MENASHA, WI (WTAQ) - Police in Menasha say two people allegedly left their four-year-old child at home while taking part in an alleged "clown gag".

Officers say they were called early Friday morning to the area of Appleton and Midway roads for a report of people wearing clown masks and chasing vehicles in the area. Police found two men, ages 20 and 29, along with a 26-year-old woman who had been driving the men around.

During the investigation, police discovered that the woman and the 29-year-old man left their child at home for at least several hours while taking part in the prank.

Human services officials were called in to place the child outside the home. 

The parents were arrested and are facing charges of child neglect, while the woman was jailed on a probation hold. No charges are being sought against the 20-year-old man.

MANITOWOC, WI (WTAQ) - A teenage boy will make his first adult court appearance Monday for allegedly stabbing his mom.

16-year-old Jackson Vogel of Two Rivers is facing 3 felonies, including attempted first-degree homicide by use of dangerous weapon, strangulation and suffocation, and false imprisonment.

Two Rivers police were called to a north side home in late September around 4 p.m. Jackson's 61-year-old mother was found with multiple stab wounds, and told officers that as she was getting ready for work her son began to stab her.

In the state of Wisconsin, juveniles ages 10 to 16 are automatically charged in adult court for homicide or attempted homicide counts.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - The Green Bay Police Department welcomed three new faces to the force Monday morning. 

A culmination of hard work, dedication and a call to serve, brought Christopher Kuptz, Garth Russell, and Benjamin Harvath to the city they now call home.

Green Bay Police Chief Andrew Smith had the honors of leading the special ceremony.

Smith spoke about the officers joining the ranks and the families they come from.

"There’s a long list of people who apply for this job. I go through stacks of rejections and I have to go to the police commission and tell people why we’ve rejected them. I reject people that are police officers already. I reject people who have advanced degrees because they have not demonstrated the character they need to be a Green Bay police officer. But these folks here, have demonstrated that character and that character comes from you, comes from their families, comes from their spouses. So I want to thank you for that," says Smith.

Kuptz, Russell and Harvath graduated Friday from the police academy at Northwest Technical College in Green Bay.

"We've got a fantastic police department here. We have about 190 sworn officers here and about another 20 or 30 who are in professional roles and I think they're doing a fantastic job. I see them out there working every night and every day," says Smith.

Monday was considered their first day on the job but they won't on patrol with a field training officer for another 2-3 weeks.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - A 13-year-old student at a Green Bay school is the likely culprit who posted a "creepy clown" threat on Facebook that had schools in Green Bay and De Pere adding police Monday.

A message on the social media website named several schools as targets.

Green Bay Police Captain Kevin Warych says officers have been working through the night on this case.

"The juvenile who we believe is responsible for this does go to school in Green Bay and we have notified the school and are working very closely with the school to ensure they are up to date with everything going on."

Investigators say the threat was a hoax and believe there was never any threat to any school.

The post has since been taken down.

"We take every threat seriously because you never know if that person is going to act on that threat. So, we take every threat as if it were real," says Warych.

Police remind parents to talk with their children about using social media appropriately.

OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) - Police in Oshkosh are looking to identify a suspect who allegedly used a stolen credit card at area businesses.

According to police, the man pictured above took a credit card from a business during a burglary on September 11. Then the next day, he used the stolen card at a different business.

If anyone has any information on the suspect's identity, please contact Detective April Hinke at (920) 236-5703.

OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) - Answers are being sought following the death of an Oshkosh man over the weekend.

Oshkosh police say they want to speak with anyone who helped the 20-year-old man in the area of Wisconsin Street and Pearl Avenue around 3 a.m. Sunday.

Anyone with information is asked to call Det. Dean Artus at (920) 236-5726.

Police say they may release more details as the investigation continues.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Ahead of Brown County's first ever "This is Public Health" event Saturday, County Executive Troy Streckenbach says it's important to both highlight what the health department offers and to encourage folks to be proactive.

That's why Streckenbach has proclaimed October 9 to October 15 as "County Public Health Week".

"Getting the vaccination is one of those things that as we see the flu season starting to come up, I think it's important for families to recognize that," Streckenbach says. "And it was painless."

Each day this week, Brown County's Health Department will highlight a service offered leading up to Saturday's event at Shopko Hall. These services include bed bug demonstrations, proper food handling/temperature checks, childhood development screens, dementia screenings with the ADRC of Brown County and a sneak peek into daily routines of public health sanitarians.

"It's to really encourage the removal of barriers, and really bring awareness to what the public health department does here in Brown County," says Streckenbach. "As you can see, we do a lot of different things that are important for the overall health of our community."

The "This is Public Health" event runs from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday.

There will be free flu vaccines for people 18 and under. $20 vaccines will be offered for adults.

There will also be other services, such as free blood pressure screenings.

NEENAH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) - The location is actually currently part of the Town of Neenah, west of the city. It's situated near the intersection of Pendleton Road and Cecil Street.

Mayor Dean Kaufert tells WLUK taking over the land through annexation will expand the city's tax base.

"Annexation of some land that's presently not in the city. Providing a more orderly gateway for us to move to the west"

But neighbors, like Blaine Luamer, say they're concerned about what the apartments could do to property values.

"Someone that rents doesn't always take complete care of where they live. We still have other concerns about blasting, because the bedrock that's right there. It's already a speedway through here. It's a super wide street, it's four wide."

The city would also give the developer $2 million in tax incentives to build.

The city council held on approving the development plan last week. It tasked city employees with gathering more information, a lot of which, community development director Chris Haese says, they've already done.

"What we're finding both nationally and locally is that the multi-family-type developments don't have much of an impact on surrounding property values"

And research has shown the traffic won't be much worse than a development with single-family homes.

Laumer says the apartment plan is better than some alternative developments, but still, "We would love to just have it stay the way it is, you know, forever, that's for sure."

The earliest the city council could vote on the development plan would be next Tuesday.

The state will also have to approve the city's take over of the town's land.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) - Taxpayer money could be supporting Brown County's D.A.R.E. program for the first time in about 15 years.

A county committee is recommending setting aside money to help put the drug and alcohol education program back at full strength.

For the first time in more than a decade, Brown County's D.A.R.E. program isn't collecting money from parking cars at Packers games. Construction of the Packers' Titletown District ended the long-time fundraiser.

Brown County supervisor Patrick Buckley spoke to WLUK

“They still have donations that come in, but it's not as much and they haven't found that continual source of revenue”

Between 2004 and 2015, parking cars west of Lambeau Field brought in an average of $243,898 a year.

That revenue was the main reason taxpayer money hasn't been needed since 2000 to fund D.A.R.E.'s average annual budget of $225,000.

The concern of losing the parking money has had D.A.R.E. operating with only one officer. Normally there are two D.A.R.E. officers traveling to the county's elementary schools, teaching kids why it’s important to resist drugs and alcohol.

Brown County supervisor Guy Zima is in favor of spending money for DARE.

“The county does very little in the area of prevention. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure they say.”

The county’s public safety committee is recommending setting aside $100,000 in next year's sheriff's budget so another D.A.R.E. officer can be added.

“There is a little bit of money left to continue to fund the one person for the next couple years, but it will be year by year to see if the county will continue to fund the second position,” said Buckley.

The hope is the sheriff's department will use the next year to find funding sources to make up for the loss of Packer parking money.

“Some of us felt that since the Packers had provided these spaces that maybe they could find some room in their Packer charities on an ongoing basis to continue to fund it,” said Zima.

If a financial solution isn't found, the county board will eventually have to decide if it wants taxpayer money to keep the program going.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - He doesn't like him, but Congressman Reid Ribble can understand why many of his colleagues continue to support Donald Trump.

Congressman Reid Ribble says republican house members are in a tough spot.

"if you abandon the nominee, his base might abandon you at the polls"

But if you support Donald Trump, that could hurt you too.

"If you are overly supporting the nominee, then you might lose the independent voter"

Lucky for him, he's not up for re-election.

"I am repeatedly asked by people in northeast Wisconsin....is this the best we can do ? "

Ribble has been an outspoken critic of the GOP nominee for president.

As for who he's voting for on election day...?

"I haven't made that decision....yet"

Ribble is wrapping up his 3 terms in Congress from the 8th District. Republican Mike Gallagher and Democrat Tom Nelson are in the race to replace him.

MANITOWOC (WTAQ) - A Manitowoc doctor is in a new kind of legal trouble as a medical malpractice civil lawsuit is filed against him.

Dr. Charles Szyman, already the target of state and federal investigators for overprescribing prescription drugs, is now being sued in Manitowoc County by nine people or their estates.

Szyman, along with Holy Family Memorial Hospital and others are named as defendants in the suit. None of them have formally replied and no court dates have been scheduled.

FOX 11 reports the civil lawsuit was filed last week by the estate of Mark Gagnon, the estate of Heidi Buretta, Justin and Jonathan Jagemann, Richard Debot and the estate of Monica Debot, Paul Eggert, the estate of Alan Eggert, and Nathaniel Silbersack.

The 35-page complaint lists several examples of alleged malpractice. One of them claims Buretta was receiving treatment for a non-surgical back problem.

"The level of narcotics being prescribed was far beyond any medically legitimate, recognized or reasonable prescription of these types of narcotics and resulted in Heidi Buretta becoming a narcotic pain pill addict which eventually caused her death," it states.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory, exemplary and punitive damages.

Meantime, Szyman's medical license has been suspended by the state. Those proceedings are on hold while federal law enforcement pursue criminal charges against Szyman. He faces 19 counts of allegedly, "knowingly and intentionally distributed and dispensed unlawfully, and attempted to distribute and dispense unlawfully, a controlled substance outside of his professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose."

A status conference is scheduled for November 23.

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - Appleton police are looking for someone who's impersonating an officer in connection with a fraud investigation.

Officials say in September a 50-year-old Appleton woman got several calls claiming she owed back taxes. This was the apparent beginning of the so-called "IRS scam".

On the call, the woman was warned that the U.S. Treasury Department would be sending someone to her house to arrest her. A short time later, a man dressed in a brown uniform with a "Trooper" style hat arrived at her front door. He was driving a brown, 4-door vehicle which looked like a squad car.

Police say neither the man's uniform nor the vehicle had any markings to identify an agency. The man told the victim he had a warrant for her arrest and showed her paperwork. She was offered the opportunity to avoid going to jail by paying the alleged taxes.

The victim was then directed to go to several specific stores to buy money orders and iTunes cards to pay off the fraudulent taxes. After sending the money orders and activating the iTunes gift cards, the victim realized she had been scammed. She filed a police report, saying she lost over $4,000 to the scammers.

The man who showed up to her house is described as having an olive/darker complexion, believed to be between 6'0" and 6'2", weighing approximately 200 pounds. He had dark hair and the name "R. James" on his badge. The victim believes he may have called himself "Robert".

Anyone with information about this individual, you're asked to contact Officer Hayes at (920) 832-5500. Individuals with information, wishing to remain anonymous, should consider Text-a-Tip. Text CRIMES (274-637) to APDTIPS at the start of the message. 

In a release, the Appleton Police Department is reminding people to be wary of unsolicited calls. Government agencies, such as the IRS, will send a letter to notify people of issues. They will not call.

They also will not demand immediate payment of any back taxes or threaten to have local law enforcement personnel take a person into custody. They certainly will not ask for payment of taxes to be made with money orders or gift cards. If you think you are being scammed, do not provide personal identifying information (date of birth, social security number, credit card or bank information) to the caller.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - It's a yearly event to honor babies who have gone too soon and help parents heal from the terrible loss.

The 2nd Annual "A Walk to Remember" is Saturday, October 15th at Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary starting at 10 a.m.

Organizer Annie Gajewski says she hopes the 1-2 mile reflective walk makes people feel comfortable to talk about their experience if they choose too.

"It's really hard when you go through a miscarriage or loss of a child, it's already kind of isolating. You feel very alone. It's a loss that's hard to explain and if you haven't been through it, it's even harder to support others sometimes who are going through it because we don't know what to say."

The event is hosted by Share of Northeast Wisconsin, a support group for parents who have lost a child through miscarriage, stillbirth or infant loss.

"A Walk to Remember" is held each year in October to recognize National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month.

Gajewski says last year nearly 500 people showed up for the walk.

To sign up for the walk and for more information, go to www.stvincenthospital.org/share.

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - ThedaCare's president and CEO has announced plans to retire while the hospital continues to explore ways to consolidate two locations into one.

In a news release Tuesday, Dr. Dean Gruner plans to step down next summer when the company expects to have a successor in place.

“I thought long and hard about this decision, and I look forward to getting more involved in community building, volunteering and doing mission work. I also want to spend more time with my wife Pam, family and friends – especially my three adorable grandchildren,” the 62-year-old Gruner said. “This is a new era of healthcare and I am proud that ThedaCare has a strong leadership team in place to continue our journey.”

Gruner began his career with ThedaCare or one of its affiliates since the company was founded as Novus Health Group in 1987. Before becoming CEO, Gruner was chief medical officer of both ThedaCare and the former Touchpoint Health Plan, which was sold to United Healthcare in 2004.

In 2003, Gruner became senior vice president for ThedaCare Physicians. Gruner was a found physician of Touchpoint and was a practicing family physician with Family Doctors, S.C., which affiliated with ThedaCare in 1994.

Since becoming CEO, ThedaCare has grown into the area's largest health care provider, with 7,000 employees, seven hospitals and 34 clinics, among other services.

The company has hired a national search firm to look for Gruner's replacement. The ThedaCare Board of Trustees has also formed a search committee. It's expected to take six to nine months.

This retirement announcement does not affect the potential new hospital.

“The Board, system leadership team, physicians and nurses are firmly committed and will continue the work while engaging our providers, business leaders, and ThedaCare team members in discussions about the future of health care in Northeast Wisconsin,” Gruner said.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Green Bay's Redevelopment Authority has approved a term sheet with a developer who plans to breathe new life into the old Cub Foods building.

In a decision Tuesday, the city committee signed off on the sheet for an Illinois-based developer to convert the building into 3 to 5 mid-box retailers.

Green Bay's economic development director Kevin Vonck says the retailers are, "well known, national companies." However, a lawyer for the developer declined to name the companies that are in lease negotiations.

The developer hopes to buy the project for $1.7 million, while planning to invest $8 million in the project. The goal is to have it completed by 2018.

The entire Green Bay City Council must approve the term sheet.

This comes while the city negotiates with a New Jersey developer to reconfigure East Town Mall, which is just east of the former Cub property. That developer is looking to convert East Town from a traditional, interior mall into a strip mall.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - It's hard to believe it's time to starting thinking about Christmas but the Salvation Army of Brown County is doing just that.

Starting Thursday they will be conducting interviews for their Christmas Assistance programs.

Spokesperson Kathryn Kroll says you'll need to bring a few items if you're looking to sign up.

"We ask for a photo ID for all adults in the family. They will also need to provide proof of current address. This is only for Brown County residents. Then we require a birth certificate or something that shows the children's ages."

The programs they'll be interviewing for are Coats for Kids, Toys for Tots and a Christmas food basket.

"We'll actually sign them up for all three on the spot, at the same time, unless they say they don't need a specific program," says Kroll.

Interviews will take place at the west side Corps Community Center at 626 Union Court from 3-7 p.m.

This Christmas, an estimated 5,000 families in Greater Green Bay will need help providing a holiday meal for their family, warm coats, and Christmas gifts for their children.

Additional interviewing will take place at The Salvation Army's west side Corps Community Center, located at 626 Union Court, on Tuesday, October 18 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and Saturday, October 22 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

The last day to sign up for the Coats for Kids program is Saturday, October 22.

The final Christmas Assistance interview date will take place at The Salvation Army’s east side location, the Kroc Corps Community Center, located at 1315 Lime Kiln Road, on Thursday, December 1 from 1:00 to 7:00 p.m.

To volunteer, or financially support The Salvation Army’s Christmas programs, please visit www.sagreenbay.org.

GRAND CHUTE, WI (WTAQ) - The need for affordable housing in the Fox Cities is being addressed thanks to the Appleton Housing Authority.

The group announced Tuesday its management role for the new Grand View Townhomes development at a groundbreaking ceremony and project rendering unveiling.

"The affordability is something that is substantially needed within the Fox Cities," says Debra Dillenberg, Executive Director of the Appleton Housing Authority. "The need for affordable housing just increases."

Currently, the AHA's Housing Choice Voucher waiting list is at 2,000 requests.

The project, located at 551 N. Bluemound Drive in the Town of Grand Chute, will have 40-units of residential walk-up townhomes. It will be two separate buildings of 20 units each, currently planned as two-story private unit entries with some private garages. Approximate unit sizes are 850-square feet for one bedrooms, 1,150-square feet for two bedrooms and 1,375 square feet for three bedrooms.

"Ten of the units will be set aside for homeless families and those that may have a disability," Dillenberg says. "Or it could be a veteran family as well."

Officials say Grand View Townhomes will be a non-age restricted housing community with a range of income affordability, including units at 30% to 60% county median income (CMI) market rate rents. Of those 10 units Dillenberg spoke of, AHA will provide six Housing Choice (Section 8) vouchers to assist qualifying families, veterans and disabled veterans with monthly rental costs at 30% of CMI.

The $7.071 million project is scheduled to open in August 2017, and will be completed by Horizon Design Build Manage, a Madison-based group of companies specializing in full service development, construction and management of residential multi-family real estate. Horizon is also the co-developer of the project, along with the AHA.

Dillenberg credits the project collaborators and investors with making this possible. That includes the Wisconsin Department of Administration Division of Housing, the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA), City Real Estate Advisors (CREA), Neighborhood Housing, Inc., the AHA's 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, which has contracted with Bank Mutual for the administration of its funding for the project.

UNDATED (Wisconsin Radio Network) - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is planning another campaign stop in Wisconsin.

Trump’s campaign said late Tuesday that the Republican nominee will be back in Wisconsin next Monday, just a little more than three weeks before the election.

A location and time for the stop have not yet been announced.

The visit would be the first Trump has made to the state since a stop in Walworth County last weekend was canceled, amid the controversy over the release of a video that shows him making sexually aggressive comments about women.

Trump was expected to appear at the event with U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), who now says he has no plans to campaign with Trump ahead of the November election

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - A team effort is leading to a new proposal introduced to Green Bay's Redevelopment Authority for a downtown outdoor events center.

The plan, which now includes an Anduzzis restaurant and an indoor concert venue, are being unveiled as part of a new district called "The Shipyard."

Officials believe the site, just north of W. Mason Street on the edge of the Fox River, will be a year-round destination.

For the stadium, officials say it would not only host Bullfrogs baseball games, but West High athletic events, a minor league soccer team and up to six large-scale concerts each year.

The indoor concert venue attached is from Festival Foods CEO Mark Skogen, however Festival itself is not part of the project. The venue's capacity would be 2,000 people.

Conor Caloia of Big Top Baseball says combining their project with the indoor concert venue and Anduzzis proves the stadium is influencing major changes for the area.

"It's a parcel the city has owned for going on 40 years and nothing has happened there quite yet. Our hope is the stadium kind of provides that barrier from the coal piles and kind of provides that end cap to South Broadway and really spurs additional economic development," Caloia told FOX 11.

The city's Redevelopment Authority approved a term sheet for the outdoor event center on Tuesday. 

According to terms of the plan, the project will cost $9 million with the city putting in $8 million up front. The Bullfrogs' owners would pay $4 million of that back through a 20-year lease.

City officials are also in talks to bring 120 to 160 housing units to a site just north of the stadium project. The city also wants to utilize neighborhood enhancement funds to improve the existing neighborhood west of the project.

DE PERE, WI (WTAQ) - It was a bittersweet bathroom makeover for one De Pere woman Tuesday.

Tundraland Home Improvements and former Packers player Leroy Butler took Bonnie Zak by surprise.

They showed up at her front door to remodel her bathroom, all in one day.

This was supposed to be a gift for her and her veteran husband Bob.

"I was just in shock because just to see him there, like oh my God, Bob should be here and not me. He should be here to see him," says Zak.

Sadly, Bob, who was a huge Packers player, passed away on Friday after battling cancer since 2002.

"The Green Bay Packers and Tundraland try to embrace the community and we found out with Bonnie and her history with her relationship with Bob, I had to be a part of it," says Butler.

Bob and Bonnie had been married for 46 years.

Steve Buelow works for Tundraland and says this makeover is part of their care project.

"Once a month we look to bless someone who can't do it for themselves. That's often times a disabled veteran or someone in the community."

Bonnie considers the bathroom rejuvenation Bob's last gift to her.

A veteran's family from Madison was also surprised with the remodeling help.