2/7/25 Hometown Broadcasting News Friday
7 February 2025 News
HIGH WIND HAVOC
High winds Thursday created some havoc across the area. Gusts reached 58 miles an hour in Oshkosh, 51 miles an hour in Wautoma, and 47 miles an hour in Waupaca. Green Lake County Sheriff’s officials say the wind blew ice-fishing shacks around on local lakes, so if you have one you might want to check. If it is not there it may be east of the last known location. In Green Lake one shack was blown into open water along Lake Street by the Bay View Motel. The strong winds also hampered wildfire firefighting efforts in some counties including Columbia County where there was a large fire near Fox River Road and County Highway T. The strong winds also spread wildfires in the Town of Lewiston and Fort Winnebago. (Pictures taken by the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office (above) and Portage Fire Department (below)).
WINTER STORM WATCH
A Winter Storm Watch has been issued from 3 am Saturday to 12 am Sunday. Affected counties include Calumet, Waupaca, Waushara, and Winnebago Counties. Snow totals could be from 4 to 7 inches. Travel could be difficult. Elsewhere 1 to 3 inches of snow is expected on Saturday.
AMBER ALERT FOR MISSING BEAVER DAM GIRL EXTENDED TO ARKANSAS
An Amber Alert was extended Thursday afternoon to Arkansas for a missing 16-year-old Beaver Dam girl. Sophia Franklin is believed to be in the company of 40-year-old Gary Day who is from Cabot, Arkansas, which is about 25 miles northeast of Little Rock. Earlier this week authorities in Dodge County issued an arrest warrant for Day on two counts of abduction of a child and two counts of child enticement. Day is also on felony probation in Arkansas. Franklin is three months pregnant and Day is known to be the father of her unborn child. In an attempt to evade detection Day has been switching license plates on the 2014 Black Buick Lacrosse they are traveling in. The vehicle was seen in Wisconsin Monday with a Pennsylvania license plate KGW5186. Anyone with information about the vehicle, Day, or Franklin is asked to call Beaver Dam Police at 920-887-4612 or the Amber Alert tip line 888-304-3936.
Have you seen this child? AMBER Alert: Sophia Martha Franklin
MURDER SUSPECT CLAIMS HE WAS THE VICTIM OF SEXUAL ASSAULT
There’s a new development in the case of a 27-year-old Fremont man who murdered his parents in their Town of Wolf River home in March of 2023. A motion has been made to withdraw Erik Metzig’s no contest pleas to a pair of first-degree intentional homicide charges. According to a motion filed in Winnebago County Court Thursday he is claiming he was a victim of sexual assault and that is the reason he killed his parents. Metzig had entered the no contest pleas last August, but he hasn’t been sentenced yet. Prosecutors haven’t responded to the motion. The next step in the case could be decided during a status conference on Monday. Metzig shot his parents to death, 72-year-old David Metzig and 71-year-old Jan Metzig, on March 18th of 2023. They were found dead of gunshot wounds during a welfare check. He was living with them at the time of the shooting.
VIRTUAL CHILD PORNOGRAPHY SUSPECT ARRAIGNED
The 20-year-old Taycheedah man charged with nine counts of possession of virtual child pornography and one count of resisting or obstructing an officer was arraigned in Fond du Lac County Court Thursday. Meillo Schneider pled not guilty to all charges. According to the criminal complaint the investigation began last September 27th after the Sheriff’s Office received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children which had received information from Amazon Photos Trust and Safety Team on April 12th. Three other cyber tips had been reported about Schneider. A search warrant was obtained for Schneider’s residence. As a result a Sheriff’s detective reviewed thousands of photo files of anime and artistic renderings of child sexual abuse. They included images of infants and pre-pubescent children being sexually assaulted by adults. A status conference is scheduled in the case on March 25th.
UNSAFE ICE DOESN’T ALLOW FOR MISTAKES
Fond du Lac County Sheriff Ryan Waldschmidt says a fatal UTV accident on Lake Winnebago last weekend is a tragic reminder of how unsafe the ice can be during the winter. He says the two men riding the UTV hit open water and the UTV sank to the bottom rotating as it did. The men were able to stand on the tires of the UTV so their heads were above water, but they were in the icy water for about 20 minutes before someone noticed them. The driver swam over to them holding on to his unconscious friend while doing so. Waldschmidt says a deputy got out near them, but the same crack the UTV sank in kept the deputy from getting to them. The deputy tossed an automatic external defibrillator to the Good Samaritans to help the unresponsive man. Eventually the two men were taken to shore and St. Agnes Hospital in Fond du Lac where one passed away and the other was treated for hypothermia. Sheriff Waldschmidt reminds those going out for the sturgeon spearing season to be careful on the ice and cautions Saturday’s snow will disguise some of those cracks.
STURGEON SPEARING SEASON BEGINS
Up to 13,000 people will take to the ice of Lake Winnebago and the Upriver Lakes for the 2025 Sturgeon Spearing Season, which begins tomorrow morning. DNR Conservation Warden Bill Hankee says what awaits them is uncertain ice conditions. He says the ice is pretty thick, but there are still a lot of cracks and open water. With a lack of snow cover this winter that ice has been clear, which promotes algae growth that affects the all-important water clarity spearers need for success. He estimates the clarity is only 4 to 6 feet especially on the southern end of Lake Winnebago. Opening weekend is when you will see the most spearers and people enjoying events surrounding the season like Sturgeon Spectacular in Fond du Lac. Hankee says the registration stations are also a huge draw even for non-spearers. He says there is no doubt that the sturgeon spearing season has a big impact on the local economy. If the season runs its full length of 16 days it would end on February 23rd.
NFDL APPLYING FOR SAFE DRINKING WATER LOAN
The state’s Department of Natural Resources tells us the Village of North Fond du Lac is an applicant for funding through the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program to improve its public drinking water system. The project includes the construction of Well #5. Activities related to the project are minor actions for which no environmental analysis is required. However, following the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program federal requirement an environmental review must be conducted before funding the project. The Safe Drinking Water Loan Program has determined the project will not result in significant adverse environmental effects, and no further environmental review or analysis is needed before proceeding with funding the project. The public is encouraged to submit comments regarding this decision and the potential environmental impacts of this project by February 20th. Based on the comments received, the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program may prepare an environmental analysis before proceeding with the funding process. More information about submitting comments can be found on the DNR’s website.
FUNDING FOR SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION EFFORTS ANNOUNCED
Governor Evers and the state’s Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection this week announced that $1 million will be awarded to 49 farmer-led groups through the Producer-Led-Watershed Protection Grant Program. Funding will support producer-led conservation solutions by encouraging innovation and farmer participation in efforts to improve Wisconsin’s soil health and water quality. Among those receiving the grants are the Dodge County Farmers for Healthy Soil and Healthy Water who are receiving $32,000 and the Fond du Lac County Watershed Alliance will receive $22,000. In 2023, groups in the program delivered conservation practices on over 1.5 million acres, an increase from 1.1 million acres in 2022.
ENVISION OFFICIALS RECEIVE RECOGNITION
Envision Greater Fond du Lac CEO and President Sadie Howell says their employees don’t rest on their laurels striving to better themselves by taking classes and training to be able to offer Envision members better services. Last month Joe Venhuizen, Vice President of Membership & Resource Development for Envision graduated from a professional development course offered through the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Howell says the three-year course was about Chamber management. Also last month Emily Waisanen, Workforce Programming Specialist, successfully completed the Certificate in Workforce Development Fundamentals program. It was a six week course. Howell says Waisanen works with high school students and employers to put students on a possible career path and perhaps in Fond du Lac County.
CELEBRATE COMMUNITY 2025
The 16th annual Celebrate Community event, sponsored by United for Diversity will be held Saturday, February 15th from 11 am to 3 pm at the Fond du Lac County Fairgrounds Expo Center in Fond du Lac. Adults and children alike will have opportunities to interact with others at over 50 booths that represent different countries, religions, and community organizations showcasing a beautiful spectrum of diversity. From Noon until 3 pm, many booths will serve free ethnic food samples, while others will be selling their ethnic wares and artifacts. Families can partake in barrier-breaking games, crafts, and activities that will continue throughout the day. Doors open at 10:30 am. The event kicks off at 11 am with an awe-inspiring Flag Ceremony, drummed in by Native American elders. Guests will be welcomed by City and County officials before the live multicultural entertainment kicks off from Noon until 3 pm.
B29s RETURN TO AIRVENTURE
The world’s only two flying examples of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress will be back this summer at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2025, supporting the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and post-war aviation technology. The two B-29s have made only about a half-dozen joint public appearances since first flying together at Oshkosh in 2017. Three of those appearances have taken place at EAA AirVenture including in 2024. EAA’s vice president of communities and member programs Rick Larsen says, “These airplanes are big favorites wherever they appear separately, but together they will make the occasion even more unforgettable.” As currently scheduled, each airplane will spend time featured on EAA’s Boeing Plaza. FIFI will be on display on July 21st through the 23rd, while Doc will take center stage for display on July 24th through the 27th. The airplanes are also scheduled to make a formation flight at the beginning of the July 23rd night air show. When not on display at Boeing Plaza, flight experiences on Doc on July 21st through the 23rd will be based at Appleton International Airport, while FIFI will be in Appleton for flight experiences on July 24th through the 27th.
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