NEENAH, WI (WTAQ) - A phone scam that's targeting Neenah residents is prompting a warning from police.

The Neenah Police Department says they've been getting reports of two types of fraudulent calls over the past few days.

In one case, calls are coming from the phone number (585) 697-3465. The caller states that back taxes are owed and offers the chance to "take care of it" over the phone.

In the other case, calls are coming from (767) 275-9061. The caller claims the person's computer was compromised and offers to help repair it.

Authorities say these calls ofter come from people outside the U.S. who don't obey or care about the Do Not Call Registry. Be aware that callers can be very persistent, rude and threatening. Their goal is to get credit card numbers from unsuspecting people.

For those people who have caller ID, police recommend not even answering a call that comes from one of the above mentioned numbers. For those who do answer, do not speak with them and just hang up the phone.

Anyone who receives one of these calls is asked to report it to Neenah police at (920) 886-6000 and file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission by following this link .

GRAND CHUTE, WI (WTAQ) - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers' home field will have a new name come this season.

The team has agreed on a 10-year naming rights deal with the Neuroscience Group. Terms of the deal were not made available.

The diamond will now be called Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium.

"The Neuroscience Group has been a great partner of ours for some time and we are truly excited about our growing relationship," Timber Rattlers president Rob Zerjav said in a news release. "We think this is a great fit with a great local group and we feel there will be a lot of unique opportunities for our community that we will be able to develop out of this partnership."

The Neenah-based Neuroscience Group has satellite clinics across the Fox Valley region. 

Last month, the Timber Rattlers announced that Time Warner Cable opted out of the final three years of its naming rights deal.

The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, a class A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, will play their 20th season this year at Fox Cities Stadium.

(Additional reporting from FOX 11)

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Formal charges have been filed against a Green Bay man who escaped custody following an arrest early Monday.

30-year-old Carlos Vazquez-Caquias is facing four charges, including burglary and escape.

Vazquez-Caquias was arrested in connection with a break-in at the El Ranchito Market on South Webster Ave.

Authorities say while transporting Vazquez-Caquias to the Brown County Jail, he kicked out the back window of the squad car.

Vazquez-Caquias ran into a wooded area, but was found a short time later by a K9 unit.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Don't put those shovels away just yet.  

The National Weather Service says a new band of snow will move into Wisconsin Wednesday night -- and it's supposed to stay around through Thursday and perhaps into Friday.  

A low pressure system is approaching from North Dakota. Forecasters say it could bring one to one-and-a-half inches of new snow Wednesday night in parts of west central Wisconsin.  

Freezing drizzle is possible in central areas, along with light snow statewide. The Weather Service did not have any advisories or watches out as of mid-morning.  

Highs Wednesday are projected to be in the teens, with relatively steady temps Wednesnight.

Warmer highs in the 20's and 30's are predicted for Thursday, before the mercury drops below normal again on Friday and Saturday.  

Meanwhile, the Weather Service now says Four Corners in La Crosse County picked up the most snow from Tuesday's storm -- 10.3 inches. Green Bay TV stations said parts of the northeast Wisconsin had 11 inches. Stevens Point had 10.  

Wausau set a new record for the date for liquid precipitation, with 54-hundredths-of-an-inch. That translated to almost 8 inches of snow there.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

MANITOWOC, WI (WTAQ) - A man has pled not guilty to charges in connection with a fatal crash last year.

Those pleas were entered Wednesday by Shawn Lischka to charges of hit-and-run involving death and four others. No trial date was set, with a tentative plea date scheduled for April 1.

On November 19, an argument between Lischka and a group of people led to a chase.

That's when authorities say Lischka allegedly side-swiped the car driven by Eric Neuman, causing him to lose control. Neuman was thrown from the vehicle and died.

(Additional report from FOX 11)

WINNEBAGO COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) - A crash Wednesday morning that killed a woman may have been caused by icy road conditions.

Winnebago County Sheriff's deputies say it happened around 8:30 a.m. on Highway 76 north of Oakridge Road in the Town of Clayton. That's near Neenah.

Authorities say a northbound vehicle, driven by 24-year-old Amanda Prado of Omro, slid into oncoming traffic. Prado's vehicle struck another vehicle driven by a 43-year-old Neenah man.

Prado died from her injuries, while the other driver was hospitalized with minor head and chest injuries.

The crash remains under investigation.

HOWARD, WI (WTAQ) - The Howard-Suamico School District will put a referendum out to voters on April 1st.

Superintendent Damian LaCroix says the total cost is $13.4 million.

"The Howard-Suamico School District is a regional leader and is in a position of strength, but we are not without needs," LaCroix said. "Now is the time for us to address these pressing needs."

The referendum is split into two questions: the first deals with those safety upgrades, infrastructure and increased space. The second question looks to renovate their 1970s era pool.

"First and foremost, addressing safety issues after a crisis is too late. Proactive security modifications to the entrances are critical today," said Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Betty Zimdars. "In addition to our safety and maintenance needs, space constraints are forcing unnecessary limitations to our students' educational experience."

The total price tag is $13.4 million, broken down to $9.9 million for the first question dealing with safety, instructional space and infrastructure and maintenance; and $3.5 million for question two for the pool renovation.

Officials say the impact on the projected investment cost for both referendum questions is $9 annually on a home valued at $100,000. That's $7 for the first question and $2 for the second.

"The Howard-Suamico School Board studied this issue with administrators very closely," said Howard-Suamico School Board President Mark Ashley. "We believe a $9 investment per $100,000 household is a reasonable and appropriate request that honors our community and district."

Here is the breakdown of the questions:

1. First Question:

• Safety Upgrades -- Bay Port High, Bay View Middle, Lineville Intermediate, along with Forest Glen and Suamico Elementary schools all seek safety improvements. District-wide door and lock security upgrades are included along with an addition for gym storage at Bay Port.
• Increased Instructional Space -- The District seeks to repurpose space, and relocate the district office, at Lineville Intermediate School to develop additional classrooms to help accommodate an enrollment projected to reach over 900 students. At Bay Port High School, the plan is to create an orchestra rehearsal room to meet the demands of a rapidly growing program.
• Infrastructure Maintenance and Improvement -- The District seeks to replace boilers at Suamico, Howard and Meadowbrook Elementary schools, improve restrooms at Bay View Middle, Lineville Intermediate and Suamico Elementary schools, address HVAC and kitchen/lunch room needs at Lineville Intermediate School, and enlarge the cafeteria at Bay Port High School.

      2. Second Question:

• Pool Renovations -- The District believes the 1970's era pool at Lineville Intermediate requires updating. Building a new pool would cost twice as much as renovating the existing pool, so the District seeks to add two lanes and renovate the locker rooms to prolong the life and efficiency of their community resource.

Officials from the Howard-Suamico School District will host a community open forum on Monday, February 3, to discuss the referendum. The forum will be held at the Lineville Intermediate School Library from 6 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. The District also created a website here.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Police in Green Bay are seeking additional charges against two men already arrested for burglary.

Police say 30-year-old Carlos Vazquez-Caquias and 44-year-old John Grover are charged in connection with a break-in at the El Ranchito Mexican Market early Monday morning. That crime took place just a few hours after armed robberies at Express convenience stores on East Mason Street and South Ashland Avenue.

On his way to the Brown County jail Monday, cops say Vazquez-Caquias kicked out a back window of a squad car and escaped. He was arrested a short time later.

(Reuters) - The office of the secretary of defense (OSD) has directed the U.S. Navy to cut its overall buy of the littoral combat ships to 32 ships, foregoing 20 more of the small, fast warships, the Navy Times reported, citing Pentagon sources.

The decision, in a January 6 memo from acting deputy secretary of defense Christine Fox, follows the final 2015 budget guidance from the White House, the newspaper reported on Wednesday. (http://r.reuters.com/haw95v)

"The defense department is not going to discuss a budget that has yet to be presented or decisions that haven't been made," Pentagon spokesman Carl Woog told Reuters.

The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program, one of the Pentagon's biggest acquisition programs, includes ships built by Lockheed Martin Corp and Australia's Austal Ltd.

The 52-ship program had come under scrutiny after a spate of technical glitches.

However, supporters of the program have argued that the smaller ships, which require less personnel, offered the Navy the best way to increase the size of its fleet, which is now at historic lows.

"Secretary (Chuck) Hagel has long said he is going to have to make tough choices," said a senior defense official.

"There may yet be alternatives to cutting the LCS program that Secretary Hagel could consider."

It is believed that the OSD's initial guidance in January was to cut the program even further, the Navy Times said.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, a strident defender of the LCS program, personally argued to restore at least a portion of the future ship buy, the newspaper reported.

One Navy source said that the decision to end LCS at 32 ships isn't yet a done deal, the Navy Times reported.

(Reporting by Chris Peters in Bangalore; Editing by Supriya Kurane)

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Green Bay police are looking for two women behind an armed robbery on the city's east side Wednesday.

Authorities say it happened at the Check Into Cash store on Main Street around 7 p.m.

Two African-American women entered the store with a handgun, demanding money. Both then fled through the back of the business. 

No one was hurt, but police won't say if anything was taken.

Officials say both women were dressed in all black. One woman is described as 5'3" with a heavier build; the other is described as 5'6" and skinny.

Anyone with information is asked to call Green Bay Police at (920) 448-3208.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Forecasters now say it will be a couple days before Wisconsin gets its next significant snowstorm.  

Light accumulations were predicted in most areas Thursday -- but the National Weather Service now says they'll only get occasional snow showers.  

One to five inches are possible for Friday night and Saturday away from Lake Superior -- where an inch or two of lake effect snow is possible.  

Douglas and Burnett counties are under a winter weather advisory until 4 p.m. Thursday. That's the only severe weather notice throughout the state Thursday.  

The Weather Service says a low pressure system from Canada is heading southward into Wisconsin Thursday. The snow is behind that system.

Highs Thursday are expected to be in the 20's and 30's, with teens projected for Friday. Lows for the next two nights are forecast to be in the single-digits above zero and teens. 

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Green Bay firefighters are at the scene of a fire at an east side apartment complex.

The call went out around 8:15 a.m. Thursday to the Nicolet apartments on Huth Street.

The blaze took place in an underground parking garage on the south side of the building.

Authorities say the complex has 68 units total. The Red Cross is on the scene. Buses have shuttled residents to Preble High School for warming.

Crews from the Green Bay Metro Fire Department, along with Bellevue, De Pere and New Franken fire departments are at the scene.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Officials with Wisconsin Public Service are warning customers about a scam involving calls threatening to shut off your power within 45 minutes.

According to WPS officials, they've received several calls about this issue.

The caller states that, to avoid having your power turned off, the customer needs to pay by credit card, prepaid card or a certain type of gift card. The caller also may ask you to meet them at different locations to collect payments.

WPS says its employees will never ask customers to meet them to pay utility bills.

Anyone who receives a suspicious phone call is advised to avoid providing personal information, hang up and call WPS at 1-800-450-7255 to confirm.

WPS is also warning about an email claiming to be from PGE.com with the subject “to review recent statement.” PG&E is a utility company in San Francisco and has warned its customers about the fraudulent emails.

WPS advises customers not to respond to the email, click on any of the links, open any attachments or provide any personal information. Instead, customers are asked to forward the email to state consumer protection officials at DATCPHOTLINE@wi.gov.

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - A pilot program changing the way people pay to park in downtown Appleton is being expanded.

On Wednesday night, the Appleton city council approved the purchase of three additional parking pay stations. They will be going to the library.

Back in 2012, Appleton began the program to remove old parking meters in Soldier's Square and replacing them with two pay stations.

The city's parking budget includes $46,500 for the purchase and installation of the pay stations. Two of them will be installed in the parking lot, with the third located just inside the front doors.

Officials say that much like in Soldier's Square, visitors to the library will soon park in a numbered spot, then walk to one of the pay stations to pay. Those stations accept change, dollar bills and pre-paid parking cards. In the future, the city could also accept credit cards at the stations.

(Additional reporting from FOX 11)

WAUPACA COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) - An overnight snowmobile crash in Waupaca County leaves two people with serious injuries.

Authorities say it happened on Swamp Road in the Town of Larrabee, which is northwest Clintonville, around 10:30 p.m.

A 49-year-old man driving the snowmobile struck a mailbox, post and frame. He and his 49-year-old female passenger were seriously injured.

Authorities believe alcohol was a factor in the crash.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Investigators have determined the cause of a fire that damaged an east side Green Bay apartment building Thursday.

Firefighters say the blaze in an underground parking garage at Nicolet Apartments on Huth Street was an electrical fire in the engine compartment of a vehicle. Authorities say there was some damage to the building's plumbing, and contractors would be called in to repair it.

The scene has been officially turned over to the companies that run the complex.

All 68 units of the three building complex were evacuated as firefighters fought to keep the fire from spreading to the upper parts of the building.

Residents were able to return to two of the three buildings on Thursday – except for the 40 or so people who live in the 24 units above the garage where the fire started. The American Red Cross has been helping those residents find places to stay.

(Additional reporting by FOX 11)

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - An armed robbery on Green Bay's east side is under investigation.

Police say a man walked into the BP gas station, 2056 Main Street, and pulled out a silver handgun around 7:30 a.m. Thursday. The suspect demanded money and put that money into a canvas shoulder bag. The man ran off; and a K9 unit deployed to try and track him down didn't work.

The suspect is described by police as being 18-25 years old, Hispanic or Native American with a light complexion, medium height with a thin to medium build. He was wearing a black sweatshirt with the hood up and a blue bandana over his face.

Foot prints at the scene may have come from Converse brand "Chuck Taylor" shoes.

Anyone with information is asked to call Green Bay police at (920) 448-3200. Anonymous tips can also be left with Crime Stoppers by phone at (920) 432-7867, by text message at 274637 with the keyword GBTIP or online.

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - Appleton officials are not happy with an alderman's proposal to suspend efforts to help relocate 75 refugees from Iraq, the Congo, and Myanmar.  

Alderman Jeff Jirschele says the refugees have not been, "vetted." He's drafted a resolution calling on Appleton officials to back away from the relocations by the World Relief-Fox Valley group, until the impact of their arrivals are known.  

Jirschele tells the Appleton Post-Crescent he's worried about the social safety net's ability to deal with the foreign newcomers. In his words, "We have no room to flounder on housing or medical care, despite the best intentions of the groups involved."  

This is the third year that World Relief has led a resettlement effort. About 175 refugees previously moved to the Fox Valley, mostly from Burma.  

Group director Myriam Mwizerwa says the group works hard to find jobs for the adult refugees.

Appleton Mayor Tim Hanna said the resolution sends the wrong message. Hanna said there are, "undertones that make assumptions about these people being poor, or a drain on us, but quite the opposite."  

The mayor said they represent the types of diverse people he wants for Appleton. He said he spoke for all city departments in criticizing both the content and the tone of Jirschele's resolution -- which is on its way to a city committee.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - A former student at UW-Green Bay will spend the next four years on probation after he was convicted of selling drugs on campus.

In a plea deal, Nathan Stadelmann pled no contest to possession with intent to deliver marijuana and possession of LSD. Four other charges were dropped.

According to the criminal complaint, Stadelmann told authorities he got the drugs from the Milwaukee area and brought them back to campus to sell. Cops found drugs, scales and drug ledgers at his campus residence.

The university suspended Stadelmann after the charges were filed, and he has yet to return to school.

NEENAH, WI (WTAQ) - Police in Neenah have arrested a woman tied to an armed gas station robbery.

Authorities say the 33-year-old Appleton woman was connected to the robbery at the Marathon gas station, 309 1st Street, on December 16.

Cops say another suspect, a 23-year-old Appleton man, is currently jailed in Outagamie County on a probation hold.