMillon

He says employee training is another priority for the company.

“We want to reward you for your service to our customers and create clearer paths to progress within the company,” he said.

Tom Nesslein, an economics professor at UW-Green Bay, says that focus is a sign of a tighter job market.

“They will be able to attract better quality workers and retain workers easier,” Nesslein said. “Companies have very high costs if they have a high turnover, and if they can reduce their turnover costs it helps the bottom line.”

Wal-Mart says the changes will cost the company $1 billion. Nesslein says that money could be made up if the moves improve Wal-Mart’s image.

Wal-Mart’s announcement comes as some Democrats push to raise both the state and federal minimum wage levels by nearly three dollars an hour.

“I think what their action demonstrates is that our policy is a pretty reasonable, pretty balanced approach,” said State Rep. Eric Genrich, D-Green Bay. “They’re going to meet a lot of the goals that we had in our bill.”

Wisconsin Democrats introduced another bill last month to raise Wisconsin’s minimum wage to $10.10 an hour.

The proposal continues to receive strong opposition from Republicans. State Rep. John Macco, R-Ledgeview, says Wal-Mart’s changes show businesses can set their own wages.

“I think it proves that it’s a silly debate, that the concept of having a standardized rate simply shows a lack of understanding of free market and economics,” said Macco.

Nesslein says it’s hard to tell how much of an impact Wal-Mart’s wage changes will have on other large companies.

“You have to look at different corporations and see how tightly constrained they are at this time and how well they’re doing,” he said.

Wal-Mart has seen its sales drop over the past two years, but the company said Thursday that profits increased by 12 percent in the fourth quarter of last year.