GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - A Green Bay lawmaker is introducing a bill that would require at least 30 minutes of gym class for Wisconsin elementary school students.

Representative Chad Weininger, a Republican, was joined by health advocates during his announcement in Green Bay Monday.

Weininger says the bill is based on recommendations from several national groups, including the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association. Currently, Wisconsin requires elementary grade students to have physical education three times a week with no specified time period.

"The current standards aren't working, there is a growing obesity problem, there is a fiscal component to this that we need to address," says Weininger. "And I think this bill starts the platform to allow those discussions to happen in Madison."

A report from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services shows one in four adolescents in the state are obese or overweight.

"Wisconsin clearly needs to do more to combat childhood obesity and strengthening the physical education requirements is a critical component to reaching that goal," said Allison Miller, Wisconsin government relations director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. "We're excited about Rep. Weininger's willingness to tackle this important issue and make meaningful progress toward a healthier future."

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - The Appleton School Board has approved moving ahead with a multi-million dollar referendum.

The board is seeking $30 million for upgrades to facilities and building security. The plan would also add an extra $5 million to the school district budget every year.

Should voters approve the referendum, officials say the typical property owner would pay an extra $118 per year.

That vote is scheduled for February.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Green Bay Police say a juvenile crashed a stolen vehicle overnight.

Authorities say it happened in the 900 block of Holzer Street around 4 a.m. Tuesday.

The suspect was arrested. Cops say he looked to be impaired, and lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a utility pole and tree.

Police say the vehicle was stolen from Shawano County.

(Additional reporting from FOX 11)

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - Appleton police say the victim in the shooting at a downtown nightclub over the weekend has died.

Authorities say an autopsy is being performed on 25-year-old Joshua J. Richards of Green Bay.

Richards' family had been keeping him on life support so his organs could be donated.

Early Sunday morning, police say Richards was shot in the head with a handgun at Luna Lounge.

The Appleton Police Department is investigating his death as a homicide, and is still looking for those responsible for the shooting.

Cops are reviewing video evidence, tracking down people that have been identified through that footage from cameras at Luna Lounge and nearby.

Investigators still are looking to talk to people who may have been in the area at the time of the incident. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Appleton Police Department.

(Additional reporting from FOX 11)

BLACK CREEK, WI (WTAQ) - A pickup truck slams into a building in Outagamie County Monday night.

Authorities say it happened around 9:30 p.m. when the white truck struck another vehicle, and then ended up hitting All Pro Custom Graphx on Main Street in Black Creek.

The woman from Oshkosh who was driving the truck was airlifted to the hospital. It's unclear the extent of her injuries.

Cops believe her condition prior to the accident was a factor, but alcohol isn't an issue. No one else was hurt.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - It's downright frigid in Wisconsin -- and it's supposed to get worse before it gets better.  

The National Weather Service has issued wind chill advisories until Thursday morning for the northern half of the Badger State. Those wind chills could plunge to 35-below in many places the next two mornings, and 45-below at Superior, Bayfield, and other places near Lake Superior.  

Tuesday morning, Superior had a wind chill of minus-28 at 7 a.m., and an actual temperature of 12-below.  

Southwest Wisconsin was the warm spot, if you could call it that. It was 12-above at Prairie du Chien.

A wind chill advisory is in effect until Wednesday morning for part of southern Wisconsin from the La Crosse area to about Wisconsin Dells.  

The cold snap is the aftermath of an intense storm system in the eastern half of the U.S. in which thousands of people lost their power. That's not a problem in Wisconsin, at least for now. Major utilities report only a handful of outages Tuesday morning.  

Light snow is in the forecast for Tuesday night. Forecasters in La Crosse are predicting an inch or two. A slight warm up is expected on Thursday. By Friday, highs in most of Wisconsin could reach the 20's.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

GREENLEAF, WI (WTAQ) - An animal rights group has released video and photos detailing abuse of farm animals at the Wiese Brothers farm in Greenleaf.

The group, Mercy for Animals, made the undercover video showing dairy cattle being beaten and dragged with forklifts. 

In response to the video, the Wiese family has issued a statement about the animal abuse claims:

"Wiese Brothers Farm is family owned and has been in the business of providing the highest quality milk for nearly two decades. On Tuesday, November 26, 2013, we became aware of video footage taken on our farm this fall. We are shocked and saddened to see a few of our employees not following our farm’s policies for proper animal care. We have zero tolerance for animal abuse. We are committed to providing optimal care and ask all our employees to demonstrate ongoing respect for every animal at all times. 

We are dedicated not only to producing the highest quality milk, but also providing the best care for our animals through every stage of their lives. Because of our commitment to our cows, we work closely with veterinarians and dairy experts to ensure proper care, feeding, and management of our dairy cattle. 

Our family has taken the following steps to address the situation: 

•           We are cooperating fully with the local law enforcement. 

•           Two employees have been terminated. A third employee has been removed from animal handling responsibilities. Further action will be taken if the investigation warrants it. Additionally, three employees have been identified as specialists who will supervise the care and handling of any cow unable to get up without assistance. 

•           Within 24 hours after learning about the video, an independent animal care auditor from a national evaluation firm conducted a thorough review of our farm’s written protocols for animal handling and observed farm employees and the condition of our animals. While they noted a few areas for improvement, their overall analysis indicated our animals are clean, well cared for and treated appropriately by employees. 

•           Beginning in early 2012, each of our employees reviewed and signed an animal treatment commitment pledge as part of the hiring process and condition of employment. We have updated that commitment and shared it with the employees who work in the special needs hospital area. 

•           Employees will be shadowed by their supervisor periodically, and without notice, to ensure protocols in place are being met or exceeded. 

Each of these actions, along with any others we add as appropriate, will help us ensure the behaviors seen in this video are never repeated on our farm.

The Wiese Family"

Meantime, the maker of DiGiorno frozen pizza has stopped taking milk from the Wiese Brothers farm. Nestle USA owns DiGiorno, the nation's largest frozen pizza maker.  

The firm issued a statement Tuesday morning that Nestle is, "outraged and deeply saddened by the mistreatment of animals shown" in the video.  

The Wiese farm supplies cheese to Foremost Farms of Baraboo, which then sells it to DiGiorno. Nestle said it advised Foremost not to provide any more cheese from the farm. 

(**WARNING: Video contains language and images that some may find offensive. Additional reporting from Wheeler News Service.)

WAUSAU, WI (WTAQ) - A state appeals court says the parents of a northeast Wisconsin murder victim cannot sue the company that insured the home where the slaying occurred.  

The Third District Appellate Court in Wausau rejected an effort to include Wilson Mutual Insurance in a wrongful death suit filed by the parents of 19-year-old Shawn Dobry.  

The firm insured the home of Robert and Sande Walker of Oconto Falls. They were out of town when their 19-year-old son Jordan hosted a party in 2010, just before he was about to join the Marines -- and Dobry was shot by a new gun that Walker was showing off.  

Dobry's parents said Wilson Mutual should be liable. The parents said it was ambiguous whether the case fell under a clause that does not allow coverage for criminal acts.  

A circuit court said the exception applies, and the appellate judges agreed Tuesday.  

Jordan Walker was criminally found guilty of negligent homicide and obstructing police, and was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison.  

Walker claimed to police that Dobry injured himself -- but authorities said Walker fired the fatal shot, and he obstructed police, and encouraged others at the party to do the same. 

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Green Bay's Redevelopment Authority has voted down a resolution terminating the purchase agreement between Walmart and On Broadway, Inc.

In a 4-3 decision, the committee allowed talks between the retailer and On Broadway to go beyond its 150-day window.

"We're pleased with the RDA's vote to continue the process, and allow Walmart to continue discussions about the potential redevelopment of the Larsen Green property," says Delia Garcia, Walmart's Director of Communications. "We take this back to our team, and we don't have a concrete timeline but, obviously our goal is to serve our customers downtown and open a store as soon as possible."

Walmart is looking to build a 150,000 square foot store in the Broadway District. But with nearly a dozen people speaking at the tightly-packed committee meeting in favor of terminating the agreement, many were unhappy with the result.

"You are getting 16 acres of historic downtown riverfront property, and you can't even respect the process and adhere to the guidelines of a purchase agreement, what else are they going to do," said Rhonda Sitnaku.

Another person unhappy with the decision is Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt.

"That's fine, they're entitled to that, I obviously don't agree with that, but we'll proceed," says Schmitt. "Eventually it's going to find its way to the Planning Commission and the City Council, because they're asking us to re-zone a piece of property that's not slated for big box. And that's where the city will come in and weigh pretty heavy."

This action was taken because the Larsen Green Governing Board was split on whether to extend a purchase agreement on the property with Walmart. If the RDA would've voted to approve terminating the purchase agreement, Walmart officials said they would have walked away from the downtown store plan.

SCHMITT STICKS WITH LARSEN GREEN BOARD

Also Tuesday, Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt said he will permanently replace Alderman Brian Danzinger on the Larsen Green Governing Board.

Schmitt cast a "no" vote last week during the group's 3-3 tie, which led to Tuesday's RDA action. 

Asked why, Schmitt replied, "just to make sure the city's perspective is being heard."

Schmitt indicated that when Danzinger returns from military deployment, he will be moved into retiring Community Development Director Rob Strong's spot on the Larsen Green board. He added it's all to ensure the city's vision for the 15 acres of property the board is in charge of gets reinforced.

"They say things that, I'm just not 100 percent sure of them," says Schmitt. "They say well we've done this and we've done that...and you look into and, really have you?"

RIPON, WI (WTAQ) - Apartments and businesses in downtown Ripon were heavily damaged after a three-alarm fire early Wednesday.

The first call came in for the blaze on Watson Street around 2:30 a.m.

Crews battled the flames for over five hours in bitterly cold temperatures.

"It was too far ahead of us to put our guys in there and knowing everyone was out that was the mode we took,” Ripon Area Fire District Chief Tim Saul told FOX 11.

Saul says crews from as many as 20 different departments helped fight the fire. And all that water use put a strain on the city's water system. 

"We were flowing over 5,800 gallons a minute at one point and we had to go to different fire hydrants to be able to supply all those ladder trucks that were flowing water, we couldn't flow all that off of one hydrant,” said Saul.

Twenty-six people who were displaced by the fire are being helped by the Red Cross. The Ripon Chamber of Commerce is collecting donations for those affected by the fire. Click here for donation locations and a list of items needed.

Saul says investigators won't be able to enter the damaged buildings until the daytime on Thursday. It may be awhile before we know what sparked the blaze.

(Additional reporting from FOX 11)

KAUKAUNA, WI (WTAQ) - Kaukauna police say a man is arrested for allegedly peeping into windows of homes.

Authorities say they were called to the 2900 block of Glenview Avenue for a suspicious person standing in a yard and looking into a window around 11 p.m. Tuesday.

Officers followed the footprints in the snow of the 38-year-old man to six different windows of nearby homes. The tracks eventually led to a home in the 2800 block of Hendricks Avenue, where the footprints went inside.

The man at that address was arrested for disorderly conduct and brought to the Outagamie County Jail.

(Partial reporting by FOX 11).

SHAWANO COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) - The Shawano County Sheriff's Department says a man is under arrest for allegedly running a drug house.

Captain Thomas Tuma says a search warrant led them to a distribution operation in the Town of Aniwa Tuesday evening.

Authorities say they recovered loaded guns, marijuana and what's believed to be bath salts inside the home.

The four-and-a-half hour search was hampered by a fortified door and surveillance systems at the residence.

The 42-year-old man is facing numerous charges including keeping of a drug house, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and felon in possession of a firearm.

The investigation is ongoing.

CASCO, WI (WTAQ) - Several fire agencies are responding to a fire in Kewaunee County Wednesday. 

Fire crews are battling flames and the cold at a house on Crevice Lane in Casco.

The Red Cross is also on scene.

No word yet on any injuries, or how the fire started.

(Additional reporting from FOX 11)

OCONTO, WI (WTAQ) - A 53-year-old man could spend the rest of his life in prison, after he was found guilty of killing a teenager 15 years ago in northeast Wisconsin.  

Oconto County jurors deliberated four-and-a-half hours Tuesday before convicting Peter Hanson of first-degree intentional homicide. A scheduling conference in the case is set for Monday.  

55-year-old Charles Mlados is also charged in the slaying. He's scheduled to go on trial February 14th on a homicide charge in the death of 19-year-old Chad McLean of Green Bay.  

Prosecutors said Hanson gave himself away by telling authorities details that were never released to the public -- like the fact that McLean died of gunshot wounds to the head.  

Prosecutors said the two defendants argued with McLean before killing him. A defense lawyer said three witnesses testified about Hanson's confession only because they were trying to get leniency in their own criminal cases.  

McLean was last seen riding with Hanson and Mlados in February of 1998 after a night of drinking. The victim's body was found in the Pensaukee River near Abrams a month later.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Hoping to spur job growth through the revitalization of historic Wisconsin buildings, Governor Scott Walker signed into a law an increase in the restoration tax credit.

“The passing of this legislation with revitalize downtown districts across the state,” Governor Walker said.  “Restoring these buildings will create a temporary and permanent economic increase for local and state economies."

It doubles the incentive to preserve historic structures built before 1936 by increasing state tax credits from 10 percent to 20 percent of the restoration budget.

Walker says it puts Wisconsin on par with other state’s historical building restoration credits.

One success story is Titletown Brewing Company, who will expand through renovating the old Larsen Cannery building in the Broadway District.

"It's going to help us out a lot, to deal with some of the issues that – cleaning up some of the environmental issues, dealing with things you don't normally deal with in construction," said Titletown Brewing Company owner Brent Weycker.

The location of Wednesday's signing was the Hotel Northland. Developer Mike Frantz says this bigger tax credit helped get this project over the goal line.

"It enables us to truly go downtown and help renovate downtowns, through historic re-purposing," said Frantz.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation cites the national average between 20 percent and 25 percent.

GREENLEAF, WI (WTAQ) - Brown County sheriff's deputies continue to investigate animal abuse exposed in a video from an animal rights group at the Wiese Brothers farm near Greenleaf.  

District Attorney David Lasee said he has not been asked yet to consider criminal charges. State Senate Democrat Tim Carpenter of Milwaukee asked Lasee to prosecute the workers shown in the video made by the group Mercy for Animals.  

Carpenter joined dairy industry leaders in calling the video "reprehensible."

The video was first made public on Tuesday, and it's gone viral on the Internet. That was after Nestle said it stopped using milk from the farm for some of the cheese in its DiGiorno pizza.  

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel quoted several farmers as saying some of the practices shown in the video were not animal abuse -- and that Mercy for Animals could be using it as propaganda. The group encourages a vegan diet.  

Buffalo County dairy farmer John Rosenow said it's not rare for large farms to have disabled animals a couple times a month -- and while they need to be convinced to move, they must be handled carefully.  

The video showed workers dragging, kicking, and whipping downed cows. One was seen suspended in the air.  

Wiese Brothers said it fired two workers involved and re-assigned a third one.  

Mercy for Animals says it's seeking talks with Nestle about making its milk suppliers follow guidelines against animal cruelty. Matt Rice says his group has not heard anything back from the company but, "We are hopeful."

(**WARNING: Video contains language and images that some may find offensive. Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

MILWAUKEE (WTAQ) - For the first time this year, home sales in Wisconsin's largest metro area are down from the same month the previous year.  

Just over 1,100 existing houses were sold in November in Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Waukesha, and Washington counties. That's eight-percent fewer than in the same month of 2012.  

Mike Ruzicka, who heads the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors, said the early cold weather might have been a factor. He also cited a smaller inventory, as listings for home sales were down 8 percent from the previous November.  

Still, Ruzicka said the Milwaukee area housing market had a solid year. That was confirmed by a separate report Wednesday from MTD Marketing Services, which said building permits for new homes were up by almost 6.5 percent from last year in five Wisconsin metro areas.  

Almost 250 building permits for one and two-family houses were issued last month in the Milwaukee, Dane County, Fox Valley, Green Bay-Door County, and Racine-Kenosha areas. All five areas had increases in building permits.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - It's not as cold today in northern Wisconsin, where 30-below wind chills were common the past couple mornings.  

Rhinelander had the state's coldest wind chill at minus-21 at 7 a.m. Antigo was at minus-20, and most other Badger State locations had wind chills in the minus-teens.  

Unlike Wednesday, the actual early morning temperatures did not drop below minus-10 in the north.

However, it did get a little colder in southern Wisconsin. It was in the single digits Thursday morning, after many parts of the south were in the teens early Wednesday.  

Cloudy skies kept the mercury from plunging in the north.

Some places had light snow. Neillsville had one-inch overnight.  

It's supposed to get a little warmer the next couple days, with highs in the single digits above zero in the northwest, to the 20's in the south.  

All of Wisconsin could see 20-degrees on Saturday, with a new chance of snow through the weekend.

(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)

RIPON, WI (WTAQ) - While fire crews try to find a cause to Wednesday's fire in downtown Ripon, the community is looking to help out the families displaced.

"The donations have come in unbelievably here in the last day or so for these families affected by the fire," says Ripon Chamber of Commerce Marketing and Events Coordinator Jason Mansmith. "Donations should be brought to Traded Treasures Thrift Boutique and the Ripon Community Food Pantry at 102 West Jackson Street."

Here is a list of what is needed:

• Size 12 Boys Jeans 
• Sweatshirts for kids 
• Jackets & Coats: Boys Size 14, Girl Size 10, Little Girl Size 7, Little Boy Size 10 
• New underwear and socks (Please make sure these are new)

Please make sure all clothing donations are clean and in good wearable condition. They no longer need donations of shorts, t-shirts, flip flops, and summer apparel.

Cash or Check Donations can be made to the “Traded Treasures Fire Relief Fund” at Horicon Bank in Ripon.

Online Donations can be made here. 

Online Donations can also be made at: www.riponareaunitedway.org

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - Appleton police are continuing the investigation surrounding the fatal shooting of a Green Bay man at a downtown nightclub.

On Thursday, police searched a home in Neenah as part of that ongoing probe.

Officials say one man was jailed on a parole violation after executing a search warrant in connection with the investigation. However, police are not saying the man is tied to the Joshua Richards murder case. Although, the search warrant for the Neenah home was.

It's been a tireless effort looking for the person responsible for the shooting death of Richards inside the Luna Lounge last Sunday morning at bar time.

Investigators have been looking at surveillance video for potential leads. Right now, they aren't naming any suspects or persons of interest, as authorities are still tracking down leads.

"We're coming up with new information, every day. New information that led our officers to continue to the investigation throughout the night,” Sgt. Dave Lund with the Appleton Police Department told FOX 11. “It's not going to bring back Josh - in this case - but it's going to provide some closure.”

Lund says they're still asking people for information about the shooting.

(Additional reporting from FOX 11)