Green Bay, WI (WTAQ) - A judge has decided that Keith Kutska will get another chance to argue for a new trial in connection to his conviction for the 1992 murder of Tom Monfils.
Kutska is one of six men who were convicted of killing Monfils at the then-James River paper mill In Green Bay.
The hearing is scheduled to last three days, starting July 8.
All but Mike Piaskowski, whose conviction was overturned by a federal judge, are serving life prison terms.
Green Bay, WI (WTAQ) - This week is Tornado/Severe Weather Awareness Week in Wisconsin and Brown County Emergency Management Director, Paul Gazdik, says being prepared is key.
Besides the weather radio, Gazdik recommends on having a family preparedness kit that includes items that can last you 72 hours like non-perishable food items and water.
Brown County will be sounding its severe weather warning sirens at 1:45 p. m. on Thursday.
Green Bay, WI (WTAQ) - If you wake up Thursday and your electricity isn't working, you probably forgot to pay your winter bill.
The WPS winter moratorium deadline passed on Wednesday. Company spokesperson Lisa Prunty, says the WPS is shutting off power to thousands of customers.
If you're having trouble paying your winter bill, there are options like applying for state dollars for energy assistance or opting for budget billing.
You can call 866-215-5812 for more information and help in paying your bill
Pulaski, WI (WTAQ) - Pulaski’s school superintendent has been placed on administrative leave. District employees were notified Thursday of the change in Milt Thompson’s status.
The school district did not provide a reason for placing Thompson on administrative leave, nor did it say when he would return.
The board approved the leave April 8th, and it started April 9th.
The district has also been dealing with the fallout from a cellphone video that shows a Pulaski High School student beating up another student.
Green Bay, WI (WTAQ) - It was a moment that has taken years to get to: that the historic, 91-year-old Hotel Northland will get a second chance at being the social and hospitality center of downtown Green Bay once again.
Frantz Community Investors will soon embark on turning the mothballed building into a 160-room boutique hotel, with two full-service restaurants, catering, event space, a fitness center and spa – employing 166 full time employees.
The $44 million project could be finished within the next 12 months.
Milwaukee, WI (WTAQ) - Wisconsin's best-known independent poll gives Governor Scott Walker his lowest approval rating in the poll's three-year history.
A Marquette Law School survey released Thursday has 41-percent approving of the Republican Walker's job performance as governor -- with 56-percent disapproving.
Back in October, just before he defeated Democrat Mary Burke, the Marquette poll had Walker with a 49-percent job approval rating -- eight-points higher than where he is now.
Madison, WI (WTAQ) - Wisconsin officials have confirmed a second and third outbreak of the bird flu that's been killing poultry throughout the Midwest.
Thursday, the state Ag Department said a virus turned up at a farm in Barron County with 126-thousand turkeys -- and in a backyard flock in Juneau County with 40 birds of various kinds.
The two sites are being quarantined, and all the birds are being killed on those sites to prevent the disease from spreading.
Green Bay, WI (WTAQ) - An annual rite of spring has arrived. Sturgeon have begun spawning on the Wolf River.
According to DNR senior fisheries biologist Ryan Koenigs, there were multiple spawning pods at the Sturgeon Trail in New London and at least one at Bamboo Bend in Shiocton as of Thursday morning.
Koenigs also expects spawning activity below the Shawano Dam by the weekend.
SHEBOYGAN, WI (WTAQ) – Police say 11-year-old Lucas Talbot is safe.
He was reported missing from Grand Elementary School in Sheboygan Thursday afternoon.
Officials say he was found at a friend’s house.
MILWAUKEE, WI (WTAQ)- Two people are dead after a house fire overnight in Milwaukee.
The fire broke out around 3 a.m. Friday on the city’s northwest side.
One other person was injured.
Officials say there were heavy flames and explosions when they arrived.
Firefighters say there were oxygen tanks inside, and some had exploded.
The fire spread to a second home.
Madison, WI (WTAQ) -Wisconsin's technical colleges would have more of their state aid hinge on performance, under a state budget provision endorsed Friday.
The Legislature's Joint Finance Committee voted unanimously to tie 30-percent of the schools' state funding to their success in training and placing workers in high-demand fields.
Right now, 10-percent of the aid is based on performance, with the rest tied to property values in each of the 16 technical college districts.
G-O-P Governor Scott Walker originally wanted 40-percent of the aid to hinge on performance starting in 2017, rising to 100-percent in 2019.
The finance panel voted to keep the figure at 30-percent per year.
Sturgeon Bay, WI (WTAQ) - A bank that's prominent in northeast Wisconsin had a seven-percent jump in its first-quarter earnings.
Baylake Corporation of Sturgeon Bay reports a net income of two-point-two million dollars for January through March, up from two point-one-million the same quarter of 2014.
Stockholder earnings rose from 23-cents a share last year to 24-cents in the most recent quarter.
C-E-O Robert Cera cited balanced revenues from an expanded line of services and products in treasury services, wealth management, and commercial banking.
Baylake Bank has branches in Door, Brown, Outagamie, and Kewaunee counties.
Madison, WI (WTAQ) - Wisconsin law enforcement agencies that buy and use military equipment would be under a lot more scrutiny, under a state budget proposal endorsed Friday.
The Legislature's Joint Finance Committee voted unanimously to add an item to the next state budget, after police agencies stepped up their purchases in recent years of surplus military items.
Some have loaded up on assault rifles, armored mine-resistant vehicles, and even a grenade launcher in one instance.
Green Bay, WI (WTAQ) - As the Fox River Cleanup Project gets closer to downtown Green Bay, project engineers are reminding boaters to be alert.
It’s the seventh season of work to remove harmful PCBs from the river. An annual meeting held Friday by the Port of Green Bay included an update on the $1 billion project that will eventually cover 13 miles of the river.
Since late last month, dredging barges have been back on the Fox River in Brown County.
“We’ve just completed our third week. We’ve probably dredged 55,000 cubic yards,” said Richard Feeney, a project engineer for Tetra Tech – the company leading the project.
The work moved north this year to an area that includes 14 business terminals.
Project leaders are coordinating with shipping companies and recreational boaters so everyone can maneuver safely on the water.
Green Bay, WI (WTAQ) - Brown County 9-1-1 dispatchers gathered for well deserved honors this week....as County officials recognized and honored some who had opportunities to do some some pretty amazing things in the past year.
From talking someone through the delivery of a baby.....to providing critical information to a police officer going to a domestic violence call.....dispatchers play a vital role in public safety.
Karli Piper has been a Brown County dispatcher since 2005. She was selected as the Telecommunicator of the year.
She calls working at the Communications Center being part of an amazing team.
A good day at work for her is simply helping people deal with potentially traumatic things.
Despite the stress, Piper still loves the job and plans on doing it for a long time to come.
Green Bay, WI (WTAQ) - A 32-year-old man was arrested for what police say would be his second OWI offense after an overnight crash in Green Bay.
Police say the man’s car crashed into a Georgia-Pacific building on Lombardi Avenue, just east of Ashland Avenue, around 1:30 this morning (SAT).
When officers arrived, the driver was trapped and unconscious. Two other people in the car. All three went to the hospital, treated for minor injuries and released.
Police believe speed and alcohol were factors in the crash.
Green Bay, WI (WTAQ) - Wisconsin Public Service Corporation is asking to increase utility rates next year. The company wants to increase electric rates by 9.4 percent and natural gas distribution rates by 7.5 percent.
If approved, electric customers would see an increase of $7.62 on their monthly bill. Natural gas customers would see a monthly increase of $1.54.
Primary reasons for the requested increase in electric rates are:
Construction costs of the ReACT Emissions Control Project at the Weston 3 Plant near
Wausau
Transmission costs
Costs to convert overhead electric lines to underground increasing electric reliability in
areas prone to wind and storm damage.
Upgrades to the units 1 & 2 at the Fox Energy Center near Wrightstown, WI.
Costs to improve customer service processes
Inflation
APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - A Fox Valley man who picked up a 16-year-old girl to bring back to his house for sex has agreed to a plea deal.
Brian Hansmann pled no contest to child enticement, exposure, and having sex with a child 16 or older on Monday. The Outagamie County district attorney's office says 7 other counts were dismissed.
Hansmann will be sentenced on June 15.
According to the criminal complaint, Fox Valley Metro Police found a missing 16-year-old Sun Prairie girl at Hansmann's Little Chute home in May 2014.
The girl told police she met Hansmann on meetime.com, and claimed she was 19-years-old. The girl said that Hansmann picked her up in Sun Prairie, took her to his place for the night, and had sex with her 3 times.
MADISON, WI (WTAQ) - Hundreds of cases nationwide, including some that involved death penalty convictions, are affected by an admission by the FBI that a team of forensic experts overstated the precision of hair sample matches.
Officials with the FBI says its team used the information to help obtain possible wrongful convictions against defendants in 46 states and the District of Columbia.
According to the Washington Post, a review found that FBI examiners provided flawed testimony in 257 of 268 trials before 2000 in which hair evidence was used against criminal defendants. Of those cases, Wisconsin had 2 involving state defendants and 2 involving federal charges.
In a statement from the Wisconsin Department of Justice, spokesperson Anne E. Schwartz said, "We have worked with U.S. DOJ on identifying any cases they may have had, but I can tell you the State Crime lab stopped doing such exams a couple decades ago. We always strive to use the latest technology to ensure a scientifically sound examination of evidence and a fair and impartial report to the criminal justice community."
"Our practice is to report all findings to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty, whether or not that finding is inculpatory or exculpatory for any particular defendant," said Schwartz.
Analysis of bite marks has also been called into question, as part of the governmental review being led by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) and the Innocence Project.
ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ) - Parents of students in the Ashwaubenon School District will have to open up their wallets more starting this fall.
The district will implement a textbook-supply fee for all students in the upcoming 2015-16 school year.
"We've reached a sort of tipping point in terms of starting to look at more and more things in terms of quality, and you need to provide textbooks and supplies for kids," said Ashwaubenon School District Superintendent Brian Hanes.
Hanes says the change is due to continued state funding cuts. This year, Hanes says they will lose about $360,000 in funding from Madison.
"We're just real careful not to directly affect students, and try to do everything we can not to impact students, but we're in tough budget times," said Hanes.
According to a letter from Friday April 17, "The Board of Education has approved textbook/supply fee amounts for the 2015-16 school of $50 for high school students, $40 for middle school students and $30 for elementary students (Grades 4K-5).
Families who apply and qualify for Free or Reduced lunch are able to request reduced textbook/supply fees. Parents of reduced lunch students can request reduced textbook/supply fees of $25, $20 and $15, respectively.
Parents of free lunch students can request to be exempt from the textbook/supply fee. Such requests should be made, in writing, to the student’s school office."
Green Bay Area Public School District and Howard-Suamico School District officials confirm that they've had these kinds of fees in place for several years.
You can read the letter by clicking on the PDF link under the photo above.
