GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Both the Packers and the city of Green Bay plan to hold pep rallies to get fans fired up about Sunday's Packer playoff contest against the Dallas Cowboys.

The Packers' rally will start at 6 p.m. Saturday outside the Oneida Nation gate at Lambeau Field, where the divisional game will take place. Ex-Packers Jerry Kramer, Boyd Dowler, Donny Anderson, Dave Robinson, and Chuck Mercein will speak at that event.

Also, the city of Green Bay plans a rally at 3 p.m. Friday near Green Bay's Heritage Trail Monument. Packers' president Mark Murphy will be among those attending.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - A warning is being sent out to Cellcom customers about people apparently posing as employees to try and get inside your home.

On Wednesday, Cellcom was contacted by a New London customer saying that two men in an unmarked truck came to their home and said they needed to go inside to check on something that was causing interference with one of the cell site towers.

Officials say the homeowner did not let the men inside and called the police.

Cellcom contacted their sister company, Nsight Teleservices, and determined that no company vehicles were in the New London area Wednesday.

Customers of Cellcom should be aware that all technicians for their company and their sister company carry identification with them before entering a residence. The technicians also have Cellcom or Nsight logos on their vehicles.

MILWAUKEE (WTAQ) - Wisconsin's largest school district is among three dozen in southern Wisconsin that are closed Thursday.

The Milwaukee Public Schools often stay open when bad weather causes others in the area to close. Thursday, however, Milwaukee faces a triple whammy of sub-zero temperatures followed by an approaching snowstorm, and a return of below-zero wind chills Thursday night.

Hardly any schools in the northern two-thirds of Wisconsin were closed Thursday morning, while schools in Kenosha and Beloit shut down for a second straight day. Racine was among those joining them.

Forecasters say an Alberta Clipper storm system is heading this way. It's due in from mid-morning to early afternoon, depending on where you're located.

Most parts of Wisconsin expect 1 to 5 inches of snow into Friday, with the heaviest amounts projected east of Hayward in the far north. We could get stronger winds, and forecasters say blowing snow is possible Thursday afternoon and evening.

Actual temperatures are a bit warmer than they've been this week -- mostly in the single digits below zero, with wind chills in the minus teens and 20's.

Also, the National Weather Service is now predicting a cooler weekend than originally thought.

It's still supposed to be dry, but with highs generally in the teens instead of the 20's Saturday and Sunday. The 20's might not return until Monday.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - The Appleton Common Council has voted against purchasing the land behind the Paper Valley Hotel for a future exhibition center.

On Wednesday night, city leaders voted 8-6 against buying the land. 

The result means that if project leaders hope to move forward, they would need to come up with a new location and plans for the expo center. Officials say at this point, that appears unlikely.

Outagamie County is the current owner of the land, and the county board agreed to sell it to the city of Appleton for $2 million last year.

The exhibition center project was projected to cost $28 million. It would've been attached to the hotel and managed by hotel officials.

Proponents of the plan say the center would bring in millions of dollars to the city each year.

MADISON, WI (WTAQ) - The ongoing dispute between the city of Green Bay and the Oneida Seven Generations Corporation will be brought to the Wisconsin Supreme Court Thursday.

In 2011, the Green Bay city council approved a waste-to-energy plant project. However, city leaders changed their minds in the fall of 2012 after public opposition grew.

The OSGC, an arm of the Oneida Tribe, sued the city for pulling the conditional use permit. City officials argue that officials with Seven Generations misrepresented what was included in the plans and won a lower court battle.

The Court of Appeals then ruled for the tribe, saying Green Bay’s city council caved to growing public opposition to the project, when it shouldn’t have. In the ruling, the court said the city did not give enough evidence to stop the plan.

City officials appealed, and the Supreme Court will hear the case Thursday afternoon.

The summary of the case released by the court described the issue:

“The city argues that Supreme Court review is needed because rather than remanding the matter back to the city to give it a chance to more explicitly articulate its rationale for the revocation decision, the Court of Appeals proceeded to review the evidence in the record and make its own determination as to whether Seven Generations made any misrepresentations. The city argues the Court of Appeals’ handling of this case is contrary to prior decisions saying that when a decision-maker has not properly explained its decision, remand is the appropriate remedy.

Seven Generations says the unpublished Court of Appeals’ decision rests on the well established legal principle that a municipality may not act arbitrarily or without substantial evidence.”

(Additional reporting from FOX 11).

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - The Green Bay Packers are putting out the call for people willing to brave the cold and earn some extra money.

Folks are being asked to help shovel out Lambeau Field ahead of Sunday's NFC Divisional Playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys.

Team officials said Thursday there's room for up to 500 people. Interested shovelers are asked to report to the Mills Fleet Farm Gate on the stadium's west side starting at 10 a.m. Friday and continuing throughout the day as needed.

Shovelers must be at least 15-years-old and will be paid $10 per hour. The Packers will provide the shovels.

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - This week, Appleton city leaders voted down a land purchase from Outagamie County to move the proposed exhibition center project forward.

Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson says he wants to re-open talks regarding the land on W. Lawrence Street.

"We wanted to get in sooner rather than later and try to at least throw into the mix another proposal for the city to entertain," said Nelson. "I think that I have a responsibility to step up, get involved and offer another counter-proposal to keep this alive."

The deal, for $2 million, was rejected on an 8-6 voted Wednesday night. One of those against the proposal was Alderman Kyle Lobner.

"We were buying a lot for roughly twice its assessed value and replacing the parking they were losing by giving it up," said Lobner. "That's roughly the equivalent of buying someone's house, paying double the market value for it and then building them another house."

Lobner, however, says that wasn't the biggest reason he voted no.

"The shift that we made this year from a model that involved the project being privately owned, to the city owning the project," Lobner said, adding he was surprised the council had the 8 votes against.

Lobner also cited concern with regards to the future ownership of the Paper Valley Hotel. 

Fox Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau executive director Pam Siedl told the Appleton Post-Crescent that the proposed site, across the street from the Paper Valley Hotel, is the only site under consideration for the expo center. The current plan also called for the hotel to manage the center.

County Executive Nelson says he can only help with the areas of concern directly involving the county.

"If it's about the ownership question or the finance question, that's something the county, has nothing to do with," said Nelson. "But if it comes down to land and parking, that's something where we can play a constructive role."

Lobner says he's willing to listen to another way to make the $27 million Fox Cities Exhibition Center viable again.

"The price of the land is not the sole concern here, there are other issues that needed to be resolved, even if the land were being given to us for free," said Lobner.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - It's not just politicians who are placing high profile bets on Sunday's Packer-Cowboy playoff game.

The Stevens Point Brewery said it was contacted by Lakewood Brewing of Garland Texas about a wager. If the Packers win, the Point people will get some of Lakewood's craft brews. If the Cowboys pull off the upset, Point will have to send some of its beers to the South.

Meanwhile, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings says he'll give Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt some famous Texas barbecue from the Pecan Lodge Restaurant if the Packers win. If Dallas wins, Schmitt says he'll deliver a basket of unspecified "Wisconsin favorites."

Also, Governor Scott Walker has been jawing with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie over Sunday's game. Christie is a long-time Cowboys' fan -- and he hugged team owner Jerry Jones after last Sunday's come from behind Dallas victory over Detroit.

Walker tweeted that the only owner he plans to hug is one of the 350,000 Packer fans who own stock in the team.

Las Vegas now has Green Bay as a five-and-a-half to six-point favorite for Sunday's contest.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - The Appleton Police Department need your help tracking down a suspect who stole cigarettes from a convenience store last month.

Authorities say the burglary happened at a store on E. Northland Avenue around 3 a.m. on December 23rd. 

Officers responded to an alarm at the store and found glass broken out of the front door. According to the business owner, more than 50 cartons of cigarettes were taken.

Still images taken from surveillance video have been released to the media.

Anyone with information is asked to call Sgt. Josef Whitney at (920) 832-5548.

BELLEVUE, WI (WTAQ) - Authorities in Brown County say the theft of a floor buffer from a Bellevue grocery store cleaning crews may be tied to similar crimes statewide.

The Sheriff's Department says someone walked away with the machine, valued at $2,000, from the Copps store, 2064 Lime Kiln Road, on December 11.

The floor buffer's owner says it's the 7th machine stolen from him in the previous year. Those were all taken from Pick 'n Save stores in Kenosha, Milwaukee, West Allis, Pewaukee and DeForest. In another case, someone stole 4 batteries out of a scrubber and a charger worth $1,400.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Brown County Sheriff’s Office at (920) 448-4230. Anonymous tips can be left with Crime Stoppers by phone at (920) 432-7867 or by sending a text message to 274637 with the keyword GBTIP.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Wind chill advisories continue through at least mid-morning Saturday in all of Wisconsin except the Eau Claire region.

There, the advisories end at noon Friday and resume again at 11 p.m.

The National Weather Service says a fresh blast of Arctic air will blow northwest winds of up to 30 miles an hour through the Badger State at least until late Saturday morning.

That's when the week-long cold spell will finally begin to break. Until then, southeast Wisconsin can expect wind chills of 15 to 25-below -- and 20 to 40-below in the northwest and north central areas.

Points in between will be in the middle of that range. Forecasters say it will be colder Friday night than Thursday night, with actual low temperatures of 20-below projected in the north by early Saturday morning.

Spinouts continued Friday morning on streets and highways where it's too cold for road salt to work. The Highway 41-45 freeway northwest of Milwaukee was shut down for an hour during Friday morning's rush hour.

Also, the state DOT said the eastbound lanes of Highway 10 were shut down late Friday morning in Waupaca County due to a serious crash.

A Chicago man was killed when an SUV hit a pick-up truck on a snow-covered road near Stoughton, south of Madison.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - About 300 standing-room tickets for Sunday's Packers-Dallas Cowboys game were snapped up in 15 minutes Friday morning.

The $105 tickets were limited to four per household -- and about a dozen of them were offered on StubHub early Friday afternoon for a $35 markup.

Actually, you can get seats for not much more than that, if you're willing to sit high.

Tickets in the 700 section in the South End Zone were going for as low as $145 Friday afternoon on StubHub, which includes fees in their prices. The NFL's official Ticket Exchange does not include fees in its listings -- and they had 700-level nose bleed seats for as low as $139.

Sunday's Packer-Cowboy matchup begins at 12:05 p.m. at Lambeau Field. The winner plays either Seattle or Carolina in the NFC Championship Game a week from Sunday.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - A Green Bay hospital is moving 50 patients to another facility following a water main break early Saturday morning.

It happened at St. Mary's hospital.

"As a result of that it affected the boiler room area of the hospital," said St. Mary's/St. Vincent Hospital spokesperson Patti Glaser-Martin. "We are in the process of transferring patients from St. Mary's to St. Vincent."

Medical staff is also going to St. Vincent to help treat the patients.

It's unclear right now what caused the water main break, but it's possible the ongoing cold weather may have been a factor. No word yet on when the issue will be repaired.

According to a statement, St. Mary’s has closed its Emergency Department as part of the controlled evacuation. The public is encouraged to seek treatment for minor concerns at Urgent Care and to go to St. Vincent Hospital for emergency care.

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - An overnight house fire in Appleton leaves six people out in the cold.

Fire crews were called to the home on Fairway Court around 2:30 a.m.

Firefighters say the blaze appears to have started on the first floor and moved to the second floor of the home.

Crews say the house suffered extensive fire, smoke and water damage. One firefighter was taken to the hospital for an upper respiratory condition.

Two adults and four children who were displaced by the fire are being assisted by the Red Cross. All of the family members escaped the home safely.

It's unclear what caused the fire, and it remains under investigation.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Green Bay police had to use a Taser on a man overnight who refused to stop urinating outdoors.

It happened around 2:30 a.m. on the Walnut Street Bridge.

Police say the man, when confronted by officers, ran under the bridge and ended up in the water up to his knees. He then hung onto a cable and told authorities he wouldn't give up.

The Green Bay Metro Fire Department brought in a rescue boat, and when authorities reached the man, he still refused to give up. So cops decided to taze him.

The 25-year-old man was treated and released from a local hospital. He was cited and is facing a couple charges.

The Walnut Street Bridge was closed for about 10 minutes during the incident.

OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) - A man charged with causing the death of a toddler in the Town of Menasha last year pled no contest on Monday.

According to online court records, Ryan Jorgenson entered that plea to a charge of first-degree reckless homicide and will be sentenced March 13.

Authorities say Jorgenson admitted pushing a 3-year-old girl down the stairs of a home last May, causing her death. Jorgenson was the fiancée of the child's mother.

The criminal complaint says Jorgenson told another jail inmate he, "did a very bad thing," and "hurt that little girl."

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - A house fire in Appleton Sunday evening sends a family of seven out into the cold.

Fire crews say it happened on Pheasant Court just before 6 p.m.

Authorities say it appears the blaze started near the chimney and then spread into the attic. Officials say a passer-by saw the fire and alerted the family inside. 

Everyone was able to escape safely. 

While firefighters were able to douse the flames quickly, there was extensive water damage throughout the home.

Two adults and five children have been displaced.

Officials say they have ruled it a chimney fire.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Far northern Wisconsin never left the deep freeze, thanks to a new cold front that moved in Sunday.

Temperatures behind the front are bitter cold Monday morning, while it's still relatively balmy in southern Wisconsin.

Phillips had 24-below at 7 a.m., and wind chills were no colder than that in the north.

Places close to Lake Michigan were the warmest Monday morning. It was 19 above in Kenosha at 7 a.m. The mercury approached 30 Sunday in some parts of the south.

Packer fans anticipating "Ice Bowl II" against the Dallas Cowboys had anything but. The 79,000-plus at Lambeau Field basked in the high 20's with light winds -- although it was cloudy the entire game.

After it got dark, the front brought light snow and flurries to northern and central Wisconsin, with only traces reported.

Light snow showers are expected to continue Monday near Lake Superior, but it's supposed to be dry and cold everywhere else in the state this week.

Highs are expected between 5 and 16 above Monday. It could get down to 25-below Monday night in the north, with a statewide warming trend starting Tuesday.

Highs are projected to be in the teens Tuesday, and the 20's the rest of the week -- with a few 30's on Friday.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ) - Authorities are looking for a person of interest allegedly involved in an aggravated battery case just hours after the Packers win over the Cowboys Sunday.

Ashwaubenon Public Safety officials responded outside of Sidelines Sports Bar, 1049 Lombardi Access Road, around 7:30 p.m. and found a 20-year-old Wauwatosa man with a severe head injury.

The victim told police he was with the man pictured above, and said the two had just met and that the man became angry at some point over the Cowboys losing. Both men went outside the bar where the victim was later found badly hurt.

That victim is currently in critical condition at an area hospital.

Ashwaubenon Public Safety believes the man in the photo may be involved as he was the last known person to be with the victim, along with other information found during the investigation.

Authorities say the person in the photo may have the first name of "Jose" and could have ties to Lac du Flambeau.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Ashwaubenon Police at (920) 492-2995 or to remain anonymous and be eligible for a cash reward to call Crimestoppers at (920) 432-STOP or www.432stop.com.

TOWN OF DUNBAR, WI (WTAQ) - Authorities in Marinette County say a seven-year-old girl died in a fire Monday night.

Fire crews were called just before 11:30 p.m. to a trailer home on Collins Lane.

Sheriff's officials say a man and his two children were home were the building, which had additions, began to fill with smoke.

The man and his 9-year-old son escaped. The man tried to locate his daughter several times, but couldn't.

The fire started near a fireplace, according to investigators. The home is considered a total loss.

Authorities continue to investigate the fire.