MANITOWOC, WI (WTAQ) - A railroad has been ordered to pay $350,000 to a conductor who was fired for not saying quickly enough that he was hurt on the job in Manitowoc.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced the fine Thursday against the Wisconsin Central -- and the railroad was ordered to give the man his job back.

The company's parent firm, Canadian National, says it disagrees with the penalty and is considering an appeal.

OSHA said the conductor was injured during a 60-day probationary period. He reported his injury the day it occurred, but not until after his work shift ended.

OSHA said the railroad fired him on his last day of probation, claiming he didn't report the injury early enough.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Wisconsin will soon have a "Silver Alert" program to help find missing seniors who are at-risk, similar to the way Amber Alerts help find missing children.  

Governor Scott Walker will visit a hospital in Green Bay where he'll sign the measure just before Friday's noon hour.

The Silver Alert program will use the state's current Crime Alert Network to spread the word about missing seniors who are over 65, who may be in danger due to conditions like Alzheimer's.

Law enforcement would send the information to broadcasters, electric billboards, and others to quickly alert Wisconsinites to the missing seniors.  

The Legislature unanimously supported the idea in the recent session.  

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

NEENAH, WI (WTAQ) - A campaign spokesman says that Wisconsin Senate President Mike Ellis will not run for re-election.

This announcement comes just two days after an undercover video shows the Neenah Republican discussing plans to establish an illegal political action committee.

Ellis was referring to his potential run against Democratic challenger, state Rep. Penny Bernard-Schaber of Appleton.

The recording was done by  Project Veritas, which is a non-profit group run by James O'Keefe.

Another topic of conversation in the video was the John Doe probe. Ellis called it, "a blessing in disguise and the Scott Walker is only looking out for Walker."

WASHINGTON D.C. (WTAQ) - Wisconsin Congressman Tom Petri says he will not seek re-election this fall in the 6th Congressional district.

An official announcement will be made during a town hall meeting in Neenah Monday.

A little more than a week ago, Wisconsin state Senator Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) announced he would move into the district ahead of a possible primary challenge against Petri.

Petri, a Fond du Lac Republican, has been in Congress since 1979. The 73-year-old is completing his 18th term in office. 

That Monday announcement is scheduled for a town hall meeting from 4 to 5 p.m. inside the council chambers at Neenah City Hall.

(Additional reporting from FOX 11).

FOND DU LAC COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) - Several fire departments were called Friday morning to a marshland fire near Brandon in Fond du Lac County.  

Sheriff's officials said somebody was burning brush that got out of control. Chief Deputy Mark Strand says firefighters used break lines to contain the fire fueled by dry conditions Friday afternoon.

FOX 11 reports the blaze burned about 300 acres before crews were able to get it under control. No one was hurt, and no buildings were burned.

The fire danger was high Friday afternoon in Fond du Lac County, although a countywide ban on open burning was not in effect there. Those bans have been imposed in a number of places -- especially in about the southwest third of Wisconsin where the wildfire risks are very high.

The dry lands could get at least some relief Saturday, when rain is in the forecast statewide. More rain is possible on Sunday -- along with freezing rain and light snow as temperatures get colder again.  

(Additional reporting by FOX 11 and Wheeler News Service)

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - A semi truck driver was rushed to the hospital following a crash Friday evening in Green Bay.

Authorities say it happened at the roundabouts on W. Mason Street near Highway 41.

A small fuel leak was reported by Green Bay PD, but later cleaned up.

The driver was taken to St. Vincent Hospital but is expected to be okay.

The crash caused some traffic delays for a few hours.

(Additional reporting from FOX 11).

LITTLE CHUTE, WI (WTAQ) - Two septic service trucks were badly damaged after a fire in Little Chute Saturday.

Firefighters were called after a report of a semi tractor fire at Van's Septic Service, 2760 Elm Drive, around noon.

“Within 5 minutes you couldn’t see the building from across the road, smoke was so thick,” Perry Baxter, a Little Chute neighbor, told FOX 11. “I heard an explosion that I momentarily mistook for thunder, took a look outside and saw the building was on fire.”

Inside the building, which Van's occupies, were two trucks used to collect septic tank waste water.

“There was some explosions they can be attributed to tires blowing there was some fuel tanks in there may have blown,” Little Chute Fire Chief Mark Jansen told FOX 11.

The building, which is considered a total loss, is used for storage and equipment maintenance.

FOX 11 is told many of Van’s customers will be referred to another local septic service, since two trucks were destroyed. The owners hope in time to rebuild.

No word yet on a cause and the investigtation continues.

(Additional reporting from FOX 11)

OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) - A five-year-old Oshkosh boy, who was struck by a car on Friday, has died.

Police say the child was hit just before 6 p.m. in the 300 block of Foster Avenue.

The boy was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries. Officials say he later died from those injuries.

His name has not been released pending notification of family members.

An investigation is ongoing.

(Additional reporting from FOX 11).

VILLAGE OF CLEVELAND, WI (WTAQ) - Strong storms have left a path of damage and destruction in Manitowoc County.

Officials say high winds ripped off parts of the roof at Cleveland Elementary School. Workers are cleaning up the damage Sunday.

The northern part is down to the steel deck, while water leaked into the two classrooms under that part of the roof. Puddles and damaged ceiling tiles are left in the storm's wake.

Officials have not yet decided whether classes will be held on Monday.

(Additional reporting from FOX 11).

MARINETTE, WI (WTAQ) - Ten people were rescued in northeast Wisconsin Sunday night, after four small fishing boats got stranded in the rising Menominee River at Marinette.

Three children and two dogs were among those pulled in. None were hurt.

Rescuers were called about 6:30 p.m.

Marinette fire lieutenant Steve Campbell said the boats got caught in swift currents and rapidly rising waters, caused when ice broke apart up the river and came downward.

Campbell says it's not safe to go on the river until all the ice is broken up.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

MADISON, WI (WTAQ) - There's no way of knowing how many Wisconsinites could be affected by the Heartbleed Bug.

If nothing else, it's got lots of folks changing their passwords on things like their e-mail and online bank accounts.

The state's largest homegrown bank, Associated, told its online customers that its systems did not reveal any susceptibility to the encryption flaw. Other firms are alerting their customers about the status of their software systems.

Many institutions have moved quickly to patch their codes over the last week. But Nick Davis of UW-Madison says companies that don't respond could be leaving their users' sensitive data at risk.  

The Heartbleed Bug affects encrypted data on sites with "HTTPS" in their addresses.

Experts say the bug's been around for up to three years -- but now that it's gotten heavy publicity, hackers might jump in.

Davis says there's no real evidence that the security hole has been exploited. Still, he says this is a good example of why you should change your passwords every month or so.

Associated Bank advises its customers to use passwords which are unique to other ones they have.  

Davis says it's also a good idea to check your online financial accounts daily for unusual activity.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Parts of north central Wisconsin got almost five inches of snow -- and to the south, folks are trudging through five inches of rain from the weekend.

In between, there are a number of icy spots.

In the Fond du Lac area, almost 2,500 Wisconsin Power and Light customers were without power as of early Monday afternoon. Menominee County still had almost 300 customers in the dark. Door County had almost 90 outages.

Just over 3,100 customers throughout the state were without power early Monday afternoon. That's about 2,000 fewer customers than Monday morning.

Most of Wisconsin was dry after the lunch hour, with partly to mostly cloudy skies. Light snow was still falling in far northern Wisconsin, and far south central areas with temperatures in the 20's and low 30s.

It's all supposed to clear out by the time the night's over. Tuesday, forecasters expect a dry day with highs in the 30's to near 40.  

Snow could return Tuesday night into Wednesday.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - The dredging of old cancer causing PCB's and the removal of shipwrecks has resumed in Green Bay.

Tetra Tech has resumed its work, after shutting it down for the winter on the Fox River behind its production facility. It's part of a long-range effort to remove the PCB's that were dumped in the river in the 1950's and 60's, as part of the process of making copy paper without carbons.

Since the project began in 2009, over two million cubic yards of sediment have been dredged from the Fox River. Tetra Tech plans to remove another 670,000 cubic yards this year.

Also, Tetra Tech has a subcontractor removing a cluster of sunken tugboats at the site from the 19th century. The boats went down in the 1940's in a spot that's now part of the National Register of Historic Places.

Because of that, the company reached an agreement with the federal and state governments on the clean-up work. The recovered vessels will later become part of a Green Bay museum display.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) - Over 120 jobs are expected to be added at an Oshkosh web design company over the next three years.

The announcement was made Monday at DealerFire, which currently has about 65 employees.

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation will invest nearly $500,000 over the three years to help DealerFire add approximately 123 jobs.

“They’re high-paying IT sector jobs, so we’re excited about that,” said Rob Kleman, senior vice president of economic development for the Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce, told FOX 11.

DealerFire is a web design and marketing company that “caters specifically to the automotive industry", according to the firm's website. 

(Additional reporting from FOX 11).

NEENAH, WI (WTAQ) - Long-time Wisconsin Congressman Tom Petri made it official Monday.

The 73-year-old formally announced he will not run for re-election this fall in the 6th Congressional district.

He thanked everyone, from his staff to his supporters, during a town hall meeting in Neenah.

Petri (R-Fond du Lac) didn't specify why he chose to retire now, only saying that the timing seemed right. Previously, a spokesman says Petri’s original plan was to seek one more term, but says his decision to retire was a result of, “several factors.”

Petri has been in Congress since 1979, and is a current member of the Transportation and Infrastructure committee and the committee on Education and the Workforce. He's also the chairman of the subcommittee on Highways and Transit.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - There's a shortage of whitefish in the Great Lakes -- and it's causing problems for Jewish families during the Passover holiday which began Monday night.

Whitefish is a key ingredient in a traditional Jewish recipe, but the long cold winter has prevented commercial fishermen from bringing in enough.

Chuck Bronte of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Green Bay says many boats still cannot get out to fish, as record ice levels on the Great Lakes continue their slow melting. As a result, fish wholesalers are not getting anywhere near the whitefish they need.

Wholesaler Kevin Dean of suburban Detroit said he got only got 75 pounds in his latest shipment, although he asked for 500.

Whitefish is a key ingredient in gefilte fish, a traditional Jewish recipe that normallyincludes ground up fish and other foods like eggs, carrots, onions, and bread crumbs. Other fish are also used, but whitefish is the most popular.  

Experts say the Great Lakes whitefish population has dropped in recent years anyway. Some blame invasive species like zebra mussels.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

MADISON, WI (WTAQ) - A cameraman who secretly videotaped Senate President Mike Ellis at a Madison bar while posing as one of his constituents says you can expect more tactics like this.  

The Republican Ellis said last week he would step down in January, after a video showed him discussing a possible independent group to attack his election challenger this fall.

Christian Hartsock made the video for the conservative group Project Veritas. He denied to the AP that he was brought in by more conservative Republicans who wanted to push out the moderate Ellis.

However, Hartsock said politicians at all levels should prepare to be recorded any time they're in public. In his words, "We want to create a climate where if you're going to represent a constituency, you better be looking over your shoulder."  

The 73-year-old Ellis scrapped the idea of a political attack committee after he found it was illegal. He later told a Milwaukee radio show he was just venting at the bar, like a sports fan would vent after a player just loses a big game.

Ellis calls it an invasion of privacy and the "new norm," and he's leaving office because he doesn't fit in anymore.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

DANE, WI (WTAQ) - Governor Scott Walker says he deserves another four years in office because he turned Wisconsin around in his first four.

The Republican Walker kicked off his re-election campaign Tuesday morning at a manufacturing plant at Dane, northwest of Madison.

Walker said he cut taxes, gave access to health insurance to those in poverty, and created over 100,000 new jobs. He also mentioned a tuition freeze at the UW, which he wants to extend for another two years if he wins.  

Governor Walker also vowed to keep putting tax relief "back into the hands of the people who earned it."  

By touting the creation of 100,000 jobs in Wisconsin during his first term -- Democrats quickly pounced on it.

The Democratic Governors Association and the campaign group "Emily's List" noted that Walker never reached the halfway point of the 250,000 jobs he promised to create when he ran for office in 2010.

In a joint statement, the groups also said Walker is, "one of the most vulnerable incumbent governors in the nation."  

Walker announced his re-election plans at a plant in Dane, near Madison -- and he's spreading that news during appearances in most of Wisconsin's TV markets, ending up at State Fair Park near Milwaukee.  

About 200 people attended his initial rally, where the governor was joined by his lieutenant Rebecca Kleefisch. Similar rallies were planned Tuesday in Green Bay, La Crosse, Chippewa Falls and Schofield.

Walker's announcement also includes a new TV with his new campaign slogan, "Wisconsin is back on."  

His Democratic opponent, Mary Burke, reiterated that Wisconsin is 35th in the nation in the pace of its private sector job creation. The former Trek Bicycle executive said, "Walker's game plan has failed."

The announcement comes on the first day that candidates can circulate nomination papers for the fall partisan elections.  

Walker defeated Democrat Tom Barrett by almost six percentage points in 2010, and by seven points in his 2012 recall election.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

MILWAUKEE (WTAQ) - Thousands of Wisconsinites could lose their power after Tuesday, if they don't start paying up on their past due electric bills.

The state's annual winter moratorium on utility shutoffs ends at midnight.  

We Energies, the state's largest electric company, has around 6,000 customers who risk being cut off. The utility has been working to reach those people for about a month, to encourage them to work out payment plans which could spare them from being shut off.

We Energies' spokesman Brian Manthey said number of people facing disconnections is about the same as a year ago -- but they owe 10 to 15 percent more money. That's no surprise, considering how long and cold this winter has been.  

State officials say they've provided home heating assistance to just under 200,000 households this past winter. That's about 5,000 more than a year ago.

Low income residents can still get help. More information is available by calling the following toll free number -- 866-HEAT-WIS.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

VILLAGE OF CLEVELAND, WI (WTAQ) - A school official says it will take about two weeks to rebuild a pair of classrooms that were damaged in a weekend storm in Manitowoc County.

In the meantime, pre-kindergarten and Montessori students have been moved to the gym of the Cleveland Elementary School -- which continues to operate while repairs are made.

A temporary roof was installed on Sunday, a day after straight line winds blew off part of the old roof, and heavy rains waterlogged the two classrooms.

Staff members were sent Monday to remove supplies, shelves, and tiles that were damaged.  

District superintendent Joe Sheehan said if crews had not spent Sunday vacuuming, he's not sure how far the water would have spread. 

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)