Green Bay, WI  (WTAQ)  -  Strong storms moving through

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - One person was killed another critically hurt after a motorcycle crash in the Appleton area Saturday night.

Appleton police say it happened just before 11 p.m. on Highway 47 between W. Association Drive and Interstate 41.

Authorities say the driver of the motorcycle, a 57-year-old Appleton man, died at the hospital. His passenger, a 47-year-old Appleton woman, remains hospitalized in critical condition. Both people were ejected from the motorcycle.

Officials are still investigating the crash.

The Appleton Police Department is asking anyone with information about the crash to contact Sgt. Brian Leitzinger at his office number (920) 832-5541.

Highways 47 on both sides at the crash site were closed for over 3 hours.

TOWN OF BUCHANAN, WI (WTAQ) - No one was hurt after a sauna caught fire in Outagamie County.

Fire officials say it happened at a home on County Highway GG in the Town of Buchanan around 9 p.m. Saturday.

Authorities believe the wood burner that's used to heat the sauna malfunctioned. The sauna is about 30 feet away from the house.

Fire crews put out the flames in a few minutes. No estimate on damage at this time.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Green Bay Police are investigating a report of shots fired overnight.

Authorities say it happened around 2 a.m. Sunday at the corner of Newhall and Ellis Streets. 

Investigators recovered shell casings in the area, and say some possible suspects drove off in a blue SUV.

No one was hurt.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Green Bay Police Department at (920) 448-3208.

Brett Favre states that it may be more important to have the stadium sold out for his Packers Hall of Fame induction address to the fans, than the actual honor itself.

Green Bay, WI (WTAQ) - Good news for Green Bay Metro Fire, and anyone who has property the fire department protects.  

The Insurance Service Office has upgraded the department to a Class One Community.

It means Green Bay Metro Fire provides superior property fire protection.

There are nearly 49 - thousand fire departments in the U. S. that are graded by ISO and this places the Green Bay Metro Fire Department in the top .3 %.

Classifications range from 1 to Class 10, which indicates that the community does meet the ISO's lowest criteria.

Departments are rated on things like staffing, fire prevention activities, training, water supply and communications.

In addition to public safety, it could lead to a reduction in property insurance rates.  

Green Bay is the first city in the state, and one of 132 in the nation, rated Class 1. 

MANITOWOC COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) - The body of a Milwaukee man believed to have drowned while swimming at Eaton Twin Lakes has been recovered.

A Manitowoc County Sheriff's deputy located the body of James A. Mast on Sunday afternoon.

The Manitowoc County Coroner's Office and the Kiel Fire Department helped with the recovery.

Rescue and dive teams have been searching the area of Eaton Twin Lakes since the reported incident July 12.

Autopsy results are expected to take 6 to 8 weeks.

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - The man accused of distributing a "lethal" batch of heroin across the Fox Valley has been ordered to stand trial.

Dewayne Farris of Appleton is facing six charges, including three counts of reckless injury. According to online court records, Farris will enter pleas on August 13.

The Appleton Police Department says Farris' heroin distribution is tied to at least six overdoses that occurred within an 18-hour period last weekend. No deaths have been reported.

SHAWANO, WI (WTAQ) - A suspect involved in a triple fatal crash in Shawano County has pled not guilty.

Online court records indicate that a trial date has not been set for Ryan Swadner. Swadner is due back in court October 13 for a scheduling conference.

Swadner is facing 11 charges, including three of homicide by use of a vehicle while using a controlled substance.

According to police, Swadner drove onto the right shoulder to get around a vehicle, over corrected, and struck an SUV last October 21 in Belle Plaine. The crash claimed the lives of Paige Brunette, Cody Borsche and Tyler Welch.

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - A preliminary performance schedule has been released for the upcoming Mile of Music festival.

The 3rd annual downtown Appleton festival happens August 6 through 9.

Mile 3 organizers say it'll feature over 200 bands and solo artists performing 800 live sets in some 60 venues.

You can view the full schedule here.

KIMBERLY, WI (WTAQ) - A formal charge has been filed against a former Kimberly Papermakers booster club treasure accused of stealing money from the group.

Online court records indicate Carrie L. Kluge is facing a single charge of fraudulent writings by a corporate officer. Fox Valley Metro police were seeking 26 counts against Kluge, noting multiple transactions in which she allegedly took funds.

Kluge is due to make her initial appearance in court August 4.

School district officials estimate $60,000 was stolen while Kluge was treasurer from August 2012 through January 2015. Officials say $49,000 has been returned.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - It was another successful year off the field for the Green Bay Packers.

The Packers organization released their annual financial report Monday, which showed total revenues for 2015 increasing by nearly 16 percent to $375.7 million.

"We reached an all-time high in terms of revenue," said Green Bay Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy, who listed off 3 reasons why more green went into their coffers. "The continued strong performance by the team on the field, the great fan support we receive off the field and the continued very strong popularity of the NFL nationally."

You can view the Packers statement of income here.

Operational profit jumped year-to-year to $39.4 million, up nearly 54 percent from 2014. Net income, however, rose at a smaller 15.3 percent pace to $29.2 million.

"Interest expense - we've taken on a league loan to recover the costs of the renovations," said Murphy. "And then our demolition costs related to Titletown."

Murphy there made reference to the Titletown District, which the Packers currently own 63 parcels totaling about 65 acres in and around Lambeau Field. 

"We're hopeful to make an announcement fairly soon regarding the details of it," Murphy said. "There will be a public plaza which will connect the various aspects of it."

Next season, despite doing well in their bank account, the Packers will raise ticket prices for the upcoming season. Those hikes will range from $3 to $5, with the goal being to keep up with the Joneses league-wide.

“We want to be just below the league average, in terms of the average ticket price, and this past year we slipped. We were 18th and we've been 17th for a couple years. It's kind of a moving target," Murphy said.

But those profits won't be on ice for very long, because Murphy says they're planning upgrades to the suites and club area.

"The biggest complaint that we get from fans in suites is they really feel disconnected from the game. We’re going to have operable windows in every one of the suites now,” Murphy said.

Murphy said that the Green Bay Packers are the 9th highest in the NFL with regards to overall revenue. That's solely based on the local revenue generated, since the national revenue is evenly split among all 30 teams.

WAUTOMA, WI (WTAQ) - A man has been convicted of causing a fatal hit-and-run crash earlier this year.

Eric Banaszak was driving when he hit and killed bicyclist James Shafer of Redgranite on February 15.

Authorities say he slammed on the brakes, but Banaszak knew he hit someone. Banaszak turned himself in to the cops about 15 hours after the crash.

Online court records indicate he'll be sentenced October 2.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - One person has died following a vehicle versus multi-pedestrian crash in Green Bay Tuesday.

That's according to the Brown County Medical Examiner's Office, who confirmed that information about the crash at Broadway Street and Lombardi Avenue. No word yet on the condition of the other pedestrians involved.

Green Bay police shut down traffic on S. Broadway from Lombardi to Potts Avenue while investigators reconstructed the crash.

Police say all in-coming employees of Georgia Pacific should enter the building using Lombardi Avenue from Ashland Avenue or S. Broadway from Ninth Street.

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - Police in Appleton say two men were arrested Monday after a gun-related incident involving a $35 debt.

Appleton police say they went out for a gun call to a residence in the 1500 block of N. Oneida Street at 6:50 p.m. 

A man said he was threatened by a co-worker with a shotgun. The 30-year-old man, who wasn't hurt during the incident, said his co-worker and 2 other men came by to collect a $35 debt from him.

Authorities say the three men left the area in a van, but were later spotted in the 1100 block of E. Wisconsin Avenue. The 3 were taken into custody by police.

The men told authorities they had been drinking and decided to collect a $35 drug debt from the victim. When the confrontation escalated, the men fled.

One of the men admitted to pointing the shotgun at the victim during the argument.

Police arrested two of the three men in the incident. The third man involved was not arrested but police say charges will be referred to the District Attorney.

EPHRAIM, WI (WTAQ) - They're not giving up the search yet in Door County for a missing Fox Valley doctor.

That's the word from Door County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Pat McCarty, who denied media reports suggesting the sheriff's office suspended the search for 63-year-old Jeffrey Whiteside.

"Absolutely not," McCarty said when reached by phone Tuesday. "There are no searches planned, but they do materialize as time goes on."

McCarty says that can happen when acting upon a tip they receive, or something else comes up.

"I look at last week, for example, when we met Monday we had no planned searches," said McCarty. "We ended up conducting another aerial search of Eagle Harbor, another canvass and 3 more K-9 searches."

McCarty added he's unsure where the idea they were suspending the search came from, but something he spent much of Tuesday dealing with.

Whiteside was last seen June 29 walking away from the Ephraim Yacht Harbor Marina following a fight with his wife, Kathi Whiteside. 

"It was a verbal argument, I'm not going to go into the details of it," McCarty said when pressed about what it was about.

Following the argument, authorities say Kathi Whiteside drove back to their residence in Grand Chute. Jeffrey Whiteside wasn't reported missing until July 1.

Now, there's a new snag in the investigation. Kathi Whiteside has hired an attorney.

"We asked for consent to search the residence in Grand Chute, and we were contacted by counsel representing Mrs. Whiteside," said McCarty. "Mrs. Whiteside is invoking her right to counsel and all further communication with her will go through her attorney."

Kathi Whiteside has retained Bradley Priebe of Priebe law office, an Appleton-based attorney. Calls to his office were not returned as of Tuesday evening.

When asked about Kathi Whiteside's motive for hiring a lawyer at this point, when she's been in direct contact with investigators, McCarty was guarded in his response.

"I can't really comment on why she would other than this is a very stressful situation for her, having her husband missing, and now having us ask to search the residence," McCarty said.

McCarty also reiterated that they currently have no persons of interest and they all possible scenarios remain in play. So what's the agency's next move?

"Moving forward, we're looking at the possibility of trying to have more dogs come up and continue with the K-9 searches," says McCarty. "The problem with that is the ability to find dogs that are available."

Whiteside is a physician at the Fox Valley Pulmonary Medicine facility. His co-workers and other medical colleagues have been helping in the search.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Door County Sheriff's Department at (920) 746-2416.

OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) - Horrific moments at EAA's AirVenture in Oshkosh Wednesday morning as a single-engine plane crashed while landing.

It happened around 7:45 a.m. when the Piper Malibu plane went down on a runway at Wittman Regional Airport.

"It didn’t look right," commercial pilot Vincent Milazzo told FOX 11. "It looked like he was trying to catch up to the final approach, and he overshot the runway.”

“As soon as I saw the wing hit the ground, and then the fuselage hit, there was just a fireball," Milazzo said. "It didn’t look like it was survivable.”

Five people were on board the plane. EAA spokesman Dick Knapinski says the five were pilot Kenneth S. Kaminski, 46, from Benton Harbor, Michigan; and passengers Gerald T. Kaminski, 71, of Palos Hills, Illinois; Margaret C. Laing, 30, of Michigan; Nathan Gargano, 26, of Michigan; and Neil Dill, 56, from Indianhead Park, Illinois.

Knapinski says Dill had to be airlifted to the hospital, but the other 4 people were able to walk away from the plane under their own power. A sixth person was taken to the hospital after being hurt while treating the five people involved.

On Wednesday afternoon, a Theda Clark spokesperson said Kenneth Kaminski is in fair condition; Gerald Kaminski is in serious condition; and Dill is in critical condition.

Right after the crash, the airport was shut down. By noon, all the runways had been reopened.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.

FOND DU LAC, WI (WTAQ) - Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney is speaking out after a press release was issued earlier this week discussing the events surrounding the shooting death of Wisconsin State Patrol Trooper Trevor Casper.

"All I can really say at this point is their description of the sequence of events of the shooting in Fond du Lac was not accurate," said Toney when reached by phone Wednesday. "Once I saw the press release I was trying to do my best to let the media know that there was inaccurate information and that's kind of created this issue now."

In the release from Newaygo County Sheriff Pat Hedlund, distributed on Monday, it described the March 24 encounter this way:

"Trooper Casper began following the vehicle without his lights or siren on waiting for other patrol units to attempt the traffic stop. Before other units could join, Steven Snyder did a quick U-turn, exited his car and began shooting at Trooper Casper within his patrol car, mortally wounding Casper. Trooper Casper exited his car and returned fire hitting Snyder, who ran a short distance and died on scene," it states.

You can view the entire release by clicking on the PDF document above.

Toney tells WTAQ that a meeting took place between the Newaygo County Sheriff's Office and the FBI, but it had to do with Snyder's connection to 9 bank robberies.

"No Wisconsin State Patrol, the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation and the Fond du Lac DA's office were not at that meeting so we didn't have any opportunity to correct any of that information," said Toney. "And we weren't contacted before that press release was issued."

Toney wouldn't offer specifics about the issue with that description, but said that his full report on the incident will be released on Thursday.

MARINETTE, WI (WTAQ) - A Marinette County judge on Wednesday ruled that three suspects arrested in connection with a meth lab will get separate trials.

The suspects, Robert Sellen, Senora Lopez and Bridget Zuraski, were charged after being arrested at the Marinette Inn back in May.

Both Sellen and Lopez sought a substitution of the judge, which was granted automatically. Their arraignments were postponed.

Meantime, Zuraski stood mute before Judge David Miron as he entered a not guilty plea on her behalf. Online court records reveal that Zuraski will return to court for a status conference on August 27.

EPHRAIM, WI (WTAQ) - The Door County Sheriff's Department has cordoned off an area near where a Grand Chute doctor was last seen on June 29.

Various media reports say investigators have been searching an area east of Ephraim Wednesday afternoon. German Road between State Highway 57 and Townline Road is currently blocked off to the public.

Accounts from folks on scene say yellow crime scene tape is visible as there is a heavy law enforcement presence in that area.

There are unconfirmed reports that this is in the search for 63-year-old Jeffrey Whiteside. Whiteside was last seen walking away from the Ephraim Yacht Harbor Marina following a fight with his wife, Kathi Whiteside. 

"It was a verbal argument, I'm not going to go into the details of it," Door County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Pat McCarty said Tuesday when asked what the argument was about.

Following the argument, authorities say Kathi Whiteside drove back to their residence in Grand Chute. Jeffrey Whiteside wasn't reported missing until July 1.

It was also learned Tuesday that Kathi Whiteside hired an attorney, and denied investigators a request to search the couple's Grand Chute home.