Green Bay News

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin revenue officials say some taxpayers may be asked to take a short quiz to verify their identity.

In collaborating with other tax departments that use a similar ID protection program, Wisconsin learned that a number of states are seeing an uptick recently in 2014 income tax returns that are being flagged for further screening. In addition, more customers are getting a message someone has already filed a 2014 income tax return, but it was not the taxpayer.

The Wisconsin Department of Revenue estimates the four-question quiz launched last year saved nearly $50 million in fraudulent or inappropriately filed claims.

The department will review more than 60,000 returns filed over the weekend and earlier this week.

Taxpayers are selected for review based on analytics. Those selected have 20 days to take the quiz online or by phone. If they fail to answer the questions correctly, they will be offered the chance to take it again. After a second failure, taxpayers will be obligated to mail documentation to the Department of Revenue to prove their identity.

SUAMICO – The Howard-Suamico School District is launching a new campaign in hopes of raising $3.5 million.

Dubbed the “Upward Together: Howard-Suamico Education Campaign,” the new initiative will last a year. The district says the money will be used to enrich student experiences, expand faculty and staff learning opportunities and enhance facilities.

• Click here to learn more about the campaign

More than $1 million has been raised.

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

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added a vigorous 257,000 jobs in January, and wages jumped by the most in six years — evidence that the job market is accelerating closer to full health.

The surprisingly robust report the government issued Friday also showed that hiring was far stronger in November and December than it had previously estimated. Employers added 414,000 jobs in November — the most in 17 years. December’s gain was revised sharply up to 329,000 from 252,000.

Average hourly wages soared 12 cents in January to $24.75, the sharpest increase since 2008. Over the past 12 months, hourly pay, which has long been stagnant, has now risen 2.2 percent. That is above inflation, which rose just 0.8 percent in 2014.

The unemployment rate rose last month to 5.7 percent from 5.6 percent. But that occurred for a good reason: More than 1 million Americans — the most since January 2000 — began looking for jobs, though not all of them found work, and their numbers swelled the number of people counted as unemployed. The influx of job hunters suggested that Americans have grown more confident about their prospects.

“For the average American, it’s certainly good news — 2015 is going to be the year of the American consumer,” said Russell Price, senior economist at the financial services firm Ameriprise. “With job growth being strong, we’re going to see a pickup in wages and salaries.”

The resurgent job and pay gains make it more likely that the Federal Reserve will begin raising the short-term interest rate it controls by midyear. Indeed, investors responded to the better-than-expected jobs figures by selling U.S. Treasurys, sending yields up, a sign that many think a Fed rate hike might be more imminent than they thought before. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.92 percent from 1.81 percent shortly before the jobs report was released.

Stock prices rose modestly. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 45 points in midmorning trading.

A sharp drop in gas prices has held down inflation and boosted Americans’ spending power. Strong hiring also tends to lift pay as employers compete for fewer workers. A big question is whether last month’s jump in wages can be sustained.

Job gains have now averaged 336,000 for the past three months, the best three-month pace in 17 years. Just a year ago, the three-month average was only 197,000.

“The labor market was about the last thing to recover from the Great Recession, and in the last six months it has picked up steam,” said Bill Hampel, chief economist at the Credit Union National Association. “The benefits for the middle class are now solidifying.”

At the start of the year, 20 states raised their minimum wages, a trend that might have contributed to January’s sharp overall pay gain. Some large companies, including Aetna and the Gap, have also announced wage increases for their lowest-paid employees.

The stepped-up hiring in January occurred across nearly all industries. Construction firms added 39,000 jobs and manufacturers 22,000. Retail jobs jumped by nearly 46,000. Hotels and restaurants added 37,100, health care 38,000.

The Fed has been closely monitoring wages and other job market data as it considers when to begin raising its short-term rate from a record low near zero. The Fed has kept rates at record lows for more than six years to help stimulate growth.

Steady economic growth has encouraged companies to keep hiring. The economy expanded at a 4.8 percent annual rate during spring and summer, the fastest six-month pace in a decade, before slowing to a still-decent 2.6 percent pace in the final three months of 2014.

There are now 3.2 million more Americans earning paychecks than there were 12 months ago. That tends to boost consumer spending, which drives about 70 percent of economic growth.

More hiring, along with sharply lower gasoline prices, has boosted Americans’ confidence and spending power. Consumer confidence jumped in January to its highest level in a decade, according to a survey by the University of Michigan. And Americans increased their spending during the final three months of last year at the fastest pace in nearly nine years.

A more confident, free-spending consumer could lend a spark that’s been missing for most of the 5½-year-old economic recovery. Americans have been largely holding the line on spending and trying to shrink their debt loads. Signs that they are poised to spend more have boosted optimism that the economy will expand more than 3 percent this year for the first time in a decade.

One sector that has benefited from consumers’ increased willingness to spend has been the auto industry. Auto sales jumped 14 percent in January from the previous year, according to Autodata Corp. Last month was the best January for sales in nine years.

___

AP Economics Writers Josh Boak and Paul Wiseman contributed to this report.

If you suspect or know an individual or company is not complying with the tax laws, you may report this activity by completing Form P-626, Wisconsin Tax Information Referral Form. The state Department of Revenue does not offer rewards for reporting this information.

Mail or fax it to:

Wisconsin Department of Revenue

Audit Bureau

Mail Stop 5-257

PO Box 8906

Madison, WI 53708-8906

FAX: (608) 221-6637

If you have questions, call (608) 266-2772.

The Department of Revenue also selects some people to take a quiz to prove their identity.

• Click here to learn more about the quiz and ID verification procedures

MILWAUKEE (AP) – Democratic Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and Republican Gov. Scott Walker seldom see eye to eye politically. But when it comes to the governor’s idea for financing a new Milwaukee arena, the mayor is backing Walker’s bonding plan.

Barrett’s support comes as some state legislators say the city and county must step in if Walker’s proposal is to win support in Madison.

The Journal Sentinel reports Mayor Barrett says the level of support from the city will depend on the site that is chosen for the arena. He says there are different costs with different sites. Barrett says the city’s support will not affect the tax levy.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Rep. John Nygren have called for some kind of financial commitment from the city and county before the Legislature would approve a bonding plan.

GREEN BAY –  Today is the American Heart Association’s national Wear Red Day, to encourage people to join in the fight against heart disease, the nation’s number one killer.  Yoga instructor and owner of The Fitness Firm, Matthew Kimmeth, is a longtime Go Red supporter. He joined us in the studio to talk about the impact yoga can have on your heart health.  Kimmeth says not only can yoga help to prevent heart attacks and stroke, but yoga also has proven benefits for those who have faced cardiac arrest, heart attack or other heart event.

Kimmeth showed us some yoga moves and breathing exercises you can do at home or even work.

According to the American Heart Association, practicing yoga has the following health benefits:

*lower blood pressure
*increased lung capacity
*improved respiratory function
*improved heart rate
*better circulation
*better muscle tone

For more Go Red yoga tips, visit this page of the American Heart Association’s website.

The Fitness Firm offers personal fitness programming, mind-body group classes, and corporate wellness consulting in the De Pere and Green Bay metro area.

The Fitness Firm
1700 Sand Acres Drive, Suite 2
(Inside Haven Salon & Spa)
De Pere, WI 54115
(920) 412-7769

 

 

TOWN OF SCOTT – A special place in the town of Scott has once again transformed into a Winter wonderland.

The cold temperatures have Wequiock Falls frozen in time.

Fox 11’s Pauleen Le spent the morning exploring the frozen falls.

Wequiock Falls is located at 3426 Bay Settlement Road in the Town of Scott at VanLanen Road and Highway 57.

For more information about Wequiock Falls, click here.

 

You may have seen them, Pete and Joe keeping vigil on the ice of the Wolf River in New London.

They’re a yearly fixture as a fun way to predict when the ice will break.

But that almost didn’t happen in 1981 when the two decided to hold out during contract negotiations.

Pete and Joe sit in a boat every winter in downtown New London waiting for the ice on the Wolf to leave.

The fiberglass men work for New London Fish and Game club which sells membership tickets with prizes for whoever comes closest to guessing when the ice goes out.

The game goes on this year, but with a problem.

“Well Pete and Joe after 36 years of sitting on the Wolf river are now refusing to go out this year. We’re not sure exactly what the complete problem is”

The negotiations have just broken off for a bit, so let’s find out how things are going.

“Pete and Joe, what’s the stumbling block here? Or in this case should I say ice cube?
No comment. Well, let me put it this way. Is it hours, working conditions or wages. Well, you’re no dummies right? So if the boat goes out there without you will you picket?

Well I guess Pete and Joe don’t want to rock the boat.

So Dale how are negotiations going?

Dale – Pretty well at this time, however I don’t believe we’ll be set by Saturday.
Reporter – you don’t?
Dale – no.
Reporter – but you are talking?
Dale – I’m talking, they’re not
Reporter – that could be a problem, well we’ll keep you up to date. For T-V 11 news in New London, I ‘m Libba Jackson.

SPENCER, Wis. (AP) – Authorities investigating a highway crash that killed three people in central Wisconsin say one of the two vehicles involved crossed over the center line.

The deadly crash happened Wednesday on Highway 13 in Spencer. The Marathon County Sheriff’s Department has identified the victims. They include 22-year-old Erasto Montes, of Medford, who was in one vehicle, and James and Christine Saxild, both 71 and from Bruce. The couple was in the other vehicle.

Montes and James Saxild died at the scene. Christine Saxild was transported to an area hospital where she died of her injuries.

ASHWAUBENON – The United States Bowling Congress is holding the 2015 Masters event for the first time in Ashwaubenon.

It’s being called the “Super Bowl” in the sport of bowling.

The best of the best will compete at The Ashwaubenon Bowling Alley.

336 bowlers have been competing this week – the field will narrow to 64, and the best of the bracket will face off Sunday.

FOX 11’s Emily Deem spent Friday morning in Ashwaubenon to feature the 2015 USBC Masters.

Click here to learn more.

DEFOREST, Wis. (AP) – Authorities say a 77-year-old DeForest man was killed while plowing snow when the all-terrain vehicle he was driving collided with a pickup truck.

According to the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, the accident occurred Monday afternoon while Russell H. Baerwolf was driving south on Kroncke Road in the Town of Leeds. Sheriff Dennis Richards says the man’s ATV got into the path of a pickup driving the same direction.

The Wisconsin State Journal reports Baerwolf was taken to a Madison hospital, where he died the following day.

The sheriff’s office says the driver of the truck wasn’t injured.

TOWNSHIP OF EMMET- A woman from Watertown was flown to the University of Wisconsin Hospital after a crash Thursday night.

Officials say a 37-year-old man from Janesville struck the woman on County Road M in the Township of Emmet around 6 p.m.

We don’t know the condition of the 30-year-old woman from Watertown.

The driver of the car wasn’t hurt.

GREEN BAY- We’ll see cloudy skies Friday and it’ll be less windy than Thursday.

There’s a chance of snow in the afternoon with little or no accumulation and highs will reach the mid 20s.

Saturday will again be cloudy with a chance of freezing drizzle or snow and a high near 30. Again we we’ll see little or no snow accumulation in most of the area with up to an inch in our northern counties (Northern Marinette county, Menominee county in Michigan, Florence county and Northern Door County)

Sunday’s high will be near 25 with cloudy skies and a chance of snow. An inch of accumulation is possible by Sunday night.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) – Taiwan’s top safety aviation official says one of the engines on TransAsia Airways Flight 235 went idle 37 seconds after takeoff and that later both engines lacked power.

He says the pilots may have shut off the remaining engine before attempting to restart them. However, the plane crashed before that could happen.

The details were presented at a news conference Friday in Taipei by Aviation Safety Council Executive Director Thomas Wang from preliminary findings based on the flight data recorders.

Wang said it was too early to draw firm conclusions about the reasons why the engines stopped producing power.

Green Bay senior guard Kiefer Sykes netted 12 points and moved up to second on the team’s all-time scoring list as the men’s basketball team defeated Milwaukee 81-70 Thursday night at the Resch Center.

In a rematch of last year’s Horizon League championship game, the Phoenix avenged the loss with a lopsided win. Green Bay opened a 42-20 halftime lead and never looked back in improving to 19-5 overall and staying tied for first in the conference at 8-2.

Senior forward Alfonzo Mckinnie led the way with a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds. Fellow four-year guard Carrington Love added 19 points.

Green Bay returns to action Wednesday night, when they travel to Youngstown State. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

 

“It’s cut day at the USBC Masters and Green Bay native Matt Heesaker is giving the hometown crowd plenty to cheer for.

“Oh my god, it was the most exciting thing that I’ve seen in a long time,” friend Brian Laurent said.”

“It was great to have fans out there, watching and supporting me,” Heesaker said.”

Playing side-by-side with some of the best in the world, like childhood idol Pete Weber, Heesaker was rolling in the fast lane and enjoying every moment.

“He played a game with Pete Weber, that’s his idol,” mother Sara Heesaker said. “I’m sure that’s more than he could ever have asked for.”

“Absolutely,” Heesaker said. “I tried to manage my emotions, looking back it’s going to be pretty amazing.”

Heesaker almost didn’t compete in the event because of work obligations, luckily his cheering section forced him into using some of those vacation days.

“They made some good points, I’m glad I did it and it worked out,” Heesaker said.”

The cut line for the day leaves the field at 64 with the final five playing Sunday at noon on ESPN for the $50,000 prize.

“To be honest, I never thought I’d make it,” Heesaker said. “I set the bar high and the biggest accomplishment would be making the cut.”

Finishing in 62nd place, he did just that.

“We’ll take it one game at a time and see what happens,” Heesaker said.

Another turn for the local favorite to knock the competition out of the alley, In Green Bay, Dylan Scott Fox 11 Sports.

APPLETON – If you think parking in downtown Appleton is a challenge now, a new study says it will be even more at a premium soon.

The city is set to lose two parking ramps by 2020. One is a city ramp attached to the City Center Building. The other is owned by the YMCA in Soldier’s Square.

When you ask people in Appleton about parking downtown, don’t be surprised to hear a negative response.

“It’s awful! Half the time if you get here after 7:00, you’re up on fourth in the structure, or good luck on the street,” said Lura Allen who works in downtown Appleton.

“We usually get one or two, sometimes three a week commenting on the parking situation. Generally people don’t like it,” said J.C. Paustian, owner of Just Act Natural, a store in downtown Appleton.

City leaders say they’re working to fix that. They started by budgeting $68,000 for a parking study.

One big issue is those two old parking ramps.

“Both have end of useful like by 2020, both of those need to come down,” explained public works director Paula Vandehey.

One solution from the study would be to build a bigger parking structure for $10 million at Soldier’s Square.

Consultants also suggested changes to current ramps, making them credit card accessible and pay as you leave.

Parking meter changes too, like active meters from 9 am to 6 pm Monday through Saturday, instead of until 9 pm.

“Recommending that we go to credit card meters and also meters that would accept, like a phone app,” added Vandehey.

Another idea is to change metered parking so that the father from College Avenue you get it becomes cheaper with longer time limits.

“We’re probably gonna have to do some education about how it’s okay if you have to, maybe, walk two or three blocks in order for the city not to have to build more million dollar parking ramps,” said Vandehey.

But community members have some of their own suggestions for success.

“If there could be one day, preferably Saturday, where it could be free parking, that would help us out a lot,” said Paustian.

“Another structure and give each of the businesses, maybe, a break? They could buy little coupons or something for a month?” added Allen.

They say point of making parking improvements is to bring more people downtown.

“I don’t know if that’s gonna happen if we’re gonna continue this same thing with raising rates and things like that,” Paustian explained.

The study found a possible downtown exhibition center would not affect parking.

The common council will have the ultimate decision on future parking plans. The city’s municipal services committee will discuss the study next Tuesday.

GREEN BAY – A young member of the Oneida Tribe is receiving national recognition for his efforts to continue cultural traditions.

Hudson Cornelius is learning about his roots.

“That means hello everyone, my name is Hudson, I’m wolf clan,” he translated, after introducing himself in Oneida.

The twelve-year-old from Green Bay has been studying Oneida language and music for six years.

“When I was like five or six, my dad signed me up for Oneida singing camp,” he said.

Cornelius has since taken up the native flute, as well—even playing a solo when his youth group performed at the Wisconsin State Fair this past summer.

“It’s just fun learning how to sing and to play an instrument and drum,” he said.

As Cornelius studied the native culture, he applied online for the Outstanding Native Youth award. It’s part of the White House Initiative for American Indian Education.

This week, he was selected as the nationwide winner for February.

“I was like whoa!” he described. “It’s really special, because, like, when my mom showed me pictures of the other people who won, they were like really old, and they were like 20.”

His dad says he couldn’t be prouder to have a son carry on family traditions.

“It’s nice to see that he has the initiative and the wherewithal, and probably a lot more skill than I had at that age, that’s for sure,” said William Cornelius.

And tribal leaders say Cornelius brings honor to the whole Oneida Nation with this national recognition.

“What it really does for us is it really highlights the fact that we are providing excellent services to our youth and that they are being recognized for excelling in their areas of interest,” said Brandon Stevens, an Oneida Tribal Council member.

Cornelius says he hopes to keep the songs of his tribe going, for his generation, and generations to come.

As part of the award, the Lombardi Middle School 6th grader will also receive a special certificate from the White House.

GREEN BAY – A Green Bay mother is expressing her frustration after her 4-year-old son had a longer than normal bus ride home.

A bus driver found the boy sleeping on his bus after completing his route Wednesday.

Lamers is the bus company for Green Bay Area Public Schools. The company says it has steps in place to find sleeping children. Lamers says its driver followed those steps.

Lara Van Straten says Lamers should have done more for her son, DaQuan, who is special needs. She says her concern grew after DaQuan’s bus didn’t drop him off at the normal time of 3:45.

“I sit here every day and I wait for him to get home,” said Van Straten. “4 o’clock came and I was kind of like ok any minute and now I’m standing at the door, 4:15, and I’m like I really wish they had a protocol to call.”

Just after 4:30, Van Straten called Lamers. She says she was put on hold after being told her son’s bus had been called in as empty.

“Now I’m like he didn’t get on the bus? Where is he? Who took him?” said Van Straten. “All the thoughts and emotions as a parent that go through your head, there was still like no communication.”

When Lamers was back on the line, they told Van Straten her son was found, sleeping on the bus.

Lamers’ school bus operations manager Cindi Lawler says she was on the phone with Van Straten for less than four minutes. Lawler says she told Van Straten the driver called in saying he just finished his route, not that the bus was empty.

“After the driver makes their last stop, while they’re in the route area, they stop, check their vehicle for sleeping students,” said Lawler. “The driver had just completed that, he found a student asleep on the seat.”

Lawler says that is when the driver brought the boy home. Van Straten says her son was dropped off at 5:21, about an hour and a half later than normal.

“It’s unacceptable,” said Van Straten.

Lawler says she hadn’t verified what time the boy was dropped off.

FOX 11 asked Lawler how often a situation like this happens

“Where we have a student that falls asleep on a bus? It can happen quite frequently,” said Lawler. “If you have the consistent driver on the bus or the regular driver is driving, they usually learn who their students are that fall asleep.”

The driver on DaQuan’s route was a substitute. However, Lamers says he has been with the company for ten years and has the same training as any other driver. That includes the requirement of pressing a child check alert button at the back of the bus when it is being shut down for the night.

“If they fail to go back and hit the button, then the bus will not shut down,” said Lawler. “The horn starts to sound, lights flash, it’s very attention getting.”

Lamers says it did not get to that point for DaQuan’s ride. His mother says she will provide her son’s transportation from now on to ensure nothing similar happens again.

Lamers says if a driver left a child sleeping on an unattended bus, the driver could be fired.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The mother of a Wisconsin man who died in 2012 sued the Pop Warner organization Thursday, saying his suicide was the result of dementia and deep despair caused by brain injuries he suffered while playing youth football.

Joseph Chernach was 25 when he hanged himself in his mother’s shed in Hixton, Wisconsin, in 2012. The lawsuit filed in federal court in Madison, Wisconsin, says he suffered from a degenerative brain disease called dementia pugilistica, also known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE, and that he also had post-concussion syndrome. And it alleges he got them from playing in a Pop Warner league from 1997-2000, beginning when he was 11.

The wrongful death lawsuit by Debra Pyka seeks at least $5 million from Langhorne, Pennsylvania-based Pop Warner Little Scholars, the Pop Warner Foundation and their insurance company. It says Pop Warner never warned Chernach, other children or parents about the risks of playing tackle football. It alleges Pop Warner Football is an “ultrahazardous activity” that’s intrinsically dangerous to children.

“Pop Warner — by engaging in the business of sponsoring, organizing and promoting tackle football for children — engaged in conduct that was outrageous, malicious, intentional and was done with the intentional disregard of Joseph Chernach’s rights as well as all other children who played Pop Warner football, not just in the State of Wisconsin but everywhere in the United States,” the complaint charges.

A Pop Warner spokesman did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press seeking comment Thursday night.

According to the lawsuit, Chernach got good grades in his freshman year at Central Michigan University. But it alleges the cumulative effects of CTE and post-concussion syndrome began to impair him in his sophomore year.

“From that point on his behavior became increasingly bizarre,” the complaint says. “From that point on his mood became progressively depressed and ultimately paranoid, distrusting his closes friends and family. … Joseph Chernach’s suicide was the ‘natural and probable consequence’ of the brain damage he suffered playing football.”

Pyka told the AP her son eventually stopped going to class.

“The depression got worse as time went on,” she said. “The last year was awful. He was in his room a lot. He lived back and forth with his brother and some of his friends. He would come to my house. He just could not stay in any place at once. He tried to hold down a job but it was difficult for him. He would sleep all day and then be up at night.”

His family didn’t learn of his brain damage until they received the autopsy results. Pyka’s lawyer, Gordon Johnson, of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, told the AP it showed that Chernach was halfway toward the worst form of dementia seen in older football players.

“There really is only one thing that could cause CTE in a young person as this and that is repetitive head trauma,” he said. “The only repetitive head trauma Joseph Chernach had was from playing football.”

The attorney acknowledged that Chernach also played high school football, but said he was most vulnerable playing youth football.

Johnson said it’s the first of what may be many cases against Pop Warner for exposing children to the kinds of risks that even the NFL is concerned about for its players. He said they think there have been hundreds of other suicides in which autopsies, had they been done, would have pointed the finger at youth football.

“I think that somebody should be held accountable for Joseph’s death,” Pyka said. “I want to see tackle football stop for these young kids. … They should not be banging their brains together.”

___

Associated Press writer Doug Glass contributed to this report.