GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - NBC 26 returns to Time Warner Cable customers' televisions tonight starting at 7 p.m.

Journal Broadcasting, the parent company of WGBA, reached a deal with the cable provider for its 15 stations nationwide, including WTMJ in Milwaukee. 

Journal TV stations were pulled by Time Warner back on July 25^th after an agreement could not be reached over its retransmission fees. 

NBC 26 is moving channel positions for analog customers, going from channel 7 to 13. The digital position will be channel 1007.

"This is the result we were working so hard to achieve. It was essential for us to receive fair market value for our products and services so that we can continue to invest in the high-quality local and network programming our viewers deserve,” Andre Fernandez, President and CFO of Journal Communications, said in a statement.

“We’re very happy that all our viewers and customers can again receive our award-winning local newscasts, network programming and community service initiatives,” Fernandez added. “We’re pleased that Time Warner subscribers will again be able to see NFL Sunday Night Football, ‘The Voice,’ and the rest of the NBC/CBS new fall seasons. The agreement also guarantees they will have access to special programming, such as the 2015 Super Bowl and the next two Olympic games.”

The Journal contract dispute seemed to be on the back burner for Time Warner because they also pulled CBS and Showtime in numerous major markets during the same time.

Once a deal was reached with CBS, Time Warner held their first face to face meeting with Journal reps. 

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - The Neville Public Museum will be starting a search for a new leader. 

Museum Director Rolf Johnson is moving and taking a CEO position with the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc.   

Johnson says “this was not an easy decision.” 

He has been at the Neville’s helm since April of 2011. 

Johnson is leaving November 5^th. 

The museum just had one of its best summer exhibits in six years, and its 100^th anniversary celebration is coming in 2015. 

The museum is just beginning to design a new master plan and vision for its future. 

KIMBERLY, WI (WTAQ) - A Kimberly man is attempting to break a Guinness World Record for the most Lincoln Logs used to building a free standing structure. 

The current record involves a group in Lincoln, Nebraska with more than 10,000 peices of the kids wooden toy. 

Dave Stumpf has been already put in more than 30 hours this past week, and hopes to have around 14,000 logs. 

"If you don't have no imagination, you know, you might as well forget it.  And then you've gotta be a kid at heart,” Stumpf tells Fox 11. 

Stumpf is building a castle and has spent around  $4,000 on Lincoln Logs. 

Stumpf has been toying with the idea of going for a Linolcon Log record for some time. 

"I said, 'Judy, I'm breaking that record!'  I have no idea why, it's just an urge," he explained.

Stumpf says he expects to hear back from the Guinness World Records committee in the next few days.

SISTER BAY, WI (WTAQ) - An orchard near Sister Bay is offering a $1,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of tree vandals.

The Door County Sheriff’s office says someone cut the tops off 639 cherry trees at the Seaquist Orchard.

The damage at the family-owned business is estimated at about $20,000.

Owner Jim Seaquist says the trees were planted in April and would have been ready for harvest in five years.

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - A small group of protesters gave folks shopping at the Appleton Farm Market a major topic of discussion Saturday.

What do you feel safer with in public: Chickens or guns?

“This is Winchester,” Mark Scheffler told FOX 11. “She is a laying hen, and she is illegal.”

Scheffler says he doesn't understand why toting this Winchester is illegal, but carrying a rifle in a crowded farmer's market is perfectly within the law.

“You cannot have livestock inside the city limits of Appleton. The fine for keeping livestock is $263.50. The fine for carrying a loaded assault weapon through downtown Appleton is zero,” said Scheffler.

Scheffler says in reality both pose a public risk.

This protest comes in the wake of what happened to Charles Branstrom two weeks ago.

Branstrom says he and his friends were detained by police for carrying weapons, after someone called 911.

“In the past, any time anyone's called when I’ve carried a pistol, they usually come up and talk to us, find out our intentions, and go on our way,” Branstrom told FOX 11. 

This week, Branstrom was back out with his 9-millimeter handgun strapped on.

His friend carried two weapons, including a rifle. 

Appleton Police patrolling the market say they spoke with the men briefly.

“Any time weapons are introduced to a scene, it heightens everyone's awareness of it. So part of our job is to observe the behaviors associated with that and make a determination if we need to intervene or not,” said Deputy Chief Todd Olm.

 Meanwhile, police asked was asked Scheffler to remove his chicken.

Police say neither the men with the guns nor the man with the chicken were cited. But it did incite controversy.

 “I think it's kind of silly because what we did and what we do with open carry is perfectly legal. I don't know the actual law for the chickens but I could see that as a health hazard,” said Branstrom. 

“I am a hunter. I am a gun owner, and I think the weapons should have limitations,” said Scheffler.

Police say despite ruffled feathers, the law is the law.

The group organizing the protest calls itself Cluck or Duck, and says it plans on petitioning state legislators to limit open carry laws to rural areas.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - The Green Bay Packers have next week off, which means they get to stew for two weeks over a frustrating 34-30 loss Sunday to the Cincinnati Bengals. 

After being down early the Packers built a 30-14 lead, then gave up the next 20 points. 

The loss leaves the Packers with a 1-2 record.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - A man charged with fatally stabbing his girlfriend in Green Bay has changed his plea.

In court Friday, Michael Whitmire pled guilty to killing Ouida Wright at a Day Street home in May.

Authorities say Whitmire told them he and Wright were arguing and he grabbed a knife and stabbed her.

He will be sentenced in November.

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - Outagamie County Sheriff's say one person is hurt after a car slams into a house in Appleton.

Authorities say it happened around 11:30 p.m. Sunday on North Appleton Street.

Sheriff's say the building sustained structural damage, and We Energies was called in.

Rescue crews took one person to the hospital, but it's unclear the extent of their injuries.

Appleton Police say no one inside the house was injured.

BELLEVUE, WI (WTAQ) - Law enforcement agencies in Northeast and Central Wisconsin have arrested 15 people in six counties during an Internet Crimes Against Children Operation.

According to FOX 11, Door, Brown, Outagamie and Marathon counties took part in the sting aimed at cracking down on potential child sex predators. 

Authorities say Operation Black Veil II began around 9:00 a.m. Wednesday in a back room at the Door County Sheriff's Department. 

"A lot of people looking for sexual pleasures, wide range of what people are looking for. Incredible," Sturgeon Bay Police Sergeant Greg Zager told FOX 11. 

Investigators from a number of local agencies went online to Craigslist, posing as either a 15-year-old boy or girl. 

It's the first sting they are doing that will include the weekend, a time when they believe perhaps more potential offenders will be online. 

The chatters not only post ads looking to attract predators, but also respond to ads posted by those who want to engage in explicit acts with children. 

"I responded to an ad from him and he thinks he's talking to a 15-year-old girl, and he wants her to do some sexual acts to him," said Stenzel. 

One officer responds to a post from a person looking for sex. He gets a reply back within 10 minutes. He continues to monitor posts and respond to them. 

"He didn't say no yet. He just says he doesn't want any trouble," Stenzel said about a response he received.   At 9 a.m., most people would be at work, but the investigators' email inboxes eventually begin to fill up with messages from people desiring to meet up with someone who they think is a child. 

"With technology, it really is making it easier for these predators to lure in these younger people and use them for whatever needs they want," said Door County Sheriff Terry Vogel. 

The chats in some cases lead to text and even phone conversations. 

"I'm not available until noon because that's when mom goes to work," said Stenzel as he typed the words into a cell phone. 

By day two of the operation more than 200 contacts are made. That means someone has shown interest in having sex with a child even if it happens or not. 

"I asked him what he's interested in and he said sex or whatever you want to do," said Zager. 

Investigators say 28-year-old Albert Ruleford of Howard agreed to meet some boys at a gas station on Velp Avenue in Howard. However, once officers get into position, those plans quickly change. They soon find, through communicating by cell phone with the suspect, he wants the boys to come to him. 

"The circumstance there is we knew the person was on foot, so our surveillance teams were watching, making sure it was somebody on foot, the direction he was coming from was up Memorial Drive, we try to get a clothing description if we possibly can from the person," Brown County Sheriff's Capt. Jeff Sanborn tells FOX 11. 

Investigators did get a clothing description, and the suspect's decision not to meet at the set-up location didn't deter officers who surrounded him and took him into custody just a couple blocks away from the station. Ruleford did not resist the arrest. We asked how officers knew they had the right person. 

"He started floating around that area, didn't go to our meet location, kept him on the phone, our surveillance team observed him on his phone texting, first thing we did when we made contact with him was had our person that's chatting with him call that phone. As soon as that phone rings, we know we have our person," explained Sanborn. 

On Friday, Ruleford appeared in court by teleconference on recommended charges of Child Enticement, Use of a Computer to Facilitate a Child Sex Crime, Indecent Exposure to a Minor and Drug Possession. He was not formally charged, but the prosecutor read what he claimed to be Ruleford's confession to police. In it, Ruleford told police he was walking to meet up with two 15-year-old boys he had been communicating with on the computer and by text throughout the day. 

"My intention was to engage in sexual activity with the two 15-year-old boys, if that was what they were still interested in doing," read Brown County Assistant District Attorney Tom Coaty. 

On Thursday, authorities arrested 34-year-old Victor Iakimenko of Green Bay. They took him into custody at a Bellevue gas station. Court documents show officers who were in contact with Iakimenko say he thought he was meeting a 15-year-old girl. The agreement was she would perform a sexual act on him for $25. 

Brown County prosecutors charged Iakimenko in court Friday with Use of a Computer to Facilitate a Sex Crime.

Law enforcement officials say the goal is to let the public know about the prevalence of Internet Crimes Against Children. 

Operation Black Veil II ran Wednesday through Saturday. These investigators decided to work the sting into a weekend to see if activity increases on days when people have more free time. 

"People are not working, children are out of school, so the potential for these individuals to get online to chat, they feel more comfortable because they know that maybe a 15-year-old girl will typically be in school on a weekday, but on a weekend they're free and they can move about and meet an individual like this," said Brown County Sheriff's Captain Dave Konrath. 

Friday, officers made several arrests, including one  just before 5 p.m. at a Green Bay area bowling alley. Authorities say a 26-year-old man was expecting to meet a 15-year-old boy for a sexual act. 

Law enforcement officers say the problem of Internet crimes against children isn't going away. And neither are they. 

"They'll going to continue to do this whether we're out there or not. But we want to make sure that our society here, or our community here in Green Bay, is safe and we're taking the measures to ensure the safety of both our community and our children," Konrath said. 

Brown County Sheriff's officials are holding a news conference Monday to talk about the investigation and reveal the charges against the suspects. 

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Green Bay police say a yellow forklift that was stolen from a church parking lot on the city’s west side Friday evening has been recovered.  

The propane fueled forklift was being used for a fundraising event. 

Witnesses say a black truck pushed the forklift onto a black trailer that was being pulled by a white pick-up truck. 

One of the suspect’s was described as white male, standing six feet tall, 180 pounds, the other was a white female, about 150 pounds with straight blonde that past her shoulders.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Two of the 16 men arrested over the weekend during Operation Black Veil, a child sex sting operation, were connected to the Green Bay Area Public School District. 

The district sent out emails and contacted parents via phone to make them aware of the Sheriff’s investigation without identifying the suspects. 

They include a bus driver for Lamers who has since been removed from routes for Keller Elementary and Lombardi Middle School. 

The second man was an actual district employee, a full time library media technician who worked at Keller and Wilder Elementary. 

38-year-old Jason Gehrke has worked for the district for over a year and was arrested for child enticement – sexual contact and using a computer to facilitate a sex crime. 

While the district did not identify Gehrke, they say he has been put on administrative leave while authorities are conducting the investigation and the legal process plays out.

“Safety of our students in the Green Bay Area Public School District is our highest priority,” says Superintendent Michele Langenfeld.

Langenfeld says the district will conduct a thorough internal investigation.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Green Bay police say they're closer to naming a suspect in the disappearance of UW-Green Bay student Amber Wilde fifteen years after she vanished.

Detective Lee Kingston says they've gathered new evidence.

"It's mostly DNA related," said Kingston at a press conference Monday. "A lot of it is existing evidence that's being re-examined because of technology."

Kingston says he and Detective David Graf have brought a fresh set of eyes to this cold case.

"Just re-examining everything, looking at the case, reading the case, looking at all the evidence," said Kingston. "Looking into her vehicle, what was taken from her vehicle."

Investigators say as the years go on, usually, people talk and that brings about new leads. However, police say up to this point, no one has talked. 

"The goal today was to get the word back out there, not let this case go by the wayside," said Kingston.

Amber moved from West Bend to Green Bay in 1998, when she was in a minor crash on September 23rd. She called her dad shortly after, and that was the last time Amber was heard from.

Amber was four-and-a-half months pregnant, and police believe that played a role in her disappearance.

Wilde's family says they're optimistic police will eventually solve the case. They say the easiest way to bring some closure is for someone who knows something to talk.

"Don't be afraid to open your mouth and say something. If you know something, this is ridiculous. We know lots of people know what happened and they're just afraid to come forward,” said Jane Wilde, Amber Wilde’s grandmother.

Police say they are asking anyone who knew Amber before or during that time to call police as any bit of information can help.

TIMELINE OF AMBER WILDE'S DISAPPEARANCE

The Green Bay Police Department has compiled a timeline of Amber Wilde's short time in Green Bay.

• Late summer 1998 - Amber moves to an East side Green Bay apartment
• September 1998 - Amber starts school at UWGB
• September 23, 1998 - Amber is notified she has been elected to the student council
• September 23, 1998 - Amber is involved in a minor traffic accident on her way to school
• September 23, 1998 - Amber speaks to her father on the phone about the accident
• September 23, 1998 - Amber talks on the phone to an identified person reference the accident. Police believe this is the last known phone contact she has with anyone. She has not been seen or heard from since.
• September 26, 1998 - Amber is officially reported as missing by her father.
• September, 1998 - Media coverage begins and description of Amber and her car are released to the media.
• September, 1998 - Witness states that she saw Amber's car in Wausau. She gives a very detailed description of the vehicle.
• October 1, 1998 - Amber's car is discovered at the Fifty Yard Line bar on Green Bay's West side. Police have evidence leading them to believe that Amber did not drive her car to that location. The car has roughly 700 unaccounted miles on it.

NEENAH, WI (WTAQ) - Its being called the single largest drug seizures in northeast Wisconsin. 

An estimated $100,000 worth of methamphetamine was found during a random traffic stop late Sunday night in Neenah. 

The vehicle was pulled over around 10:45 p.m. along Doctor’s Drive near Peckham and Commercial Streets. A patrol officer and his K-9 partner “Cedric” discovered the meth during a routine sweep of the suspect vehicle. 

The drugs were found in the trunk of the vehicle.  Police Chief Kevin Wilkinson says a stolen handgun and $2,000 in cash was also seized. 

One of the two suspects who were arrested, 29-year-old Angela Koerner was on federal probation for a prior drug arrest.  Thirty-one-year-old Kong Lee was also arrested. 

Search warrants were also issued for the suspect’s two homes, where authorities found more meth. 

The case has handed off to the Lake Winnebago Area MEG unit for further investigation. 

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Police in Green Bay say they've arrested a man in the murder of Dan Kuehl.

At a press conference Tuesday, Capt. Todd Thomas says Jeffrey Wickman is accused of strangling Kuehl at his apartment on Ashland Avenue in May.

Authorities say DNA evidence and stolen guns were used to link Wickman to Kuehl's death. 

Wickman was arrested on a parole violation a week after Kuehl's body was found. He's currently in the Dodge County Correctional Facility. His most recent conviction was for burglary. 

"Wickman was interviewed several times by detectives and he would only say that he had not seen Dan for five years,” said Thomas. 

According to investigators, a couple weeks before Kuehl was found dead in his home, Wickman left the halfway house where he was living, quit his job and started stealing to support his crack cocaine habit.

On May 7, police say Wickman missed a parole meeting. An arrest warrant was issued on May 8. Kuehl was found dead on May 10. 

But how did police tie Wickman to Kuehl? 

In fact, Kuehl knew Wickman. Back in 2004, police say Kuehl let a "down on his luck" Wickman stay in an apartment at Kuehl's Ashland Avenue home. In exchange, Wickman would do maintenance work around the property.

According to a criminal complaint filed in 2006, not long after Wickman moved in, Kuehl reported a burglary. A gun and some checks of Kuehl’s were missing and Kuehl suspected the items were taken by Wickman. 

“He ultimately was not convicted of that crime," said Brown County District Attorney David Lasee. "He was sentenced back to prison on other cases at that time.” 

“His name came up in the old cases," said Thomas, referring to the investigation of Kuehl's homicide. "And we started looking closer at where (Wickman) was and what he was doing around the time of the homicide." 

Lasee says it appears Wickman took advantage of Kuehl's compassion, for a second time. 

"He's merely indicated that he hadn't had any contact with Mr. Kuehl for the last 5 years. And that's inconsistent with the DNA evidence that was found in Mr. Kuehl's residence,” Lasee said. 

Police say they had to wait for DNA results before they could file murder charges. Lasee says he expects Wickman to appear in court on these most recent charges in the next couple of weeks.

OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ)-Oshkosh Corporation says the company and the bargaining committee for UAW Local 578 have reached a contract agreement.  The vote is scheduled for Sunday at noon.  The current contract between the company and the union expires in 2016, but the company is seeking an extension through 2021.  Oshkosh Corporation is in the running for a roughly $13 billion contract with the Army and Marine Corps to build the replacement vehicle for the Humvee.  A contract extension would give the company a predictable cost structure.

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - A 32-year-old De Pere man who filed a complaint against Outagamie County Sheriff’s deputies claiming they used excessive force was used during his drunken driving arrest in July now has a bench warrant out for his arrest. 

Josh Peterson failed to show up for court on September 10th, so a judge issued a warrant for his arrest. 

He is facing charges of OWI, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. 

Peterson refused to get out of his vehicle for about 15 minutes before he was pulled out by authorities.  He was injured during the scuffle.  An investigation ruled the deputies acted with objectively reasonable force in accordance with the Wisconsin Department of Justice and the sheriff’s policies. 

OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) - Two Wisconsin companies have won almost $50 million worth of federal military contract extensions. 

The Oshkosh Corporation is getting just over $23 million to extend a current Army contract to build equipment designed to protect trucks from rocket-propelled grenade attacks. 

Also, the Pentagon is giving Dental Health Products of New Franken just over $23.5 million to modify a contract to make a host of medical and surgical products.

The items will be produced in New Franken, which is east of Green Bay, with a new completion date of next September. The medical items will be supplied to the Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force.

DE PERE, WI (WTAQ) - A 64-year-old De Pere man was able to fight off an unknown number of masked men who entered home his late Monday night while he was watching David Letterman. 

De Pere Police Captain Dale Hagen says areas of the home in the 1100 block of Driftwood Drive was ransacked during the relatively short time they the suspects were inside. 

Hagen says the home was unlocked and it was targeted.  “Who ever had entered the home had an idea of what they were looking for and where to search for it” Hagen said. 

The homeowner suffered non-life threatening injuries.

The Brown County K-9 unit was brought it to attempt to track the suspects. 

Hagen says they have developed some “solid” leads. 

This is the second De Pere home invasion case in recent months. 

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - A string of arsons in parks has Appleton police investigating.

Police say the fires set in pavilion bathrooms and other park property have been ongoing for several months. But in the past week, cops say they have become more frequent and more severe.

Two east side parks were damaged on Monday. At Hoover Park, 600 E. Roeland Avenue, someone tried to start picnic tables on fire, damaging the tables. Meantime at Colony Oaks Park, 801 N. Briarcliff Drive, a garbage can was set ablaze, destroying it and damaging the support structure on the park's pavilion.

Anyone who has information about the arsons or sees anything suspicious in Appleton parks is asked to call Officer Lehman at (920) 832-5500. Anonymous tips can also be sent by text message to 274637 with the keyword APDTIPS at the start of the message.

DE PERE, WI (WTAQ) - The Green Bay Packers and Humana teamed up Tuesday to build a new playground in De Pere.

The play area is at Braisher Park, where Packers President Mark Murphy says kids can now get out and be active, much like the NFL's "Play 60" campaign.

"With TV now and all the different video games, kids just aren't as active as they used to be," says Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy. "So I think it's a great initiative and it's had some great success."

Humana officials say they liked getting out as part of their commitment to promote health and wellness in the community.

"It helps promote wellness, its great for the kids, it gives them activity, it gives them exercise and things to happen so we're just really really proud to be in concert with the Packers building this,” said Jerry Ganoni with Humana.

The whole project took about six hours.