One story marked a beginning, the other a tragic end.
The long-awaited unveiling of plans for the Green Bay Packers' proposed Titletown District, and the sudden death of Brown County police dog Wix during a golf tournament both happened in August, but the similarities end there.
The Titletown District was met with cheers and anticipation for the attention and tax dollars it is expected to bring when it is built just west of Lambeau Field. News of Wix's death prompted shock, sadness and some anger from members of the public who struggled to accept that two devices used to cool the car when the dog was inside had failed at the same time.
Those two stories were among the most read, and most-shared local stories on social media, but there was plenty of other significant news in the Green Bay area during 2015.
Here, organized by subject area, are the year's top stories as selected by the Press-Gazette Media news reporters.
ASHWAUBENON
In August, the Green Bay Packers revealed their plans for the long-anticipated Titletown District west of Lambeau Field. The three-announced anchors include the Lodge Kohler luxury hotel, Hinterland Brewery and a Bellin Health sports medicine clinic. The development will include 10 acres of public plaza, including an ice-skating pond, an event area and a football-field-sized green space. The Lombardi Avenue side will include 200,000 square feet of retail, dining and entertainment businesses. Brookwood Drive will include up to 70 two-story townhouses. Work will probably begin in the spring. The anchors are slated to open by September 2017. The first phase of development will cost $120 million to $130 million.
BELLEVUE
Fire Chief Brad Muller was accused by the firefighters' union in June of putting staff in harm’s way, berating firefighters, making profane comments about women and using racist language. The Bellevue Fire Commission ultimately dismissed all of the charges. One commissioner claimed the union wanted to force Muller into retirement. Muller said he would retire at the end of the year, but he said it had nothing to do with the charges. He worked for the department his entire 30-year career.
BROWN COUNTY
Police dog dies: Brown County made national news on Aug. 12 when Wix, a sheriff's department police dog, died when an air-conditioner motor in a patrol car malfunctioned, and a device designed to alert the dog's handler that the cabin was overheating failed. In the 47 minutes Deputy Austin Lemberger was away from the vehicle during the PGA Championship golf tourney near Sheboygan, the heat killed Wix. An investigation cleared Lemberger of any wrongdoing. He is working with a new dog, a Belgian Malinois named Murdock.
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Shirley Wind Farm, Glenmore (Photo: File/Press-Gazette Media)
Wind farm ruling: Many people living near the Shirley Wind Farm in southern Brown County had their hopes dashed in December, when county Health Director Chua Xiong ruled insufficient scientific evidence exists to blame wind turbines for illnesses suffered by some area residents. Residents had battled for years for a ruling saying their sleep deprivation, depression and other illnesses were caused by proximity to the eight turbines. Health officials met multiple times for multiple hours and reviewed reams of evidence before Xiong ruled.
Airport name change:County lawmakers voted 15-10 in December to add "Green Bay" before the name of Austin Straubel International Airport, which honors the first Brown County airman killed in the Pacific in World War II. The name change, suggested by an airport business-owner and backed by the airport's director, is designed to improve marketing. It drew a handful of objections, some from veterans who said the change would diminish the honor bestowed upon Straubel, and others who said the change would not boost business.
Coroner's office eliminated: Bodies of people who die under suspicious circumstances in Brown County will be transported to Madison for autopsies under an agreement Brown County supervisors approved in October. Lawmakers approved a two-year contract to place the Dane County Medical Examiner's Office in charge of Brown County's medical examiner's office, saying the arrangement would improve the quality of death investigations. The agreement, which also includes Door and Oconto counties, begins Jan. 1.
BUSINESS
Consumers experienced frustration with new micro-chipped credit cards. Many shoppers say store employees are not knowledgeable on the new technology, some businesses didn't convert to meet an Oct. 1 deadline. Green Bay-area residents said they enjoy the added security but dislike the extra processing time the cards require at the register.
COLLEGES
UW funding cuts: Under the new state budget, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay faced a $2.8 million reduction in state aid as part of an overall $250 million cut to the University of Wisconsin System reduction. UW-Green Bay offered buyouts to senior employees in spring; 29 accepted. Officials expected to eliminate 24 jobs, mostly in academic advising and support services.
Executive audience: The UW-Green Bay women’s basketball team’s return to the NCAA tournament in March had more attention than usual. President Barack Obama attended UWGB’s first-round game against Princeton at University of Maryland’s Xfinity Center. The Phoenix lost 80-70 to the unbeaten Tigers, whose team included the niece of the commander in chief. But players, coaches and staff have memories to cherish.
Eyes brimming with tears, WWII veteran Ed Daul received his French Legion of Honor medal from the Consulate General of France at the veterans clinic in Green Bay. Daul served during the Allied invasion of the Normandy coastline in northern France. (Photo: Jim Matthews/Press-Gazette Media)
International acclaim: The French paid tribute to local World War II veteran Ed Daul in October. The deputy consul general for the French Consulate in Chicago came to Green Bay to present the 90-year-old De Pere native a French Legion of Honor medal for his efforts in helping to liberate France from German occupation as an Army rifleman near the end of the war.
» A few months earlier, Lawrence distance runner Alex Guild won two gold medals and set an American record in the Special Olympics World Games at Los Angeles.
DEVELOPMENT
Hotel Northland: After months of behind-the-scenes holdups and false starts, work finally started on the Hotel Northland renovation in downtown Green Bay. Announced in April but not started until December, developers behind the $44 million project intend to open the luxury hotel before the 2016 Packers season.
KI expansion:
The KI Convention Center welcomed its first guests this fall after an expansion of the downtown convention center almost doubled in size. Tourism officials said the expansion has already paid off: Eight conventions have been booked for the downtown Green Bay facility since the expansion was announced.
FAITH
Pilgrims see Pope: Several Northeastern Wisconsin residents traveled to the East Coast when Pope Francis visited the United states in late September. His first visit to the United States as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church drew more than 1 million people to downtown Philadelphia for the World Meeting of Families. Bishop David Ricken joined more than 100 people on a pilgrimage sponsored by the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay newspaper.
GREEN BAY
Psychiatric hospital: After weeks of heated debate, the City Council in April narrowly approved selling land and providing financial assistance to a for-profit psychiatric hospital on the city’s east side. Mayor Jim Schmitt cast a tie-breaking vote approving Tennessee-based Strategic Behavioral Health's 72-bed, $10 million facility. Critics, championed by nonprofit Bellin Health and other local health care providers, said the new hospital will destabilize existing services by stretching a shortage of psychiatrists and driving up costs.
Aldermen gone wild:
The City Council spent four months fighting over a code of conduct to improve decorum at meetings. The Council approved the policy in September following sharp exchanges, including Alderman Guy Zima ripping a copy of the constitution and declaring his right to free speech was being violated. The policy includes possible sanctions for violators, including fines up to $500, censure or removal from office.
Oneida fight: A struggle over who has jurisdiction over tribal land, the subject of closed-door contract negotiations between Green Bay and the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, has continued since early 2015. The governments have been trying since April to work out a deal in which the city continues to provide street maintenance and other services on tax-exempt tribal land located on Green Bay's west side. But the sides have been unable to move past a controversial provision that bans the city from opposing transfers of additional land owned by the tribe into the tribe's federal tax-exempt trust. Green Bay stands to lose up to 14 percent of its tax base to the tribe if the contract stays, or hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual fees revenue if the contract dissolves.
Monfils killing: Tom Monfils, 35, was found dead in a paper pulp vat 23 years ago, but the case continued to make headlines. This year, Keith Kutska, whom police and prosecutors believe was the instigator in Monfils’ murder, was denied parole for the first time. Kutska also sought to reopen his case based on what he claims is new evidence. Retired reserve Judge James Bayorgeon heard testimony and is reviewing transcripts and written arguments. He could make a decision any time.
Mayor re-elected: Green Bay voters elected Mayor Jim Schmitt to a fourth term in Office in April, putting him in line to tie the record for longest-serving mayor in the city’s history. Former Mayor Sam Halloin holds the record of four full terms.
Speeding crackdown: After months of pressuring police to crackdown on speeders, City Council started to finally see some action after a dog was killed in front of Aldo Leopold school.
HOWARD
Wick homicide:
Three years after Thomas Wick, 43, was found murdered in his Howard home, investigators made two arrests. Matthew Moore, 31, and his fiancée, Katie Heller, 27, are accused of killing Wick because they weren’t able to keep up with payments on a house they were buying from him. Heller’s trial is scheduled for February, Moore is headed for March jury trial.
Crash suit settled: A woman seriously injured when a Brown County sheriff's deputy slammed into her car in Howard in 2012 has settled with the county, the village of Suamico and two insurance companies. Michelle Lecker Micheel and her then-fiancee, Paul Micheel, agreed to a $260,000 settlement for the crash that left her with broken bones and significant internal injuries. Lecker and Micheel have since married. Lecker's attorney, I. Gregg Curry IV of Appleton, said the $260,000 was paid by insurance companies, and represents part of a larger settlement which he could not disclose. Lecker had sought $5.37 million.
MILESTONES
Final bow:
The Green Bay Symphony Orchestra’s current season will be its last. (Photo: Submitted)
The Green Bay Symphony Orchestra, an institution in the community for more than 100 years, played its final concert April 11 at UWGB’s Weidner Center for the Performing Arts. The organization’s board of directors said financial burdens and declining attendance silenced the orchestra, which changed from a community band of mostly local musicians to a regional ensemble of professional players about 20 years ago.
More milestones: St. Patrick Catholic Church, one of the oldest churches in Green Bay, celebrated its 150th birthday. UW-Green Bay commemorated the 50th anniversary of its founding. De Pere celebrated the 25th anniversary of its Memorial Day weekend festival, Celebrate De Pere, with a patriotic concert by country musician Lee Greenwood.
PUBLIC SAFETY
City crime: Gang violence came to Green Bay in a shocking new way when two teens set fire to a 16-unit apartment building, putting 60 lives at risk to make a statement to a rival gang member. No one was injured in the April 27 fire, which destroyed the building. Jesse Jones, 19, is serving a 10-year prison term. Jordon Gardner-Shedrick, 18, is to be sentenced on Jan. 26.
Molitor leaves:
A dispute between police Chief Tom Molitor and members of the Green Bay City Council ultimately led to Molitor's retirement and the hiring of a new police chief. Molitor complained that city officials were trying to usurp his authority by demanding a gang unit, which Molitor said the department didn’t need. Former chief Jim Lewis, serving as interim chief, put a gang unit in place. Andrew Smith, a commander with the Los Angeles Police Department, is expected to take over as chief in early January.
UWGB-area slaying: The shooting death of Krystal R. Torres-Smith, 39, shocked and worried people in and near the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay campus, where she had been found dead in her car. Percy N. Sims, 26, of Appleton was arrested. Police think Sims set up a marijuana buy, then robbed and shot her. His next court appearance is Jan. 11.
Trooper slain:
A bank robbery in Wausaukee in March ended in three deaths, including that of the robber, Steven T. Snyder, Wausaukee truck driver Tom Christ, 59, and State Trooper Trevor Casper, 21. Snyder shot Christ shortly after the bank robbery, when Christ stumbled upon him going to his getaway car near Christ’s Oconto County home. Snyder and Casper died in a shootout in Fond du Lac when the trooper spotted him four hours later.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Voucher program expands: Wisconsin lawmakers lifted the cap on the number of students who could participate in private school voucher programs as part of the state 2015-17 budget. Some private schools in Brown County saw enrollment jumps of 10 to 20 percent. Funding mechanisms also changed, and rather than use a separate pot of money the state now reduces aid to the student’s home public school district to cover voucher costs.
School referendums: In April, 59 percent of voters in Northeast Wisconsin Technical College’s six-and-a-half county region approved a $66.5 million referendum to cover building and program expansions at its three campuses. Voters in the De Pere School District also overwhelmingly approved a $7 million referendum question asking to borrow for construction and renovation projects. De Pere voters rejected a $3.1 million request to cover improvements to the De Pere High School athletics complex.
PULASKI
Superintendent resigns:
Pulaski School District Superintendent Milt Thompson resigned in June before a disciplinary hearing. In a performance review, School Board members said Thompson was dishonest and handled the discipline of an employee poorly. The board plans to hire a superintendent in the spring.
Principal, teacher suspended: Pulaski High School Principal John Matczak and David Shaw, a physical education teacher and the boys varsity basketball coach, were disciplined for their roles in an incident in which one student repeatedly punched another. In April, Shaw was suspended for three days without pay, and Matzke was suspended for five days without pay. District officials said they would provide training for staff, including expectations for lunchroom supervision, and ways to respond to student concerns.
TRANSPORTATION
I-41: The stretch of U.S. 41 from northern Brown County to the Illinois line was re-designated as Interstate 41, a significant milestone in the multi-year, multimillion-dollar upgrade of the highway. Work will continue in 2016.
Interstate 41 (Photo: Photo: Wisconsin DOT)
Uber: The Uber ride-share program made its way to Green Bay.
70 mph: Speed limits on parts of I-43 and selected other Wisconsin highways were increased to 70 mph. Some proponents of the change had claimed that lower speed limits caused some interstate commercial traffic to bypass the state.
dschneid@greenbaypressgazette.com and follow him on Twitter @PGDougSchneider. Adam Rodewald, Todd McMahon, Paul Srubas, Richard Ryman, Patti Zarling, Jeff Bollier, and Shelby Le Duc contributed to this report.
Above is from: http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/local/2015/12/26/packers-titletown-plans-lead-year-review/77841810/
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