Green Bay News

DE PERE – De Pere police are investigating an assault that occurred outside of Studio 132 early Saturday morning.

Police say a security guard was assaulted by several individuals while investigating another disturbance in the parking lot of 132 S. Broadway Street.

Authorities say prior to this assault, someone reported shots being fired outside the club.

Police were made aware of the shots fired claim, but limited information is being provided.

Both incidents are being investigated, but no arrests have been made.

The security guard was transported to a local hospital for medical treatment and was released.

Anyone with information about either incident is asked to call the De Pere Police Department (920) 339-4078.

You can also call Crime Stoppers to remain anonymous and be eligible for a cash reward. The number is 920-432-STOP (7867). You can also submit a tip on the web by clicking here.

TOWN OF LEON – The Waushara County Sheriff’s Office says a man turned himself in Saturday night after crashing into and killing a bicyclist earlier Saturday morning.

The sheriff’s department has identified the bicyclist as 56-year-old James Shafer of Redgranite.

Authorities say Shafer was riding his bike and was wearing reflective clothing and had lights on his bicycle.

He was on County Road EE just north of Buttercup Drive around 3:00 a.m. when he was struck and killed by a vehicle. Shafer was pronounced dead on scene.

Authorities say the driver of the vehicle left the scene, but came to the sheriff’s office Saturday night and stated he was the driver that hit Mr Schafer.

Detectives talked with him and found the vehicle he was driving.

The man is in the Waushara County Jail and the vehicle has been impounded.

The investigation is continuing. The name of the driver will not be released by the sheriff’s office until after any court appearance.

This is the first 2015 fatality in Waushara County.

MARSHFIELD, Wis. (AP) – As Wisconsin schools prepare to give new standardized tests this spring, teachers and administrators say the time, effort and money they’re putting into the exams may be pointless.

That’s because Gov. Scott Walker has called for scrapping the new tests next year before school officials can analyze the results.

The Smarter Balanced test, also known as The Badger Exam, is linked to the Common Core State Standards. It will test students in grades 3-8 in math and English. It will replace the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam. But Walker is critical of the Common Core.

News-Herald Media reports that Walker’s intention to abandon the new tests has been met with confusion and dismay by school officials who have spent the past couple years getting prepared for the switch.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A judge will soon consider whether two young Wisconsin girls accused of stabbing a classmate to please a fantasy character called Slender Man should stand trial for attempted homicide.

The girls’ preliminary hearing before Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren is set to begin Monday and stretch into Tuesday. A preliminary hearing is the point in the criminal justice process where a judge decides whether the evidence warrants a trial.

Prosecutors say the girls stabbed classmate Payton Leutner in a Waukesha park in May to curry favor with Slender Man. All three girls were 12 at the time. One of the alleged attackers has since turned 13.

The Associated Press isn’t naming the two girls because their cases may end up in juvenile court, where proceedings are secret.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Long-awaited rules to usher in a new era in which small, commercial drones zipping through U.S. skies are a part of everyday life were proposed by the Federal Aviation Administration on Sunday.

The proposal lays out requirements commercial operators must meet such as passing a knowledge test administered by the FAA and a security check by the Transportation Safety Administration in order to fly small drones, defined as weighing less than 55 pounds. It is likely to be two or three years before the rules are made final, but federal officials said that once they are in place the economic and safety benefits of unmanned aircraft are expected to be enormous.

Among the chores that officials envision drones performing: Aerial photography and mapping, crop monitoring, and inspections of cell towers, bridges and other tall structures. But the proposal includes safety restrictions such as keeping drones within sight of operators at all times and no nighttime flights. That could mean no package or pizza deliveries by drone. Drones would also have to stay at least 5 miles away from an airport.

“We have tried to be flexible in writing these rules,” said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. “We want to maintain today’s outstanding level of aviation safety without placing an undue regulatory burden on an emerging industry.”  He said the agency intends to issue final rules as quickly as it can.

Even with the restrictions, drones are expected to play a “transformative role in fields as diverse as urban infrastructure management, farming, public safety, coastal security, military training, search and rescue, and disaster response,” the White House said in a presidential memorandum on privacy released in conjunction with the rules.

The memorandum lays out measures federal agencies must follow to guard against abuse of data collected in drone flights. Among other steps, the order requires agencies to review privacy and civil rights protections before deploying drone technology and to adhere to a range of controls. Personally identifiable information collected in drone flights is to be kept no longer than 180 days, although there are exceptions.

It’s questionable whether such steps will satisfy civil liberties advocates, who’ve objected strongly to the government’s vigorous use of digital surveillance in the name of national security.

The proposal also raises the possibility that final rules may include a separate category for very small drones – those weighing 4.4 pounds or less – that would include fewer restrictions.

The proposed rules are “a good first step” bringing the U.S. closer to realizing the benefits of drone technology, said Brian Wynne, president and CEO of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, a trade group.

Fox 11 reporter Bill Miston will have an update to this story and how it will affect you in northeast Wiscosnin tonight on Fox 11 News at 9:00.

HOWARD – A local man has created his very own “Ice Castle”.

Adam O’Connell — along with his son Sawyer — joined FOX 11’s Doug Higgins by the FOX 11 Ice Desk to talk about their creation.

Click on the video to see how they put it together.

The “Ice Castle” is located at 2524 Shade Tree lane in Howard.

Ingredients:

3 to 4 cups pitted fresh or frozen cherries
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons flour

Topping:

1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl toss the first 5 ingredients together. Spoon into an 8 x 8 inch pan or small casserole dish that has been sprayed. You can also use 4 to 6 individual oven-safe baking dishes. In another bowl, combine the topping ingredients together. Sprinkle evenly over the cherry mixture. Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top. Great served warm with vanilla ice cream!

TOWN OF STEPHENSON – Crews fought a house fire in Marinette County early Sunday morning.

Fire officials say there were people inside the home on Rumney Lane but everyone made it out safely.

Crews got the call just before 2 a.m. and were still on the scene to watch hot spots at 5:30 a.m.

ASHWAUBENON – We are waking up to very cold temperatures this morning (all below zero).  The entire area is still underneath a Wind Chill Advisory until 10 am this morning. Chills range from -15 to -25. Winds will turn lighter by mid-day so wind chill readings will not be much of a factor for the rest of the day.

Skies will be mostly cloudy and high temperatures will stay in the single digits today.

Cloudy skies and some flurries are possible tonight with lows between -1 and -6.

We’ll be a bit milder on Monday with highs in the mid-teens.  Skies will be cloudy and there is a chance for a few light snow showers.

Another shot of arctic air moves in for the rest of next week.

Highs on Tuesday only get into the low teens and Wednesday will only reach the mid-single digits.

Thursday will be bitter cold again, with the morning low in the teens below zero and highs in the single digits.

ASHWAUBENON – We are gearing up for Fat Tuesday!

Brian Funk with Brett Favre’s Steakhouse joined FOX 11’s Emily Deem on Good Day Wisconsin to create some cajun inspired dishes!

Jambalaya
Ingredients:
Seasonings
2 c olive oil
3 ea bay leaves
2 T salt
1 T cayenne pepper
4 T lemon pepper
4 T cajun seasoning
4 T oregano
3 T table grind black pepper
2 T thyme
2 1/2 T basil
2 c sugar
2 ea #10 diced tomatoes
4 oz chopped garlic
1 gal marinara sauce
1 1/2# chicken base
Vegetables
2 ea. bunches celery
1# chopped green onion
10 ea. diced medium suntan peppers
3 ea.diced medium yellow peppers
3 ea. diced medium red peppers
10 ea. diced medium spanish onion
Meats
5# diced ham
10# sliced andouille sausage
10# julienne boneless chicken breast
7 1/2# broken shrimp

Method
#1) Prepare all the ingredients by section:  Seasonings, Vegetables, & Meats.

#2) Sauté all vegetables in olive oil until tender.

#3) Add the meats to the kettle and cook until the chicken is cooked throughout.

#4) Add the seasonings to the kettle and simmer 1 hour.

Bananas Foster
Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup (1.75 ounces) dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 under ripe bananas, sliced in half lengthwise
1/4 cup dark rum
Saute banana in butter add brown sugar,stir well and nutmeg, and dark rum.
Pour over ice cream

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) – Danish police shot and killed a man early Sunday who likely carried out shooting attacks at a free speech event and a synagogue in Copenhagen that left two people dead.

Investigator Joergen Skov told reporters that “nothing at this point suggests there were other perpetrators” in the shootings that also left five police officers wounded.

The dramatic events that unfolded in Copenhagen stirred fears that another terror spree was underway in a European capital a month after 17 people were killed in Paris attacks.

Skov said the gunman was killed in a firefight with police in the Noerrebro district of Copenhagen. No police were wounded in that shooting.

The first shooting happened before 4 p.m. Saturday when police said a gunman used an automatic weapon to shoot through the windows of the Krudttoenden cultural center during a panel discussion on freedom of expression featuring a Swedish artist who had caricatured the Prophet Muhammad. The artist, Lars Vilks, was whisked away unharmed by his bodyguards but a 55-year-old man attending the event was killed, while three police officers were wounded, authorities said.

Two belonged to the Danish security service PET, which said the circumstances surrounding the shooting “indicate that we are talking about a terror attack.”

After midnight Sunday, a Jewish man was killed and two police officers were wounded in the second shooting outside the synagogue.

Dan Rosenberg Asmussen, the head of Denmark’s Jewish community, told Danish public broadcaster DR that the victim was guarding the entrance of a building adjacent to the synagogue.

Skov said the shooter was confronted by police as he returned to an address that they were keeping under surveillance. Investigators described him as 25 to 30 years old with an athletic build and carrying a black automatic weapon. They released a blurred photograph of the suspect wearing dark clothes and a scarf covering part of his face.

Vilks, a 68-year-old artist who has faced numerous death threats for depicting Muhammad as a dog in 2007, told The Associated Press he believed he was the intended target of the first shooting, which happened at a panel discussion titled “Art, blasphemy and freedom of expression.”

“What other motive could there be? It’s possible it was inspired by Charlie Hebdo,” he said, referring to the Jan. 7 attack by Islamic extremists on the French newspaper that had angered Muslims by lampooning Muhammad.

Police said it was possible the gunman had planned the “same scenario” as in the Charlie Hebdo massacre.

Leaders across Europe condemned the violence and expressed support for Denmark. Sweden’s security service said it was sharing information with its Danish counterpart, while U.S. National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said U.S. officials were ready to help with the investigation and have been in touch with their Danish counterparts.

Vilks has faced several attempted attacks and death threats after he depicted the Prophet Muhammad as a dog in 2007. A Pennsylvania woman last year got a 10-year prison term for a plot to kill Vilks. In 2010, two brothers tried to burn down his house in southern Sweden and were imprisoned for attempted arson.

The depiction of the prophet is deemed insulting to many followers of Islam. According to mainstream Islamic tradition, any physical depiction of the Prophet Muhammad – even a respectful one – is considered blasphemous.

While many Muslims have expressed disgust at the deadly assault on the Charlie Hebdo employees, many were also deeply offended by its cartoons lampooning Muhammad.

NEENAH – Many who weren’t lucky enough to spear a sturgeon during Saturday’s opening day were back at it on Sunday Morning.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources reported 467 sturgeon were harvest on Lake Winnebago, while 126 were harvested on the Upriver Lakes Saturday. Spearers harvested 93 juvenile females, 245 adult females and 255 males for a total of 593 fish harvested.

The largest sturgeon harvested was a 127.3 pound, 76.4″ female sturgeon speared by Gregory Harma. That fish was registered at Payne’s Point.

Officials say the opening day harvest of 467 fish on Lake Winnebago ranks 5th highest since the season moved to the shortened six hour spearing day in 2002.

The season is anticipated to last for “at least” another few days given the amount of females harvested on the day.

FOX 11’s Pauleen Le spent the morning back on Lake Winnebago as spearers get ready for the second day and she checked in with the registration station at Payne’s Point as they prepare for another rush.

It was a busy Saturday of high school wrestling across the state as the WIAA wrestling regionals got underway.

Teams and individual grapplers from all three divisions locked up with spots at sectionals on the line.

Click on the video to see highlights from division I action at Neenah High School. We’ll have a complete breakdown of the weekend’s competition, Sunday on the Sports Edge.

The Green Bay women’s basketball team put itself in rare company Saturday afternoon at Milwaukee.

With a dominating 79-62 win over the Panthers, the Phoenix eclipse the 20-win plateau for the 16th straight season. The victory improves their record to 20-4 overall and 10-1 in Horizon League play.

Mehryn Kraker led the way offensively with a season-high 24 points, while Tesha Buck chipped in with 17. The team also shot a season-best 59.6 percent from the field.

Green Bay returns to action Thursday night at the Kress Center when they host Valparaiso at 7 p.m. Coach Kevin Borseth comes into the contest just win shy of 600 for his career.

ASHWAUBENON – There was plenty of team spirit in Ashwaubenon Saturday.

Cheerleaders from all over Wisconsin gathered at the Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena.

It was part of the Green Bay Cheer Classic.

The competition was open to elementary school level through collegiate level athletes.

Event organizers say this competition is different than most.

“I think one thing that’s great is that it’s not sponsored by any particular team, so it’s really a venue that all different types of teams can come together, whether there are scholastic teams from schools or all-star teams as well,” said Holly Williams with PMI Entertainment Group.

This is the fourth year for the event.

APPLETON – Hundreds of people spent Valentine’s Day indulging in all different kinds of chocolate.

It’s all part of the annual “Death by Chocolate” event held in downtown Appleton.

More than 18 restaurants, coffee house and bars served up chocolate treat samples, including chocolate martinis.

People had to purchase tickets ahead of time. All of the proceeds benefit downtown programs.

“I think it’s a great event. It gets people moving around the downtown area, 450 tickets sold – which is the most tickets they’ve ever sold – this year. I was a little nervous this morning with it being so cold out, but the turnout has been phenomenal,” said Bagelicious owner Kyle Fritz.

This is the 12th year for the event.

APPLETON – Students from our area participated in the High School Mock Trial Regional competition Saturday.

The Mock Trial program provides students with an opportunity to act as attorneys in a court case.

The students in teams of six to 12 argue a criminal case before a panel of volunteer attorneys and judges.

The winners advance to the semifinals in Madison.

Organizers say this event helps kids learn about the law and prepares them for the future.

“It is important for kids to learn how to speak on their feet, to think rationally, to articulate. It’s a skill that a lot of kids don’t have,” said coach Mitch Metropulos.

Eight teams from our area competed in the regional event this weekend.

WINNEBAGO SYSTEM – Freezing temperatures and strong winds couldn’t keep fishermen off the ice for opening day of the 2015 sturgeon spearing season.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, 467 sturgeon were harvest on Lake Winnebago, while 126 were harvested on the Upriver Lakes Saturday. Spearers harvested 93 juvenile females, 245 adult females and 255 males. That adds up to total of 593 fish harvested.

The stations with the largest volume of fish registered were Stockbridge, Payne’s Point, Wendt’s, Quinney, and Calumet Harbor. The north shore stations of Waverly Beach and Harrison Town Hall combined for 37 fish.

On Lake Winnebago, 13 fish at 100 pounds or larger were harvested by the end of day one. The largest was a 127.3 pound, 76.4″ female sturgeon speared by Gregory Harma. That fish was registered at Payne’s Point.

The Upriver Lakes fishery had a total of 126 sturgeon, with three larger than 100 pounds. Winneconne’s Mark Tegelman speared the largest fish at 103.8 pounds, 68.5″.

Senior Fisheries Biologist Ryan Koenigs says a clear trend was observed at every registration station Saturday. Overall, the fish were in poorer condition (leaner) than observed during recent seasons.

Koenigs adds he anticipated that this would be the case given the lack of gizzard shad in the system over the past year. Gizzard shad have become a staple food source for lake sturgeon over the past couple of decades,

How does this year’s opening day harvest compare to past years? Koenigs says the opening day harvest of 467 fish on Lake Winnebago ranks 5th highest since the season moved to the shortened six hour spearing day in 2002.

The average opening day harvest over this 14 year period has been 374 fish, so Saturday’s number actually eclipses that by more than 100 fish. In comparison, this year’s opening day harvest of 126 sturgeon on the Upriver Lakes was the 2nd lowest opening day harvest since the current lottery structure was implemented in 2007. The average opening day harvest over this 9 day period was 178 fish, making Saturday’s harvest roughly 50 fish below average.

As for shanty counts, the DNR’s aerial distribution survey indicated that shanties were fairly evenly distributed throughout the 6 areas of the lake today.  A total of 4,436  were counted on Lake Winnebago in the morning, with an additional 379 shanties counted on the Upriver Lakes.

Koenigs anticipates the season to continue for “at least” another few days given the amount of females harvested on the day.

QUINNEY – Dan and Savannah Kleinhans died six years ago, but family and friends say it’s a tragedy they will never forget.

Father and daughter were inside a pickup truck near the eastern part of Lake Winnebago when their truck fell through the ice.

Savannah Kleinhans’ friend Tiffany Dombrowski was also inside the truck. She survived.

Many said the outcome could have been different if Calumet County had had a dive team then.

Since then, a fund called “Savannah’s Pay It Forward Foundation” was established to create and raise money for the Calumet County Dive Team. The dive team was formed in 2011.

Savannah’s mom started the fund in the hopes that no other family would have to go through the same heartbreak.

This year the dive team was presented with an $8,500 check from the foundation.

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

WINNECONNE – Plenty of people left Lake Winnebago and the Upriver Lakes with stories to tell after Saturday’s sturgeon season opener. The story of the day, however, was the brutal cold.

“Oh it’s nasty out there,” said Oshkosh’s Bill Merkel who speared a 48 pound, 65-inch sturgeon on Lake Poygan. “The wind’s making the loose snow from yesterday blow around. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere out there if you weren’t in a shack.”

Single-digit temperatures were bolstered by wind chills as low as -20 degrees.

“It was that bad,” said Greenville’s Eric Vanderwielen who speared a sturgeon on his first ever trip out to try. “There was a white-out, you really couldn’t see much.”

Even if the cold kept some spearers indoors for day one, veterans know it’s a race against time. Last year the season closed on the Upriver Lakes after just three days.

“When I got up at 4:30 this morning I thought, ‘I want to stay in bed!’” said Winneconne’s Jan Hillman. “You’ve just got to go. It was fun, it’s nice.”

Successful spearers left the ice with a feeling they’d never forget, even if it meant losing feeling in their extremities for a little while because of the cold.