SHAWANO, WI (WTAQ)- A Shawano Elementary School Principal says he is concerned that online videos that kids are watching at home, are being exposed to other students at school.

"It was not meant to shame anybody or make them feel bad, it was just bringing awareness to it."

Principal Troy Edwards pointed out multiple youtube videos with violent, vulgar and sexual messages, and said once he learned more about the content, he decided it was not appropriate for school.

"We did some digging and looking into it and we were very surprised and shocked."

In his email, Edwards said kids are being exposed to trending video game and youtube videos at home, but it does not stop there. He says kids are having discussions, and sharing that information and content with other students.

Edwards pinpointed certain videos and games that he has had his attention called to.

"Five Nights At Freddy's" has content that shows violence, frightening and intense scenes.

In Five Nights At Freddy's, you are looking through the eyes a security guard, and must stay alive against an onslaught of animatronics who want your blood. In the fourth game of the series, the player is a frightened child trying to fend off nightmare versions of the Five Nights At Freddy's animatronics from their bedroom.

The game and video series has become so popular, that t-shirts, backpacks and school supplies with the characters are commonly seen in schools, including Hillcrest Primary School in Shawano. Edwards said there are two different sides of the characters. 

"There is the soft fluffy teddy bear side of them, but then there is the behaviors and choices and things that they talk about and do, so that's the side that we are talking about."

Edwards says he understands that the characters are popular, and while he can't tell parents what supplies or clothes to allow their kids to have, he wants them to be aware. 

"If they choose to do that at home, that's fine, but it is not a topic that we want to be discussing at school."

In his email, Edwards also pointed out the youtube series "Jeffy the Puppet", saying it displays sex, violence, profanity, alcohol, drugs and smoking. 

"Annoying Orange" displays content that is lude, vulgar and frightening for kids. The talking orange visits with other talking fruits and vegetables, but in the end those talking fruits and vegetables get eaten, blended, sliced with a knife, or other violent acts. Edwards tells parents that the content also addressed sex, smoking, drinking and drugs.

"Bendy and the Ink Machine" has violent, and intense content.

Edwards also warned about the game "Hello Neighbor", which has the person playing sneaking through a neighbors house, and avoiding booby traps while the neighbor chases that person with household items. As the levels progress,the content because more violent.

Edwards says he has not seen any direct behaviors at school that he is concerned about, but said he feels that while some parents may be okay with their kids viewing this content, others may not like the idea of their kids being exposed to it by other kids. He said it is not his place to tell parents what they can and cannot allow at home, but many parents told him that they did not even know these videos existed.

"It has been all positive, I have yet had anybody tell me that they took offense to it or disagreed."

Edwards said the best advice he can give to parents is to keep a close eye on what their kids are viewing online, and said the parent-teacher relationship is important.

"We want to have a good working relationship with them. We want to be able to bring things to their attention, and want them to be able to bring things to our attention."

Edwards said the content that these videos expose children to would normally not be school appropriate anyway.

ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ) - Plans are moving forward for a new sports facility in Ashwaubenon.

The Green Bay Bullfrogs' new stadium is expected to house more than just baseball games, with a minimum of 90 events annually.

"A soccer team that's collegiate level - similar to what the Bullfrogs are, a lot of different community events, concerts."

Village Manager Allison Swanson explains what the new stadium will look like. 

"A seating capacity of 2,500, but about 4,000 in terms of overall capacity.  We anticipate the traditional suites, office, and pro shop."

Swanson says the $10-million dollar stadium cost will be covered by TIF dollars, with some of that cost passed on to the team.

"They'll have an annual lease payment that starts just over $200,000 and then after about five years, there's an escalator of 1%."

She notes the baseball organization will also make an initial $500,000 construction payment.  The team would receive revenues from other events at the stadium and selling the facility's naming rights.

"We're entering the design phase now.  The project itself will go out for bidding, hopefully, in the end of May or early June."  

Construction is expected to begin in August and wrap up by May 2019. 

It'll be located on Holmgren Way, next to Village Hall. 

WINNEBAGO COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) - A felony murder trial is set to begin today at the Winnebago County Courthouse for a police shooting in December of 2015.

Police officers shot and killed Michael Funk.....but Brian Flatoff is charged in causing Funk's death while committing a crime.

Flatoff is facing 16 counts including felony murder of Michael Funk. But Flatoff says he is not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.

In 2015, Flatoff allegedly took hostages at gunpoint at Eagle Nation Cycles in Neenah; it triggered a shootout with police.

Minutes later, Funk, who was one of the hostages, ran from the building and was shot and killed by police without warning. Police mistook Funk for the hostage taker.

Neenah police chief, Kevin Wilkinson told FOX 11, officers do not have to give a warning before shooting.

"There's no legal requirement that a warning be given and we have no policy that requires warning be given under those circumstances."

In 2016, Attorney Brad Schimel and the Wisconsin DOJ confirmed the officers were justified in their response.

"The evidence is that they did not recognize the person they shot, and they believed the person they shot was the armed hostage taker."

But friends of Michael Funk firmly disagree.

"I think this is just absurd," said Kay Reetz of Neenah.

"My heart just broke for Michael, he was a good friend, he was a nice guy. I learned today that I don't believe justice was served."

Deputy district attorney Scott Ceman said under the law, Flatoff can be charged with crimes that led to Funk being shot.

"The person who was committing the initial felonies can be charged with felony murder."

For more than 2 years, Flatoff went through numerous public defenders.

Some left on their own, the others were distrusted by Flatoff. Flatoff will be representing himself during the trial.

On Friday Ceman and Flatoff discussed potential jurors with the judge. Final jurors will be decided today.

Flatoff is being held at the Winnebago County jail on a $500,000 cash bond. The trial is slated to last 3 weeks.

If convicted, he faces up to nearly 300 years in prison.

BELLEVUE, WI (WTAQ) - The The Bellevue Fire and Rescue Department, along with the Brown County Sheriff's SWAT and County Rescue are conducting an active threat training this evening.

It's being held at Innovative Industrial BOE Group on Development Drive in Bellevue.

It will run from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Some streets in the area may have limited access during the training.

Residents shouldn't be alarmed by the large police, fire and rescue personnel at the training.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - A quick response to a newly-introduced Green Bay Police Department offering.

At last word, 29 businesses had registered for the agency's active shooter response training.

Lieutenant Jeff Engelbrecht explains what gets covered during each four-hour course.

"Statistics regarding active shooter trends in the United States.  We look at and review active shooter incidents from across the country from over the years: what the response was, how things happened, and performance enhancement - as far as what we can do in the future to get better with that.  We give people different options, based off of the information that they have at the time, to enhance their survivability and the survivability of the people who are entrusted to their care."

Engelbrecht teaches the class, explaining how businesses can benefit from signing up. 

"The consequences of these (active shooter incidents) dictate that we do train and be prepared for them.  When people go through something like this, they begin to create the beginning of a mental blueprint."

Captain Kevin Warych recently sat in on one of the classes, saying it covers many things that wouldn't always come to mind. 

"Does your door open inward or does your door open outward?  How do you barricade an inward door versus an outward door."

Any interested Green Bay business should contact police headquarters at 920-448-3200.

FOND DU LAC, WI (WTAQ) - There's extra police presence Monday at Fond du Lac High school.

This comes after a student notified school officials of a social media post regarding a possible shooting at the high school. 

There have not been any incidents.

Principal Matt Steinbarth sent out a voice message to families this morning.

In the message, Steinbarth explains how they found out about the threat and the steps being taken to keep their children safe.

Parents have been given the option to keep their kids at home, or let them stay in school, which has an added police prescence..

He also says they are working with law enforcement to get to the origin of the post.

STEVENS POINT, WI (WTAQ) - Changes could be coming to the list of offerings at UW-Stevens Point. 

School leaders are proposing adding or expanding 16 majors, while discontinuing 13 others. 

Expanding Program:

• Chemical Engineering
• Computer Information Systems
• Conservation Law Enforcement
• Finance
• Fire Science
• Graphic Design
• Management
• Marketing

Adding/Advancing Program:

• Aquaculture/Aquaponics
• Captive Wildlife
• Ecosystem Design and Remediation
• Environmental Engineering
• Geographic Information Science
• Master of Business Administration
• Master of Natural Resources
• Doctor of Physical Therapy

Programs Possibly Being Eliminated:

• American Studies
• Art (Graphic Design will continue as a distinct major)
• English (English for teacher certification will continue)
• French
• Geography
• Geoscience
• German
• History (Social Science for teacher certification will continue)
• Music Literature
• Philosophy
• Political Science
• Sociology (The Social Work major will continue)
• Spanish

This is response to a $4.5-million dollar deficit over the next two years.  They say it's the result of declining enrollment and lower tuition revenues.  

Students who are either currently enrolled in any of the programs that could be cut or are enrolling this fall will reportedly be allowed to finish their degrees.

No cuts involving tenured faculty would reportedly happen until June 2020.

The proposal would still need to be approved by a campus governance committee, the chancellor, and the Board of Regents.

OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) - A Fox Valley exhibit is celebrating the art of floral design.

The 'Rooms of Blooms' has returned to Oshkosh's Paine Art Center and Gardens.

The Center's Noell Dickman says the display features more than 100 floral creations.

"A lot of creativity going on and a lot of spring and essence of spring.  It just gets you lively, smelling those wonderful flowers and just preparing for spring."

The exhibit runs through March 11.

FOND DU LAC, WI (WTAQ) - UPDATE: Investigators say a 16-year-old male from Arkansas who had previous ties to the Fond du Lac area has admitted to posting the threatening message. 

Monday's increased police presence at the school will continue Tuesday. 

***

There's extra police presence Monday at Fond du Lac High school.

This comes after a student notified school officials of a social media post regarding a possible shooting at the high school. 

There have not been any incidents.

Principal Matt Steinbarth sent out a voice message to families this morning.

In the message, Steinbarth explains how they found out about the threat and the steps being taken to keep their children safe.

Parents have been given the option to keep their kids at home, or let them stay in school, which has an added police prescence.

He also says they are working with law enforcement to get to the origin of the post.

BELLEVUE, WI (WTAQ) - Multiple emergency response agencies come together for training on how to deal with an active shooter threat.

Bellevue Fire and Rescue and the Brown County Sheriff's SWAT and County Rescue gather at Innovative Industrial BOE Group in Bellevue Monday night to prepare for how to react collaboratively to a crisis.

"We need to communicate, and that's usually been a problem.  That's the biggest thing we're working on here.  We're getting everybody to talk together and know who's doing what.  Fire departments are getting stretched to be more involved on this type of thing.  Instead of everybody waiting until the scene is safe, we come in so people don't bleed out from being inside, waiting until the threat is eliminated."

Bellevue EMS Captain Glen Unsinn says seeing tragedies like last month's in Parkland, Florida takes an emotional toll on emergency responders.  

"It's heart-wrenching to see this happen.  We just need to be prepared.  We hope it never happens again, but it doesn't seem to be ending.  It seems like every three days you hear something is going on somewhere."

Unsinn says their last drill of this magnitude was roughly two years ago.  He notes they also do smaller drills at the fire house multiple times each year.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ)- Green Bay Metro Fire Department was called out to a fire at an apartment on University Avenue. 

Upon arrival, firefighters located an extinguished fire inside a closet. The sprinkler was activated and extinguished the fire.

Crews shut down the sprinkler system and silenced the alarm.

The fire displaced one person and two cats, who who were all able to stay across the hall with friends. 

The estimated cost of damage is about $20,000.

It was determined that the cause of fire was careless disposal of smoking materials.

Green Bay Metro Fire Officials say it is important to dispose of smoking materials with care, and in an approved container.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ)- Snow in March may be inconvenient, but it is not unheard of.

 This winter has been mild for the most part, but Monday and Tuesday will bring one of the largest snow totals of the season.  

Fox 11 Chief Meteorologist Patrick Powell says most of the snow fell overnight and the snowfall during the day on Tuesday will not be drifting too much.   

Jeff Last of the National Weather Service in Green Bay says big snowfall in March is not uncommon.  

"That can change pretty quickly. We have had some pretty big snow storms in March in the area."   

In fact the largest storm in Green Bay history was in March of 1888, with 24 inches falling in a two day period.  

It's unknown if this will be the last large snowfall of the winter, but Jeff Last says we defiantly are hitting the homestretch of winter.  

"Once we get into April, the frequency of those big events really decline, and at that point we say we are about ready for spring.   

Total snow accumulation this winter has been below normal, but precipitation total has been above normal this year.   This weeks snow total is expected to be between 4 to 7 inches, with travel conditions improving throughout the day.

OSHKOSH WI (WTAQ)- Brian Flatoff is defending himself in his Winnebago County trial.

Flatoff is facing 16 charges, including Felony Murder and Attempted Homicide in a 2015 hostage situation that resulted in police shooting hostage Michael Funk at a Neenah Motorcycle shop.

Flatoff told the jury that he did not remember the events of the day, but says he plans to show audio and video recordings which will show what really happened.

"All the video evidence, multiple different ways, for hours after the assassination shows you bragging and bravado. It tells you officers did not see a gun. They did not process a weapon," Flatoff told the jury.

Flatoff also told the jury that he plans to testify in his trial.

In opening arguments Deputy District Attorney Scott Ceman told the jury that he will show that Flatoff had bad intentions when he arrived at Eagle Nation Cycles in Neenah.

"I will prove to you beyond reasonable doubt with the witness testimony from the people who were there, who survived this. But you'll also essentially be taken there and you will see and hear just about everything I told you went down that day," Cemen said.

Monday began with jury selection as ten men and four women were selected. 

The first witness, Eva Kranski took the stand, and testified that she used to be in a romantic relationship with Flatoff, and said the night before the standoff, Flatoff told her he was going to Eagle Nation Cycles to talk with a man. She said the next day, she noticed an empty gun case on the table.

"I quickly got dressed, got my keys, I was on my way out, I saw an open gun case on the table."

Flatoff's acquaintance, Gerald Ehlke testified that Flatoff threatened to kill Vance Dalton over the bike deal.  

Dalton took the stand and testified that he bailed Flatoff out of jail after an OWI arrest, and that he gave $3,000 dollars to Flatoff in exchange for his bike.  

He also testified that Flatoff threatened him.  

"He said 'if I don't get my bike back, I'll kill you, I'll kill your wife and kids to get through you'," Dalton told jurors.  

Flatoff will be able to cross examine Dalton to begin the day Tuesday.

ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ) - Classes are canceled Tuesday in many Northeast Wisconsin school districts.

In Ashwaubenon, that call was made around 8:15 pm Monday.

"We have to consider snow removal.  We have to have parking lots and entrances clear, as well as the bus routes.  The wind is a factor.  The ice is a factor."

Superintendent Brian Hanes says he works with his colleagues in other Green Bay-area districts to create a game plan when inclement weather is in the forecast.

"We consult with the bus company and the area superintendents.  We look closely at the National Weather Service forecast."

Hanes explains why the call was made roughly 12 hours ahead of time, not knowing if the actual snowfall would live up to the prognostications.

"We want to inform parents as quickly as we can.  It makes life a lot easier for them with childcare and work arrangements."

He notes this is the district's second snow day of the year. If there are any more, Hanes says they'll need to start making up time.

"(It'll likely be) slightly lengthening the school days, versus having an entire makeup day."

Click here for a list of cancellations.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ)- The NFL has released the Draft order for the NFL Draft in April. 

The Packers will pick 12 times baring any trades.

• First round: 14th overall
• Second round: 45th
• Third round: 76th
• Fourth round: 114th
• Fourth round: 133rd (compensatory)
• Fifth round: 150th
• Fifth round: 172nd (compensatory)
• Fifth round: 174th (compensatory)
• Sixth round: 186th
• Sixth round: 207th (compensatory)
• Seventh round: 232nd
• Seventh round: 239th (from the Buffalo Bills for Lerentee McCray)

FOND DU LAC, WI (WTAQ) - Fallout from a Sunday Snapchat that threatened a Monday shooting at Fond du Lac High School.

Assistant Police Chief Steve Klein says all signs pointed to a 16-year-old Arkansas boy, who previously lived in Fond du Lac. 

"We talked with other people in interviews and then there was the social media footprint that this individual had left.  All indications are that there is nothing that indicates he was looking to follow through on this, other than putting this out there as more of a prank."

Klein notes "we had at least two students who received this Snapchat and brought it to the attention of their parents.  I applaud those students for stepping forward and doing exactly what we want them to do."

He issues a warning for anyone who might consider making a similar threat.   

"Snapchat is something where you send a picture or a text and it's going to disappear.  Well, that's not always the case.  We have ways to retrieve that information."

Charges are expected.

Klein notes the increased police presence at Fond du Lac High School is expected to cease on Wednesday.

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - An open house has been scheduled to discuss a proposed mixed-use development project in downtown Appleton.

The plan, submitted by Commercial Horizons, calls for the city spending roughly $56-million dollars on an effort that would create a new library, retail space, either apartments or condominiums, and a new parking ramp to replace the Soldier's Square ramp.

The gathering is set for March 15 from 6-8 pm in the current Appleton Public Library's lower-level meeting rooms.

Commercial Horizons reps and Mayor Tim Hanna are expected to give a presentation at 6:30 pm, followed by a Q & A session.  

SHIOCTON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) - A horse therapy clinic has officially been acquired by Rawhide Inc.

CHAPS Academy in Shiocton cited financial reasons when shutting down after 14 years in January.

Outpatient counseling services are expected to continue at CHAPS, with a primary focus on serving girls and their families.

Becky Heldt is Rawhide's Clinic Administrator.

"Rawhide is actively seeking input from area mental health providers to tailor services at the CHAPS facility to serve the vital needs of the community. Because Rawhide has a long history of using horses in treatment programs with at-risk youth, there will be a lot of parallels in the services Rawhide intends to operate at the CHAPS facility."

Rawhide plans to reopen CHAPS' doors on May 1.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) - The snowfall Monday and Tuesday kept public works crews throughout Northeast Wisconsin busy.

Green Bay Operations Director Chris Pirlot says their crews were aided by the fact that school was called off in the city on Tuesday.

"We didn't have to worry about competing with buses and making sure it was cleaned up in front of schools real early before school started.  We were able to keep plotting through the city, and everything actually went well."  

The mild temperatures helped in efforts to treat the roads, with salt and brine working more effectively.

OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) - Governor Scott Walker stops at an Oshkosh packaging facility Tuesday to voice opposition to President Trump's proposed tariffs on foreign aluminum and steel.

"My ultimate concern is that would encourage companies based in Wisconsin, and across America, to say maybe they have to look at going somewhere else, to a country that doesn't have tariffs on aluminum, and in other cases steel."

Walker notes Bemis relies on ultra thin aluminum foil, some of which is imported. 

"There is only one company in all of America that can supply that.  They don't supply enough just to cover Bemis, let alone any of the other companies that do similar work in the state of Wisconsin."

The Republican governor says he applauds the president's efforts to preserve U.S. industries but is afraid the tariffs would ultimately have the opposite effect. 

"It will actually cost us American jobs.  It will cost us jobs in the state of Wisconsin."

Walker says he's concerned that a trade war could hurt Wisconsin businesses like Harley Davidson.

"We ask the President of the United States to reconsider that policy, to hear our concerns in places like Wisconsin, and to stand up for American workers."

President Trump is not backing down from his plan, saying the European Union has benefited from an unfair trade situation with the United States.  He is downplaying worries about a trade war.