Brian Dake

According to the State Controller’s Office, the state ended fiscal year (FY) 2026 with a positive ending balance of over $3.3 billion in the General Fund—the state’s main checking account—exceeding budgeted estimates by roughly $350 million. Additionally, the balance in the state’s savings account or ‘rainy day’ fund, also known as the Budget Stabilization Fund, has increased to approximately $2.1 billion.

The new Annual Fiscal Report, which covers FY 2026 that ended on June 30, 2026, is available on the DOA Annual Fiscal Report page. Highlights of the report include:

• The state’s undesignated General Fund balance at the end of FY 2026 was over $3.3 billion, which was roughly $350 million above budgeted estimates.
• The current State Budget Stabilization Fund balance increased to roughly $2.07 billion at the end of FY 2026, the largest figure in state history.
• State general fund tax collections in FY 2026 increased by 3.4 percent over the prior year and were two percent higher than estimated.

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in September after rising 0.4 percent in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 3.7 percent  before seasonal adjustment.

The index for gasoline rose 9.1 percent in September, accounting for over half of the monthly all items increase. The energy index increased 5.2 percent over the month following a 2.1-percent increase in August. The shelter index rose 0.4 percent in September after rising 0.3 percent in August. The index for food was unchanged in September, as the index for food away from home increased 0.2 percent and the index for food at home fell 0.1 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent in September, as it did in August. Indexes that increased over the month include recreation, used cars and trucks, education, airline fares, medical care, and apparel. Conversely, the index for communication was among the small number of major indexes that decreased in September.

Wisconsin’s population has increased nearly 2.9% as of January 1, 2026 compared to the 2020 Census, according to final numbers from the state Department of Administration.

Dane County saw the largest increase in the state over that period, both in terms of raw numbers and as a percentage of its 2020 population. The county was at 621,365 residents, up 59,861 compared to six years earlier. That was an increase of 10.7%.

Calumet County grew by 4,801 residents, an increase of 9.15%, while St. Croix County added 7,446 residents, an increase of nearly 8%. Eau Claire County was next on the list with 7,365 more residents, a bump of nearly 7%.

In terms of raw numbers, Waukesha County added 12,768 residents, while Brown County added 11,324.

Milwaukee County, the state’s largest at 945,488, has added 5,999 residents since the 2020 census, an increase of 0.64%.

Eleven counties have seen a population decrease since 2020: Ashland, Price, Langlade, Manitowoc, Richland, Iron, Fond du Lac, Wood, Buffalo, Grant and Menominee.

We Energies plans to build a new natural gas power plant in Wisconsin’s Fox Valley.

The utility filed an engineering plan with state regulators last week for a 750-megawatt natural gas power plant, dubbed the Fox North Energy Center. It would be built at the existing gas-fired Fox Energy Center site in the village of Wrightstown.

n a statement, We Energies spokesperson Brendan Conway said the Fox North Energy Center will help meet the state’s growing energy needs while improving grid reliability across the region.

“The engineering plan marks the first step in the review process,” Conway said. “Additional information about the project will be provided through regulatory filings in the coming months.”

The proposal comes as a draft report from state utility regulators found electricity demand in Wisconsin is expected to rise by 40 percent by 2032, driven by three large data center developments. The same report projected coal would fall to around 3 percent of Wisconsin’s energy generation, while natural gas would rise to about 50 percent by 2032.

Utilities and energy developers across the state are proposing new electricity generation in response to rising demand.

We Energies also plans to spend more than $2 billion to acquire a pair of natural gas projects that Chicago-based energy developer Invenergy has proposed in Kenosha and Walworth counties, able to generate a combined roughly 1,500 megawatts.

Invenergy also wants to build a pair of gas plants in Calumet County that would be able to generate a combined 1,900 megawatts. A spokesperson for We Energies declined to say whether the company planned to purchase those plants, but one was included in a spreadsheet it filed as part of its ongoing rate case.

We Energies hasn’t said whether the proposed gas plant in Wrightstown would serve a data center.

FEMA announced that federal disaster assistance is available to the state of Wisconsin to supplement recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe storms and tornadoes on July 27, 2026.

The President’s action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in Forest, Outagamie, Vilas and Winnebago counties. Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and families recover from the effects of the disaster.

Individuals and families who sustained losses in the designated areas should first file claims with their insurance providers and then apply for assistance online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, by calling 1-800-621-3362 or by using the FEMA App. If you use a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, provide FEMA the number for that service.

Public Assistance federal funding is available to state, tribal and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged in Vilas and Winnebago counties.

On Monday, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), announced that Americans will have access to more reliable, accessible, and actionable information about what their health coverage includes and what they are likely to pay before receiving care under new regulations that strengthen federal healthcare price transparency requirements. The actions taken today to create a more transparent healthcare marketplace also ensure employers can make more informed decisions; researchers can better understand healthcare markets; and innovators can build better tools.

Updates to the Transparency in Coverage (TiC) rules, finalized today by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), in partnership with the Departments of Labor and the Treasury (the Departments), build on the historic health care price transparency rules established during President Trump’s first term.

The final rules improve the underlying healthcare pricing data by reducing duplicative and unnecessary information, providing more context about in-network prices, increasing available out-of-network pricing information, and strengthening accountability for the completeness and accuracy of published data. Reporting frequency for pricing information will change from monthly to quarterly, maintaining meaningful transparency while lowering administrative burden.

The rules also require group health plans and health insurance issuers to provide consumers with personalized cost-sharing information by phone, in addition to existing online tools.

These improvements will help technology developers build better consumer tools, give consumers more reliable information when comparing costs before receiving care, and enable employers and researchers to better analyze healthcare markets, all of which will help drive competition across the healthcare industry.

The Departments plan to begin development of the initial schema for the Prescription Drug File in November 2026 and will finalize it on or around May 2027. Plans and issuers will be expected to publish their Prescription Drug Files using this schema starting in December 2027 and monthly thereafter.

Recent data have found that the top 25% of the most expensive healthcare service prices have dropped by 6.3% per year following the initial implementation of price transparency requirements on hospitals and health plans.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order late Monday aimed at bringing down near-record diesel prices by waiving restrictions on cheaper red-dyed diesel. Red-dyed diesel is the same as regular diesel. It’s just untaxed and dyed red to distinguish it for off-road use only, such as for tractors or industrial purposes.

Allowing broad use of tax-exempt diesel could be especially helpful for truckers grappling with a historic spike in diesel set off by the war in Iran and amplified by attacks on Russian refineries and export restrictions in China.

The diesel move could also help farmers who rely on trucks to deliver their goods to market and to receive fertilizer and other supplies.

“For many years, farm vehicles, construction equipment and other off-road vehicles have used what’s known as red-dyed diesel. You know what that is? I don’t know what the hell it is, but whatever it is, it is supposed to be very good,” Trump said, before adding it’s “exactly the same as normal diesel.”

According to a fact sheet released by the White House, the order will “temporarily allow off-road ‘dyed’ diesel for highway use and defer the applicable Federal excise tax, lowering costs for Americans.”

The executive order instructs the Internal Revenue Service to waive penalties on ‘dyed diesel’ for highway use through the end of the year.

The catch is the tax obligations don’t go away completely, they are just deferred until next year. However, the order instructs officials to explore ways to forgive the tax obligations, including potentially legislation.

The order also instructs administration officials to encourage more states to adopt similar policies and to ensure farmers have access to dyed diesel in high-demand areas.

Diesel prices skyrocketed from $3.76 a gallon before the Iran war to a record of $6.53 a gallon on September 22, according to AAA. The national average price for diesel on Tuesday was $6.32 a gallon.

Normally, diesel for on-road use is taxed at 24.4 cents per gallon by the federal government. Diesel also faces state taxes, which average 35.5 cents per gallon, according to federal data.

Starting October 1, Wisconsin employers on average will pay 1.97% less in worker’s compensation insurance rates, saving an estimated $36 million for policies over the coming year, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced today with the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI).

The lower rates reflect Wisconsin employers’ attention to workplace safety for the benefit of workers and employers alike. The 2026 rate decrease, approved by OCI, marks the 11th straight annual decline in Wisconsin. The actual premiums vary by employer based on factors such as injury risk exposure.

“Workplaces that are fair, just and safe support the success of working families and give Wisconsin employers a competitive edge in recruitment and retention,” DWD Secretary Amy Pechacek said. “Partnerships between employers, workers and training providers are critical to advancing a culture of workplace safety and worker well-being.”

Worker’s compensation insurance rates are adjusted annually by a committee of actuaries from members of the Wisconsin Compensation Rating Bureau (WCRB). This independent body examines and selects the methodology and trends that produce the proposed rate adjustment, which is then reviewed and approved by the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance. While the overall rate level will decrease by 1.97%, the impact on policyholders will vary based on specific circumstances.

“As we celebrate another year of rate decreases, Wisconsin employers can continue to count on our competitive insurance marketplace for affordable, high-quality coverage for their business and employees,” said Insurance Commissioner Nathan Houdek.

President Trump has said he may ask European countries to release some of their diesel reserves as he considers banning US exports of the fuel.

The president’s comment comes after diesel prices hit record highs on UK forecourts this week, as the Iran war continues to put pressure on the supply of refined fuels.

The UK is heavily reliant on imported diesel from the US. The UK has been discussing the US supply threats with the EU which is holding a meeting on Friday on the issue. Banning exports would flood the US market with diesel, and could bring prices down significantly for American drivers.

But experts warn such a ban would put further pressure on diesel prices in other countries, unless they can access further supplies.

The US is a vital supplier of diesel to the world, exporting between 1.2 and 1.5 million barrels per day, with most of it going to Latin America.

European countries including France, the Netherlands and the UK, also import a significant amount from the US following the reduction in Russian and Middle Eastern sources of diesel.

The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge cooled more than expected but remained elevated well above target in August as consumers continued to face price pressures.

The Commerce Department on Wednesday reported that the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index rose 0.3% on a monthly basis in August and was up 3.4% from a year ago.

Core PCE, which excludes volatile measurements of food and energy prices, was up 0.2% on a monthly basis and 3% year over year. Both figures were cooler than economists’ expectations of 0.3% and 3.3%, respectively.

Federal Reserve policymakers are focused on the PCE headline figure as they try to bring inflation back to their long-run target of 2%, though they view core data as a better indicator of inflation.

Compared with July’s readings, headline PCE declined from 3.7% to 3.4%, while core PCE also fell from 3.3% to 3%.