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Ashwaubenon factory accused of discrimination

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ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ) - The federal government is suing an Ashwaubenon factory, for allegedly firing workers who lacked proper English skills -- even though they didn't need them to do their jobs.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a complaint Monday against Wisconsin Plastics, a maker of metal and plastic products.

According to the EEOC, the affected Hmong and Hispanic workers had 10 minute observations of their ability to handle English -- and they were let go despite satisfactory ratings on their most recent performance reviews.

The lawsuit seeks punitive damages against the firm, plus payments to the former employees for lost wages.

Wisconsin Plastics called the allegations false, and there was nothing illegal about its employment decisions.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)


Manitowoc County man has bond set after drug bust

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MANITOWOC, WI (WTAQ) - Bond has been set at $100,000 for a Manitowoc County man arrested in a large marijuana bust.  

39-year-old Brian Guilmette of Collins was arrested over the weekend. Authorities said Monday that Calumet County officers were planning to buy drugs from Guilmette, when they caught him with 8 pounds of pot and $1,000 in his vehicle.

The Manitowoc County Metro Drug Unit then searched his home. There, officials said they seized 78 pounds of marijuana, and around $35,000 in cash.  

The pot was said to be worth $300,000.

Investigators said the drug apparently came from California -- and some of the bags had coffee grounds which may have tried to hide the drug's scent during shipping.

Guilmette appeared in Manitowoc County Circuit Court Monday for a bond hearing. Charges are expected to be filed by the time he's due back in court June 23rd.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

DA: No criminal charges in Oconto High School fire

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OCONTO, WI (WTAQ) - Oconto County District Attorney Ed Burke says that no criminal charges will be filed against the student behind the April 16 fire at Oconto High School.

The 16-year-old boy sparked the blaze by tossing a cigarette into a bathroom garbage can. Investigators say it caused $5 million in damage and it forced classes to be moved to the middle school for several weeks.

“We concluded we couldn’t prove any crime beyond a reasonable doubt,” Burke told FOX 11 Tuesday.

Police determined the fire was unintentional. According to Wisconsin’s arson law, statue 943.02(1)(a), says someone is guilty of arson if they “By means of fire, intentionally damages any building of another without the other’s consent.”

(Additional reporting by FOX 11).

De Pere post office will officially be renamed for Cpl. Justin Ross

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WASHINGTON D.C. (WTAQ) - President Barack Obama has signed a bill into law allowing for the De Pere post office to be renamed in honor of local soldier Cpl. Justin D. Ross.

Wisconsin Congressman Reid Ribble sponsored the bill, and says the name change is meant to honor all service members from his district who have lost their lives in combat since he took office in 2011.

“Freedom always comes at a cost and many have paid the highest price,” Ribble said in a news release. “These soldiers’ service and sacrifice is worthy of far more than any legislation can offer, but taking this moment and this step is one more way for a grateful nation to honor these heroes.”

Also during that time, Sgt. Paul Atim, Staff Sgt. Matthew Hermanson, Staff Sgt. Garrick Eppinger Jr. and Staff Sgt. Jordan Bear died in combat.

Fraud suspects sought by Green Bay PD

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GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Two men are being sought by Green Bay police for allegedly defrauding a business.

Police say both men used credit cards which were later rejected as being invalid. The cards are not believed to be stolen.

Authorities say the two bought a few thousand dollars' worth of electronics at an east side store. Police won't say which store it was. 

Anyone with information is asked to call Green Bay police at (920) 448-3208 and refer to case number 14-206304.

Green Bay alderman attends Mayor Schmitt's Larsen Green meeting

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GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt met with a few city council members Tuesday to discuss "options" for the Larsen Green site.

Alderman Joe Moore attended a meeting with Mayor Schmitt and the city planning department.

"Mayor Schmitt had pulled out the original documentation of the City of Green Bay backing the loan by On Broadway, Inc. from 2007," says Moore. "And giving us an explanation of why we backed that loan."

Moore says the planning department, and Community Development Director Kim Flom, took over. They unveiled renderings of possible mixed-use development for the Broadway District site.

"The renderings they showed had an approximate value of $30 million in economic development," says Moore. "There's very obvious long-term benefit to the yearly taxes, the question I've got is how much city investment is it going to take to get to that point?"

Moore says they also displayed a chart showing the tax base potential short term versus long-term on that site.

"One of the biggest questions that we have been getting is 'if not Walmart, then what' and I think city staff has got what our vision is," Moore says. "There's no developer, there's no money, there's no backing...it's just renderings and drawings."

It's unclear what Mayor Schmitt will show the public when he holds a press conference originally scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

The city would gain control of the property if On Broadway, Inc. defaults on their bank loan by missing two consecutive payments.

But the city council could still approve a rezoning of the site to allow for Walmart to build a Supercenter. The retail giant is proposing a 154,000 square foot store with more than 600 parking spaces.

On Monday night, the Plan Commission voted 3-2 against a rezoning of the PUD. It's a vote that Moore feels is still up in the air.

"I think that it's a 6-6, 7-5 or 5-7...I think there are some wild cards in there," Moore says. "You know if it's 6-6, I don't believe it'll get voted through. I think the Mayor would cast the deciding vote. If it's 7-5, I think that he'll allow the council to make the decision."

Clintonville city leaders don't override veto; give mayor vote of no confidence

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CLINTONVILLE, WI (WTAQ) - Over one hundred people attended Tuesday night's Clintonville City Council meeting, and heard the council members say the mayor has failed to perform her duties.

Council members held a vote of no confidence in Mayor Judith Magee, which was approved 6-4. That symbolic gesture followed a 6-4 vote to override Magee's veto that prevented an investigation of alleged misconduct into city administrator Lisa Kotter from going to a labor attorney. Seven votes were needed to get that override.

Kotter is accused of using the city of Clintonville's travel budget for family vacations. Her two-week suspension ended when Magee vetoed the move of the investigation to the labor attorney.

“I have always acted with the utmost respect for rules and laws within my position and I am thankful to the mayor for vetoing it,” Kotter told FOX 11.

“There were two issues. One was on veracity on her part and another was job performance with her not being in accordance with the law. For instance, we’re under a gag order to not talk about the investigation,” said Mary-Beth Keuster, who began the motion for the vote of no confidence.

Magee told FOX 11 that the vote of no confidence was a personal attack.

“I haven’t done anything that I believe is wrong. The state statute gives me the power to veto. The council people didn’t like the veto,” said Magee.

The council put off discussion of what to do with Kotter’s investigation.

“We will probably be calling a special meeting for next week. We won’t let it go until next month. I just spoke to Alderman Rose who had the initial proposal and we will be calling a special meeting to continue the investigation,” Keuster told FOX 11.

Taxpayers brought up one issue at the meeting: the cost of the Kotter investigation. To date, the city says it has spent $6,600 in legal fees.

Its budget is $10,000. That comes out of a $20,000 contingency fund for the whole city.

Kotter asked the council to share the information about her investigation. The council refrained because it says the investigation has not been officially closed.

Storage barn destroyed by fire in Manitowoc County

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TOWN OF FRANKLIN, WI (WTAQ) - A Manitowoc County storage barn was destroyed in a fire Tuesday night.

The call went out to a property on Madison Road in the Town of Franklin around 10:30 p.m.

A passer-by saw the fire and told the owners, according to Kellnersville Fire Chief Brian Lambert. When firefighters arrived, the barn was nearly gone.

Lambert says there were no animals inside the barn, but two vehicles were destroyed.

No word yet on what caused the fire. 


Winnebago County now issuing same-sex marriage licenses

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OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) - After initially refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, Winnebago County decided to reverse course on Wednesday.

Winnebago County Clerk Sue Ertmer said after meeting with the county's lawyer, she wrote in a note posted at her office, "after much thought and discussion in relationship to this issue, I believe it is unfair to same-sex couples within Winnebago County to continue to refuse to issue marriage licenses to them based upon a state constitutional provision that a federal judge has declared unconstitutional and in the absence of any court order staying that decision or enjoining the office from issuing marriage licenses."

Ertmer said on Tuesday that they were waiting for clarification from the state.

After licenses were issued, same-sex couples getting licenses were able to marry at the Winnebago County courthouse.

(Additional reporting by FOX 11).

Shooting victims' mom, heart transplant recipient meet for first time

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NEENAH, WI (WTAQ) - It was an emotional gathering as the mother of a slain Green Bay man and the recipient of her son's heart met for the first time Wednesday.

Last December 8, Joshua Richards was shot in the head at Luna Lounge in downtown Appleton. The family of the 25-year-old Richards donated his organs.

On Wednesday, Jackie Pische met Ben Adler, who got Richards' heart, at Theda Clark Medical Center in Neenah.

Theda Clark will also raise a Donate Life flag to honor organ, tissue and eye donors.

There are currently 122,000 people on the national waiting list for an organ transplant. 2,200 of those are in Wisconsin.

Theda Clark encourages people to help reduce that number by becoming registered donors at www.YesIWillWisconsin.com.

(Additional reporting by FOX 11).

Green Bay Ald. Joe Moore has conflict of interest with Walmart issue

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GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - A Green Bay city council member is now being forced to abstain from any further discussions or votes over the Walmart issue.

Alderman Joe Moore has a conflict of interest that has arisen, according to a letter from Green Bay city attorney Tony Wachewicz.

In an interview with WTAQ, Moore says that he decided to recuse himself after hearing from corporate legal counsel at his employer Menards. 

When WTAQ asked if the conflict involved materials for new construction of the proposed 154,000 square foot store in downtown Green Bay, Moore would not comment.

Moore also declined comment on the timing of the recusal, after already casting a vote back on March 4 when the city council approved the "downtown" designation. Walmart was hoping to amend the city's Smart Growth 2022 Comprehensive Plan as a retail site.

Alderman Moore would not provide any further comment on the issue. This move comes a day after Moore met with Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt and the city's planning department about other "options" for the Larsen Green site.

Downtown bar owners, Green Bay police work together after recent disturbance

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GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - A disturbance last weekend in downtown Green Bay was tough for handle for police officers, because they say people with cell phones and cameras hindered their efforts.

Hundreds of people crowded outside on Washington Street at bar close last Saturday as cops looked for a man with a loaded gun.  

“The first responding officers were distracted from looking for that person because people insisted on getting in his face, getting too close, with their cell phone videos,” Police Capt. Jim Runge explained to FOX 11.

Runge says about 200 people were gathered, and several other fights were breaking out. Back-up was called from neighboring communities.

Local bar owners met with police to discuss strategies moving forward to keep the area safe. Travis Engels is general manager at The Nines.

“What happened isn’t what normally happens downtown, nor do we want that to keep on happening,” said Engels.

That includes more security on the street. Bar owners say they'll help pay for it.

Authorities eventually arrested Salvador Nunez after he got into a scuffle with two other men. Nunez has been charged with carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, and disorderly conduct.

Runge says police are looking for more surveillance video cameras that may have captured any other incidents. He adds citations could be issued.

(Additional reporting by FOX 11).

Follow up: GBPD reveals how Officer Wicklund complaints compares with others

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GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - New information is coming out about how complaints against a Green Bay police officer under investigation for excessive force compares to other cops.

Last month, FOX 11 did an open records request which found that Officer Derek Wicklund had 6 excessive force complaints against him in the last 8 years. We're now getting some stats about where Wicklund stands against his peers. 

The Green Bay Police Department hired Wicklund in July 2002. Ten officers were hired within about a year of that date. The department did not name those officers, but all of them are still with the department.

Of those officers, Wicklund has the third-most citizen complaints, with 15. The officer with the most had 25. However, when it comes to excessive force complaints, Wicklund has the most with 6. The next closest officer has 4. The rest either have two, one, or none.

“He’s been one of the officers that have always liked to work, so he’s in some of the more hard hit areas of our community,” Green Bay Police Captain Bill Galvin tells FOX 11. “He’s a very aggressive officer when it comes to fighting crime, so that could be a possible explanation there also.”

Galvin says between Wicklund and the ten other officers, there were 20 investigated excessive force complaints. Internal investigations found no wrongdoing in any of the complaints.

Galvin adds a number of factors contribute to one officer having more complaints than another. They include what shift and part of the city the officer works.

The state is still investigating Wicklund’s arrest from the April cell phone video outside a downtown Green Bay bar.

(Additional reporting by FOX 11).

Wisconsin AG: County clerks may be prosecuted for issuing same-sex marriage licenses

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MADISON, WI (WTAQ) - Wisconsin's attorney general warned Thursday that county clerks might be hauled into court if they issue same-sex marriage licenses.

Republican J.B. Van Hollen told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the same-sex couples who had weddings since last Friday are not married in the eyes of the law. He said he did not believe that the gay couples themselves could be prosecuted -- but there are penalties for the county clerks who allow it to happen, and Van Hollen says he hopes they realize it.

The AG said it would be up to local district attorneys, and not him, to file charges.

More than 50 of Wisconsin's 72 counties have been issuing same-sex marriage licenses, after Federal Judge Barbara Crabb ruled six days ago that the state's ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional.

Crabb has been silent on how counties should respond to her ruling. Since then, the ACLU has filed a request for Judge Crabb to allow the counties to grant same-sex licenses, and to have the state recognize similar unions from other states.

Crabb will consider that request at a court hearing Friday. A legal response from the state says the federal court cannot change the terms "husband" and "wife" on the state's marriage license forms.

Supporters of same-sex marriages have told couples that their window is probably short, since either the district and-or appellate federal courts will put Crabb's ruling on hold until the state finishes appealing.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt shows off alternatives for Larsen Green site

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GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Just days before a possible city council vote on a proposed Walmart Supercenter in downtown Green Bay, Mayor Jim Schmitt showed off three alternate options for the Larsen Green site.

Schmitt says it's about investing in the future.

"If we're going to compete, we need to have a community, a city and an urban downtown that is going to attract and retain the talent we need to go forward," Schmitt said during a press conference Thursday. "This is a 50 year decision for our community, and it deserves thorough analysis and community input."

The options, according to city staff, are consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and the initial intent of the Planned Unit Development. That PUD is what Walmart officials are seeking a rezoning of, in order to move forward with plans to build a 154,000 square foot store.

The first option is heavily focused on residential uses, including new townhomes, multi-family residential housing and loft units in the re-use of the existing warehouse. A second option outlines an office/retail focus including a new community park, a music venue and a one-story, 35,000 square foot grocery store. The third option is a sports and entertainment venue, including a new baseball stadium and a hotel.

"This is realistic, this is doable, and this is something the city would support and get behind like we've done with other properties in the downtown," says Schmitt. 

Schmitt believes it could take at least three years and $3 million in tax dollars to get the ideas up and running.

"The options, if you look at them and get them done, a lot of it is what people are asking for, but I like the Walmart proposal a lot," says Green Bay City Council President Tom DeWane. "I like the Walmart proposal, they've got a plan and it fits the needs of the constituents in that area."

DeWane believes that the immediate costs to the city that taxpayers would have to cover is much higher than what city staff estimates it to be. Schmitt cautiously stated that environmental clean-up costs are about $1 million, but DeWane thinks it's much higher. Not to mention the loan guarantee the city of Green Bay would be on the hook for should On Broadway, Inc. default on it.

Schmitt says he's not afraid of the project.

"I think if the city got involved and really marketed this properly to a master developer, we feel confident that if the city is patient for another two to three years, that we could deliver the beginnings of this project," said Schmitt.

You can read more about the alternate options here.


Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest concerned about EAB spreading

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FLORENCE COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) - The tree-killing emerald ash borer is getting closer to Wisconsin's Northwoods, and officials of the state's only national forest are concerned.

The green beetle is commonly spread through firewood -- and U.S. Forest Service properties are not as restrictive about firewood usage as the DNR state campgrounds.

The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest covers much of the northern quarter of the Badger State. Spokeswoman Hilary Markin says the federal rules allow firewood to be brought in from 25 miles away -- and campers can bring wood from home as long as they can prove it was from a certified dealer.

Also, she says the national forest does not sell its own firewood like the state parks do.

In recent months, the DNR has tightened its restrictions to allow firewood from only 10 miles of state parks. Markin says the Forest Service has not discovered the emerald ash borer at the Chequamegon-Nicolet site.

The beetle has killed millions of ash trees in the eastern U.S. and Canada, and it's now in 22 Wisconsin counties. Door County was added to that list this week.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

Appleton police search for graffiti suspect

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APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - Police in Appleton are asking for the public's help in identifying a graffiti suspect.

The PD has received multiple reports of public and private property being damaged in downtown Appleton since June 6.

The surveillance photos above show the suspect being helped by at least one male and two females.

Cops say the primary hallmark of the graffit is the word "ACES."

If you have information, please contact the Appleton Police Department at (920) 832-6414.

Severe storms possible for Father's Day

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GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - If you plan to do things outdoors this weekend, you might want to get them in Saturday.

Forecasters say thunderstorms are predicted on and off from late Saturday into Sunday.

The National Weather Service says 1 to 3 inch downpours are possible in northwest Wisconsin and northeast Minnesota -- but it's too early to say exactly where.

Weather service offices in La Crosse, Green Bay, and Minneapolis say severe storms are possible during the weekend.

Forecasters in southern Wisconsin say the next chance for severe weather in that region is on Tuesday.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

Green Bay PD looking for man in surveillance photos

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GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Green Bay police have posted surveillance photos on social media to try and track down a man who may have obstructed an officer during an incident last weekend.

Police say a series of small fights broke out among nearly 200 people standing outside of a couple bars on Washington Street last Sunday morning.

One person was arrested and has been charged with carrying a concealed weapon without a permit. 

On Friday, the Green Bay Police Department posted these photos to their Facebook page.

The man in the pictures was apparently recording an officer and yelling while standing in the road. Police say while people have the right to record officers, they do not have the right to interfere with an investigation.

The man could face a citation.

Police say they could post more images next week of people they are looking for.

Floor plans revealed for renovated Hotel Northland

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GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Detailed floor plans for the soon-to-be-renovated Hotel Northland were distributed at a Green Bay Redevelopment Authority meeting Friday.

The plans show a restaurant and jazz club on the first floor of the downtown Green Bay hotel, along with the lobby.

FOX 11 says the Grid Iron Tavern is expected to have a Packers theme. A fitness center will also be included.

The guestroom layout shows 160 guest rooms, including suites named for Vince Lombardi and Curly Lambeau on the 8th floor.

Renovations are scheduled to start in August.

(Additional reporting by FOX 11).

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