OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN (WTAQ-WLUK) -- Oshkosh's new basketball squad now has a team president.

Steve Brandes will oversee business aspects and day-to-day operations of the Milwaukee Bucks' new D-League team.

The Ohio native most recently spent the last 14 seasons in the front office of the NBA D-League's Idaho Stampede (now the Salt Lake City Stars). He served as president and general manager for ten of those years.

“I’m extremely honored to be chosen by the Bucks to spearhead their new enterprise in Oshkosh and I look forward to entrenching myself and my family into the Fox River Valley,” Brandes said. “I can’t wait to meet our fan base and future partners as we build a product that will make this community proud.”

The D-League team is scheduled to start playing in Oshkosh this fall.

BROWN COUNTY, WISCONSIN (WTAQ-WLUK) - Governor Scott Walker approved two Brown County road projects Friday.

The $16,500,000 project will improve 10.5 miles of I-43 from WIS 96 to WIS 172 and 3 miles of WIS 172 from Webster Avenue to I-43.

The project is scheduled to start March 20 and finish in November.

• Click here to see what improvements will be made.

Drivers are encouraged to use caution and remain alert when driving through any work zone.

HORTONVILLE, WISCONSIN (WTAQ-WLUK) -- Less than one month after the Hortonville police chief returned from a suspension, his officers allege that his misconduct is continuing.

Chief Michael Sullivan was suspended for two weeks for violating department policies in February. Sullivan was accused of harassment, discrimination, threatening officers if they file grievances, disclosing confidential information, and lying about the facts of an investigation into his conduct.

“It’s obvious that the paltry sanctions imposed by the Police Commission did very little to address Chief Sullivan’s unlawfully coercive and dictatorial behavior,” said Jim Palmer, the executive director of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association, which filed the new complaint on behalf of the Hortonville officers. “It’s clear that Sullivan has no intention to learn from his mistakes, despite his clear public promises to the contrary.” 

The new complaint asks the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission to order Sullivan to remove documents from officers' personnel files that he allegedly forced them to sign and require Sullivan to stop issuing similar documents in the future.

The WPPA also formally asked the U.S. Attorney to determine whether Sullivan's personal use of the state's confidential police database violated the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act.

LUXEMBURG, WI (WTAQ) - Two people were taken to the hospital following a vehicle rollover in Luxemburg.

Officials say the accident happened at 3:41 pm as the vehicle was eastbound on Highway 54, near Rockledge Road.  It reportedly left the roadway and overturned.

Both the driver, a 52-year-old Luxemburg woman, and her passenger, a 66-year-old Casco woman were injured.  Authorities did not immediately disclose the extent of those injuries.  

Alcohol is believed to have been a factor in the crash.

BROWN COUNTY, WISCONSIN (WTAQ) - The Baird Creek Preservation Foundation is celebrating its 20th year of existence in 2017.

Interim Director Holly Baseman says the group formed in 1997 when the city was looking to rezone 34 acres of the Baird Creek Greenway parcel from 'parkland' to 'residential' so a developer, who purchased the land once it was put on the market and before the city could take action, could construct high end housing.

Baseman says the group of concerned citizens who formed the foundation successfully fundraised the $200,000 the city needed to buy back the land.

Since, the foundation has preserved the land through practices such as erosion control and looked for environmentally-friendly ways to bolster experiences for people who visit the Greenway.

Baseman says they also host a number of education hikes and school group activities each year. 

To celebrate its 20th year, the Greenway is holding a banquet at the Riverside Ballroom on Monday night. 

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - A house in Green Bay was damaged by fire Friday night after wood stove ashes were improperly disposed of outside.

Firefighters responded to 1139 Spence Street around 7:45p.m.

Officials says the fire started in the garbage can outside the home.

No one was injured. Damage estimate is $10,000.

Green Bay Metro Fire reminds people to use caution when disposing of ashes or coals.

MANITOWOC, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) -- A Brown County woman has tested positive for the Seoul virus after visiting a Manitowoc woman's rattery, who first tested positive for the virus earlier this year.

That brings the total to three people in Wisconsin with the Seoul virus.

This is the first known outbreak involving pet rats in the United States.

Shasta Brunette, of Manitowoc, and her son tested positive for the virus after acquiring six infected rats from an Illinois rattery.

Brunette has four new pet rats. Four is a far cry from the 92 she had a month ago that health officials ordered her to put down.

“It was devastating,” Brunette told FOX 11. “They were my pets. Everyone had a name. It was hard, but I did what they told me I had to do.”

Brunette found out she had infected rats after she became sick. She spent 11 days in the hospital.

“A fever I couldn't get rid of, I ended up with a rash on my hands and feet, my blood pressure was real low so I couldn't stand, I was real dizzy,” said Brunette.

Doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong until Brunette told them she was a rat breeder. She recommended having her rats tested for viruses.

“We gave our blood, we had to wait a week to get the results and then they decided right away that they were going to put my whole rattery down,” said Brunette.

People can only get the virus from being in close proximity to infected rats.

19-year-old Pamela Boutin of Green Bay found out last month she also had the virus after visiting Brunette's home.

“If I had anything it was a headache,” Boutin told FOX 11.

Boutin had three of her 29 rats test positive for the virus. Health officials didn't make her put down her healthy rats, but Boutin has to keep testing them every four weeks until there is one fully-healthy round of testing.

With a testing fee of $10.75 per rat, Boutin isn't sure how long her rattery will last.

“These are my pets, but I just can't wrap my mind around keeping something here that is infected that could harm a child or an adult or someone that wants to adopt a sweet, friendly rat from us,” said Boutin. “It's just not responsible.”

“People with 100 rats, you're looking at over $1,000 every four weeks,” said Brunette. “That's not feasible.”

Brunette says the 92 rats she lost had a value of $2,200. She doesn't plan to ever have that many rats again, but could start another rattery if she is positive the rats are healthy.

“I'm afraid to,” said Brunette. “I don't ever want to do this again.”

The state health department did not have anyone available for an interview for this story.

Its web site says there are 17 people in the United States who've tested positive for the virus, including the three from our area.

TOWN OF ONEIDA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) -- A farm family is looking for answers after fire tore through one of their dairy barns Saturday night, killing several animals.

No people were injured in the blaze, but that barn is considered a total loss.

The Sprangers Family Dairy is located in the Town of Oneida, near the intersection of Bain Road and McCabe Road.

Flames towered into the Saturday night sky at the Sprangers Family Dairy farm northeast of Freedom. About a dozen area fire departments fought the flames.

Ryan Sprangers and his brother Dan Sprangers were the first ones there.

"Just got the call from my parents who live on the farm here. My brother lives down the road, as do I, and just got the call that the old dairy barn, which was converted into a heifer facility was on fire," Dairy Farmer Ryan Sprangers, told FOX 11.

Sprangers says 70 young cattle, aged three to six months were inside that barn.

"It was definitely frightening. Just so many things going at one time in your head. You don't know what to do first. You go try to get a pail of water, to get it out, or do you try to get the cattle out," said Dan Sprangers, Dairy Farmer.

"Obviously tried to put it out right away, and pretty unsuccessfully. So the next thought obviously is to save what you can, so just went inside, ran inside, and started opening up gates, and started chasing animals out the end," said Ryan Sprangers.

Sprangers says it took about a half an hour for the barn to collapse.

"We got I think every one out, except for maybe two or three we got out, so we're pretty lucky. Nobody got hurt, everybody is safe," said Ryan Sprangers.

Sprangers says it took firefighters about five hours to completely put out the fire. And as night turned to day, much of the damage became clear.

"Just try to put the fire out, because you always want to save it, it's a big part of your family," said Ryan Sprangers.

Sprangers says about half of the displaced cows were taken to a nearby farm. The others will find room at the farm, either in pens, or the main milking facility on site.

"It's got to be cleaned up. Clean her up, and rebuild. Hopefully bigger and better. Just thank God for family, you know, helping us out," said Ryan Sprangers.

Officials are investigating the cause of the fire.

The Sprangers say they have insurance for the farm, but at this point, there is no damage estimate.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) - According to multiple reports the Green Bay Packers will lose Pro Bowl guard T.J. Lang to the Detroit Lions via free agency.

Lang spent eight seasons in Green Bay and was a fourth-round pick out of Eastern Michigan in 2009. 

Lang underwent hip surgery back in January, and has dealt with multiple injuries throughout his career with the Packers.

He missed three starts in 2016 dealing with an ankle injury but has only missed five starts in five seasons as a starter in Green Bay.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - A Green Bay man was been arrested for his 7th offense OWI.

Wisconsin State Patrol pulled over 38-year-old Uriel Ramirez's vehicle for an equipment violation along Packerland Drive and Mason Street Saturday night.

The trooper could smell the odor of alcohol and preformed field sobriety tests on the driver.

Ramirez was arrested on suspicion of operating while intoxicated 7th offense.

LAKE WINNEBAGO, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) - Three teens had to be rescued after they walked out on the ice of Lake Winnebago and couldn't get back to shore.

The Calumet County Sheriff's Office says the ice broke away which kept them from getting back on land Sunday night.

First responders were able to rescue the teens by boat around 8:15 p.m. about a mile south of High Cliff State Park.

No one was hurt.

ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ) - Officials are expected to learn Monday what options they have in redeveloping the Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena and Shopko Hall, both of which are nearing the end of their life spans.

At a meeting of the Green Bay/Brown County Professional Football Stadium District Board, consultants will share the findings of a recently-commissioned adaptive reuse study that looked into the two properties.

The meeting begins at 3:15 pm in the Resch Center and then will move to the Arena for the consultant's presentation before returning to the Cellcom Room inside the Resch.

Stadium District Executive Director Pat Webb says funds are available to make whatever changes the board approves.

He says Brown County received a disbursement of roughly $4,350,000 in funds that were an excess from the Lambeau Field sales tax.  

In addition to the consultant's report, Webb says the board will also hear a request from the City of Green Bay, who is looking to land a portion of that sales tax sum.

Webb says the city is requesting $500,000 to help fund a $9,000,000 downtown stadium along the west shore of the Fox River for baseball and soccer purposes.

It is possible that the board will vote on that request at the Monday meeting.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Brown County could become the 14th in Wisconsin to sign on to a new program that aims to help local business owners.

At its April meeting, the county's Executive Committee will consider a resolution and ordinance that would bring the Property Assessed Clean Energy, or PACE, program to Brown County.

Deputy Executive Jeff Flynt says the program allows business owners to upgrade their business, reinvest in their building, and invest in higher performance practices.

Once a business signs on to the PACE program, they receive a third-party audit to identify potential energy cost savings.  

Upon completion of the audit, the PACE commission sets the business owner up with a lender who can provide the loan to make the desired upgrades. 

Business owners would work directly with the PACE commission and lender.  They would not need county approval in the matter.

If the Executive Committee gives the green light, the matter could reach the full County Board as early as its April meeting.

OCONTO, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) - A deferred prosecution agreement has been entered in the case of an 84-year-old woman charged in connection with a triple-fatal crash.

The agreement means if Thelma Yashinsky complies with the terms of the agreement, the criminal charges against her will be dropped.

Yashinsky was behind the wheel on Oct. 24, 2015, when she drove through a stop sign and collided with another vehicle.

Her husband, 91-year-old Edward Yashinsky, 96-year-old Leora Raisler of Oconto Falls, and 89-year-old Grace Hyland of Oconto Falls, died in the crash.

Prosecutors charged Yashinsky with five counts, including three felony counts of homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle.

The move drew criticism from her family, saying it was just an accident and that she had suffered enough.

According to the terms of the deferred prosecution agreement, Yashinksy must:

• Not commit a crime for three years;
• Not driver a vehicle outside a two-mile radius from her home;
• Provide a letter from her physician in one year and two years stating there are no medical reasons she should not drive. She already provided one such letter as part of the agreement.

If Yashisnky fails to do any of those within the three years, prosecutors may re-open the case. If not, the charges will be dropped.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) - The WIAA says it was just following protocol when it didn't let a boy on the Resch Center court Saturday night after Appleton North's state title win.

Nick Levy posted this video on Twitter, saying "@wiaawistate didn't let Jaylen give his sister, Syd, a hug after winning the STATE! He gets excited to hug her after EVERY game. He cried."

In an email to Fox 11, Deb Hauser - who is seen in the video - says its policy no one is allowed on the court.

"It is not possible for us to know the individual traditions and rituals of all the schools, teams, families and players involved in the state championships we sponsor and for the safety of all involved, spectators are kept off the playing surface at all of our state championships. We hope that all the teams and players have ample opportunity for hugs and celebrations over a great season following their on-court ceremony," Hauser said.

APPLETON, WISCONSIN (WTAQ) - A 64-year-old Appleton man was taken into custody over the weekend for allegedly stabbing his roommate.

Police say Anderson L. Dotson is being held at the Outagamie County Jail on a preliminary charge of First Degree Reckless Injury, with the possibility of more charges being added.

Officers responded to a business parking lot at the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and North Oneida Street.

Upon arrival, they found a 50-year-old man who had walked to the business.  The man had a stab wound to his abdomen and remains hospitalized after surgery.

Dotson was taken into custody at his Oneida Street apartment without incident and was treated for minor injuries.  

Investigators determined a disturbance inside the apartment escalated to a physical altercation.  

A search warrant was obtained, and officers say evidence related to the stabbing incident was located in the apartment.

Over the weekend, Appleton Police also reported two other incidents of note.

Early Saturday, police took a 53-year-old man to a mental health facility after he made suicidal threats to officers who responded to a welfare check at the man's home on the 700 block of West Seventh Street.

Officers used less-than-lethal bean bags to subdue the man, who falsely stated he was in possession of a handgun.

Saturday night, police responded to a shots fired call on the 400 block of North Morrison Street.

No injuries were reported, but officers found property damage and evidence that indicated a gun was fired.

The evidence was collected and will be submitted to a crime lab for further analysis.   

SHEBOYGAN COUNTY, WISCONSIN (WTAQ) - Seventeen vehicles were involved in a late morning crash on I-43 in Sheboygan County.

The Wisconsin State Patrol says the accident happened around 11:40 am on northbound I-43, north of County O near the Pigeon River structure. 

Five semis and 12 passenger vehicles were involved in the crash.  Authorities report three injuries but say none of them are serious.

The accident caused I-43 to close from WIS 42 to WIS 23. 

The established detour encourages drivers to exit at WIS 23, head west to WIS 32, north to WIS 42, north to County XX, and then east to I-43.

CHILTON, WISCONSIN (WTAQ-WLUK) - Three people charged in connection with a drug overdose death entered not guilty pleas Monday.

Jennifer Verderami, Paris Verderami, and Kevin Bryant each face first-degree reckless homicide charges for the October death of Kyle Wruck, 25, in Appleton.

According to the criminal complaint, the methadone belonged to Jennifer Verderami. The court document says Jennifer gave her daughter, Paris, the methadone to sell, in order to buy methamphetamine. Officers claim Paris's boyfriend, Bryant, went with her to bring the drug to Wruck.

No trial date was set. All three will return to court May for 8 a status conference.

ASHWAUBENON, WISCONSIN (WTAQ) - If a consultant's recommendation is followed, the Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena will get torn down.

On Monday, County officials heard the findings of a study that looked into redevelopment options for the Arena and the adjoining Shopko Hall facility, both of which are nearing the ends of their lifespan.  

David Stone of AECOM Economics laid out four options: a $30,000,000 renovation and three plans that call for a rebuild.  

Stone says construction on an 86,400 square foot facility would cost $63,000,000-$65,000,000, a 100,800 square foot building would range from $71,000,000-$75,000,000, and a 122,400 square foot structure would cost $81,000,000-$85,000,000.  

However, Stone says an additional 20% needs to be added on to each of those figures once other costs are taken into consideration.

The study also highlighted a number of problems with the current buildings.  In addition to poor connectivity between the two facilities, it noted issues with the current interior systems, concessions and restroom areas, and loading docks.

Stone says none of those are close to what would be expected in a "modern facility."

He recommended rebuilding, as a renovation would be a "band-aid" that would not address the lack of space or connectivity issues.

According to Stone, construction could be done in phases to ensure the entire building does not need to shut down for a two year period. He says the shell of Shopko Hall could be saved while the Arena would be torn down and completely replaced.

Stone says the goal is to create a space that could house multiple events at once.  

County Executive Troy Streckenbach says something needs to be done as the venues had an operating deficit of $245,000 in 2015.

He supports the largest rebuild option, saying that could allow the property to have an annual economic impact of roughly $13,000,000.

Streckenbach says funding sources could include the room tax and excess funds from the Lambeau Field sales tax.  

When asked what's next, Streckenbach said the county board needs to have serious discussions in 2017 about the future of the two buildings.

The Brown County Arena opened in 1958, and Shopko Hall opened its door in 1986.

GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN (WTAQ) - For her 101st birthday, Red Cross volunteer Blanche Baudhuin wanted one thing: to hold a blood drive with the goal of collecting 101 pints of blood.

To honor their colleagues wish, Red Cross organizers setup shop Monday in Green Bay's First Lutheran Church. 

Baudhuin has volunteered with the Red Cross for over 40 years and held a simialr event last year for her 100th birthday.

Red Cross Donor Recruitment Accountant Manager Debbie Mylener calls Blanche "an inspiration as she is the first smiling face people see when they walk in the door at Red Cross events."

Mylener says Blanche's request came as no surprise, as she is always looking to help others in her community.  

While Monday's event feel just shy of its goal by collecting 93 pints of blood, people are still encouraged to donate in Blanche's honor through the end of March.