by Savannah Wood SHAWANO (WLUK) -- It is the general fishing opener Anglers statewide will be hitting the waters as the general inland fishing opener of the 2025-2026 season kicks off Good Day Wisconsin spent the morning with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources out on Shawano Lake The DNR reminds that all Wisconsin residents and nonresidents age 16 or older are required to purchase a fishing license For more information, head over to the DNR's website. According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources the dam on the Wolf River marks the end of the line It also provides a unique place to watch the activity Cecil Fuss is looking for signs of the season "Just grocery shopping at Charlie's Most years they're in here pretty thick by this time But they're pretty late this year," said Fuss we've seen one sighting," said Sheehan Share your photos and videos of sturgeon spawning here: Experts say the prehistoric fish typically start to spawn when the water temperature is around 53 degrees Sheehan says DNR crews use the privacy of the shoreline to handle and process spawning sturgeon and we can expect them as soon as we get a good healthy population of fish for them to work with," she said Sheehan says the mill has been on site for a century "We have generations of people who have worked at this mill just like we have generations of fish that are right outside our facility and we thought now's the time for us to really talk about who we are and what we do and the role that we play in this really incredible natural phenomenon," she said Fuss says he's still looking for signs of the spawning season "I only see a couple tailing right now experts say it could last a matter of days by Scott Hurley SHAWANO COUNTY (WLUK) -- Two tornadoes touched down in western Shawano County Monday night the National Weather Service has confirmed it covered a path 1.88 miles long and 55 yards wide A second tornado touched down just after 10 p.m a mile south of Mattoon in the town of Hutchins It was just west of the intersection of Park Avenue and Ranch Road The tornado was also rated EF0 with estimated peak wind speeds of 80 mph it covered a path 6.25 miles long and 65 yards wide If you can safely take a photo or video of damage where you are The roof of an outbuilding was damaged in the Birnamwood tornado Wisconsin Public Service reported about 800 customers without power Tuesday morning No injuries or deaths were reported from either tornado MATTOON (WLUK) -- Some people in Shawano County are waking up to storm damage Tuesday morning had tree and power lines down across town with some poles even being snapped Crews are out to help clear out the damage Shortly after 10 p.m. Monday, a tornado warning was issued for Shawano County A radar-indicated tornado was identified in northwest part of our area Have any storm damage? You can share your photos and videos with us here: Wisconsin Public Service reports more than 800 hundred people in Wisconsin's northern counties are without power Stephanie from The Avenue in Shawano joined Abby Destree from Fox 11 Living to talk about everything you can find in their shop and the great deals they have going on during Ladies Day on Friday The Avenue is located at 142 S. Main St. in Shawano. For more information follow them on Facebook by clicking here! GREEN BAY, Wis. (WLUK) – Benjamin Joos was sentenced Wednesday to 18 months in federal prison for assaulting a postal worker with a shotgun after he had been drinking previously pleaded guilty in federal court to one count for the Sept 24 incident in the Shawano County town of Grant Joos was also placed on supervised release for three years after the prison term the female carrier "was fulfilling her obligations as a federal postal employee by placing mail in a residential mailbox when she heard a loud noise and thought her window shattered She then saw the defendant standing with a shotgun pointed at her and yelling at her to get away from his mailbox Jane Doe stated that the defendant continued to train the shotgun on her after firing an initial blast Both her vehicle and jane Doe were hit with the shotgun pellets She suffered minor injuries to her arms which required brief hospitalization." Charges in state court for the incident were dismissed in favor of the federal case SHAWANO COUNTY (WLUK) -- After much anticipation and excitement, the inland lakes sport fishing season is underway It's part of "How WI Live" in Wisconsin Tom Bloomer and his wife Mary Bloomer are heading for the landing there "I'm a little bit chilly this morning with the wind Water temperature was a little cold," said Tom Bloomer Bloomer says he waits for the calendar to make it to the beginning of May And then there was quite a break in between now and then Panfish mostly this morning," he said Anglers say the 6,200-acre Shawano Lake contains northern pike Friends Jacob Rasch and Eric Hartig say they had some success on opening day but we managed a few walleyes," said Eric Hartig It's always something we do every year," he said and it's kind of tradition to come out here and fish now that everything's open up," said Jacob Rasch The inland lakes sport fishing season runs through March 31 According to the Department of Natural Resources an estimated 1.3 million licensed anglers are expected to participate MATTOON (NBC 26) — A tornado was reported in Mattoon The tornado reportedly passed the area around 10 p.m This was reported after a damage survey was done on Tuesday NWS will release more details soon and we will update this story as we learn more If you have any photos of the severe weather on Monday night Please make sure to include your name and location of the photo We cover stories making an impact in Shawano. This is your home to stay on top of what is changing in Shawano and why it matters to you and your family. We want to hear from you! Click here and tell us what we should be covering in your neighborhood Following a storm system that traveled from Minnesota into Wisconsin, the National Weather Service reported six confirmed tornadoes hit Wisconsin on April 28 The weather service said early April 29 that it would be assessing the damage in those communities throughout the day and in the late afternoon said four twisters touched down in Eau Claire County, including one in Augusta, while two others occurred in Shawano County including up to 2.75 inches in diameter was observed with the storm that made its way into west central Wisconsin April 28 Authorities said no injuries or deaths were reported GREEN BAY, Wis. (WGBW) – Tornadoes tore a path through Birnamwood and Mattoon Monday night, National Weather Service says winds hit 80 mph. The NWS Green Bay surveyed damage on Tuesday and confirmed a brief EF-0 tornado touched down in Birnamwood, packing 80 mph winds. They say the most notable damage was to the roof of an outbuilding and uprooted trees. It then carved a path through Mattoon and was on the ground for 6.25 miles. No fatalities or injuries were reported. Want More Local News?We've got you. Scan it to get it. News Ethics and Standards | Privacy Policy three counts of possessing a firearm silencer and one count of possession of narcotic drugs The other 61 counts he had been charged with were dismissed police responded to the home for a domestic disturbance Police seized dozens of weapons and more than 1,300 pounds of ammunition they identified the firearms did not have serial numbers and appeared to have been made or put together in an attempt to ensure there was no paper trail or registration of purchases,” the complaint states Police were informed there were weapons in the home 1,315 pounds of ammo and drug related items consistent with Fentanyl use were recovered from the residence which was reported to only be occupied by Kyle Matsche This is in addition to the two firearms located in Kyle's possession during the initial disturbance call,” the complaint states One witness told police Matsche builds guns as a hobby including for possession of THC and bail jumping for which he served a three-year prison term Heather from Martin Jewellers in Shawano joined Abby Destree from Fox 11 Living to talk about pearls and the great deals they have going on during Ladies Day on Friday Martin Jewellers is located at 148 S. Main St in Shawano. For more information visit martinjewellers.com SHAWANO LAKE (WLUK) -- An effort is underway to help the population of a popular sport fish in the Northwoods Crews net and tag walleye during the annual spawning run "Shawano Lake used to be a premier walleye lake in the 90s, and then the reproduction just plummeted. And there're multiple reasons. Nobody has a good reason for it, and it needed assistance. So that's what we do. We help Mother Nature," said Ken VanDenPlas, Walleyes for Tomorrow Shawano Chapter Chair Walleyes for Tomorrow Shawano Chapter Chair Ken VanDenPlas says crews gather fish from about a half a dozen different sites around the 6,200-acre lake workers and volunteers sort the fish into males and females A clay mixture is added to help keep the eggs from clumping together and they'll sit in the tray for an hour hour and a half minimum," said VanDenPlas Department of Natural Resources crews gather data and more Elliot Hoffman is the area's fisheries biologist we have been doing a pit tag study with the movement of walleyes out here So kind of work in conjunction with Walleyes for Tomorrow And we're out here kind of scanning and seeing if we can find some of them pit tags "We found that probably a third of the population is actually running up to Loon Creek So the other two-thirds kind of are out there on Rose Nose Point Them are kind of the historical areas where they've always spawned," he said then we'll take them back to the hatchery and put them in the hatchery jars," said VanDenPlas each of the portable hatchery's 32 tubes "They'll stay in there for anywhere from 9 we didn't collect one million eggs the first year I'm thinking after three days of collecting eggs we'll have over 10-12 million eggs," he said VanDenPlas says the tiny walleye are released when they're a few days old "Because that's all they have for a yolk sac So we have to let them go out back into nature is less than one half of one percent will make it to spawning age," he said Contact: Elliot Hoffman, DNR Senior Fisheries BiologistElliot.Hoffman@wisconsin.gov or 920-420-9581 – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) invites the public to join DNR staff on Tuesday for the fifth meeting in a nine-part series focused on fisheries management in northeast Wisconsin This meeting is a part of a Spotlight Series that highlights various fisheries in northeast Wisconsin and will focus on local lake surveys from Waupaca and Shawano counties specifically highlighting recent 2024 surveys and fish tracking studies on Shawano Lake Trout stream surveys from the Middle Branch Embarrass watershed will also be discussed The meeting will be held in person and virtually via Microsoft Teams from 6 to 8 p.m You can find more information about this event, including the Microsoft Teams registration info, on the DNR’s Meetings and Hearings calendar Shawano Lake Walleye Movement & Survey Results Of 2024 Area SurveysPresenter: Elliot Hoffman © Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | Site requirements | Accessibility | Legal | Privacy | Employee resources SHAWANO COUNTY (WLUK) -- Wheel taxes have become common across our area as a way for municipalities to fund road work and now Shawano County could become the first county in our area to have one The idea of a $20 wheel tax starting next year isn’t sitting well with some residents need to tighten our belts,” said Timothey Massey of the Town of Westcott “Perhaps the highway department needs to as well.” “We tightened our belt last year,” said James Davel Davel says the situation is only going to get worse with rising prices and state imposed limits on tax collections FOX 11 asked Davel if a wheel tax fee would allow the county do more road work or maintain what it is currently doing but allow us to maintain what we're doing,” said Davel “We would hope to do anywhere from 15 to 18 miles of paving every year the county paved 9.6 miles of county roads at a cost of $3.3 million Collecting $20 from 37,350 eligible vehicles would generate about $747,000 While no counties in our area have a wheel tax 13 of the state's 72 counties do have one 38 municipalities in the state also have one “Comments have been brought up about the lack of snowfall all these years they're like where is that money going,” said Jeremy Gretzinger “I think once we show to the public where this money is going to be allocated for I don't think they'd have a problem with it.” The county board was going to take a vote on the wheel tax Wednesday afternoon but instead voted to wait a month - allowing for a yet to be scheduled public information session The city of Shawano added a $40 wheel tax fee last year city residents would pay an extra $60 per year on top of the state's $85 annual vehicle registration fee UPDATE: 6 to 8 cattle have died from Tuesday night's barn fire in Shawano County according to the Shawano County Sheriff's Office Deputies tell NBC 26 this has been reported by the homeowner We will continue to update this story as more details are provided by authorities ORIGINAL REPORTING: Flames engulfed a barn on a farm in Shawano County on Tuesday night Firefighters said the barn is a total loss and that hay and silage were burning steadily Officials say they were called to the fire around 5 p.m It was burning on Swamp Road in the Town of Waukechon so we had to split our operations up," said Chuck Felts the assistant chief of the Shawano Area Fire department so we have the backhoe out there right now scraping out silage so we can fully extinguish the fire," Felts said Felts says the responding departments are working with the farm's owner to make sure all of his cattle are accounted for it was not immediately known if that was the case Cold weather — with temperatures in the teens — also made things a bit more difficult for the fire units the most difficult thing is for the tenders bringing water as [there's] ice on the roads," Felts said The assistant chief would not say for sure that the downed power line caused the fire but Wisconsin Public Service was on scene Tuesday night to clear the power line The parts of Swamp Road near County Road K were closed for several hours Lindsay from Shawano Downtown joined Fox 11 Living to talk about Ladies Day happening this Friday Join us for Shawano Downtown Ladies' Day – Kentucky Derby Style Put on your biggest hats and fanciest dresses because the theme is Kentucky Derby Style You can shop at a variety of area businesses from 10 am to 7 pm For more information visit www.shawanodowntown.com SHAWANO (NBC 26) — The Shawano Community High School Athletic Director pleads not guilty to a disorderly conduct citation after a physical altercation with a student during a night of toilet papering last fall (The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story with additional details for the web) The Shawano Community High School athletic director pleads not guilty to a disorderly conduct citation after a physical altercation with a student during a night of toilet papering last fall I first learned about this story when the teen's mother reached out to me on social media saying her son was injured and she wants to see more action from the school district and the court the athletic director's attorney claims it was her son who was in the wrong Watch Pari Apostolakos' full broadcast story below: Court records show Shawano High School Athletic Director Joel Wondra has been charged with disorderly conduct and It all goes back to one night during homecoming week last October when the Sheriff's Office says Dakota and other students toilet papered Wondra's home Dakota says it's a tradition he's participated in for years "We would get like a lot of teachers and administrators [they've] done Wondra's house before," Dakota told me on his couch in his home someone went to ring the doorbell and Wondra came outside and he grabbed me from behind," Dakota said He said he fell and hit his head on a trailer hitch before running away When the bleeding from his head didn't stop "He was discharged from the hospital that night with a severe concussion and the five staples and severe head trauma," Dakota's mother Adriana says her son was assaulted and she and her son want Wondra removed from the district "You do not get the right to put your hands on other people's children and hurt them," Adriana said "My child ended up with a busted open head in the hospital and [Wondra] thought that was okay." Records show Wondra called 9-1-1 after the kids ran off because the students were wearing ski masks he didn't know who they were or what they were doing ding-dong ditch," he can be heard saying to a Sheriff's deputy in body camera footage of him giving a statement to investigators In his statement Wondra said he grabbed someone to figure out what he was doing there and that person became aggressive says Dakota was trespassing and damaged Wondra's property and Wondra denies any allegations of assault Swid also said the parents of the students at Wondra's home that night know what their kids did and that it was illegal Dakota claims he didn't damage anyone's property and said he did not retaliate when Wondra grabbed him There was like three separate groups going around the whole area and I was part of the TPing one," Dakota said Wondra has a pretrial hearing scheduled for May Dakota is scheduled for a court trial at the end of July in his trespassing case Shawano County officials held an informational meeting about the additional vehicle registration fee (The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story with changes for the web.) A controversial tax is on the table in Shawano County At Thursday afternoon's informational meeting county officials said they could get an additional $750,000 for road work with a "wheel tax," or a tax on registered vehicles 13 counties in Wisconsin already charge an additional vehicle registration fee or "wheel tax." The county fees range from $15 to $30 per car Shawano County's proposed $20 wheel tax would be the first county wheel tax in northeast Wisconsin along with dozens of other Wisconsin cities "I live actually in the city of Shawano so I already got the $40 wheel tax," Tiffany Krell said after Thursday's informational meeting at the courthouse to add another $20 on to it just because I live in the city and in the county Krell went to Thursday's information session to get her questions answered and share why she is against the wheel tax and she wasn't the only one Some meeting attendees asked the county to put the matter of the wheel tax to a vote some questioned the county's budgeting process and some asked why the issue had to be decided within a week When one man asked for a show of hands Thursday the majority of people at the meeting indicated they were against the county's wheel tax going through County officials say the projected $750,000 or so which would come in from the wheel tax would be for road projects and would help chip away at a $2 million budget deficit At Thursday's meeting the county board chair administrative coordinator and highway commissioner said the deficit was caused by grant funding and American Rescue Plan Act funds drying up and fixed costs "The budget is projected to have a shortfall in the next budget and this would be a means which is the only means left due to levee limits that would raise money for services the county needs to provide," Terry Tipton Shawano County Supervisor and Highway & Parks Committee Chairman said before the meeting began "The limits that the state put on us that you cannot increase property tax have been on for well over ten years now," Shawano County Board Chair Thomas Kautza told the crowd registered farm vehicles and certain military or collector license plates would be exempt from the wheel tax according to the state The county board will vote on whether or not to implement the wheel tax at their meeting on Feb. 26. We cover stories making an impact in Shawano. This is your home to stay on top of what is changing in Shawano and why it matters to you and your family. We want to hear from you! Click here and tell us what we should be covering in your neighborhood. The WIAA salutes 16 senior boys and girls as recipients of the prestigious, statewide 2025 Scholar-Athlete Award, LIVE from Stevens Point. HIGH SCHOOL GAME TIME WIAA AWARD INFORMATIONSturgeon begin spawning below Shawano Damby Scott Hurley SHAWANO (WLUK) -- Sturgeon spawning activity has made its way to the Shawano Dam The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says the fish are expected to continue spawning below the dam through the weekend sturgeon are spawning at the Sturgeon Trail in New London and Bamboo Bend in Shiocton Share your sturgeon spawning photos and videos here: Sturgeon are also visible on the upper Fox River at the Princeton Dam and on the Peshtigo River at the Peshtigo Dam some sturgeon have been spotted in the shallow water downstream of the walleye deck in Voyageur Park Check the DNR's website for updates throughout the spawning run SHAWANO (WLUK) -- The Shawano County Sheriff's Office is cautioning the public on deteriorating ice conditions in an area of Shawano Lake after recent incidents Officials are asking people not to use the Kellogg (Maders Circle) landing to access Shawano Lake open water area approximately 75 yards offshore This is where authorities say they had two incidents in the past 24 hours "My understanding is that someone walked through and fell through on foot and then in the same area this morning a vehicle was out there driving broke through the drove into open water," said Deputy Jess Hoffman with the Shawano County Sheriff's Office The incidents come as fishing on the lake has been really good "Fishing has been great which is kind of expected because with no ice last year nobody fished last year you know we'd take a year off that's going to make a big difference in the fishing." Ice conditions are expecting to only get worse due to warm temperatures forecasted for Friday. Colder air will come in Friday night. "There's a lot of really good spots of ice out there but there areas that are thin and dangerous if you're not familiar with the ice or the ice conditions you're best off checking with a local," added Hoffman Barricades have been put in place to warn people to stay away If you plan to go to Shawano Lake for Free Fishing Weekend Saturday and Sunday check with local bait shops on current ice conditions before you go SHAWANO (NBC 26) — Community members react to the Menasha boys basketball team's discovery of slurs in the visitors locker room in Shawano last week The Shawano School District says an investigation is underway (The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story.) Racist and homophobic slurs were found written in a locker room here at Shawano Community High School during a basketball game I'm Pari Apostolakos and the school district tells me they have opened an investigation some community members are asking for more action to be taken Watch Pari Apostolakos' full story in the video below: "I was enraged and heartbroken," Menasha native Olivia Bauer-Shimek said over Zoom Tuesday when asked how she felt about the graffiti When Abby Flores Green of Menasha heard the Menasha High School boys basketball team found hateful words written on lockers in the visitors locker room while playing at Shawano Community High School last week she wanted to make sure people knew about it found out about it while living in Madison for school "Growing up in small-town Wisconsin as a person of color stuff like this is not new," Bauer- Shimek said there's a whole system of oppression behind these words." tells me she was really disappointed to hear this happened "Seeing that kind of language in a locker room isn't just offensive—it's completely unacceptable," Baron wrote in part in a message to me Tuesday "It also raises serious concerns about what kind of culture is being allowed to exist within the Shawano School District and in school athletics in general." Shawano School District Superintendent Kurt Krizan says the school was made aware of the graffiti and removed it immediately "The words used in the graffiti were also unacceptable We took this situation very seriously," Krizan wrote in part "We are committed to ensuring a safe and inclusive environment for all students and visitors Respect and accountability are core values of our school community and we will continue to uphold and instill these values." Bauer-Shimek tells me she would like to see an apology from Shawano Schools to the Menasha boys basketball team "I overall hope that they are taking initiative to ensure that their students are safe and so that stuff like this doesn't happen again," she said I reached out to Menasha Joint School District for comment but did not receive a written statement in time for the publication of this article I reached out the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association to ask about the incident and they told me that my inquiry was the first they had heard about it WIAA said schools usually work these issues out amongst themselves asking for WIAA support only when schools find it is necessary TOWN OF WESCOTT (WLUK) -- A van went through the ice on Shawano Lake and after receiving medical attention dispatch received a call about a small van with its headlights on that had gone through the ice on the north shore of Shawano Lake directly south of the channel to Washington Lake in the town of Wescott The driver and sole occupant was able to get out of the vehicle and ran away from the area before first responders arrived Deputies located the driver sometime later They learned the driver drove out on Shawano Lake to deliver food to someone who was already on the lake ice fishing The vehicle went through the ice just prior to a witness calling it in EMS was dispatched to check out the driver and then transported to a local hospital to be evaluated the driver was arrested on an unrelated matter and taken to the Shawano County Jail the vehicle has not been removed from Shawano Lake as well as the Shawano Fire Department are working on the matter Officials say it's important to exercise caution and safety when going out on the ice and even a small crack or thin spot can lead to dangerous situations It's important to check the ice thickness ideally ensuring it is at least four inches for safe walking and to be aware of weather changes that can weaken the ice SHAWANO (WLUK) -- A county in Northeast Wisconsin known for its barn quilts is creating a special one for the NFL Draft. The Barn Quilt Project was started in 2010 by local Shawano photographer Jim Leuenberger who had seen similar quilts in other states The purpose was to encourage the preservation of the beautiful to promote tourism in Shawano County and to provide an opportunity for clubs like 4-H and FFA to conduct a community service project by painting and/or sponsoring a barn quilt Fans attending the NFL Draft Experience will be able to see the special quilt up close take pictures with it and celebrate Wisconsin's agriculture traditions there's going to be a couple hundred thousand people who will probably see this So we're hoping that they might ask questions about what this is all about and hopefully they'll come back to Shawano and drive around and look at our quilts and see other things that are of interest in our county," Leuenberger said The process took several weeks to complete We had to use the exact paint colors that they wanted and that sort of thing," Leuenberger said tourism manager for the Shawano County area said the rest of the quilt's design was purposeful Eron said she's enjoyed being a part of the process of designing the quilt and then bringing it to life "Jim usually would do these projects on his own I was able to design the quilt and also paint it," Eron said "Definitely hoping to bring some national exposure to our small communities." Shawano County has the largest trail of 8’ x 8’ barn quilts in the nation and have been nationally recognized for this accomplishment.