GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ)-  Green Bay Metro Fire's Holiday Wreath Program has officially wrapped up.

Lt. Nick Craig says the number of residential home fires are the lowest they've seen since the program started over 10 years ago, with five recorded from Thanksgiving to the beginning of the year.

Craig says even though the program is over we shouldn't forget to be cautious especially in the wintertime months when there's extra heat sources in the home.

"A lot of people are spending more time in the house which can lead to more fires.  We want to make sure people are safe with heat sources, like space heaters, and making sure chimneys are properly inspected," says Craig. 

Lt. Craig also touts vigilance in preventing carbon monoxide poisoning during the winter months.

As he explains, it was a close call for one Allouez family just a couple of weeks ago.

"A family had their furnance worked on, something was wrong with it and they had a lethal level of carbon monoxide in their home when we arrived," Craig explained.

They did not have a carbon monoxide detector and thankfully, they all made it out alive.  

Craig says you should place a carbon monoxide detector in your home to warn you of a heating appliance malfunction.  

MILWAUKEE (WTAQ) - An attorney who represented Steven Avery says his best chance for being freed is for new evidence to come out.

Dean Strang tells WISN-TV in Milwaukee that Avery's "realistic hope" is for somebody to spill a secret that's been hidden for 10 years.

The recent Netflix series "Making a Murderer" has raised doubts about the convictions of Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey -- both of whom are in prison for the brutal death of Teresa Halbach in 2005 at an auto salvage yard in Manitowoc County.

The Netflix series has resulted in national news coverage of the case -- and four petitions with more than 320,000 signatures are on Change.Org and the White House website, calling for pardons and federal investigations.

The Manitowoc County sheriff says the documentary does not tell the whole story.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

BRAINERD, MN (WTAQ) - One of Wisconsin's largest hardware and home improvement chains will be sold to a New York investment firm.

KKR will acquire Mills Fleet Farm under a purchase agreement announced Tuesday morning.

Financial terms were not disclosed, but a KKR official says the Mills family would keep a "small ownership stake."

Stewart Mills Sr. and his two sons started Fleet Farm 61 years ago in Brainerd, Minnesota.

It now has 35 stores throughout the Upper Midwest, including 18 in Wisconsin -- and together, they employ around 6,000.

Stewart Mills III said in October the chain needed a buyer with more capital, so the business could keep growing at a competitive rate -- and KKR says it's committed to investing "significantly" to add stores and more jobs.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

GRAND CHUTE, WI (WTAQ) - The search is on for a man Grand Chute police say robbed a lingerie store Tuesday.

Officers were called to a reported armed robbery just before 2 p.m. at Secrets Lingerie, located in a strip mall near the intersection of W. Northland Ave. and N. Richmond St.

The suspect is described as a black man in his late 30's to early 40's, about 6 feet tall and 185 pounds. He was wearing a dark blue zip-up hoodie with dark pants and dark boots.

Investigators say the man demanded cash and showed a black semi-automatic hand gun tucked in his waistband.

The man left the area on foot heading east through the parking lot.

It's unclear what he got away with. No one was hurt.

Other businesses in the strip mall remained open following the incident.

The Wisconsin State Patrol, Appleton Police Department and the Outagamie County Sheriff's Department were also at the scene.

If anyone has any information regarding this incident, contact the Grand Chute Police Department at (920) 832-1575 or through the department's Facebook page. To remain anonymous, you can text "GCPD" and your tip to 847411.

Grand Chute police are also investigating a similar armed robbery that happened last week at Zza Odyssey Pizza.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Green Bay residents are being reminded by police to ask for identification before allowing utility workers inside your home.

That's after police received a report of two men, claiming to be utility workers, entering a home to seal valuables on Tuesday.

According to police, the men told the homeowner they needed to do some utility work. Once inside the home, one of the men distracted the victim while the other searched for items to steal.

The suspects are described as Hispanic men in their 30's or 40's. They are approximately 5'7'' and one or both men have mustaches. They were last seen driving a white Dodge pickup truck, possibly with a black or gray strip with temporary Illinois state tags on University Avenue.

Police say homeowners should not allow anyone inside their home if they are unsure of who they are or why they are there.

If someone comes to your door claiming to be from a utility company, you should call the company to verify they have an employee scheduled to be at your address.

If they claim to be a city employee, they should present a photo ID.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - The Brown County United Way along with the Greater Green Bay Labor Council Community Services Committee are teaming up to keep residents warm this winter.

The groups kicked off the 5th annual Blanketing Brown County on Tuesday.

The drive, which runs through January 26, collects new and gently-used blankets to give to low-income men, women and children.

Drop off sites include Brown County Library branches, Green Bay Metro Fire Stations, Shopko stores, and YMCA locations.

Click here to see a complete list of donation sites.

More than 200 blankets were collected last year.

OCONTO, WI (WTAQ) - A Pulaski man charged with causing a fatal hit-and-run crash last month waived his preliminary hearing in court Tuesday.

Joseph Anderson was ordered to stand trial and will enter a plea on January 14.

Anderson is accused of hitting and killing George Birr on County Road S near Sobieski on December 21.

Police got a tip a few days later, which led them to Anderson.

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - Appleton's DMV service center will be open on Saturdays beginning this weekend.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, the Appleton location will be open from 8:30 a.m. until Noon. 

It's one of five Wisconsin DMV locations that will start offering Saturday hours. The others are in Madison, La Crosse, Eau Claire and Wausau. Previously, Saturday hours were only offered in Milwaukee and at a renewal-only office in Madison.

DMV service centers that are currently open only 20 hours per week have also added registration and titling services.

Also, kiosks have been set up for vehicles owners to renew their license plates. They are available at all centers that offer Saturday hours, as well as other locations in the state.

The DOT reminds drivers that many DMV services are available online.

• Click here to find a list of DMV locations, services and hours

Ashwaubenon, WI (WTAQ) - A fire broke out overnight at a business in Ashwaubenon.

It happened early this morning (Wednesday) at Rol-Tec on Glory Road.

The fire was in the building's heating system, but it's not yet known how it started. 

There are no injuries reported.

Rol-Tec makes equipment used in the paper industry.

MADISON, WI (WTAQ) - If Steven Avery gets pardoned, Governor Scott Walker will not be the one to do it.

The Republican Walker has refused to issue pardons throughout his more than five years in office. 

And he won't make an exception now, after the Netflix series "Making a Murderer" raised doubts about the convictions of Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey in the brutal slaying of Teresa Halbach in Manitowoc County in 2005.

Four petitions on the White House website and Change.Org have attracted 425,000 signatures calling for pardons and/or federal investigations into the cases.

Because Avery and Dassey were convicted in state courts, only Walker can pardon them.

The governor says those who think they're wrongly convicted should go to higher courts to have their sentences overturned.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

UNDATED (WTAQ) - A Manitowoc County prosecutor says sheriff's and county officials are getting threats in the wake of the Netflix series about the Avery-Dassey murder convictions.

Assistant DA Michael Griesbach mentioned the threats to WITI-TV in Milwaukee, which did not go into detail.

Chief prosecutor Ken Kratz tells ABC's "Good Morning America" the Netflix series left out key evidence which defense attorney Dean Strang refutes, saying its portrayal was fair.

As of Wednesday morning, four petitions on the White House website and Change.Org had almost 475,000 signaures calling for a federal investigation or a pardon which Governor Scott Walker says he won't grant.

Also, the New York Post quotes a relative as saying up to 40 vehicles have driven up to the Avery family's auto salvage yard near Mishicot to view the crime scene.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Wisconsin's senior U.S. Senator is on the road, in Green Bay Wednesday learning how prepared local police are to handle a terrorist attack, and what has the general public most concerned.  

Ron Johnson wants to listen....and says the threat to our security is a fact of life.

He says we can't bury our heads in the sand and must face up to the harsh reality.

The Oshkosh Republican also says the first line of defense against terrorism is effective intelligence gathering. 

Captain Dan Sandberg, with the Brown County Sheriff's Department, believes we're ready to handle a crisis...and is happy to share what information he can.

He points to the regional team partnership the sheriff's depoartment has with Green Bay Police as an example of the increased response to possible terrorist acts or active shooter situations.

But, he tells Senator Johnson it's a balancing act.

Balancing things they can do with the budget they operate under.

Johnson says uncovering terrorist plots has always been like finding a needle in a haystack....but now there's more needles and the haystack is growing.

The Senator's trip around the state will end in Madison on Friday.

He plans to take the information gathered back to D.C. and work to provide what help he can to local communities and their anti-terrorism capabilities.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - The Green Bay Police Department said Wednesday a fire that damaged a west side apartment complex was started by unsupervised children.

Authorities say the kids carelessly used an appliance, which sparked the blaze that forced nearly 30 people out of their homes Sunday morning at Valley Green Apartments.

Fire crews had to rescue some residents from upper floors of the building.

Authorities have ruled the fire accidental, and said, "The public is urged to never warm any clothing or towel item in a microwave." However, they didn't specifically say that's what the kids were doing.

According to the Red Cross, apartment residents were told it could be as long as 4 weeks until they were allowed back into their homes.

The Red Cross says some of the residents will be able to move in as soon as possible to other buildings owned by the same company where there are vacancies.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Downtown Green Bay will host a pep rally for Packers fans ahead of Sunday's playoff game.

The rally takes place at 3 p.m. Friday in the 200 block of N. Washington Street, near the Packers Heritage Trail monument.

It's being organized by the City of Green Bay, Brown County and Downtown Green Bay, Inc. Fans are encouraged to dress in Packers colors and bring signs and noisemakers.

The list of scheduled appearances include Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy, Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt, Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach and Frank Hermans of Let Me Be Frank Productions.

The Packers face the Washington Redskins in an NFC Wild Card playoff game Sunday. Kickoff is set for 3:40 p.m.

OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) - A man accused of setting fire to an Oshkosh warehouse and then trying to collect insurance money has pled not guilty.

A trial date for Jeremy Neumann, 42, was not set in court Tuesday. Online court records show Neumann entered his plea to one count of arson and he returns to court February 25.

Neumann operated a business in the facility on Bowen Street called Gambit McDermott LLC, according to the criminal complaint.

Authorities used data from his GPS to tie Neumann to the scene of the fire back on November 6. Police say his clothing was also consistent with images captured on security cameras. 

Neumann initially denied going to the scene of the fire that night. He also filed an insurance claim the day after the fire.

The complaint shows that on October 28, Neumann contacted his insurance agency to increase his business liability coverage from $100,000 to $130,000.

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - Sentences have been handed down against three people involved in a prostitution ring which spanned from the Fox Valley down to Iowa and Nebraska.

Court documents show that in February 2015, 40-year-old Brandon Smith and 28-year-old Charles Nash arranged for 27-year-old Elizabeth Johnson and Jane Doe to travel from the Fox Valley to Iowa, and then Nebraska to engage in prostitution.

Smith and Nash, both of Appleton, were in contact with the 2 women to ensure cash would go to them. Investigators also discovered that several other prostitutes work for Smith and Nash.

Johnson, who's a native of Two Rivers, and Jane Doe were arrested on February 26, 2015 in Nebraska. Johnson is currently serving a 3-year term of federal supervised release.

On November 25, Nash was sentenced to nearly 4 years in prison. Then on December 10, Smith was given 4 years in prison.

HOBART, WI (WTAQ) - The Village of Hobart will get about $15,700 from the federal government for not making timely responses to their open records requests.

Both parties agreed to drop the lawsuit with the payment one of the provisions, according to court documents filed Wednesday in federal court.

The village sued the U.S. Department of Interior in March 2015, arguing that Freedom of Information Act requests had not been filled dating back to July 2014.

Hobart officials were seeking information about what land within its boundaries had been placed in trust status by the Oneida Tribe of Indians. They also were looking for correspondence between the tribe and federal government on the topic.

CLINTONVILLE, WI (WTAQ) - Clintonville police are seeking more information about reports of suspicious people near two elementary schools.

Authorities say the first report came in just before noon Wednesday. Two students who were walking to the public library say they were approached by 2 men in a car, asking for directions to Highway M. 

Another St. Martin Lutheran Elementary school student then reported seeing what police believe are the same people and vehicle on S. Clinton Avenue near Rexford-Longfellow Elementary school around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Officers say they got another report Thursday that 2 Rexford-Longfellow teachers saw a suspicious vehicle parked near the south end of the playground on 6th Street back on Monday. The driver appeared to be using a tablet to take pictures of the playground area, according to the teachers.

The vehicle was described as a small silver or gray car with rust on the bottom. The driver was a white man with a white and silver beard who was wearing glasses. There was a passenger, but police did not have a good description of him.

The police department has notified the schools and asked them to let parents know to be extra careful when dropping off or picking up their kids at the schools. Authorities have stepped up patrols in the area. Teachers and students are also asked to report any suspicious activity to police.

MANITOWOC, WI (WTAQ) - Court officials in Manitowoc say they're swamped with requests for files in the Steven Avery murder case.

That's part of the national buzz from the Netflix documentary "Making a Murderer," which raises doubts about the convictions of Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey in the 2005 slaying of Teresa Halbach.

Manitowoc County Clerk of Courts Lynn Zigmunt tells WBAY-TV there are more than 6 banker-sized boxes of files -- plus another box full of appeal records in the case.

She says a woman from Australia wanted the whole thing -- and she's being billed $6,000 at a rate of $1.25 per page.

Zigmunt expects things to slow down soon, as she expects somebody to put the files online for the rest of us to see.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

OCONTO, WI (WTAQ) - Oconto County sheriff's officials say that a road rage incident may have led to a hit-and-run on Christmas Eve.

According to the sheriff's office, deputies were called to the intersection of Highway D and Sampson Road, near the Highway 41/141 off-ramp, in the Town of Abrams just after 2 p.m.

Investigators say the person who was hit had been a passenger in a blue Chrysler Sebring that was driving north on Highway 41/141 before exiting at Highway D. A black Volkswagen was also driving northbound and got off at the same exit. 

Sheriff's officials say that people inside both vehicles had been involved in a road rage incident near the Wisconsin State Patrol's weigh station along 41/141. This caused the Sebring to veer onto the shoulder of the highway. When the person exited to try to get the Volkswagen's license plate number, they were struck by the car before it sped off.

Authorities say the Volkswagen had Missouri license plates.

Anyone with info about the vehicle, owner or people inside that car is asked to call the Oconto County Sheriff's Office at (920) 834-6900.