GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - A Green Bay institution reopened to the public Tuesday.

Al's Hamburger is now run by someone not a member of the Rank family, who opened the restaurant back in 1934.

Earlier this year, restaurant veteran Michael Wirz purchased Al's Hamburger from the family. It shut down just last month, but now with Wirz at the helm, the downtown eatery turned the grill back on.

"We prepped work for about 4 days straight before we opened to get all the recipes right, all the settings right," says Wirz. "I was allowed by the previous owners to come in and work with them to learn the recipes and their methods of preparation."

82 years ago, Al Rank first opened the doors and ran it for five decades before turning it over to his son George. George Rank died two years ago, and family members had been operating Al's Hamburger since up until early July.

Michael Wirz says during his "soft open" friends and family were complementary about getting down the classics like burgers and hash.

"They said the food's spot on, pretty good, they like the new decor and the new hours," Wirz says. "We got pretty positive reviews."

Larry is a long-time customer and sat in for lunch on opening day.

"Two thumbs up," says Larry, who ordered his usual cheeseburger with fried onions. "It's very good."

In addition to several new items on the menu, a major change Wirz is rolling out is expanding the hours of operation. Al's Hamburger will now be open until 7 p.m. on weekdays, and 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

"It gives everyone a chance to come in. If you have a 9-to-5 job and closing at 2 every day, you have a very small window to come in here," explains Wirz. 

He also is positioning Al's Hamburger to feed hungry bar-goers and late night revelers out and about downtown.

"It's important. We only have one option at the moment, hot dog carts aren't down here anymore," says Wirz. "It's a void that needs to be filled and I'm willing to fill it."

Wirz hopes to not only welcome the regulars back to Al's Hamburger, but get future generations to make the classic eatery their destination.

MANITOWOC, WI (WTAQ) - Manitowoc police say two people have been using fraudulent credit cards at some area businesses.

Police say they've been investigating the case since August 4. Officials indicate the two had several credit cards with them, each containing someone else's bank account information. The crimes were discovered when victims received fraud alerts from their financial institutions.

According to police, the male suspect had darker, wavy hair. He was wearing a two-toned, possibly gray and black, hooded sweatshirt, jeans with a hole around the right knee and black tennis shoes with white soles.

The female suspect had shoulder-length black hair and wore glasses, a red sweatshirt, black legging-style pants and flip flops.

They were driving a dark-colored Honda Pilot SUV. It did not have a front license plate and may have had duct tape over the letters and numbers on the rear. The SUV had two oval decals in the rear window, similar to those that document marathon participation.

Police shared images of the suspects and their vehicle on Facebook.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Det. Erik Kowalski at (920) 686-6584.

OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) - One person was taken to the hospital after a fire at the Winnebago County Solid Waste Transfer Station.

Crews were called for a report of a fire at 105 W. County Y around 1:13 p.m. Tuesday.

According to officials, trash caught fire but it's still not clear how. There's also no word on a damage estimate.

One employee was taken to a nearby hospital for unknown injuries.

Traffic had to be diverted around the area while firefighters battled the blaze. 

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Green Bay's city council has decided how it wants to spend its remaining excess Lambeau sales tax money.

In an early morning decision, the council voted against sending $2 million directly back to city property owners.

Since joining Green Bay's city council a few months ago, Alderman John Vander Leest has pushed to divide the excess Lambeau sales tax money among the city's property owners.

“It's not a lot of money, but I'll tell you what, it'll help people that really need it” 

Under Vander Leest's latest proposal, $2 million would provide each property owner a check likely between $80 and $90.

“My proposal is a sound proposal. It will help every corner of the city, every district and it will have an economic impact on our city to the tune of two million dollars.”

But Mayor Jim Schmitt broke a 6-6 tie, denying the motion to spend $2 million on property tax relief.

The council decided to instead shift that money to infrastructure, agreeing to put more than $2.8 million toward things like roads, railroad crossings, flood remediation, and park projects.

The council also agreed to spend up to $300,000 on replacing lead pipes, and $1 million on economic development.

That sounds good to Alderman Bill Galvin

“Improving our community through investment in various projects will make this community a more desirable place for people looking to live” 

The council now plans to use an application project to decide what specific economic development and infrastructure projects will receive part of the money.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Green Bay city council made a decision on whether to punish Alderman Chris Wery for an ethics complaint against him.

The council received and placed on file a finding of wrongdoing from the city's ethics board.

However, six council members signed a letter of disapproval toward Wery.

Debbie Jacques filed the complaint after Wery was fired from his temporary position at Associated Bank for accessing Jacques' private bank accounts.

The letter from the council essentially acknowledged Wery's actions were inappropriate and asked him to not repeat the behavior in the future.

Wery could have faced penalties up to his dismissal from the council.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) -  Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson says the team will support linebackers Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers.

The players are want to be questioned by the NFL about performance-enhancing drugs.  

The two are among four players facing suspensions if they don't speak to the league by August 25 about a report by Al-Jazeera America linking them to PEDs.  

Thompson said he believes both players will be with the Packers this season and adds there are a lot of people, himself included, who don't understand fully what's going on.

TOWN of DALE, WI (WTAQ) -  A commercial building is a total loss after an overnight fire.

The fire broke out around 3 a.m. this morning (WED) in the Town of Dale, in Outagamie County.

The fire was at Valley Snowmobile and Powersports on Midway Road.

Officials say the building was full of ATVs, UTVs, snowmobiles and other things.

The building is a total loss.

No one was injured.

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - Drivers in Appleton should start preparing for some headaches.

This week is the first step in a long process of construction at the Northland Avenue and Richmond Street intersection.

The city describes the intersection as the city's most dangerous.

A long awaited construction project has begun.

Mike Hardy, Asst. Traffic Director with the City of Appleton

"The intersection has a very high accident rate, a lot of crashes compared to the amount of traffic that's going through there."

To fix the issues, the city, county, and state are working together to build a roundabout. But not before some bumps in the road-- starting this week with utility work, causing some lane closures.

Project leaders say the utility work near the intersection could take several months, but that the real change will happen next June, when the entire intersection is shut down for construction of the new roundabout.

Kim Seidler owns nearby Cousins Subs

"I'm concerned what it's going to do to my business. I'm just going to have to come up with new, innovative ways to draw my guests in."

Guests that may struggle getting into the Northland Mall and businesses near the intersection while it's shut down.

But Seideler says the upgrade will be worth it in the end.

"I'm leery myself sometimes at this particular intersection, because it's so dangerous and there's so many accidents. So I want people to be safe, and I think the roundabout is what's going to take care of that."

Mike Hardy says the temporary traffic headaches are a necessary evil to fix this intersection and keep it up with the times.

"Concrete doesn't last forever. Eventually we grow out of our clothes, we grow out of our roads."

Construction of the roundabout is expected to be complete by next fall.

MANITOWOC COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) - No one was hurt following a barn fire in Manitowoc County.

Fire crews were called around 3 a.m. Wednesday to the barn on Herzog Road in the Reedsville area.

Upon arrival, firefighters say the barn was engulfed in flames. It apparently started in the northeast corner of the building.

Multiple machines along with hay were inside the barn at the time.

No word yet on how it started or how much damage the fire caused.

MANITOWOC, WI (WTAQ) - Officials say a Manitowoc apartment was damaged by fire on Tuesday night.

Crews were called to 2240 S. 42nd Street just before 6 p.m. Firefighters found that the sprinkler system was spraying water in a utility room. There was damage to the building's main electrical feed and there was a natural gas leak.

Everyone inside the building got out safely.

Firefighters eventually found a fire in a lower-unit apartment. The sprinkler system had contained it to the immediate area, and firefighters used a water extinguisher to put out the remaining fire. Crews were on the scene for about 90 minutes.

The apartment involved had fire and smoke damage, but there was no damage to other parts of the building.

Firefighters say it appears that an electrical problem caused the fire, but the fire is still being investigated.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - When the Wisconsin Badgers square off with the LSU Tigers on September 3 at Lambeau Field, college football fans will also get to experience ESPN's College GameDay.

The Packers website confirmed that college football's most-celebrated pregame show will be in Green Bay for the first time ever.

ESPN's College GameDay Built by The Home Depot will air from 9 a.m. until noon that Saturday in front of the Brown County Arena on Oneida Street. The Wisconsin-LSU battle will be featured on ABC at 2:30 p.m. 

“Lambeau Field is hailed as a football shrine and is as special of a venue as the game of football has to offer,” said Lee Fitting, ESPN senior coordinating producer. “It is an honor to be able to stage College GameDay from Lambeau as we kick off this opening weekend filled with top-caliber games.”

The six-time Emmy Award-winning show is hosted by Rece Davis, who is joined by analysts Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and David Pollack, as well as contributors Chris ‘The Bear’ Fallica, Samantha Ponder, Tom Rinaldi, George Whitfield and Gene Wojciechowski.

Former Milwaukee TV sports reporter and Marquette graduate Jen Lada will also begin her first season on College GameDay as a feature reporter.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - It's a new name and new look for Green Bay's only airport.

Austin Straubel International Airport will now be known as Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport.

The new title was announced Wednesday morning along with a new logo, all hoping to draw more attention to the state's third largest airport.

Jet Air Group CEO Al Timmerman says they've been working on the change for about a year.

"Adding the name Green Bay in front of Austin Straubel tells people where our airport is, that we're a full U.S. customs service facility and they can come here and clear customs and be serviced with all their needs."

Officials say the name change and rebranding will be good for business and on-going economic development efforts.

"We've got friendly customs agents that want more business. We've got reasonable fuel prices and great service," says Timmerman.

A selfie board was also revealed where travelers can take photos.

Timmerman says last year they cleared about 400 U.S. customs flights and is hoping for even more this year.

For more information on the flight's and services at Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport, go to www.flygrb.com.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Now that the Green Bay City Council has decided to move $2 million in excess Lambeau sales tax money from property tax relief to infrastructure, the question is what will that cash be used for?

According to Alderman Bill Galvin, there are some public works projects which are coming up.

"Steve Grenier, the Public Works director, he has roughly between $800,000 and $1 million worth of shovel ready projects," Galvin said Wednesday. "We probably would've had to bond for it or taken out a loan to do it, so now we'll avoid doing that which will save the taxpayers even more money."

Galvin says they include upgrading some of the city's pumping stations to deal with storm water issues and upgrading railroad crossings.

The council deadlocked in their vote on the plan to change how to distribute that $2 million before Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt cast the deciding vote after a marathon council meeting that ran from Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.

In all, $2.8 million will be used for improving Green Bay's infrastructure, while $1 million will go towards economic development projects and $300,000 for replacing lead water pipes.

BEACH STUDY

Galvin says that with Grenier indicating a lack of staff to get other projects ready, the remaining $1 million or so excess stadium tax money that was moved by the council will go to the city's Parks Department.

"Bay Beach is looking for funding to do a study on putting a new beach out there where people can go out and actually have a sand beach to relax on," Galvin says. "We already bring in people from all over Wisconsin and outside of Wisconsin who come here to spend money because of Bay Beach, we enhance that with a beach you can actually go out to with your family for the day and relax? I think it's going to bring even more people out."

Last year, Mayor Schmitt unveiled his goal to bring the park's beach back by 2018. A beach was removed from the park's edge almost 80 years ago.

According to Schmitt, the new beach would stretch more than 1,000 feet from the park's east end to where the giant slide is.

The study, which would help land a DNR permit, would focus on infrastructure needs, including bath houses, a pier extending 400 to 500 feet into the water, and more parking.

"You know this quality is as good as any other shoreline in the state of Wisconsin," Schmitt said at the time. "With that and with the success of Bay Beach thus far, we think the next step is really to put the beach back into Bay Beach and this study will help us do that."

Other potential projects include a nature center expansion at the Wildlife Sanctuary, the Grand amphitheater project at the Botanical Garden, and new exhibits at the Children's Museum.

SHARK TANK

Part of what the City Council approved at its meeting this week is an application process and a timeline for groups to submit an application for part of the $1 million in economic development money.

Galvin is among the six members of the subcommittee tasked with reviewing and evaluating those projects. If you're interested in filling out an application, Galvin says they will be available beginning Thursday online or at City Hall. The applications are due by 4 p.m. on September 23.

Galvin says they're hoping to utilize a matrix developed by the Greater Green Bay Chamber of Commerce to weigh proposals and applications against one another. The former Green Bay police captain admits it does sound a lot like the ABC show "Shark Tank".

"Actually there is a fella out there that talked to me about that and he's putting a proposal together for just that," Galvin remarked. "Where we could take a piece of this money and set it aside, have people come here who are willing to try and start businesses here. If it works, what does that do for your community? It means you can hire more people, you have more taxable income coming in. All of this has great potential to benefit everybody in Green Bay."

Other members of the subcommittee include alderpersons Barbara Dorff and Guy Zima, along with staff from the city's attorney, economic development and finance offices.

UNDATED (WTAQ) - Four Citizens Community Federal Bank branches in the Fox Valley will be closing this fall.

According to its parent company, Citizens Community Bancorp. Inc., the branches in Appleton, Fond du Lac, Neenah and Oshkosh will close effective November 15 and November 16. 

Those banks are located inside of Walmart stores.

• For a list of locations, click here

Customers of the banks will receive a letter soon, outlining the details of the transition.

The company says the closures are a result of low profits from those branches.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - A man from Phoenix was sentenced in federal court Monday for his role in distributing cocaine in Manitowoc County.

37-year-old Koleh B. Wilson was sentenced to 5 years in prison and 8 years on supervised release.

According to Judge Gregory J. Haanstad, Wilson's prior record which included convictions in state court for possession of illegal narcotics.

Before living in Phoenix, Wilson lived in Milwaukee and Sheboygan counties.

UNDATED (WTAQ) - More Red Cross volunteers from Wisconsin are being deployed to help with the recovery effort in the wake of massive floods in Louisiana. 

As of mid-day Wednesday, 37 volunteers from Wisconsin are headed down there including 6 from northeast Wisconsin.

"In all likelihood a week from now they will have doubled again," says Northeast Chapter Executive Steve Hansen. "Based upon what we know is a real need down there."

More than 8,400 people sought refuge in 36 Red Cross and community shelters in Louisiana on Monday night. Officials say the Red Cross is mobilizing over 60 disaster response vehicles, nearly 40,000 ready-to-eat meals, and dozens of trailers filled with shelter and kitchen supplies.

Hansen says despite the continued need for volunteers, coupled with raging wildfires in California, he's not worried about over-taxing his resources.

"You always have that in the back of your mind that this is putting a lot of strain on our organization," Hansen says. "Fortunately we have a well-trained volunteer corps, not only in Wisconsin, but across the country."

If you'd like to donate to the relief effort, you can go to redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS or texting the word "LAFLOODS" to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Donations enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recovery from these disasters.

Residents of the affected areas can connect with their loved ones by using the “I’m Safe” button on the Red Cross Emergency App which is free and can be found in the app store for someone’s mobile device by searching for “American Red Cross” or by going to redcross.org/apps.

People can also visit www.redcross.org/safeandwell to register on the Red Cross Safe and Well website, a secure and private way that friends and family connect. The site also allows people to update their status on Facebook and Twitter.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Drivers can expect travel delays Thursday afternoon because of the Green Bay Packers preseason home game against the Oakland Raiders.

Officials with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation is urging fans to plan ahead, leave early, pay attention to highway message boards and consider using a different route.

There's also plenty of construction on the major highways around Lambeau Field.

Here is a list of projects that could impact traffic on game day:

I-43/I-41 interchange - Brown County:

• The southbound I-41 off-ramp to southbound I-43 remains closed. Drivers can follow the marked detour on I-41 southbound to Hwy. 172 eastbound, follow Hwy. 172 east to I-43.
• The northbound I-43 off-ramp to southbound I-41 remains closed. Drivers should follow detour onto I-41 northbound to Lineville Road, and use Lineville road to access I-41 southbound.
• I-43 between Atkinson Drive and I-41 is reduced to a single lane in each direction. The speed limit is also reduced to 55 mph.

I-41/Velp Avenue interchange - Brown County:

• Full closure of I-41 entrance and exit ramps at Velp Avenue
• Full closure of Velp Avenue under I-41

Hwy. 172 and I-41/Hwy. 172 Interchange

• Drivers should expect heavy congestion and potential long delays at the I-41/Hwy. 172 interchange and on Hwy. 172 in Brown County from I-43 to the Hwy. 172/I-41 interchange before and after the game. Drivers should consider alternate routes if possible.
• A left lane closure on westbound Hwy. 172 near the I-41 interchange will slow traffic.
• There is construction at the on and off-ramps from Hwy. 172 at Hwy. YY (Pilgrim Way) in Ashwaubenon. The ramps are open, but traffic is only allowed to go west on Hwy. YY (Pilgrim Way).

I-41 mainline:

Barrier wall, narrow lanes, short merge distances and orange barrels will be present at various locations.

Brown County:

• Drivers will encounter 11-foot travel lanes and reduced shoulders in multiple locations along a 10-mile segment of highway. The speed limit is reduced to 55 mph between Grant Street and Lineville Road. Temporary barrier wall at various locations will cause traffic to slow.

Winnebago County:

• Drivers will encounter reduced speed limits on I-41 near the US 10/WIS 441/I-41 interchange. Drivers should also watch for reduced lane widths and reduced shoulder widths on northbound and southbound I-41.

Hwy. 441, US 10 and Roland Kampo Bridge - Winnebago, Outagamie and Calumet counties:

• Drivers should be aware of orange barrels, narrow lanes, barrier walls and reduced speed limits.
• Hwy. 10 eastbound between County CB and I-41 northbound is reduced to a single lane.

Hwy. 141, Marinette County

• Hwy. 141 southbound is closed in the village of Wausaukee from Hwy. 180 to north village of Wausaukee limit. A detour using local streets is posted.

For updated travel information, call 511 or visit 511wi.gov.

GRAND CHUTE, WI (WTAQ) - The Outagamie County Sheriff's Department could soon move in next to the Timber Rattlers' stadium.

The possible home in Grand Chute was approved Wednesday by the county's Space and Security Needs Project Oversight Committee.

Kara Homan, the planning director for Outagamie County, says it will be a much better location for sheriff's deputies than the current downtown department.

"If they're at that site and they can get there quicker than being downtown, that's very important" 

Committee members looked at maps of the new location that show the concentration of calls for service from the sheriff's department. Those helped seal the committee's unanimous approval.

"It's intendend to serve the majority of where the calls are happening within a ten minute drive time"

Homan says the design phase for the new department should start in November. Moving quickly will help with the county's downtown expansion too.

"The quicker we can proceed with the sheriff's relocation, the quicker we can start remodeling the space that they're leaving and they'll also be freeing up some of the parking stalls"

But before any work can go forward, the full county board will need to approve the Casaloma location.

The price tag is estimated to be about $5.5 million. That's about $2 million more than a previous plan to put the new department in an Appleton location. The county executive vetoed the use of eminent domain in that case.

Still, committee members told us it's likely the new plan will go forward.

The county's property and safety committees will both have to approve the new location.

Then the decision will be in the hands of the full county board. A vote is likely to come in September.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Imagine walking across the state of Wisconsin in the blistering summer heat.

Most people wouldn't dream of it, but three local men say it was a no-brainer.

Matt Gernestke, and his two friends, are giving back by doing a rucksack march to raise money and awareness for wounded veterans.

"They're brothers and sisters, so taking care of them is a big deal. We want to help them along on the journey, I'd like somebody else to help me along if it was me."

Gernetzke and Jeff Van Grinsven are both in ROTC at St. Norbert, and plan to become active duty in the future. But their friend Dan Burke was the one who came up with the idea for the march.

"I just want to put as much support as I can onto our armed forces and our wounded veterans throughout my life, I still want to keep doing stuff like this."

The rucksacks weigh nearly 40 pounds, and by the time the journey is over, the boys will have walked 140 miles with them on.

Gernetske says "I think it's well worth all the little pains that we're going through."

Van Grinsven says "Every step there's something that kind of hurts. But as soon as you start to feel down, someone's honking, or someone stops and offers water, and it just kind of motivates you to keep going."

The boys left Camp Randall on Sunday, and plan to complete their trek at Lambeau Field by Friday.

They hope this grueling mission can help raise at least $15,000 for the cause.

All proceeds collected will go to the 4th H.O.O.A.H. Wisconsin, a local organization that supports veterans.

Contact Dan Burke for donation information

dan.burke@snc.edu

MADISON, WI (WTAQ) - Wisconsin athletes who medal at the Olympics would not have to pay state taxes on those winnings, under a bill lawmakers hope to introduce early next year.

The legislation from state Representative Joe Sanfelippo (R-New Berlin) and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) would eliminate state taxes on Olympic medals and any monetary awards they come with them.

Sanfelippo says those athletes should be celebrated, not penalized for doing well. “We should be giving them a slap on the back, instead of a slap on the wallet.”

The U.S. Olympic Committee awards $25,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver, and $10,000 for bronze, in addition to the value of the medal.

The New Berlin Republican says many athletes rely on those prizes, since they often are unable to work while training for the games and compete as amateurs.

“They’re out there sacrificing and doing this. It can be a big deal to that athlete to come home and not have that tax bill.”

The exemption would not apply to any earnings Olympic athletes make from endorsements.

Congress is also considering federal legislation that would exempt Olympic winnings from being taxed.

The issue is drawing renewed attention with swimmer Michael Phelps facing a tax bill of up to $55,000s for the six medals he’s won in Rio, although state Representative Joe Sanfelippo says it’s even harder for lesser-known athletes who don’t have endorsements or may only win a single medal.