SHEBOYGAN, WI (WHBL) - One person was injured when a fire broke out a home in Sheboygan Tuesday night.  

Chief Dean Klein says they got a call around 5:30 about a fire at a home on North 4th Street.

Firefighters found smoke and flames coming from the second floor of the home, which eventually spread into the attic.

There were two people at home at the time.  One person was injured when they jumped from a second story window to safety.

The other person got out uninjured.  

The building has substantial smoke and water damage.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - A man has filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Green Bay.

Justin Belanger's suit claims two officers used excessive force in a May 2014 arrest that stemmed from a traffic stop for suspected drunk driving.

The suit, which asks for $500,000 in punitive damages, had not been served on the city at last word.

It claims: "defendants improperly deployed a taser on an intoxicated individual and conducted a grossly negligent seizure when they deployed a taser on Mr. Belanger repeatedly even though he was not a danger to the officers and was willing to comply with their commands if given more than 23 seconds to do so. This is a violation of Mr. Belanger’s constitutional rights under the Fourth Amendment to be free from unreasonable seizures and excessive force, as well as a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process clause."

According to court records, Belanger was convicted of OWI Fourth Offense.  He was sentenced to more than four months in jail, had his license revoked for three years, and was ordered to use an ignition interlock for three years.

DEPERE, WI (WTAQ) - He's not accepting a diploma, but going out the door with 2017's graduating class at Saint Norbert College this weekend is President Thomas Kunkel.

After 9 years in the President's office, Kunkel is turning over the reins to a new leader.

Kunkel has seen a lot of physical changes on the Saint Norbert campus in the past 9 years, $140 million in construction. A new fitness center is the latest addition.

"We've been fortunate we've been able to refresh and enhance our infrastructure"

In addition to that Saint Norbert enrollment numbers, about 2200 students, are the highest in school history.

But Kunkel is also proud of the partnerships that have been formed with other schools and businesses.

The Donald J. Schneider of Business & Economics was established in 2014. The Medical College of Wisconsin's campus is at Saint Norbert. And a partnership with Marquette Law School offers students an accelerated path to a legal career.

Kunkel says it's all designed to provide students with a variety of experiences and opportunities.

"I think in the 21st century no one college, certainly a liberal arts college, you can't be all things to all people"

One the biggest changes he's seen in higher education over the past 9 years...perspective students have so many more school options and do more shopping around.

"In the past, maybe students had 2 or 3 schools they would focus on. With the internet, virtual touring, and all the information you can get about colleges and online applications... it's just not uncommon for students today to visit 7 or 8 schools"

But Kunkel says the mission remains the same. Make Saint Norbert a place that's available to any student that qualifies regardless of their financial situation.

"So that means being aggressive about our own business operations and cost cutting. But also raising more money for scholarships"

Brian Bruess will take over as the 8th president at Saint Norbert July 1st.

Already the author of 6 books, Thomas Kunkel will continue to write and spend time with his family.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Formal charges have been filed against the 53-year-old Green Bay man suspected of sexually assaulting multiple horses.

Sterling Rachwal faces misdemeanor counts of Intentionally Mistreating Animals, Disorderly Conduct, and Resisting/Obstructing an Officer, in connection with an alleged February 17 Brown County incident.

Officers responded to a ranch in the Town of Eaton for a suspicious person complaint, after the horse's owner said she saw someone leaving the barn.

Police found the horse inside that barn was bleeding.

Since he has previous convinctions similar to the crime committed, investigators interviewed Rachwal.

He denied that assault, as well as ever assaulting a horse.  

Rachwal claims the story is a conspiracy created by his sister and a veterinarian.

Investigators say footprints found near the barn match a boot found in Rachwal's apartment.

Following an April 29 incident where a horse was sexually assaulted, officers again interviewed Rachwal.

"Sterling again said it could be him, it looks similar, but he is not saying it is him," the criminal complaint states.

At one point he reportedly added, "You do realize if I go away I'm going away for life" and that he was trying to 'straighten up his life.'

Rachwal is suspected in the April incident but has not been charged in Manitowoc County court.

FOND DU LAC, WI (WTAQ) - A man has been taken into protective custody following a standoff incident outside the Fond du Lac Walmart.

Assistant Police Chief Steve Klein says officers received a call regarding a 'despondent man sitting in his car' just before 7:30 am Wednesday.  

"The person that called was concerned.  The caller saw him holding what appeared to be a handgun, holding it up towards himself."

Upon arrival, Klein says police established a perimeter around the parking lot.

"We did block off roads, on Rolling Meadows, at Johnson.  Neighboring businesses were told to lock down.  Anytime you have incidents like this, you're going to see a tremendous police response. This day and age, where individuals possibly could conduct harm to others."

Klein notes there were no shots fired or injuries.

MANITOWOC COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) - A local cheese manufacturer has made the voluntary decision to recall one of its products.

Henning's Cheese is recalling its Colby Jack cheese after a pasteurizer temporarily malfunctioned.

The state Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection says it's not possible to verify whether the cheese has been properly pasteurized.

As a result, any Colby Jack sold in one- or two-pound blocks on or after April 10 is being recalled, totaling roughly 1,000 pounds of cheese.    

A label on the bottom of the block of the recalled cheese has the date code '1007.'

People with affected cheese can bring it to either the store it was purchased or the Henning's Wisconsin Cheese store near Kiel for a refund.

No illnesses have been reported.

TIGERTON, WI (WTAQ) - A former Tigerton man has been accused of intentionally setting his home ablaze to receive an insurance payout.

Gary Hargrove of Plano, Texas faces felony counts of Arson of a Building with Intent to Defraud, First Degree Recklessly Endangering Safety, and Presenting/Causing a Fraudulent Insurance Claim.

Crews responded to the 421 Cedar Street home on October 21, 2015 and found a pile of items in the living room along with a can of paint thinner.

The 56-year-old claims he was fixing up the house and painting at the time.

A man who was with Hargrove the night of the fire says Hargrove went back into the house alone for a few minutes before the two left.

WINNEBAGO COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) - An Oshkosh man will spend ten years in prison after he was convicted of insurance fraud.

Jeremy Neumann set a warehouse on fire to collect a payout.

The November 6, 2015 blaze was set at Gambit McDermott LLC on Leeward Court West.

Investigators used GPS to tie Neumann to the scene and say his clothes was consistent with that in security camera footage.  

Neumann filed an insurance claim the day after the fire and had increased his business liability coverage on the building one week prior.  

Following his prison term, Neumann will spend three years under extended supervision.  

NEENAH, WI (WTAQ) - Neenah Police have found a person dead near the back of a commercial building.  

Officers responded to the 1300 block of Gillingham Road around 1 pm Tuesday for reports of a person on the ground.

Upon arrival, police determined the 30-year-old man was dead.

An autopsy has been conducted, and results are expected in the coming weeks.

Investigators say there are no signs of trauma, and foul play is not suspected.

The person's name has not been released.  

ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ) - The Greater Green Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau released their annual report Wednesday of just how powerful the tourism industry is in Brown County.

In 2016, 5.55 million people visited the area with an economic impact of $638 million in direct spending.

Director of Marketing Brenda Krainik says she's thrilled to see a 4 percent increase in spending for the year.

"Seeing them (people) come into the community, enjoy what we have here...whether it's attractions or it's hotels that they're staying in, that revenue really showed up in this year's numbers," said Krainik.

CVB President Brad Toll, thinks a couple of events lead to the increase in spending.

"The LSU Badger game was certainly fantastic and brought a lot of people in. It was like an extra home Packer game. But our convention center expansion...2016 was the first year that we had all of these big conventions that travel around Wisconsin and they outgrew us and they stopped coming. With the expansion we were able to get them back them back in again."

Toll says that one of the places they like to see growth is in overnight stays. 2016 saw a 4.3 percent increase in that area.

"That's what we need to see, is increases in those overnight stays. That's what keeps the hotel healthy. It keeps the people employed that they hired. It keeps the banks that they're paying off their loans with, it keeps them happy," said Toll.

The third quarter, July through September, showed the most spending activity with $205 million dollars.

In total sales, a record $1.1 billion tourism dollars flowed through the local economy.

Read the entire annual report at www.greenbay.com/media.

DENMARK, WI (WTAQ) - The public is getting its chance to weigh in on Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach's plan to implement a half-percent sales tax.

Roughly eight people were at the Denmark Branch Library Wednesday afternoon for the first of nine listening sessions on the proposal.

Streckenbach believes the temporary, six-year tax would generate $147,000,000.  

Those dollars would fund various infrastructure projects, including the construction of a new expo hall to replace the aging Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena.

"This is a reinvestment in the community while providing for debt reduction and tax relief."

Justin Schultz attended the listening session and has concerns.

"I would much rather see that be used as the public works office.  I believe that if we bring in this trade show venue, it's going to sit vacant."

The full county board is expected to consider Streckenbach's proposal next Wednesday.   

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - Police week celebrations are getting underway in Northeast Wisconsin.

While the national observation does not start until Monday, Grand Chute Police has planned a Thursday candlelight vigil.

Officer Travis Waas helped organize the 5 pm event at Appleton Alliance Church.

"It allows us to honor those that obviously passed before us, who died in the line of duty, but also honor law enforcement, the service and sacrifice that it takes."

Among those being remembered in Northeast Wisconsin are Fond du Lac Officer Craig Birkholz who was shot in 2011, State Trooper Trevor Casper who died in a 2015 shootout with a bank robber, and Everest Metro Police Detective Jason Weiland who was killed during a March shooting spree in the Wausau area.

With heightened tensions between police and civilians in many United States' communities, Waas believes this year's Police Week is especially important.

"With the negative light law enforcement has been shed in, this is a great way to show something positive, and for the community to come out and share this event with us.  This is an opportunity for them to see us in a different light.  We're going to cast away the tough guy attitudes so they can see us as human beings."

National Police Week runs May 15-22.   

MANITOWOC, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) - One person died in a fire at an apartment complex in Manitowoc.

It broke out shortly before 4:00 p.m. Wednesday at Parkview Haven on N. 8th Street.

Firefighters needed to break windows to get excess smoke out of the building.

Manitowoc fire chief, Todd Blaser, tells WLUK the amount of smoke made it difficult to fight this fire.

"You have to ventilate. You'll notice that there's some ventilation. We ended up opening up some windows in order to get that smoke through, so it was important to get the occupants out. This is an unsprinklered building; that creates a greater challenge for us"

Authorities are not giving out any information on the person who died.

Fire officials say the fire originated in one of the units, but did not say how it started.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ - WLUK) - Another lawsuit has been filed against the owners of the Hotel Northland.

ALG Northland Management LLC, an affiliate of Provenance Hotels filed the suit in Brown County Court on April 26th.

Provenance Hotels is a Portland, Oregon firm that was hired to manage the downtown Green Bay hotel.

It's unclear yet what effect, if any, the lawsuit might have on construction, which recently resumed on the $44 million project.

David Weber, the attorney representing Provenance Hotels, tells WLUK....

“We really don't know why the ownership group has gone silent and not reaffirmed the hotel management agreement that they reached with us some months ago”

Court documents show Provenance is seeking at least $200,000 it says it is owed, and enforcement of its management agreement.

However, in a statement, a Hotel Northland spokesperson says there is no long-term management agreement.

“ALG refused to fully cooperate in efforts to secure lender approval, resulting in the failure of the parties to complete a long-term management agreement,” writes Brigette Breitenbach, a spokesperson for the Hotel Northland.

One month ago, after a four-month court battle, a judge ruled Keith Harenda is the sole owner of the Northland.

At the time, Harenda and Mayor Jim Schmitt said the ownership decision would pave the way for a bank to loan more than $12 million by May 1st to finish the hotel project.

While construction work has resumed, the deal with the bank still isn't done.

“I mean where does it end?” said Guy Zima, a Green Bay alderman.

“It's time to get somebody totally different than the people that are in there.”

Zima is upset the city council wasn't told about the new lawsuit at its meeting last week.

But Mayor Jim Schmitt says he was unaware of the lawsuit as well.

Green Bay alderman David Nennig is also troubled.

“I'm not sure if other city officials were aware of it, but certainly these are the kinds of things we ought to be aware of”

Developers for the Northland say renovation work is 70 percent complete, and still hope to open this fall.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) - Brown County Supervisor Guy Zima is asking the Brown County Sheriff's Office to work with federal agents to help deport undocumented people.

Zima tells WLUK that by doing so, it could help ease the overcrowding in the jail.

"If we could find a way to empty the jail in whatever way possible and I certainly don't want to have illegals putting burden on us" The Sheriff's office would need to undergo training with federal immigration agents.

The deputies would then be able to use federal databases and question inmates about their immigration status.

Zima's plan only applies to people who have already been arrested and are in the Brown County Jail.

"I'm not suggesting that we go do sweeps of the community I'm saying if people find their way into jail and they're not legal citizens we don't want them here" "It doesn't benefit Brown County, it doesn't benefit the jail because we have a good working relationship with ICE"

Brown County Sheriff John Gossage explained the jail already has a similar process in place with ICE agents and said the county only had 21 undocumented inmates transferred to ICE agents last year.

"Now if we have an influx in foreign born nationals then we'll say well then it's something that we might look at exploring" "From even what I hear from the entire Hispanic community is, if it is someone who is criminal, anybody who is undocumented or citizen doesn't want criminals here," said Sister Melanie Maczka, the executive director of Casa ALBA Melanie.

Sister Melanie Maczka is the executive director of Casa ALBA Melanie. It's the Hispanic Resource Center of the greater Green Bay area.

Maczka said she has talked to the sheriff about the proposal and said as long as it targets people already in jail, her group does not have any concerns.

MANITOWOC, WI (WTAQ) - A string of vehicle vandalisms has hit the City of Manitowoc.

Police say more than 25 vehicles have been egged since Saturday.

Investigators note a dark color, four-door sedan has been seen fleeing the area of some of the vandalisms.

Anyone with information should contact Manitowoc Police at 920-686-6551 or Crime Stoppers at 920-683-4466.  

Callers may be eligible for a $500 reward for any infromation that leads to an arrest.

WINNEBAGO COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) - Officials are looking to bring down the cost of a planned, 3.2-mile non-motorized trail to connect Neenah and Menasha.  

The 'Loop the Little Lake' project creates a path around Little Lake Butte Des Morts and also involves constructing two bridges across the Fox River to link up with existing trails.

It incoprorates the City of Neenah, City of Menasha, and Town of Menasha.

Initially expected to cost $3,200,000, bids recently came in closer to $3,900,000.

Neenah Mayor Dean Kaufert says that was partially due to difficulties that come with doing construction work in water.

The $3,200,000 was collected in the form of $1,600,000 in state grants, $1,000,000 in private donations, and contributions from the municipalities.

"The City of Neenah put in $300,000, and the City of Menasha put in $300,000.  We may have to put in additional dollars."

Kaufert says project leaders also plan to seek additional funds from the state.  He believes that is realistic since the effort is a 'high priority in the state.'

Despite the possibility of more money, Kaufert says they are still going to alter the original design plans and re-bid the project.

"We're really hoping to be centered on a number closer to the $3,700,000-$3,800,000 range."

Kaufert is still optimistic work will get underway in 2017 and wrap up in time for the trail to open next summer.

"It's going to give people the opportunity to get on the trail anywheres, explore the downtown areas and the park systems."

Kaufert feels the path will provide more than just recreational benefits.

"A lot of opportunities for economic development, opportunities for our businesses to garner more customers."

MANITOWOC, WI (WTAQ) - Manitowoc Police are releasing more information about a fatal apartment complex fire that happened Wednesday afternoon.

The blaze started on a third floor at Parkview Haven apartment complex at 1325 N. 8th Street.

It took firefighters around 30 minutes to get the blaze under control and that's when they found a woman's body.

The name and age of the victim is not being released until after autopsy results are completed. 

The autopsy is being preformed in Fond du Lac.

Captain Larry Zimney says the community has pulled together to help out.

"The local Piggly Wiggly really helped out with providing water to firefighters and other people affected. The Salvation Army was fantastic. The Red Cross is chipping in," said Zimney.

Officials say 88 residents were evacuated and transported to Lincoln Park by Manitowoc Metro Transit bus and Brandt Bus.

About 50 of those residents were placed in the Harbor Town Hotel for the night, with the other residents staying with friends or relatives.

Officials say it's not known how long the residents will be displaced.

"It could be some time. Right now there's no electricity to the building. There's water damage to some areas of the building, smoke damage," Zimney explained.

Although the fire was mostly contained to the third floor of the apartment complex, there was significant damage to the area between the ceiling of the apartment and the trusses leading to the roof above the apartment.

A property damage estimate is not known at this time.

The fire is under investigation by Manitowoc Police and DCI Fire Marshalls.

FOND DU LAC, WI (WTAQ) - Concern for one body of water in Northeast Wisconsin.

An unknown, yellow substance is leaking into the Fond du Lac River.

Hazmat crews are on scene to investigate.

They say roughly 90% of the spill has been contained.

OUTAGAMIE COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) - A 21-year-old Oshkosh man has been ordered to stand trial for a variety of alleged child crimes.

An Outagamie County judge has found probable cause against Kai Funches, who faces eight felony counts.

Funches is set to be arraigned May 18.