OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) -- The organizers of the Rock USA and Country USA events have issued a statement saying they've been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and are working to survive after having to cancel both shows this year.

"[We] have, as have virtually all event promoters, been seriously impaired financially as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic," read a statement posted on social media. "Expenses continue to accure and there is likely no revenue for this season."

Organizers say they're trying to conserve funds on hand in order to issue refunds.

"We are working diligently with those that we are financially obligated to, including artists, suppliers, lessors, and others, and are seeking forbearance or other relief in order to conserve the funds on hand with the goal of refunding ticketholders for the 2020 events which were cancelled," continued the statement. "Many seem willing."

Neither ticketbuyers nor members of the media have been unable to contact representatives at Hypervibe, the company that puts on the shows, since the cancelations were announced earlier this month.

Hypervibe is legally obligated to provide refunds, according to the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

The annual concerts typically bring thousands of people to Oshkosh.

SHAWANO COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) - While county fairs across the state are pulling the plug this year, the 139th Shawano County Fair will be held as normally as possible. 

The fair will have some restrictions in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Bingo games will not be held, but there are plans to have local bands on a pair of stages.  The fair and fireworks will also look pretty normal, but organizers are still taking precautions.

"We'll have signs up, sanitizing stations up - and now we're getting extra wash stations and all that kind of stuff," says Promotions Manager Brad Luepke, "We've been told for months that 'We want to make adult decisions,' so now I guess it's on them to make the adult decisions."

Luepke estimated about 62,000-65,000 people attend the fair each year, depending on the weather. 

"Probably see a little dip, but I don't expect it to be a glaring dip," Luepke says, "Especially with the reaction we've gotten through social media and phone calls - everybody seems elated that we are trying to move forward with it."

As for proper social distancing during the fair and fireworks with that many people, organizers say attendees tend to spread out throughout the grounds anyways. 

Luepke also works with the Shawano Speedway, which recently reopened to races and fans. He thinks that experience will help as the county prepares for the fair. 

"We have gone through the process of opening something bigger up already," Luepke says, "I think that helped us out a little bit because we sort of have guidelines we've gone through already, we got a little experience in that, so I think that's going to help us open up."

While the plan is to push ahead with the event, fair organizers are still working on the finer details - hoping for some input on how to make things even better.

"We're trying to call our superintendents, all our vendors, all our nonprofit stands - and get people in. We want to get their feedback and we want to put a plan in place going from there," Luepke tells WTAQ News, "It's probably going to mean their year. They probably lost a lot of smaller fundraising events throughout the year, so being able to help them get through a year financially was one of the big decisions."

The Shawano County Fair is set for September 2nd-7th.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) -- An Indiana man who prosecutors say walked to Wisconsin to have sex with what he thought was a teenage girl has been sentenced.

Tommy Lee Jenkins, 33, pleaded guilty in March to traveling from Indiana to Wisconsin for the planned encounter.

According to court documents, on Oct. 1, 2019, Jenkins, a former Oshkosh resident, accepted a Facebook friend request from 14-year-old Kylee Marie of Neenah, which was actually an undercover account for the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office. While exchanging sexually charged messages, investigators say Jenkins tried to coax the teen to travel to Indiana to have sex with him. When his requests were denied, Jenkins told her he would come to her.

According to the criminal complaint, Jenkins messaged the undercover deputy that he was traveling 351 miles from Whitestown, Indiana, to Neenah.

The complaint states "Jenkins sent images of his travels to include photographs of exit signs, selfies at various locations with timestamps, and landmarks such as churches."

According to the criminal complaint, on the day he was arrested, Jenkins texted the undercover deputy that he was in Milwaukee and someone bought him a bus ticket for the final leg of his trip.

Sheriff's officials say when Jenkins reached Winnebago County, they were waiting for him and put him under arrest.

Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. After his release, he will have to register as a sex offender and he will spend the rest of his life on supervised release.

HOWARD, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) -- Fire caused extensive damage to a home in Howard Monday evening.

Firefighters say they were called to the 2500 block of Shawano Avenue around 6:30 p.m. The homeowner had called 911 and said the garage was engulfed in flames. Everyone inside the house, including pets, got out safely.

When crews arrived, they found the attached garage's roof had collapsed and fire was burning across the roof of the house. It took firefighters about two hours to put out the fire.

Firefighters were able to limit the damage inside the home and save most of the occupants' personal belongings. The home was heavily damaged by fire, water and smoke. The fire department estimated the damage to the house and belongings at $240,000; the house itself is valued at $181,000.

Firefighters continue to investigate the fire; however, they say it is not suspicious.

NEENAH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) -- Authorities say a 70-year-old Neenah man is facing his 4th OWI after he crashed his moped.

Wisconsin State Patrol was called to Oakridge Rd. and County Highway CB just before 12:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Officials say the man lost control of his moped while going through the roundabout.

While talking with the man, a trooper smelled an odor of intoxicants coming from him.

The man was taken to a local hospital and subsequently arrested on suspicion of operating while intoxicated 4th offense.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) - New North and Fox Valley Society of Human Resources Management released a publication today about businesses becoming more inclusive and diverse. The project began last Fall, but comes at a time people are protesting all over the nation for justice for minorities.

"When it was ready to go it was very timely," said President and CEO of New North Barb LaMue.

Minorities make up nearly 13% of Wisconsin's population. This publication offers advice on how to implement action plans for businesses.

ADVERTISING

Some are advocates believe it's a start in a right direction.

"I think any work you do in education people and the content is good, it's going to bear some fruit," said Renita Robinson CEO of YWCA.

"We know we have work to do," said LaMue, "the more we can share best practices and have these honest and open conversations to address this issue we feel our region will be better served."

And open and honest conversations is where Robinson sees change beginning

"When measuring being inclusive, you have to ask the people that are different what it's like" said Robinson.

The guide is also about providing resources and tools.

"We have a lot of CEOs that have engaged..." said LaMue, "companies are willing to share these resources and help"

It is also about putting them into action.

"You can have all the right words but in practice not get the job done," said Robinson, "so it's important to be making investments into things that are actually shifting needles."

Both women acknowledge, it will take time to meet their goals.

"This is 400 years of concrete," Robinson said, "it's not going to break up easily."

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) -- After the death of George Floyd in police custody, there has been a lot of attention put on police use of force in the United States.

In Green Bay, police officers get a rigorous education in the use of force. They use what's called the "disturbance resolution model" when dealing with any potentially criminal disturbance.

"The disturbance resolution model has the steps that officers can take, and they can go up or down," Police Commander Kevin Warych told WTAQ. "They don't have to follow a continuum, per se, because the situation is so dynamic."

The disturbance resolution model starts, simply, with communication.

"But if their presence and their dialogue are ineffective, then they have the control alternatives, the protective alternatives," explained Warych. "And, at the last resort, deadly force."

Warych says the goal, ultimately, is compliance.

"Our overall goal here is de-escalation, communication, and ongoing dialogue to get people to comply," he said Tuesday.

Choke holds are not a technique used by the Green Bay police department.

"We do not want choke holds, and we don't train that. We don't want that," Warych said. "But officers are trained that if they're in a fight for their life, they have to do anything and everything to get out of that."

Choke holds became the subject of major national controversy after George Floyd died in the custody of Minneapolis police after an officer used his knee to press down on Floyd's neck during an arrest.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) -- Coronavirus numbers in Brown County are staying stable, for now.

Brown County's COVID-19 growth has slowed significantly since numbers spiked in April. Since then, there haven't been any new outbreaks.

"We thankfully haven't seen any spikes yet, but we're monitoring very closely what's happening around the country and...also activities of businesses and individuals in Brown County," said Brown County Health Spokesperson Claire Paprocki.

Brown County hasn't seen any increases in the 20-29 age group, as seen elsewhere.

"The numbers in Brown County are pretty low in that age group," Paprocki said. "Thankfully we haven't seen anything like that yet."

Fond Du Lac county detected a spike in that age group, something health department officials there said might be due to a lack of social distancing among young adults.

Many businesses have stepped up to help mitigate the spread of the disease. Paprocki says a lot of businesses have adopted COVID-19 guidelines.

"I would say a lot of businesses are practicing social distancing. They have good preventive measures set up in their places of business," said Paprocki. "But I wouldn't say all of them are doing that."

Numbers peaked in April when a large outbreak was detected in Brown County meat plants.

As of Tuesday, 39 people have died as a result of the virus in Brown County. Around 2,500 have tested positive.

ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) - Protesters against racial injustice have called for police reform after George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer.

The Village of Ashwaubenon\\\'s director of public safety, Brian Uhl, hopes to answer that call with cultural competency training.

Uhl made his case at a Tuesday night finance committee meeting.

"It looks like this is an area that hasn’t been touched on for some time."

He hopes to send his officers to cultural competency training this summer.

While all of the village\\\'s finance committee members agreed the training is a need

"When you’re talking about training 51 officers it just isn’t cheap to do in person stuff," Uhl said. He estimates the price tag for the training will top $27,000.

It\\\'s a number a local Black Lives Matter protest organizer Chauncey Hughes tells FOX 11 isn’t worth it.

"The definition of insanity is continuously doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result."

Hughes helped organize one of last week’s Green Bay marches.

"No training will eliminate police brutality. I think they should reallocate the money they were going to spend on the training and put it towards community solutions and community based programs."

Ultimately the committee decided the money just wasn’t there to send all of the villages public safety officers.

However it did decide to send 12 officers in leadership positions.

"I make a motion to approve leadership from the police department attending a training through NWTC (Northeast Wisconsin Technical College) on one of these three dates this year and ask that the administration look to in person and remote training options for the entire staff on this topic," concluded Allyson Brunett, a committee member.

Tuesday night’s decision was just a recommendation. The board will then have the final say on whether or not Ashwaubenon Public Safety officers will attend this summer’s cultural competency training.

WINNEBAGO COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) - Tuesday evening the Winnebago County Board heard a presentation for an amendment that would give the county health officer sole authority to enact stay-at-home orders.

The amendment reads in part:

The Winnebago County Health Officer may close schools and forbid public gatherings in schools, churches, places of employment, public buildings, private property, and other places, when deemed necessary, to control outbreaks, epidemics or pandemics.You can read the full amendment here.

"Decades ago the state legislature gave the power to issue health orders to the health directors of counties and sometimes municipalities if they weren\\\'t covered by a county," Winnebago County Executive Mark Harris said.

But Harris tells FOX 11 that power isn\\\'t written into the county\\\'s law.

"We discovered that we didn\\\'t have the ordinance on the county books, and most counties discovered they\\\'re in the same position. So while he (the county health officer) could make orders and had that authority given to him by the state, he didn\\\'t have the ability to have it enforced."

That\\\'s why Winnebago County, and many others in Northeast Wisconsin, rescinded stay-at-home orders within a day of issuing them.

Winnebago County Health Officer Doug Gieryn tells FOX 11 he has no plans to enact an order, but he believes this is an important step for public safety.

"In order to truly protect the community, to help prevent spread, especially in a crisis situation, we need to have the authority to step in and stop activity from happening that\\\'s a threat to the public."

Not everyone is happy with the proposed amendment. That includes Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce President John Casper.

"Here you have the Supreme Court who says it\\\'s unlawful for the state to do it, then they come around and they try to do the same thing. To me it\\\'s a real overreach in terms of authority."

Many residents expressed concerns similar to Casper\\\'s at the board meeting.

"It\\\'s very scary to me that one person could hold that much power," Winnebago County resident Marcia Willming said.

"There\\\'s a lot of concern out there, I just want the board to be aware of that," Grant Stettler said.

One resident spoke in favor of the amendment.

The board plans to vote on the amendment at a later date. Harris said that could happen at the board\\\'s July meeting.

DE PERE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) - Tara Heath has lived two lives in one lifetime. One life before February 29th, and the one she lives now.

"I\\\'m not a mother anymore," Heath tells FOX 11.

"I\\\'ll always be a mother to an angel but when I wake up and my house is quiet and I don\\\'t have to make breakfast for anyone, that\\\'s what gets me down."

Her 5-year-old son Christian died on February 29th, when he was hit by a truck.

The man behind the wheel, Tara’s ex-boyfriend Matthew Georgia, has been charged with homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle.

Now the purpose of Tara\\\'s second life is to get justice for Christian.

\\\'\\\'He was so kind and courteous and willing to do anything for anyone. He was my best friend. He knew when I needed a hug, he was always right by my side. I\\\'ve gotten messages from women in Africa, in Australia, in South America, in Canada, of everyone reaching out saying your story has reached my city and our deepest condolences go out to you and we hope justice is served for your baby boy."

The criminal complaint says Georgia became upset with Heath after another man texted her phone while they were in the car together.

"He said I don\\\'t want to be with you and I said good, please feel that way forever," Heath said. "We\\\'ve been on and off again for the past year and I could never leave."

Later, when Georgia dropped Heath off, the complaint says Georgia\\\'s truck ran over Christian when Georgia tried to back out of the home\\\'s driveway.

FOX 11 reached out to Georgia’s attorney. He didn\\\'t want to speak while the case was ongoing. However, he wrote in a statement that his client has received death threats:

This is a terrible accident that resulted in the death of a bright, cheerful, gentle and gifted child. Not a day goes by that my client does not reflect on the accident or think about Tara and Christian. He is heartbroken.It is unfortunate the State has chosen to file a criminal charge in this case. In my 25 years of experience handling cases throughout Northeastern Wisconsin, these accidents are rarely charged, as all parties are grieving over the loss of a child. Especially where the defendant has no previous criminal charges...ever. Attempting to obtain a criminal conviction and penalties, including prison for what was an accident, will not bring this child back.We are also disappointed that the State, when filing the criminal charge, purposely held back significant details. Unfortunately, I am ethically prohibited from discussing the alleged facts of the case while the case is ongoing. The public will have to wait until these details become available during the normal course of litigation. My client is disappointed his side of the accident was not properly conveyed in the criminal complaint.Unfortunately, by holding back this information, coupled with several highly emotional social media postings, some people have pre-judged this case which has resulted in verbal threats, including death threats against my client and others.We do not intend to litigate this matter in traditional media outlets or social media. Our hope is your viewers and all interested people wait to hear all of the facts, before they pass judgment on this case.We will continue to pray for Tara, Christian and all of their family and friends affected by this terrible loss.

"We\\\'re fighting for justice, I won\\\'t be silent, like the DA told me, we don\\\'t really recommend you going on the news and I was like for what?" Heath said.

"My son is gone, he doesn\\\'t have a voice anymore, why would I be silent about something so huge?"

Matthew Georgia\\\'s next court appearance is scheduled for today.

If convicted, he faces up to a 10 year prison sentence.

ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) - The Green Bay Booyah and Festival Foods have teamed up to celebrate the Fourth of July Weekend with baseball, live music, and fireworks.

Festivities will happen on both July 3rd and 4th.

The Booyah will kick off each day hosting the Rockford Rivets. Games will begin at 4:35 p.m. with gates opening an hour prior to game time. Live music on both days will start at 8 p.m. and will feature Conscious Pilot on July 3rd and Johnny Wad on July 4th. The Festival Foods Fireworks Shows will start at 9:30 p.m. both nights.

“Nothing says the 4th of July like a great baseball game, spending time with friends and family, and of course, Fireworks,” John Fanta, VP of the Booyah, stated. “The Booyah pride ourselves on providing a great family experience at Capital Credit Union Park and together with a great community partner like Festival Foods, we are excited to provide families with something they look forward to on the 4th of July.”

Keeping with the safety plan put in place at Capital Credit Union Park, tickets to the baseball games will be limited to 25% capacity. Following the baseball games, another 2000 fans will be admitted and allowed to socially distance on the field for the remainder of the celebration.

Tickets for the 4th of July weekend events go on sale Thursday, June 18th at 9 a.m. Game tickets will also include access to the live music and the Festival Foods Fireworks show. More information on the festivities can be found here.

DE PERE, WI (WTAQ) - Several local and state law enforcement and rescue agencies are taking part in a special Safety Stand Down event on Thursday to promote traffic safety for accident response personnel.

"It started about 10 years ago or so in response to try to lower the amount of firefighters are killed in the line of duty," says De Pere Safety Officer Eric Johnson.

Each year has a different theme, like last year's goal to identify risks and reduce the number of firefighters potentially being exposed to cancerous materials. 

So with the traffic safety theme, vehicles and responders from the Brown County Highway Department, Department of Transportation, State Patrol, Brown Count Sheriff's Office, Ashwaubenon Public Safety, Lawrence Fire, Hobart Lawrence Police Department, De Pere Police, and De Pere Fire will be taking part. Each will display their vehicles and the signs of how to spot on ahead of you on the road. 

"Why should it just be isolated to fire departments working on the safety when we rely on everybody else at the scene?" Johnson says. 

The second leading cause of firefighters being killed on while on duty is while operating at the scene of an accident and being struck by another vehicle. De Pere Safety Officer Eric Johnson says it's important to pay attention on the road.

"Last year alone, 44 responders [nationwide] were killed in the line of duty on the roadways," Johnson tells WTAQ News, "Slow down and move over. Whether it be amber warning light, red lights, blue lights - it doesn't matter. You need to have that personal safety on the roadways, especially out on Interstates 41 and 43."

Several crashes have happened recently across Wisconsin, and Johnson was able to list several incidents off the top of his head. 

"There's a lot of local incidents that that have occurred, so there are plenty of areas with strong reminders of what can possibly happen," Johnson says. 

He noted an incident last January involving an employee from Glenn's Towing of Bellevue who was struck and killed while on the highway near De Pere.

Johnson also recalled:

A Green Bay Police Department squad vehicle was struck and totaled just two weeks ago while parked on shoulder of Highway 57 east of Green Bay. A "vivid" memory of the incident near Madison last Friday where four people were killed, two state troppers were severely injured, and a highway worker was critically injured due to secondary crashes around an initial crash response.

Oconto had fire engine destroyed in crash two years ago. Peshtigo had firetruck hit and severely damaged this past Halloween. Waupaca had fire engine hit on Highway 10. And a firefighter in Endeavor, Wisconsin was also hit and killed a few years ago.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) -- A Green Bay Police Commander and a representative of the Privilege Institute came together Wednesday to have a spirited discussion about race and police in America aimed at bridging the gap between police and the black community.

Dr. Eddie Moore Jr. and Police Commander Kevin Warych spoke at the Green Bay YWCA in a talk entitled "Where We Live: A Black Man and a Policeman Speak".

"We want to have these conversations because we want to listen," Commander Warych said. "We want to understand what's going on in our community... I think people want to understand, people want to know, people need to have that open dialogue."

The talk comes weeks after George Floyd died in police custody in Minneapolis after an officer knelt down on his neck. That officer, Derek Chauvin, is now facing murder charges. The video of the moments before Floyd's death has been shared across the internet.

"What really angers me the most? Is how I will never forget what I saw. It's in my membrane forever," Dr. Moore said of the video of Floyd's death. "I don't know if I was ready to take that with me to my grave."

Chauvin held his knee to Floyd's neck for over eight minutes.

"This incident is going to change policing. It brings to light how important it is to have this open dialogue," Warych said. "To have a black man feel comfortable coming to a police officer and saying 'hey, I think I'm being judged'."

In the immediate wake of Floyd's death came weeks of protests and at times, violence. While Dr. Moore and moderator and YWCA Greater Green Bay CEO Renita Robinson argued that rioting and looting come from a place of anger, Moore did see a need for balance.

"I think we're gonna be dealing with some real difficult balance between protest, rebellion, and some folks who may just want to throw a brick through the window," Moore said.

Both speakers cited a need for further community dialog and cooperation between police and the black community. The event was streamed by the YWCA and Green Bay Police Department.

GREEN BAY (WTAQ-WLUK) -- About 35 protesters lined up outside the Brown County courthouse Wednesday morning.

Matthew Georgia made an initial court appearance, almost four months after his truck hit and killed Christian Warzniak.

He is charged with homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle.

Georgia is the ex-boyfriend of Christian's mother Tara Heath.

"Christian was such a beautiful soul inside and out, the kindest and funniest child or person. He was my best friend and I miss him so much," Hein said. "There's no way we will ever ever be okay and whole again. Nobody should miss the loss of a 5-year-old little smart baby boy who was the light of our life."

Alma Lopez says Christian was her daughter's best friend too.

"The moment she realized that he was gone was when we were at the funeral and he was in his casket, and we told her he couldn't go by him because he was sleeping and he was going to heaven," Lopez said. "Then we tried looking up YouTube videos on how to explain it to a child, I mean how do you explain it to a child."

Christian's mother tapped into the hearing on her phone.

The criminal complaint says Georgia hit Christian with his truck after getting into an argument with the boy's mom.

Georgia's attorney Shane Brabazon tells FOX-11 his client has received death threats.

Georgia's next court appearance is scheduled for July 15.

The judge set Georgia's signature bond at $10,000.

It comes with the condition that he doesn't communicate with Christian's mother.

Georgia faces up to ten years in prison, if convicted.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) -- A Native American man who allegedly threatened African-Americans with a knife and yelled racial slurs was charged Wednesday with a hate crime.

Joseph Ninham Jr., 33, was charged with two counts of endangering safety by use a dangerous weapon, with hate crime enhancers, along with disorderly conduct and bailjumping.

According to the criminal complaint, Ninham yelled “(racial slur), go home, this is Oneida land,” ran up to an African-American male, displayed a knife and added “(Expletive), you think I’m playing, you better go.”

When questioned by police, Ninham admitted to confronting others in the park but said he didn’t use a weapon.

FOND DU LAC, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) -- Fond du Lac Fire Rescue put on a fireworks show Wednesday morning...kind of. They put on a safety demonstration warning about the potential dangers of consumer fireworks.

Fourth of July is not going to be the same this year, and that’s what worries Fond du Lac firefighters.

“The thought is that they’re gonna go out on their own to secure fireworks from these consumer fireworks stands and light them off, and light them off in unsafe areas, or areas that may not be equipped to handle that,” said Garth Schumacher, division chief of fire prevention at Fond du Lac Fire Rescue.

With COVID-19 canceling most fireworks shows, the concern is people won’t leave it to the pros this Fourth and, instead, take the show to their backyards.

Fireworks store owners say business is picking up this time around, and the pandemic could be why they’re getting busier.

“Early indications are good!” Dan Promen, owner of Promen Fireworks in Fond du Lac said. “People are resorting to displays at their friend’s in the country and their backyards.”

Fire Rescue officials say fireworks account for nearly 20,000 fires and 13,000 emergency visits in the U.S. every year.

“Burns; you saw that on the mannequin today through the demonstration,” said EMS trauma supervisor for St. Agnes Hospital Brenda Kissinger. “You can have inhalation, which means breathing in that chemical and you can burn your throat, you can get facial injuries and body injuries.”

Kissinger says most of those ER patients seen are younger than 20.

“You have kids dealing with it, and some of them aren’t legal, and there’s not a lot of instruction for them, so there’s potential for misunderstanding of how to handle them,” she said.

And firefighters say even the smallest of fireworks can be underestimated.

Wednesday’s demonstration showed that even your standard, run-of-the-mill consumer fireworks can cause some explosive damage.

“The thought that people go in there with is that, okay, that’s not the big stuff, it’s not the big stuff! In reality, some of this stuff is close to the big stuff,” Schumacher said. “Something like that can actually kill.”

That’s why Promen says he makes sure customers know what they’re doing before leaving his store, and even after.

“If you have any questions, you can call me, even if you haven’t bought your fireworks give me a jingle, and I’ll be more than happy, because I wanna see you do it safe!” he said.

Health leaders say if you get any kind of burn on your body, the first thing you want to do is remove clothing where the injury happened to stop the burning. If it’s a small injury, they advise washing the area with cool water, allowing it to dry, and then applying triple antibiotic ointment.

Fond du Lac Fire suggests giving lighting fireworks yourself a break altogether.

OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) - Wisconsin businesses are more confident in their ability to weather the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new survey.

The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh released results of its third statewide business survey on Thursday. It showed that 10% of businesses said they could not survive more than three months under current conditions. That number is down from 35% in April.

Most respondents said they were open for business, with 14% saying they needed additional resources or decided not to reopen.

The survey was taken between June 1-13, which was after the state Supreme Court overturned Wisconsin's "safer at home" order.

The survey also found that 41% of businesses said they had introduced or expanded online services.

Many businesses have sought government help during the pandemic. Sixty percent said they had applied for aid, with 52.4% receiving it.

Businesses reported May losses of:

• $22.2 million in income
• $6.4 million in inventory
• $13.7 million in wages and productivity
• $37.8 million in other economic factors
• 2,648 positions

There were 744 responses to the survey, down from 1,126 in May and 2,424 in April.

"We noted a strong correlation among businesses that reported low survivability and nonresponse in the May survey results. This trend continued this month," Jeffrey Sachse, director of UWO’s Center for Customized Research and Services, said in a news release. "Similarly, the survey period of June 1-13 correlates with the beginning of the summer tourism season and comes three weeks after the reopening of the state. A decrease in response was anticipated as business owners continue the process of resuming operations."

UWO partnered with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation as well as New North and eight other Regional Leadership Council organizations to conduct the survey.

STURGEON BAY, WI (WTAQ-24/7 News) -- Door County is ready for you.

Jon Jarosh with Destination Door County yesterday said businesses are open and ready for visitors. Door County told people to stay at home earlier this spring, leaders were worried about a coronavirus outbreak.

Jarosh says most businesses are taking extra precautions, but are ready to welcome the summer crowds back.

Door County says tourism is worth about a half-billion dollars to the county each year.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) -- A project over 10 years in the making is set to wrap up soon.

The Fox River Cleanup project began in 2009 to rid the river of Polychlorinated biphenyl, or PCB's.

"Dredging actually is pretty much complete at this point," said project spokesman Scott Stein. "We're just wrapping up a few weeks of capping and covering to complete the work on the river."

Just because the cleanup itself is ending doesn't mean monitoring is. Long-term monitoring for PCBs will continue after the project wraps up, and that will include additional dredging if needed.

PCB's are a toxic compound once widely used in the paper manufacturing industry.