GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - The Green Bay Police Department is continuing its investigation into apartment rental frauds.

According to authorities, 8 people have come forward with information about the ads posted on Craigslist back in mid-December.

Police arrested a man later in December that allegedly showed the apartments and then asked for cash up front. Those addresses are: 1730 Eastman Ave., 604 S. Maple Ave. and 1451 Western Ave.

The suspect used the fake names of Nate Anderson or Jake or Jacob Anderson. He allegedly wrote receipts under those names. 

He was arrested after some people became suspicious at a showing, blocked in the suspect's vehicle and called the cops.

If you have recently contacted someone to look at any of these addresses and gave money for a security deposit to rent any of these addresses, please call the Green Bay Police Department at (920) 448-3208.

NEENAH, WI (WTAQ) - A Fox Valley lawmaker is announcing a run for mayor in Neenah.

Republican State Representative Dean Kaufert said Monday he will challenge incumbent Mayor George Scherck in April.

Kaufert says the decision to run against his personal friend and former colleague was a tough one, but feels now is the time for a fresh change in leadership for Neenah. He is a former Neenah city council member.

Kaufert says if he wins the seat in the April 1 election, he will leave his seat in the state Legislature to focus on the duties of mayor.

Scherck says the race will be an awkward one because of the friendship between the two men.

(Additional reporting from FOX 11)

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - U.S. Senator Ron Johnson followed through on his promise Monday to sue the federal government over congressional health benefits under Obamacare.  

Federal Judge William Griesbach of Green Bay was assigned to hear the case.  

Johnson said he believes President Obama exceeded his legal authority by making taxpayers cover about three-fourths of the cost of benefits for federal lawmakers and their staffs. Johnson said that allowing the federal government to make employer contributions for health coverage was, "explicitly considered, debate, and rejected."  

Lawmakers and their staffs are required to use the Obamacare health exchanges, to show that they don't get more favorable breaks than the rest of us.  

Johnson's stand has already been criticized by a fellow Wisconsin Republican. Menomonee Falls Republican Jim Sensenbrenner says the congressional health benefits are no different than what the president or other federal employees get.  

If they disappear, he says Congress will lose a number of top quality aides.  

Johnson's attorney in the case is Rick Esenberg, the head of the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty. Former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement, a native of Cedarburg, is a consultant for Johnson. 

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

BLACK CREEK, WI (WTAQ) - An evacuation order has been lifted in Black Creek following a gas leak in the village.

According to the Black Creek Fire Department, a relief valve was frozen open, causing the leak at the We Energies substation at the north end of the village. A call to the Outagamie County Sheriff's Department came in around 5:45 p.m.

Authorities evacuated 75 homes in a half-mile radius of the leak for over an hour. The fire station and community center were used as a warm place for those evacuees to go.

No injuries or damage was reported. The Black Creek Fire Department says people's furnaces and gas appliances were not affected during the evacuation, and that homes did not lose heat during the hour.

(Additional reporting from FOX 11)

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Motorists should use extreme caution traveling over the Leo Frigo Bridge this morning (TUE). Smog from the nearby smoke stacks will create limited visability and possible ice build up. Green Bay officers are on scene of several motor vehicle accidents in the area. Motorists are urged to slow down and move over to allow officers to dispose of the traffic hazards these accidents are presenting. 

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - A fire at an Appleton business is causing crews to deal with frigid temperatures while putting out the flames.

The call went out Monday night to Appvion, formerly known as Appleton Papers, after workers were dismantling a machine when it caught fire.

No one was hurt.

The extremely cold weather made things difficult for firefighters, as they worked about two hours at the scene. One fire truck was temporarily taken out of service because its pump froze after about 10 minutes.

Crews also say their hoses were filled with slush and ice when they tried to drain them.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - New plans were submitted by Walmart officials to the city of Green Bay Monday for a store in the Broadway District.

Officials say the approximately 150,000 square foot store would be located on North Broadway, at the site of the former Larsen Green cannery. It is expected to bring about 300 jobs to the area.

According to a statement from Walmart, "The plans reflect the modifications we've made in response to the feedback we've received through our extensive due diligence efforts. We've made the building more square than rectangular and changed its position on the site so that it abuts Broadway and better aligns with the city's urban design guidelines, including design elements that make it more pedestrian friendly."

Green Bay's Redevelopment Authority voted last month to allow Walmart to continue talks with On Broadway, Inc. about developing that site. OBI is the group that owns the property.

However, the city council would have to approve rezoning that property. That means council members have the final say on if the store will be built.

(Additional reporting from FOX 11)

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Winds are either light or non-existent in most of Wisconsin -- but the National Weather Service still has wind chill advisories out for virtually all of the Badger State.  

They run until 9 a.m. for 13 counties between Milwaukee, Madison, and Platteville. Most other parts of the state have wind chill advisories until noon.  

The actual temperatures are the biggest problems Wednesday morning. They were as low as minus-30 at 6 a.m. in Tomahawk, Land O'Lakes, Hayward, and Phillips in the far north.  

Much of southern Wisconsin was in the single digits below, much warmer than the past couple of days. Milwaukee was the so-called warm spot at minus-four.

It's colder away from Lake Michigan. Madison was at minus-11.  

All of Wisconsin is expected to rise above zero Wednesday afternoon for the first time in over a week.

Sub-zero readings are predicted again Wednesday night, before a new system brings warmer temperatures and a chance of snow or rain from Thursday into the weekend.  

Highs in the teens and 20's are projected for Thursday. It could reach the 30's by Friday.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - The man charged with hacking into Marine recruit's email and Facebook accounts has pled no contest.

In Brown County court, Andrew Curran entered that plea to two counts of misappropriating identifying information and one count of possession of child pornography. Four other charges were dismissed during a hearing January 3rd.

Curran received login information from recruits to allegedly run background checks while working at an office in Ashwaubenon. But investigators say Curran logged on pretending to be the recruits, and contacted their acquaintances. They say he had several conversations with dozens of females and received some nude photos.

A search of Curran's home also recovered child pornography.

Curran is scheduled to be sentenced February 21st.

TOWN OF OCONTO FALLS, WI (WTAQ) - A chimney fire at a Town of Oconto Falls home kept firefighters busy out in the cold Tuesday morning.

Because of the deep freeze, Town of Gillett Fire Chief Dale Reichwald says he has to watch more than just the flames.

“You can get yourself warmed up, and then when you do quit moving, the cold sets in real fast,” Reichwald told FOX 11. “For the guys that are actually in doing the fight, it's a brutal again today.”

Crews had to use water from the fire trucks.

“Things are going to ice up real fast, and get slippery. And you are going to have lines freezing, nozzles freezing,” said Reichwald.

At the time of the fire, five members of the family were home. No one was hurt.

Authorities say most of the damage occurred in the area of the chimney. No damage estimates have been made available.

(Additional reporting from FOX 11)

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - The Green Bay Area Public School District says they will cancel all classes and activities Wednesday, citing student safety and bus reliability.

In a statement, the district says, "the buses diesel engines have a tendency to gel and stall."

It's the third straight day the deep freeze has led to school closings.

The Howard-Suamico district also says they will cancel classes again Wednesday.

Get a full list of closings by clicking here.

MANITOWOC, WI (WTAQ) - A man killed in a fire at his home in Manitowoc was identified Wednesday morning as 90-year-old Arnold Goeke.  

Coroner Curtis Green said Goeke died from smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning after his house caught fire Tuesday night. The cause of the blaze and a damage estimate were not determined as of mid-morning.  

Manitowoc firefighters were called around 8 p.m., and they had the blaze under control in about an hour.

Five other departments responded. The Salvation Army provided hot beverages for the rescuers, and a Manitowoc city bus served as a warming shelter.  

The state Fire Marshal's office is helping local authorities investigate.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Homes and businesses in eastern Wisconsin will not have to worry about dialing 10 digits for local phone calls -- not for awhile, anyway.  

The state Public Service Commission has indefinitely delayed plans to have new phone numbers in the 920 zone use an overlapping area code of 274. The move was ordered because cell phones and fax machines were snapping up available 920 numbers.  

However, FOX 11 reports over a million possible 920 numbers remain unassigned -- so the additional area code in that location is being held up indefinitely.  

920 users were planning to dial the area code for their local calls starting on January 25th -- but the PSC says that's off for now.  

The change affects mainly landline users. Most cell users are accustomed to dialing area codes for all their calls.  

The same change took effect a few years ago in central and northern Wisconsin, where new numbers in the 715 zone were given the area code of 534.  

Officials say it's easier than carving out a whole zone for a new area code -- where people would have to change their speed-dials and business stationery.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Green Bay police are holding a news conference Wednesday afternoon to release more information about an officer-involved shooting last month.

The P.D. and the Brown County District Attorney's Office say they will discuss the incident on the city's west side that led to the death of 63-year-old Darold VandenHeuvel.

On December 16, VandenHeuvel was at his estranged wife's apartment and had displayed a gun when cops arrived. The officer who fired the shots is a four-and-a-half year veteran of the department. That officer was placed on administrative leave.

The Green Bay Police Department says it wrapped up their investigation into the shooting a week later. They have not publicly released those results, but officers say they were forwarded to the Brown County DA's office. 

According to police, once the district attorney's office finishes its review, the officer's name and the results of the investigation will be made public.

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - Lawrence University in Appleton has announced that it has purchased a former bank building in the city's downtown.

The university says it bought the building and parking lot at 320 East College Ave. for $284,000. It's a two-story; 10,800-square foot office building that includes a 56-space parking lot.

It most recently house North Shore Bank, but has sat vacant for almost three years.

School leaders indicate they are looking forward to using the parking space, but don't have any specific plans for the building yet.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Officials with the Green Bay Area Public School District are talking about the decision to cancel classes for the third straight day Wednesday.

Director of Facilities and Operations Al Behnke says it's the first time he could recall that schools would be closed due to weather for 3 consecutive days.

"We have to deal with the circumstances that are there and we believe we made the best decision possible, based on the information we had at the time," Behnke told the media during a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

Officials with Lamers Bus Lines told FOX 11 buses were ready to go in Green Bay Wednesday morning. But district officials say they erred on the side of caution, after learning Lamers did have some problems on Tuesday.

"Our contractors started vehicles and had a very difficult time with their diesel engines," said Behnke. "And if you look over the last couple days, you've seen semis, all kinds of diesel vehicles sitting alongside of the road idling because they don't have any power, once they start to gel up, so we were very concerned about reliability."

The Appleton Area School District also contracts with Lamers, and opened their doors to students on Wednesday. Still, Behnke remained steadfast in their decision.

"Well the one significant difference between Appleton and Green Bay today was Appleton already had a built-in two-hour late start, so I think they took advantage of that," said Behnke.

As for how the district is handling their calendar, they are making the following changes:

• The annual built-in inclement weather day was used on Monday, January 6.
• The cancellation of school on Tuesday, January 7 will result in the district's May 27 weather make-up day becoming a required school day for students.
• To compensate for the third inclement weather day used on Wednesday, January 8, the last day for middle school students will be moved to Wednesday, June 11 (was originally Tuesday, June 10). The last day for elementary and high school students will be moved to Thursday, June 12 (was originally Wednesday, June 11).

"We went from having only one day to two days for inclement weather, and this is our first experience with two days," says Associate Superintendent Kim Pahlow. "So we'll kind of have to see where it goes and then re-evaluate."

Green Bay schools plan to hold classes on Thursday, since Lamers was working on getting the buses running Wednesday afternoon for those routes.

ADELL, WI (WTAQ) - Three homes have been evacuated in the Village of Adell after a reported gas leak.  Adell is located in the southwest part of Sheboygan County. Officials say an explosion along with the smell of natural gas were reported around 5 a.m. this morning (Thursday), but there wasn't a fire. No one was injured.  Utility company eventually arrived and shut off the leaking valve.  Everyone who had been evacuated has been allowed back in their homes.

FOND DU LAC, WI (WTAQ) - Fond du Lac police say they have uncovered what appears to be a meth lab while making an arrest. 

It happened about 4 p.m. Wednesday at a home in the 200 block of N. Lincoln Avenue. 

Police say they went to the home to arrest a 39-year-old man for an outstanding warrant. They found a man, and what appeared to be a meth lab, inside the home.  

Hazmat team was called in to help, along with other local and state investigators. 

No formal charges have been filed yet.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - It's balmy in Wisconsin, compared to what it's been for most of the New Year.  

Milwaukee was at 22 degrees at 1 p.m., with a wind chill of around 10-above. That's the warmest since last Saturday, when the state broke out of a cold snap for less than a day before we had the coldest readings since 1996.  

Medford was still at four-above, but Superior and Ashland -- two of the state's northern-most cities on Lake Superior -- were both at plus-14.  

Of course, everything has a price. For southern Wisconsin, it's an air quality advisory that the state DNR issued. It lasts until 6 a.m. Friday in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine, Kenosha, and Dane counties.  

Officials said fine particle pollution has risen from places like wood-heat exhausts and power plants. Sensitive groups -- including the elderly, the very young, and those with respiratory issues -- are urged to take precautions.  

The warmth is also bringing the chances for mixed precipitation, with up to 5 inches of snow, mixed with ice, tomorrow and into Saturday in northern and western Wisconsin.  

Meanwhile, things should be quieting down in the Fond du Lac region. Residents told authorities they heard cracking sounds that shook their homes on Tuesday night.  

A UW-Milwaukee seismologist said it was most likely a rare ice quake -- in which water in the bedrock freezes within cracks and rapidly expands, causing slight tremors due to the pressure.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

CHILTON, WI (WTAQ) - A Calumet County man learns his fate for the repeated sexual assault of a child.

73-year-old Norbert DeGroot of Seymour is sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading no contest to the charge. A second count of first-degree sexual assault of a child was dismissed.

DeGroot sexually assaulted a four-year-old child. 

Charges were filed in Shawano and Calumet counties. According to prosecutors, the assaults in Shawano County took place in 2006.