News of the Day

About 3.6 million babies were born in the US in 2024, according to a new report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The fertility rate last year – 54.6 births for every 1,000 women of reproductive age – increased less than 1% from the record low in 2023, hovering well below rates from years earlier.

The US fertility rate has been trending down for decades, with a particularly steep dip after the Great Recession of 2008. An uptick in 2021 spurred theories about a Covid-19 “baby bump,” but the rate quickly returned to its more consistent downward pattern.

Experts say that year-to-year movement in the fertility rate tends to be incremental and that a single year of change – such as this year’s slight increase – does not indicate a shift in the long-term trend.

But the latest provisional data, published Wednesday by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, also shows that births continue to shift to older mothers. The fertility rate was highest among women in their early 30s in 2024, with more than 95 births for every 1,000 women ages 30 to 34.

Wisconsin Republicans are reviving bills that would make wide-ranging changes to unemployment benefits and prevent local communities from establishing guaranteed income programs.

Both plans cleared a state Assembly committee on party line votes last week and are scheduled for votes by the full Assembly on Tuesday.

The unemployment benefits changes would rename Wisconsin’s unemployment insurance program “reemployment assistance” and add requirements for eligibility. Under the proposal, a person would have to make direct contact with potential employers, expanding the current requirements that a person search for work every week that they collect unemployment insurance.

It would also require a person to more regularly check in with the Department of Workforce Development and require them to take part in employment workshops or trainings.

The proposal to ban guaranteed income programs would bar communities from handing out direct and no-strings-attached cash payments to residents. Guaranteed income programs are generally backed by progressive groups and do not require a person to meet requirements, such as looking for or holding employment.

During a debate in the Assembly Committee on Public Benefit Reform, Rep. Dan Knodl, R-Germantown, argued that both proposals would “really go to protecting the integrity of these systems, and that’s important if we want them to be sustainable going into the future.”

Both bills are supported by Wisconsin Independent Businesses and Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, as well as the conservative lobbying group FGA Action.

Should the bills pass the full Assembly on Tuesday, they would also need to pass the Senate and be signed by Gov. Tony Evers to become law.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has upheld Gov. Tony Evers’ partial budget veto that extended a temporary school funding increase by 400 years.

The lawsuit, decided Friday by the Supreme Court, was filed in March 2024 by two taxpayers from Green Bay and Kimberly. They asked justices to declare the Wisconsin Constitution forbids governors from striking individual digits in spending bills to create a new year and doesn’t authorize legislation to be extended by more than what legislators intended.

Writing for the majority,  Justice Jill Karofsky said the court is “acutely aware” the 400-year school funding increase “is both significant and attention-grabbing.”

“However, our constitution does not limit the governor’s partial veto power based on how much or how little the partial vetoes change policy, even when that change is considerable,” said Karofsky.

Karofsky said the plaintiffs in the case never asked the court to overrule past decisions upholding various partial vetoes. A governor’s partial veto powers are limited, she wrote, when it comes to vetoing individual letters to create new words. But in the case at hand, Evers vetoed individual numbers to create a new number.

“In short, the plain language of the constitutional text permits striking numbers written out with digits,” Karofsky said.

Karofsky laid out options for state lawmakers upset with the ruling. She said they could address the 400-year funding increase in the next state budget, which is currently being drafted. She also referenced multiple ongoing efforts to amend the state constitution to restrict governors’ veto powers.

Lastly, Karofsky said lawmakers can exclude funding appropriations from bills they write “to avoid the governor’s partial veto.”

GOP legislative leaders, who have pledged to pass a tax cut before taking up the budget, have held off introducing a plan after talks with Governor Tony Evers on a possible compromise, according to multiple GOP sources.

Sources first told WisPolitics earlier this week that Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu relayed to his caucus the delay was a sign of good faith as those talks continue.

“If we want to get one signed this time after watching what occurred before, we can certainly draw a contrast, but I prefer to get a bill signed by the governor,” the Rochester Republican said. “We are hoping to see if there’s some kind of middle ground between where the governor would like to reduce taxes and where we’d like to reduce taxes. But let’s hope we can find one.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is fast-tracking review for a Canadian energy firm’s plan to build a $750 million tunnel for its oil and gas pipeline on the bottom of the Great Lakes.

The decision comes after President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national energy emergency. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a notice Tuesday that the project will be subject to emergency permitting procedures in line with the order, shortening the timeline for review.

The project would replace a roughly 4-mile stretch of Enbridge’s pipeline that’s vulnerable to rupturing in the Straits of Mackinac. Line 5 runs 645 miles and carries up to 23 million gallons of oil and natural gas liquids daily from Superior to Sarnia, Ontario.

The project has been under review for five years, and the agency previously said it would issue a draft environmental review this year and a final decision in 2026. Under emergency permitting procedures, Corps Detroit district office regulatory chief Shane McCoy said it’s still working with Enbridge to determine new timelines, but he expects a draft environmental impact statement will be issued around June.

“All of the review is still being used in the analysis. It’s under the emergency orders. However, the timelines associated with our coordination and conducting those reviews are truncated,” McCoy said.

The Corps received more than 17,000 public comments during its initial review. The emergency procedures fast-track the process under the National Historic Preservation Act and other federal regulations.

Katie Otanez, Detroit district office regulatory project manager, said it’s still evaluating requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act under the emergency process when asked whether public hearings may be eliminated.

The emergency procedures allow 15 days for public input once the agency’s draft is released. The Army Corps could issue a decision 30 days after a final environmental impact statement is issued, but it’s unclear when that may be. The agency said the process will result in a “legally defensible and well-informed” decision on the project.

Consumer spending was stronger than expected in March as demand remained high, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

The advanced estimate of retail sales showed an increase of 1.4% on the month, higher than the 0.2% increase in February. The year-over-year rise was 4.6%, according to numbers adjusted for seasonality but not prices, while the monthly increase was the biggest since January 2023.

Excluding autos, the numbers also were stronger than expected, with sales up 0.5%. Motor vehicle and parts dealers reported a surge of 5.3% in sales.

Aside from the big move in auto-related sales, sporting goods, hobby and music stores saw a 2.4% increase, while building material and garden stores rose 3.3%. Food service and drinking places were up 1.8%, while gasoline stations reported a 2.5% decline as prices fell during the month.

Yesterday, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) announced that 19 organizations have received nearly $3.2 million in Small Business Development Grants (SBDG) to uplift small business development in local communities across the state. The SBDG Program provides grants to local communities and organizations to directly invest in small businesses and small business creation, including bolstering Main Streets, supporting youth entrepreneurship, improving infrastructure, providing technical assistance, and more.

The competitive Small Business Development Grants range from $50,000 to $250,000 and were awarded to local and regional economic development organizations, municipalities, and counties to support small business development and creation. The organizations will pass 100 percent of the SBDG funds on to small businesses.

The 19 grant recipients include:

City of Beaver Dam | $50,000 – The city of Beaver Dam will use the funds to expand their existing Downtown New Business Recruitment Grant to provide $5,000 to brick-and-mortar businesses in the city for lease and mortgage payments, operating expenses, and building repairs and improvements.

Villages of DeForest and Windsor | $250,000 – The villages of DeForest and Windsor are partnering to create a small business grant program to provide grants to businesses for repairs or upgrades to existing commercial properties.

Door County Economic Development Corporation | $225,000 – The organization will use the funds for the Door County Small Business Façade and Property Improvement Program, which offers grants to help rehabilitate and upgrade commercial buildings. The program allows business owners to enhance the appearance and functionality of their businesses.

Eagle River Revitalization Program Inc. | $250,000 – Eagle River will use the funds for the Eagle River Impact Grant, which will resolve vacancies, blight, and underused property and encourage entrepreneurship. Grants can be used for façade improvements, building and infrastructure rehabilitations, building transformations, or new commercial space development.

City of Fond du Lac | $215,000 – Funds will be used to supplement and expand the city of Fond du Lac’s small business programs, including the Building Improvement Grant, Catalytic Project, Building Security Grant Program, Downtown Fond du Lac New Business Grant, and Downtown Fond du Lac Experience Generator Grant. These programs address exterior façade renovations and lighting improvements and provide startup funds.

Green County Development Corporation | $60,000 – Green County will use the funds to establish a two-pronged project to encourage entrepreneurship and create long-term small business support. The Youth Entrepreneur Program will provide workshops, mentorship, and funding opportunities to students. Funds will also be used to establish a small business revolving loan fund.

Iowa County | $125,000 – Iowa County will use the funds to support small businesses through its Business Boost Initiative, which has a tiered grant structure to assist with both large and small business expenses, including development, expansion, and physical infrastructure improvements.

Juneau County Economic Development Corporation | $250,000 – Juneau County will use the funds to create a series of five grant programs related to entrepreneurial development, leadership, patents, startup support, and profitability investments.

City of Kiel | $60,000 – The city of Kiel will use the funds to supplement its façade revolving loan fund, which will support growing local, small businesses by providing low-interest loans for building improvements and financial support.

City of Ladysmith | $250,000 – The city of Ladysmith will use the funds to expand its Business Renovation Program, which provides grants to new and existing businesses for permanent property improvements. It will also create the Down Payment/Rent Assistance Program to assist startup businesses with down payments or the first three months of rent.

Lafayette County | $90,000 – Lafayette County will use the funds to expand its existing Launch Lafayette County Grant, which is a competitive grant program that supports business building improvements and aims to enhance the visibility and prominence of Lafayette businesses.

Marquette County | $50,000 – Marquette County will use the funds to provide small businesses with grants to advertise their products and services online. The program includes technical assistance to educate businesses on how to advertise online, evaluate previous advertisements, and create a marketing plan.

City of Medford and Village of Gilman | $120,000 – The city of Medford will create the FIX-IT Grant, which will support business improvements for façade, interior, exterior, inclusiveness, and teardown. The city of Medford has partnered with the village of Gilman, and grants will be available to businesses in both municipalities.

Milwaukee County | $200,000 – Milwaukee County will use funds to create the Bridge Building Small Business Grant Program, which will provide businesses with grants to purchase or lease commercial spaces or expand operations in their current space.

City of Ripon | $240,000 – The city of Ripon will use the funds for the WRNC (Waupun, Ripon, North Fond du Lac, and Campbellsport) Business Opportunity Fund, which will promote the growth and sustainability of small businesses in these communities.

Vernon County | $150,000 – Vernon County will use the funds for the Elevate Vernon Program, which will provide technical assistance and grants of up to $10,000. The grants can be used for marketing, branding, equipment, building improvements, signage, software, hardware, staff training, or consulting.

The U.S. Postal Service today filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) of mailing services price changes to take effect July 13. The new rates include a 5-cent increase in the price of a First-Class Mail Forever stamp from 73 cents to 78 cents.

The proposed adjustments, approved by the governors of the Postal Service, would raise mailing services product prices approximately 7.4 percent. If favorably reviewed by the commission, the price changes would include:

The additional-ounce price for single-piece letters will increase from 28 cents to 29 cents. The Postal Service is also seeking price adjustments for the Special Services products. Notably, the Postal Service will apply a price reduction of 12 percent for postal insurance when mailing an item.

As changes in the mailing and shipping marketplace continue, these price adjustments are needed to achieve the financial stability sought by the organization’s Delivering for America 10-year plan. USPS prices remain among the most affordable in the world.

Following a directive from the PRC, the Postal Service is filing two sets of prices for Marketing Mail and Package Services products. While only one set of rates will go into effect on July 13, these prices address the pending proposal to eliminate Bound Printed Matter and expand Marketing Mail, pending the commission’s approval. USPS will release additional communications to address price changes in these categories.

The PRC will review the changes before they are scheduled to take effect. The complete Postal Service price filing, with prices for all products, can be found on the commission’s website under the Daily Listings section. The Mailing Services filing is Docket No. R2025-1. The price tables are also available on the Postal Service’s Postal Explorer website at pe.usps.com/PriceChange/Index.

The consumer price index, a broad measure of goods and services costs across the U.S. economy, fell a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in March, putting the 12-month inflation rate at 2.4%, down from 2.8% in February.

Excluding food and energy, so-called core inflation ran at a 2.8% annual rate, having increased 0.1% for the month. That was the lowest rate for core inflation since March 2021.

Slumping energy prices helped keep inflation tame, as a 6.3% drop in gasoline prices helped drive a 2.4% broader decline in the energy index. Food prices climbed 0.4% on the month.

Moreover, shelter prices, among the most stubborn components of inflation, increased just 0.2% in March and were up 4% on a 12-month basis, the smallest gain since November 2021. Used vehicle prices were off 0.7% while new vehicle costs increased just 0.1%, ahead of tariffs that are expected to hit the auto industry hard.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday dropped new tariff rates on imports from most U.S. trade partners to 10% for 90 days to allow trade negotiations with those countries.

The president also said in a social media post that he was raising the tariffs imposed on imports from China to 125% “effective immediately” due to the “lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets.” China, which is the U.S.’s third-largest trading partner, earlier Wednesday said it would increase its tariff rate for imports from the U.S. to 84%.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, in a tweet, said that he and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sat with Trump while he wrote out the announcement on Truth Social, “one of the most extraordinary Truth posts of his Presidency.”

“The world is ready to work with President Trump to fix global trade, and China has chosen the opposite direction,” Lutnick wrote.