DOOR COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) - The United Way of Door County is just four days away from wrapping up its yearly campaign and is still in need of donations.

After a record-breaking fundraising campaign last year, the United Way of Door County is struggling to meet their 2018 goal.

Organization director Amy Kohnle tells FOX 11 is getting down to the end.

"We officially kicked off our 2018 campaign in August and now it ends on January 7, so Monday. We need to raise $600,000 to reach our funding obligations."

Around 30 different businesses and organizations in the area benefit from the donations.

One of them is the Barker Child Development Center.

It provides childcare to hundreds of kids in the area.

But without an additional $130,00 in donations, Candis Dart, one of the program's coordinators, tells FOX 11 many families could be left without.

"A lot of the families in Door County access services through multiple different organizations and a lot of them receive money from United Way of Door County. So if there is an impact or cut on some of the programs that could mean a lot of changes for the services families are using." .

Because of the success, this fundraiser has had in the past, the United Way is hopeful they'll reach their goal.

"If we don't reach the goal we will be sad but happy and grateful for the donations we received and knowing we did the best we could with the funds we had. But we know if we have fewer dollars to grant out, programs will struggle to provide the services they need to deliver," said Kohnle.

The United Way of Brown County is also in the middle of their campaign, it hopes to raise $4 million by January 31.

SUAMICO, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) - Christmas has come and gone and if you're looking for an environmentally-friendly way to get rid of your tree, the NEW Zoo in Suamico has a solution.

Rather than placing your tree curbside or burning it, the zoo says the animals will put them to good use.

To donate your used Christmas tree to the zoo, send them a Facebook message or email them at volunteer@newzoo.org. Zoo officials will then send you specific instructions.

The trees must be free of decorations and tinsel.

The zoo is also requiring donations to be purchased locally after invasive species were found on evergreen products sold at large retail stores such as Menards, Pick n Save, Home Depot, Kmart and Stein.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Green Bay Metro Fire is saying that a firefighter killed in a New Year's Eve tragedy was going above and beyond their duties to serve the public.

Lake Mills Fire Captain Christopher Truman was in Monona helping a motorist that had skidded off the road on New Year's Eve when a drunk driver struck and killed him.

Green Bay Metro Fire Chief David Litton says this type of unprompted service doesn't surprise him.

"This tragedy is just a perfect example, I think of the spirit of people in our profession," says Chief Litton. "Whether they are career people or volunteer people."

From Chief Litton's perspective, the instinct to help, whether on-duty or not, is engrained into a firefighter.

"I think that that's just inherent in our nature," he explains.

A lot of the characteristics that fellow firefighters have associated with Captain Truman are the same ideals that firefighters all over the state and country believe in.

"The willingness to help the public," explains Chief Litton. "The willingness to step in and help out without any notice."

A Facebook message from the family of the driver who Truman had stopped to help was shared by the fire department.

"I know that all of you are grieving. I don’t know if this will help but your captain saved my daughter’s life last night. My daughter had lost control of the car and skidded. She got out of her car and was afraid and overwhelmed. He saw her and pulled behind her with his lights on. He came out of his car and told her to get back into her car. He pulled the bumper that was hanging off and then went to her window and told her he would follow her off the Beltline to safety. It was at this point that the driver hit him. My heart is in so much pain for all of you. He is my hero. Please let his wife/family know he is forever our angel. I’m just so very sorry."

Chief Litton explains that even though the incident took place in Monona and Captain Truman was part of the Lake Mills Fire Department, the tragedy is still felt strongly in the Green Bay area, as well as all over the state.

"There are no boundary lines when it comes to something like this," he says. "It's a tragedy [and] it's felt by all of us."

Going forward, Chief Litton says the visitation for Captain Truman is being scheduled for this weekend.

"Certainly we'll have probably several individuals out there representing Green Bay," he says.

He adds that they typically have members of their honor guard, which is a volunteer group from within their ranks, attend occasions such as this.

MENASHA, WI (WTAQ) - One Fox Valley high school is leading the way when it comes to providing the best in student-athlete safety.

Menasha High School was recently named a first-team Safe Sports School by the National Athletic Trainers' Association.

"We're the only school in the Fox Valley that has this recognition of a Safe Sports School, so I think that is really neat and something to be proud of," says Anna Linstedt, a licensed athletic trainer with ThedaCare at Menasha High School.

Linstedt has been at Menasha High School for eleven years and truly was the driving force behind this effort.

She recounts what she told the administration in summer about the very real opportunity to achieve this standard.

"We have the majority of this already in place over the eleven years that I've been at that school," she said. "Then, it was looking at all of the boxes that need to get checked."

Those boxes are wide-ranging and come from nine areas of focus that pertain to the first-team standard.

In order to achieve that standard, a school needs to take significant steps towards keeping athletes safe.

Some of the areas of focus include proper maintenance of athletic equipment, injury prevention strategy, emergency action protocol, and nutritional education.

After an extensive process to ensure the school provided excellent service in all the necessary fields, Linstedt was rewarded by earning the designation.

"To have it on paper is a huge accomplishment," she says.

Eleven years with the school has allowed Linstedt to develop a rapport with both the student-athletes and their families.

"It's the relationships over the last eleven years that they trust my judgment, they trust my training," she says. 

And with those relationships comes a passion to provide expert service from beginning to end.

"You never want to see a kid get hurt," explains Linstedt. "But if they do, I want to be there and get them through recovery."

And this designation should work to provide Linstedt, school officials, athletes, and parents all peace of mind.

"We can say, 'Yup, we've checked all of the boxes, we're doing everything in our power to keep these athletes safe,'" she explains.

The school can boast to be the first in the Fox Valley to gain this recognition, but also to be added to a very short list across the state.

"Out of the 400-ish high schools in the state of Wisconsin that offer athletics, we are one of twenty schools that are recognized as either first-team or a second-team," explains Linstedt.

FOND DU LAC, WI (WTAQ) - Fire crews responded to a blaze at a Fond du Lac business on Thursday morning.

Crews arrived at Mercury Marine's plant 17 around 10 a.m. after heat sparked a fire in the dust collector.

The fire was extinguished, no injuries were reported and all employees safely evacuated the building.

OCONTO, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) - An Abrams man was sentenced on Thursday for exchanging sexually-explicit messages with a 16-year-old girl and attempting to arrange a meeting for sex.

25-year-old Andrew Dellemann was sentenced to 18 months in prison after being convicted of two counts of exposing a child to harmful material.

He must register as a sex offender for a decade, according to the clerk of courts.

The girl’s parents notified police about the text messages on May 31.

Police was given the phone, and officers continued the messaging as if they were the girl.

A meeting was arranged, Dellemann showed up, and was arrested, according to the complaint.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - A papermaker will pay at least $20.5 million to settle a lawsuit for PCB contamination of the Fox River. P.H.

Glatfelter would pay all future EPA and state costs for the remaining work, while $20 million is going to cover costs previously incurred by the EPA, with the rest applied toward natural resource damages.

A public comment period is required before the consent decree can be finalized and approved by the court.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Green Bay Mayoral Candidate Guy Zima was the 8th candidate to enter the race but says what he would provide the city is one of a kind.

After years of speaking out against Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt, Guy Zima has started the process to be the one to replace him.

He explains what went into his decision.

"After 30 years with my experience, my knowledge and most important, my courage to stand up for the average taxpayer, maybe I will take a chance and run again."

Before losing both his city council seat and county board seat in 2018, Zima made headlines for challenging Mayor Schmitt and says it came down to standing up for what he felt was right, not to be considered a problem starter.

"Somebody has to be combative when it needs to be combative. Somebody has to ask the hard questions. Somebody has to look out for the people who in the end are paying the bills, and I think we need a real change of culture here in Green Bay."

This is not Zima's first attempt at running for Mayor, as he ran several times in the past.

On WTAQ's John Muir Show Thursday, Zima said he would offer the city of Green Bay as Mayor is transparency.

"I want them to know that when I talk they are going to get straight talk, not a bunch of malarky or bologna or whatever you call it."

Zima currently is in the midst of a defamation lawsuit he filed against the city of Green Bay, current Mayor Jim Schmitt, and others.

FOND DU LAC, WI (WTAQ) - A Fond du Lac man was sentenced on Thursday for crashing into and killing a man crossing the street.

Peter Anderson was sentenced to a year of conditional jail after being convicted of knowingly operating a motor vehicle without a valid license.

Eight months of Anderson's sentence is to be used at the discretion of his probation agent and he was ordered to three years of probation.

Police responded to East 2nd Street and South Park Avenue on November 18, 2017, for a vehicle verse pedestrian crash, according to the criminal complaint.

A man in a car behind Anderson’s said he saw Jeffrey Koenigs in the crosswalk, but Anderson crashed into Koenigs, which sent him into the air and over the vehicle.

At the time of the incident, his BAC was was .05, causing OWI-related counts to be dismissed.

TOWN OF GARDNER, WI (WTAQ) - Northeast Wisconsin has seen a variety of wind, snow, and rain so far this winter, but one component noticeably missing is the ice on bodies of water that typically form this time of year.

Throughout the waters of Green Bay and on popular fishing spots, such as Little Sturgeon Bay, plenty of open water can be seen.

"A lot of those inner harbors up in Door County have a good skim of ice on them," says JJ Malvitz of JJ's Guide Service. "Anywhere from four to eight inches of ice."

While in other spots, not so much.

"But the big bay of Green Bay, which is that large expansive moving body of water, there's still a lot of open water out there," explains Malvitz.

A major reason why a lot of water has yet to freeze is simply due to the mild temperatures experienced throughout most parts of this winter.

"It takes a lot of cold Arctic air," he explains. "Those teens, they help grow the ice thickness-wise, but that doesn't really expand the ice pack across Green Bay."

What's needed first is a good, deep-freeze.

"You need those single digits, and below zero temperatures to really set it," he says.

With a warm front on the horizon this isn't exactly the news that ice fishermen, already experiencing a frustrating winter, want to hear.

But when temperatures do drop and the ice looks more stable, officials want to continue to warn fishermen about potential dangers, specifically on the bay of Green Bay.

That's because the waters of Green Bay tend to freeze unevenly in chunks.

"What happens is where these large sheets of ice become dislodged from shore -- if you're on them, unfortunately, you kind of become marooned out on the water," says Malvitz.

While at Riley's Point, conditions have been unpredictable -- at best.

Ron Hedsand says earlier this week there was no ice in front of the Sunset Grill.

"Two weeks ago, I got here on Friday to work, and they were actually fishing out here," Hedsand explains.

Examples such as this back up warnings from authorities that no piece of ice is ever one-hundred percent safe.

It's a good idea for any fisherman to do their homework and talk with a local fishing club before venturing on to any ice.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - If you have discovered problems with your Christmas purchases, hopefully, you used your credit card when shopping.

The Better Business Bureau says credit card companies can defend you if the item you purchased arrived broken or did not arrive at all.

The first thing to do is to reach out to the company that the item was purchased from and try to return the item that was broken or reach out to customer service to see what happened to your shipment.

Susan Bach, Regional Director of the Better Business Bureau of Northeast Wisconsin says if that does not work and if a credit card was used to purchase, you can file a dispute with your credit card company.

"It is kind of insurance for your purchases."

But you have to act quickly.

"It has to be within 60 days of the time when that billing statement arrived at your house."

It also has to be in writing and an explanation of the problem has to be given.

"You can't call them over the phone to dispute the charge and when you do submit your complaint in writing, make sure you include your account number and the closing date of your bill in which the disputed charge appears."

Bach says if that happens, your credit card company is on your side.

"They will sort of advocate for your claim. If you have asked for provisional credit, you will not be expected to pay for that."

It is also important to send your complaint to billing, not the payment address and send it by certified mail.

It is also important to keep copies of everything that you send and ask for the provisional credit on your account to give you credit on your credit card statement for that item so that you are not obligated to pay for that item while the dispute is being resolved.

OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) - The Winnebago County Public Health Department is asking residents to test their homes for radon.

It's odorless, invisible, and one of the leading causes of lung cancer in the U.S.

Stewart Sprotte, an Oshkosh resident, tells FOX 11 he has had a radon detector in his home for 4 years.

"We decided on our own, at the time we didn’t really know what it was about and it just seemed like the right idea to do."

Health experts say he made the right decision. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer.

"It’s a naturally occurring gas. It's from the natural decay of uranium in the soil," said Morgan Peterson with the Winnebago Co. Health Department.

"It occurs pretty much everywhere within the United States and it's something kind of unavoidable in most cases."

Health experts say some high levels of radon were tested in Oshkosh, Utica, Clayton, and Fox Crossing but, Peterson tells FOX 11 the danger can vary from home to home.

"You can have a neighbor with high levels, but your home can have very low levels that you don’t need to worry about."

Health officials say radon gas enters the house the same way air enters the home, including through cracks in the foundation floor and walls.

Peterson emphasized the only way to detect high levels of radon is through tests.

"In the summer, we usually don’t recommend testing for radon because you have your window open and you're in and out of the house all the time. Whereas in the winter, your homes are more closed up and with the heat, the levels are higher than where there isn't as much of a draft."

For Radar Awareness Month, the Winnebago County Health Department is selling kits for $5 in January instead of the original $10.

Neighbors say it never hurts to be too careful.

"You don’t know if you’re going to be affected by it or not until you find out and then its too late," said Sprotte.

If your home has high levels of radon, health experts say a certified mitigation specialist can install a system to suck the gas out.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, it exists everywhere and can get into any type of building.

Almost 1 out of every 15 homes in the U.S. is estimated to have elevated levels, which can produce health risks.

Just like carbon monoxide, radon is colorless, odorless, and tasteless.

In the U.S., the EPA says roughly 21,000 lung cancer deaths each year are because of radon.

Of those, around 3,000 are people who've never smoked tobacco products.

Early signs of possible lung cancer can include a persistent cough, pain in the chest, and hoarseness.

MADISON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) - After a six-month stint in the State Senate, it appears Sturgeon Bay's Caleb Frostman will be keeping a job in Madison as the Department of Workforce Development Secretary.

“I really look forward to the challenge of harnessing the power of DWD to increase the capacity of all Wisconsinites to enter the workforce, to stay in the workforce, and just as important to advance within it.”

Frostman won a special election for the District 1 Senate seat in June but lost a chance at a full term to Republican Andre Jacque in November.

Governor-Elect Tony Evers says making sure Frostman and the rest of his Cabinet are ready to go is one of his biggest day-one priorities.

“We have to make sure these leaders and make sure state agencies collaborate with our legislators on the best practices supporting the success of Wisconsin kids and families.”

Evers has appointed 15 people to his Cabinet. He still needs to name a leader for the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Agency.

“So many of them I know nothing about, but the ones I do know something about, I'm reasonably pleased,” said State Sen. Rob Cowles (R-Green Bay) about Evers’ Cabinet picks.

Each Cabinet appointee will go through a public hearing process, then will need confirmation from the State Senate.

Cowles tells FOX 11 the process often takes a couple months.

“Somebody like me who is going to get a chance to vote on these individuals, I will be looking for competence.”

Frostman is the only Cabinet appointee from Northeast Wisconsin.

Among the other appointees announced on Thursday, Democratic State Representative Peter Barca was picked to lead the Department of Revenue.

Andrea Palm, who was part of the Obama administration, was picked to be the secretary of Health Services.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) - With the government shutdown now in day 14, there is a growing concern about what federal services and programs will be affected.

As many of you prepare for tax season with the hopes of getting a refund, there are some factors you should keep in mind.

If the government shutdown doesn't end in the next couple of weeks, it could take the IRS longer to process your tax returns.

"The only thing that will really be affected are people's refunds which are crucial. This is the time where people want to get their W-2's right away and file to get their refunds so that's the biggest concern with the shutdown," said Walter Klima, the owner of Absolute Tax and Accounting and De Pere.

With only 12% of IRS employees still working there's no telling just how long services could be delayed.

Klima tells FOX 11 it could have a huge impact on families and business who rely on that extra money.

"It's either to pay on bills or to use on investments and put it away. Business put it aside and invest it back in their business, put it in retirement funds for their employees."

While some departments are being affected, others say they're not.

Erik Pritzl, the Executive Director of Human Services in Brown County, tells FOX 11 they're going about business as usual.

"Right now nothing is affected. We have a relationship with the state where they will give us guidance should this continue and there are problems. They would decide what benefit changes they would want to make as a result of the shutdown."

Pritzl says if the state were to make changes to services and programs, they would most likely be minimal.

"Food share would be a concern, some housing programs with urban housing and development, but those programs actually fall under a different department than us," he said.

A projection from Morgan Stanley, a financial services company, says the average 2019 refund is expected to be 26% higher than 2018’s.

Even if the shutdown continues, taxes must be filed by April 15.

BELLEVUE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) - No one was injured in an overnight fire in Bellevue. The call came in around 5 a.m. this morning (Friday).

Battalion Chief Dan Wachholz, with the Bellevue Fire Department, tells FOX it started at Phin Sushi and Steak. No one was at the restaurant when the fire started.

"We have heavy fire damage from the building of origin."

He believes the fire was burning for some time before it was noticed.

Five fire departments battled the fire on Monroe Road.

Phin Sushi and Steak has heavy damage in the back of the building and other damage throughout.

The building next door has smoke damage. There is light smoke in the other businesses.

Wachholz believes most of the businesses will be able to open later today.

"We were very fortunate we had a good water source. This is a new area, a new building that was laid out well. We were able to make a good interior attack."

But he also says the health department will have to come in and check the magnitude of the smoke damage before any other impacted businesses can re-open.

It's not known what caused the fire.

An arson task force will investigate.

FOND DU LAC, WI (WTAQ) - A search warrant was executed by Fond du Lac Police at a home in the 300 block of East 2nd Street around 9:45 p.m. last night.

Cocaine was seized and a 36-year-old woman was arrested on charges of maintaining a drug trafficking place, possession with intent to deliver cocaine and other miscellaneous drug charges.

The SWAT team was involved, due to the background information obtained by investigators.

No one was hurt during the search and five individuals were found inside the residence.

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - According to the Appleton Police Department, seven residents from North Carolina that allegedly defrauded a number of banks and credit unions in the Fox Valley and across the country have been indicted.

In an alleged scheme to cash counterfeit checks, the group reportedly obtained more than $120,000 from various financial institutions in Northeast Wisconsin.

"It became quite a large case with several individuals and became something that pretty much all of Northeast Wisconsin in a lot of ways was affected by it," says Officer Meghan Cash, with the Appleton Police Department.

The defendants allegedly stole checks from the mailboxes of a number of Wisconsin businesses' and then would entice individuals from homeless shelters or rehabilitation centers to cash the counterfeit checks. In return, these individuals would receive a small amount of money.

It didn't take long for investigators to catch on.

"There was kind of a typical way that these individuals were going about doing these crimes," she explains.

Law enforcement says this is a reminder to always be mindful and proactive when dealing with sensitive financial documents.

"It's always important for people to just be mindful if you're sending a check [or] if you're receiving a check, that you're keeping track of that those things are actually getting to where they need to go," says Officer Cash.

While Appleton Police adds that the various financial institutions affected were proactive to help the case along and in the time since they have done well to answer any questions from the public.

"All of our banks, credit unions, have been awesome about working with us and helping educate their members," she says.

The defendants are still presumed innocent, as an indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.

MANITOWOC, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) - Manitowoc County District Attorney Jacalyn LaBre says police officer Fielder Clark was justified in fatally shooting Bruce Smith last September.

In her report, she said the victim had drugs in his bloodstream and the officer was given very little time to make a decision to use deadly force, after being unable to control Smith through less lethal methods, including verbal commands and a taser.

She says the fact that Smith came after the officer with a knife meant that he had to act.

Clark was responding to a fire alarm at an apartment complex in the 1500 block of S. 35th Street. According to LaBre's report, a firefighter reported a "suspicious-looking individual" in the area who was "sweating profusely," acting "strangely" and appeared to be in an "altered state." in the area.

Clark told investigators during the incident, Smith lunged at him with a lighter. 

Clark said he attempted the use of a taser twice, but it did not have any effect on Smith. 

According to the report, when Clark determined that Smith had a knife, he told him to drop the object, but is commands were not followed. Clark said he fired several times out of fear that his shots were not effective. 

The object was later determined to be a metal paint scraper.

Clark told investigators he not only feared for his own life but feared Smith might attack people evacuating the apartment complex, firefighters or other police officers.

LaBre wrote in her report:

Officer Clark was given very little time to make the decision to use deadly force. He made previous, unsuccessful attempts to gain control of Bruce Smith through less than lethal methods. Officer Clark had used verbal commands and a Taser twice with no effect. Despite Officer Clark's efforts he was faced with an individual who was coming at him armed with a bladed object that appeared to be a knife. Officer Clark's split second decision to use deadly force under those circumstances appears consistent with his training and experience. Therefore, I conclude that Officer Clark's conduct was lawful. The state Department of Justice posted several investigative files on its website:

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - Outagamie County circuit court judges will no longer participate in the Appleton Area School District’s truancy court program, which has been suspended for the remainder of the academic year by the school board.

Questions have been raised by parents regarding how the program was operated and particular scrutiny has been directed towards Judge Mark McGinnis. 

The administrative chief for the region’s judges, Marinette County Judge James Morrison, ended the judges' role in the program by writing a letter to the district.

The letter reads, in part:

"The Outagamie County judges have been statewide leaders in developing evidence-based and innovative court programs to address serious community problems, with drug and mental health courts being leading examples of such efforts. Appleton's Truancy Court is another such example of an innovative, collaborative, multidisciplinary program with a heavy reliance on voluntary judicial involvement that has been effective at addressing the known problem. Judge Mark McGinnis who, with community partners founded and developed the truancy court, has been the primary reason for its success. We are grateful for his work and dedication to the schools, students and families who have been served by the truancy court over the years."

It continues:

"While the court system is justly proud of the innovative work and results that have been achieved by the Truancy Court, it is clear to me that the responsibility for effective truancy response in the district belongs squarely back in the hands of the School District. Therefore, the Courts’ participation in the Truancy Court program is discontinued."

The Appleton Area School District did not have a comment on Morrison’s letter on Friday.

At a January 10 meeting, the district staff is expected to brief a school board committee about the next steps in the district’s plan.

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - After nearly a century in business an Appleton store is closing up shop.

Ninety years is a long time for anyone or anything to be around, meaning that Gabriel Furniture in Appleton certainly left its mark over time on the community.

The store has been around since 1928 in a building at 201 E. College Avenue that has stood since the late 1800s.

Owner Ruby Wells says some parts of the building have been renovated, while a lot remains the same.

"The old stairways, old woodwork, they were proud of the hardwood floors that were put in here," says Ruby.

Some of the components to the building that have changed are on its exterior.

"In the 60's they covered it up in metal because bricks and things needed some attention," she explains.

For co-owners Joe and Ruby Wells, who bought the store thirty years ago, setting up shop anywhere else would be unimaginable.

"It's the only place we ever wanted to be," says Ruby. "It never interested us to go and be out of town some place and a flat level store because this has so much character and charm.

Residents agree that the building is important to the community and they don't want to see changes take place.

James Richter is the secretary for the Appleton Historical Society. He says the building originally housed Odd Fellows Hall for many years.

Add him to the list of people voicing support to keep the building intact.

"That's our goal to preserve Appleton history for the young people as well as us older people," he says.

With Gabriel Furniture moving out the future does become a bit murky for the structure and Ruby Wells says that a developer is interested in the building. She did not reveal who the developer was or what plans would be for the building.

No matter what happens, the Wells will look back fondly on their time spent at 201 E. College Avenue.

"For sure we'll miss the customer and we'll miss the people we worked with," explains Ruby. 

And the couple's future is looking plenty bright.

"We’re going to take some time to spend with our daughter, son-in-law, grandson and just enjoy life," she says.