Here's your daily news round up from 97.9 WGBW.
From the 97.9 WGBW newsroom, I'm Connie Feldman with his local news update.
A former Green Bay alderman is suing Mayor Eric Genrich and the city for what he calls a
quote, serious invasion of privacy. Court records show Chris Weary filed the lawsuit in Brown
County Court on Monday. Weary claims the now removed surveillance microphones in city hall
violated his fourth amendment rights. Green Bay installed the video and audio surveillance
equipment just over four years ago. A previous lawsuit over the microphones was settled in 2024.
The city maintained it was a standard surveillance system installed for public safety,
but a judge ordered the city to stop using it. The city council also voted to prohibit audio
surveillance. Weary resigned from the council last year because he was moving out of the district.
Calling all sturgeon guards, Wisconsin's DNR is looking for people to watch over our prehistoric
fish population during spawning season, which should begin soon. DNR sturgeon biologist Margaret
Stadeg says there are about 70 different spawning sites throughout the Winnebago system.
Far too many for game wardens to cover alone. Stadeg says during spawning season,
sturgeon can be vulnerable to poaching and other disturbances. Volunteer guards are on hand at
some popular sites like Bamboo Bend along the Wolf River in Shiocton to meet with visitors,
who flock to local river banks to witness the annual ritual. The Wolf River is widely considered
the best place in North America, if not the world, to see sturgeon spawn up close. It can sign up
to be a sturgeon guard on the DNR's website. A student accused of making threats that closed
Nina Middle School yesterday faces felony charges for terrorist threats. According to Nina
Police Chief Aaron Olson, Olson says police arrested the student within 15 hours of the threats
being reported. The district held classes virtually yesterday as a precaution after the social
media threats surfaced Tuesday evening. Nina joined superintendent Steve Harrison said students will
be back in school today and there will be an increased police presence at Nina Middle School for
the rest of the week. Keith Kutska, the so-called ringleader of the Monfile 6, has died at age 74,
according to an obituary. Kutska was one of six men in Green Bay convicted of killing
paper-mail worker Tom Monfiles in 1992. Monfile's body was found in a pulp vat at James River
Mill after he reported Kutska's theft of an extension court. All six men maintained their
innocence. Mike Piuskowski's conviction was overturned by a federal court, but the other five
convictions stood after numerous appeals. Kutska was released from prison in 2023 but remained
on state supervision, the obituary states that Kutska died while traveling in Arizona.
And that's a wrap for tubing and skating at Title Town for the season as the spring-like
temps move in. The favorite winner playground spot thanked visitors for a memorable season in a
social media post announcing the closing this week. With news at the top and bottom of the hour
all day and on demand any time at wgbw.fm, I'm Connie Feldman, 97.9 WGBW News.
For Civic Media News, I'm Lisa Hale. Governor Tony Evers sent a letter to Wisconsin's
congressional delegation this week urging them to revise the new federal hemp law,
which bans the sale of most hemp products in the United States starting in November of 2026.
It was passed as part of the plan to reopen the federal government last year after the longest
federal government shutdown in US history. According to Evers, the new federal hemp law is projected
to jeopardize $700 million in economic impact for the state and nearly 3,500 jobs in Wisconsin.
The impacts of the new federal hemp bill will be further intensified in Wisconsin due to the
fact that Wisconsin has not yet legalized medical or recreational marijuana. The growing of hemp
has become a strong diversification option for Wisconsin farmers and as of November 2025,
Wisconsin had 470 federally licensed hemp producers. Meanwhile, a bill that would allow Wisconsin
law enforcement agencies to conduct roadside drug tests is on Governor Tony Evers' desk for
consideration. Civic Media's James Kelly reports.
If signed into law, the legislation would allow law enforcement authorities to conduct
a saliva test while investigating potential operating while intoxicated violations.
Like the use of a preliminary breath test during OWA investigations,
the result that the scene could not be used as evidence but would allow law enforcement
authorities to require a blood test be taken to confirm or deny that result.
The saliva test will be able to detect substances like marijuana, methamphetamines,
and certain opiates because the test would not be admissible evidence in court,
law enforcement authorities would also be required to dispose of the samples taken during their
investigation. Governor Evers has previously expressed his intent to sign the bill into law,
but it will still take some time for law enforcement authorities to train and test the new tool
before it can be widely used. For Civic Media News, I'm James Kelly.
13 people could face criminal charges tied to the failed recall of Wisconsin assembly speaker
Robin Voss two years ago. Officials say those who tried to oust Voss allegedly listed fake
addresses on petition forms and other submitted signatures from people who didn't actually sign.
But the state's election commission ruled that there's not enough proof that organizer
Matt Snorick or the recall committee violated the law. The committee is recommending charges to
the Racine County District Attorney's Office which will decide whether to take the matter any
further. One of the partisan races coming up in November 2026 as a repeat the 2022 election.
In 2022, Attorney General Josh Call narrowly defeated fondle at county district attorney
Eric Tony. This year, Tony seeks to unseat the two-term incumbent again. The latest Marquette law
school poll finds that 10 months before the election voters view both candidates favorably.
Poll director Charles Franklin. We love us some attorney general candidates. I exaggerate a
little bit, but not hugely. Both Eric Tony and Josh Call have slightly net positive
favorability ratings. Both of them have a plus five. Franklin says Call is the better known of
the candidates with 56% of poll respondents saying they had no opinion of him. That's compared to
75% with no opinion of Tony. The most recent Marquette poll was conducted between February 11th
and February 19th with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3. Governor Tony Evers and the
Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs have announced $2 million in grant funding to bolster
flood resilience across the state. Civic Media's James Kelly has the story. According to a press release,
the funding through the pre-disaster flood resilience grant program is meant to help communities
identify and mitigate flood vulnerabilities with strategies like reconnecting streams and flood
planes or reducing erosion hazards. Two types of grant funding were made available through
the program, one for assessing vulnerabilities and one to implement the mitigation methods.
The goal is to naturally manage flooding before disasters like in Milwaukee, Washington,
and Wakashaw counties last August strike. The Onida Nation received the largest funding award
at $300,000 to create a culvert inventory and study water flow and hydraulic structure.
The City of Madison, Ozaki County, and City of Stevens Point also received significant
funding awards of over $200,000. For Civic Media News, I'm James Kelly. How much will it cost
to see the Packers play? Civic Media's County Filament has that answer. The price to see the Packers
play has gone up for this season. The team announced the new pricing on Friday. Depending on where
you sit in the bowl, you'll be paying between $4 and $22 more per ticket. Packers President and
CEO Ed Policie said the ticket prices for a game at Lambo are around the middle of the NFL's
pricing range, with the new increases, base value prices for regular season tickets are between
$143 and $196. Pre-season tickets are cheaper, but tickets sold through a third-party ticket broker
can be substantially higher. Packers fans don't seem to be priced out, though, with more than
155,000 people on the waiting list to buy Packer Season tickets, most wait decades for their
chance to buy that 18 inches of pure aluminum pleasure. I'm Connie Filman for Civic Media News.
111 to 113. The Bucks have now lost four in a row by a combined 97 points. What's next? Doc Rivers.
We may have to play different guys. We may have to go bigger, because right now we're giving up
too many points, too easy. We've changed schemes five different times. The change may be going bigger
and maybe take a more offense off the floor. College hoops, those constant badgers,
cruised past the Maryland Terrapins, 78-45 at the Cole Center, but concerned for badgers Nolan
Winters, who headed to the locker room with an ankle injury. Braden Carrington, 18 points,
including four three-pointers, Marquette with a win at Providence, 78-56. The Golden Eagles now
11-19. UWM season comes to an end. They lose at Detroit Mercy, 84-63 in the first round of the
horizon league with sports, my my commons. Partly to mostly cloudy today with a high right
around 44 this afternoon. Tonight, cloudy, down to 35 tomorrow. We have a chance of rain. Maybe if
you scattered thunderstorms, but it will be warmer with a high in the mid to upper fifties.
I'm meteorologist Sean Cable. That's your Green Bay News Roundup from 97.9 WGBW.
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