Month: September 2025

State utility regulators approved a pair of renewable energy projects last week, including Wisconsin’s first large-scale wind farm in more than a decade.

The Badger Hollow Wind Project in Iowa and Grant counties and the Whitewater Solar Project in Jefferson and Walworth counties received approval from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, or PSC, on Thursday.

The Badger Hollow Wind Project is a 118-megawatt wind farm that will be able to generate enough electricity to power more than 30,000 homes, while the Whitewater Solar Project is a 180-megawatt solar farm that will be able to generate enough electricity to power more than 21,000 homes, according to the developers.

Because both were proposed by developers and not state electric utilities, they were not required to provide their project cost to the PSC. Regulators would review costs to Wisconsin energy providers and ratepayers if the facility or power from the facility is purchased by state utilities.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has asked parties to file briefs on whether two redistricting lawsuits filed in Dane County Circuit Court should be allowed to proceed.

The court issued its order in response to two requests asking justices to appoint a judicial panel to consider the constitutionality of Wisconsin’s congressional voting map ahead of the 2026 midterms.

The lawsuits were filed in circuit court in July by two liberal law firms. They asked the Supreme Court to appoint three-judge panels to decide whether Wisconsin’s congressional districts are unconstitutional. Until Thursday, the court hadn’t responded.

This week, an attorney representing plaintiffs in one of those cases sent a letter to the Supreme Court stating a Dane County judge denied their request to set a briefing schedule in the case because doing so would violate the law passed by the Legislature more than a decade before.

On Thursday, the majority responded. Instead of appointing the judicial panel requested by the liberal firms, they ordered legal briefs arguing whether or not the lawsuits filed in Dane County constitute a valid “action to challenge the apportionment of a congressional or state legislative district.”

Conservative Justice Annette Ziegler “reluctantly” concurred with the court’s order, but warned fellow justices “that this court should not redraw partisan maps, especially since the issue has already been settled.”

Ziegler was referring to a redistricting challenge filed in 2021 in which the court ordered any new maps make the least changes possible. While Wisconsin’s current eight-district congressional map was drawn by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, it largely resembles the map drawn by Republicans a decade earlier when they controlled all of state government.

Zeigler said the legal challenges to the state’s congressional map have been “repeatedly mounted and consistently denied.” She said she reluctantly agreed with the majority’s call for briefs to discuss the validity of the challenges in Dane County Circuit Court, but noted “briefing should not be confused with a decision to grant relief sought.”

“Constitutionally, it is the responsibility of the legislature and the governor — not the judiciary — to redistrict,” Zeigler said. “This case has been filed long after the completion of the most recent decennial census. Unlike the past, this filing does not come to the court because of an impasse between the political branches requiring this court to act so that partisan elections can occur.”

President Donald Trump announced his newest round of tariffs set to take effect on October 1 in a series of Truth Social posts Thursday evening.

The tariffs will target pharmaceuticals, home goods and heavy trucks, and Trump said he believes the move will strengthen U.S. manufacturing and protect national security.

In one post, he declared that branded and patented pharmaceutical products will face a 100% tariff unless the company is actively building a plant in the United States. He went on to define that as breaking ground or under construction. His reasoning is that the measure will force drugmakers to shift production to American soil.

President Trump also announced plans to stop the “flooding” of imports that threaten American manufacturers by imposing a 50% tariff on kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities and related products, and a 30% tariff on upholstered furniture.

“The reason for this is the large scale ‘FLOODING’ of these products into the United States by other outside Countries. It is a very unfair practice, but we must protect, for National Security and other reasons, our Manufacturing process. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” the president wrote.

He also said he will impose a 25% tariff on heavy trucks built outside the U.S., a move aimed at shielding domestic companies such as Peterbilt, Kenworth, Freightliner and Mack Trucks.

“In order to protect our Great Heavy Truck Manufacturers from unfair outside competition, I will be imposing, as of October 1, 2025, a 25% Tariff on all ‘Heavy (Big!) Trucks’ made in other parts of the World,” the post said.

The Wisconsin REALTORS® Association (WRA) has released its August 2025 Real Estate Report, revealing a slight increase in existing home sales by 1.8% compared to August 2024. The statewide median home price rose 5.3% to $338,000.

Affordability remained almost unchanged, decreasing just 0.1% since August 2024 as rising prices and mortgage rates offset a 4.8% increase in median family income.

WRA President and CEO Tom Larson said several indicators suggest a softening market, which could benefit first-time buyers.

“Improving inventory, moderating price appreciation and increasing days on the market are signs that the strong seller’s markets we’ve seen over the last few years continue to soften,” Larson said. “This is welcomed news for young families still struggling to buy their first home.”

The report also noted that year-to-date home sales increased by 1.1% compared to the first eight months of 2024, and homes were on the market for an average of 69 days. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate slightly increased from 6.50% in August 2024 to 6.59% in August 2025.

Republican state lawmakers are seeking co-sponsors for more than half a dozen bills they say are aimed at increasing Wisconsin’s supply of affordable housing.

“When I refer to affordable housing, I want to be clear, we’re not talking about subsidized housing,” said state Rep. Rob Brooks, a Saukville Republican who also works as a real estate broker. “What I’m talking about is the housing stock that was built just a generation or two ago. We’re talking about small ranch homes, bungalow homes, some of those homes built without garages or alleyways.”

Brooks and other backers introduced the package of bills at a state Capitol news conference Tuesday.

They say one of the proposals aims to streamline the process for creating new lots for housing subdivisions.

Another bill would allow smaller homes, known as accessory dwelling units or ADUs, to be built statewide. Those homes, which are often referred to as coach houses, are typically built on the same property near a larger single-family home.

In a cosponsorship memo, state Rep. Joy Goeben, R-Hoebert, said by allowing coach houses across Wisconsin, the bill aims to address the state’s housing shortage and support a “variety of housing options.”

“Under current law, Wisconsin does not have a statewide framework for ADUs, instead it is up to local governments to regulate these types of units,” the memo said. “This creates a patchwork of regulation across the state, making it confusing for property owners and renters alike. Allowing ADUs statewide, in the limited capacity being proposed in this bill, provides property owners with a reasonable pathway to realize the benefits of ADUs.”

The bill specifies ADUs could be created by converting an existing structure, like a garage, into a home. It also specifies that any accessory dwelling unit created after the bill took effect could not be used as a short-term rental.

Another part of the package would set aside $10 million to create a revolving loan program, allowing first-time home buyers to get second mortgage loans at zero percent interest. That’s in addition to a bill that would award grants to property owners, so they can convert multi-family housing into condos.

Yesterday, the Treasury Department and IRS issued proposed regulations identifying the occupations that customarily and regularly received tips before 2025, and therefore may be eligible for the deduction. The proposed regulations also address the definition of “qualified tips” and other requirements taxpayers must comply with to claim the deduction.

The “No Tax on Tips” provision, enacted with OBBBA, allows employees and self-employed individuals to deduct up to $25,000 of qualified tips they received in a year, per return. Eligible taxpayers may claim the deduction on their 2025 tax return that they file next year.

The deduction for qualified tips is available to eligible taxpayers who itemize their deductions, as well as those who do not itemize and take the standard deduction. The deduction phases out for taxpayers with incomes above $150,000 (or $300,000 in the case of a joint return).

More information can be found here:

Major technology companies and foreign governments are rushing to respond after President Donald Trump late Friday announced plans to impose a $100,000 fee on H-1B visas.

The fee would apply to new H-1B applicants, not renewals or current visa holders, according to a White House official. It will first apply in the upcoming lottery cycle, and it does not apply to 2025 lottery winners, the person said. The White House also clarified that the new $100,000 fee is not an annual charge, as previously reported by several media outlets.

Amazon employed the most H-1B holders — more than 14,000 as of the end of June. Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Google had over 4,000 such visas each, among the top 10 recipients for the fiscal year 2025.

A health insurance provider will stop offering individual and family coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplace in 11 Wisconsin counties next year, meaning about 24,000 people will have to find a new insurer.

Common Ground Healthcare Cooperative plans to stop offering marketplace plans in Milwaukee, Kenosha, Racine, Outagamie, Winnebago, Fond du Lac, Sheboygan, Calumet, Dodge, Waushara and Waupaca counties beginning in January.

A spokesperson for CareSource, the parent company of Common Ground, said in a statement that it had made “the difficult decision to exit 11 counties.” The spokesperson said about 24,000 affected members will continue to receive coverage through 2025 but will have to look for a new health plan when open enrollment begins November 1.

Common Ground will continue to offer coverage in 13 Wisconsin counties: Brown, Door, Green Lake, Jefferson, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Marinette, Oconto, Ozaukee, Shawano, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha.

Common Ground has been offering ACA marketplace coverage in eastern Wisconsin since 2014. On its website, Common Ground said the decision to discontinue coverage in parts of the state was not related to its recent merger with CareSource.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday approved a widely anticipated rate cut and signaled that two more are on the way before the end of the year as concerns intensified over the U.S. labor market even as inflation is still in the air.

In an 11-to-1 vote signaling less dissent than Wall Street had anticipated, the Federal Open Market Committee lowered its benchmark overnight lending rate by a quarter percentage point. The decision puts the overnight funds rate in a range between 4.00%-4.25%.

Newly installed Governor Stephen Miran was the only policymaker voting against the quarter-point move, instead advocating for a half-point cut.

In the post-meeting statement, the committee again characterized economic activity as having “moderated” but added language saying that “job gains have slowed” and noted that inflation “has moved up and remains somewhat elevated.” Lower job growth and higher inflation are in conflict with the Fed’s twin goals of stable prices and full employment.

“Uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated” the Fed statement said. “The Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate and judges that downside risks to employment have risen.”

Yesterday, Governor Tony Evers encouraged Wisconsinites and local businesses affected by severe weather last month to apply for federal disaster loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Federal disaster loans from the SBA will be available for Wisconsinites and businesses impacted by devastating storms that occurred August 9 through August 12.

Please note that the disaster loan offerings through the SBA are complementary to and separate from Individual Assistance programs offered through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Businesses and residents in Milwaukee, Washington, and Waukesha counties may be eligible for physical damage and economic injury assistance through SBA, while businesses in Dodge, Fond du Lac, Jefferson, Ozaukee, Racine, Sheboygan, and Walworth counties may be eligible for economic injury assistance.

Eligible applicants may apply for the following SBA disaster loans:

• Home Disaster Loans – For homeowners and renters to repair or replace damaged real estate and personal property. As noted earlier, this is a complementary and separate program from FEMA’s Individual Assistance program;
• Business Physical Disaster Loans – For businesses and private nonprofit organizations to repair or replace disaster-damaged property, including buildings, equipment, and inventory; and
• Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) – Working capital loans for small businesses and nonprofits unable to meet financial obligations due to the disaster.

The deadlines for applications are November  10, 2025, for Home Disaster and Business Physical Disaster Loans and June 11, 2026, for Economic Injury Disaster Loans. Applications for the loans can be submitted online via the MySBA Loan Portal at https://lending.sba.gov. For assistance, contact the SBA Customer Service Center:

• Phone: 1-800-659-2955
• Email: disastercustomerservice@sba.gov
• TTY: Dial 7-1-1 for relay services

Loan applicants may also be eligible for additional funds to cover mitigation improvements that protect property against future damage. SBA also offers refinancing options for qualified applicants and support for voluntary or involuntary relocation.