Month: September 2026

A new report from a UW-Madison think tank challenges the notion that Wisconsin struggles with “brain drain,” arguing a lack of educated people coming to the state is a greater challenge.

The Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy, or CROWE, yesterday issued a report arguing the issue of “brain drain” is greatly exaggerated for Wisconsin and based on a flawed analysis. It refers to concerns that have been raised about the state’s college-educated adults leaving to work elsewhere at a higher rate than those arriving.

But report authors say the widely cited ranking behind these worries doesn’t fully capture this idea.

They note the state is ranked No. 2 in the country for the difference between the share of Wisconsin-born people with a bachelor’s degree or higher now living elsewhere, and those born elsewhere who now live in the state with the same educational attainment. This difference of 14.6 percentage points — 59.8% versus 45.2%, respectively — is the second highest among U.S. states.

Authors argue this figure “captures a difference in educational composition” rather than migration, since it doesn’t include when any of those people changed residence.

“A second-place rank on that statistic does not mean Wisconsin has the nation’s second-worst current loss of college graduates. … A Wisconsin-born 35-year-old living in Minneapolis is included whether she moved last year, after college, or with her parents as a child,” authors wrote.

They argued the “more distinctive finding” is who comes to Wisconsin, noting the state attracted college graduates from beyond 500 miles at about 62% of the rate implied by its share of the college-educated population. That’s compared to about 86% for the median state.

Among those arrivals, 29.5% were originally born in Wisconsin, compared to 16.2% for the median state.

“Excluding returnees, Wisconsin’s long-distance attraction index falls to 0.52, compared with 0.83 in the median state … Wisconsin is better at attachment than attraction, and so is much of the upper Midwest,” authors wrote.

Consumer prices rose 3.4% in August, matching economists’ estimates as the Fed weighs whether to hike benchmark interest rates or hold them steady.

Gas prices spiked 3.9% last month as the Iran War intensified, making them a leading driver of inflation last month.

“Core” inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, was 2.4% on an annual basis, cooling from 2.5% in July. Month over month, it rose 0.3%.

Shelter costs jumped 0.3% from a month earlier, an acceleration from a 0.1% gain in July.

Gross property tax levies across Wisconsin collectively grew by 5.8% on December 2025 tax bills, the largest increase in nearly two decades.

This gross figure includes all levies imposed by all local governments and school districts in Wisconsin, before any state tax credits are applied to lower net bills for homeowners. Some areas saw much larger increases: gross levies for all taxing authorities in the city of Madison increased 11.9%, the most since 1985.

This increase primarily is due to school district tax levies. Key factors include voters in a large number of districts passing referenda to increase their tax levies, an increase to district revenue limits this year as a result of a partial veto by Gov. Tony Evers in the 2023-25 state budget, and a freeze in state general school aids by lawmakers and Evers in the 2025-27 state budget. Evers and lawmakers also sought
unsuccessfully last spring to pass legislation that would have reduced property and income taxes.

Meanwhile, equalized property values as of January 1, 2026, increased by 7.6% statewide over the prior year. While a robust rate of growth, this still represented the smallest increase since 2021. But it was sufficient to push Wisconsin past a major milestone, as total statewide equalized property values surpassed $1 trillion for the first time in January.

Last week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) effectively prohibited 14 voice service providers from connecting to U.S. networks for failing to comply with FCC robocall rules. The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau removed the companies from its Robocall
Mitigation Database and ordered U.S. voice service providers and intermediate providers to block calls from these companies.

The 14 companies removed from the FCC’s Robocall Mitigation Database had been ordered to correct deficiencies in their database certifications and show cause why they should not be removed. But these companies failed to respond or take meaningful steps to update their database filings. The removed providers are: Apps Communications, CFX Business Solutions, Conference America, Convergence Technology Solutions, CSB Technologies, Digital Division, Dixie Net Communications, HIGHCOMM, Inatech Solutions, makrodepot, Opex Communications, Reachme.com, SECURE, and Skycom Healthcare.

The FCC’s Robocall Mitigation Database was established to promote transparency and effective robocall mitigation. This database is a critical tool through which the agency ensures providers are actively combatting robocalls and implementing STIR/SHAKEN caller ID authentication. Providers are required to certify that they have implemented STIR/SHAKEN on all IP-based portions of their networks. All providers must also submit robocall mitigation plans. Failure to meet these obligations can result in removal from the database and blocking of the provider’s traffic.

Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) Secretary Dan Hereth joined union and industry leaders Monday, to officially sign the state’s new electrical code. Wisconsin is adopting the 2023 National Electric Code, moving away from using the 2017 edition with amendments.

The new electrical code updates take effect September 1, 2026. The updated electrical code introduces several safety updates,
including:

• Requirement for whole home surge protection
• Restrictions on the number of feeders that can supply a building or structure
• Requirement of permits and inspections for services on vacant land

DSPS has started updating its licensing exams to reflect the electrical code changes. The agency expects exam updates to be completed by October 1.

The Trump Administration shut down three Wisconsin truck driving schools as part of a crackdown on fraud in the trucking industry.

According to the USDOT, CDL Pro School in Kenosha, On Your Way CDL Training in Milwaukee, and Tez CDL School in Sturtevant were all shut down.

They say those schools issued licenses to drivers who failed English language proficiency tests.

The Trump administration is also shutting down 160 additional schools that Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy says lacked proper space for driving tests or had unlicensed instructors. There were also more than a dozen other online-only schools that were shut down.

This comes one year after the president signed an executive order requiring commercial truck drivers in the U.S. to be proficient in English.