News of the Day

Governor Tony Evers is once again asking for changes that would give citizens a direct say in whether to amend state law or Wisconsin’s Constitution. Currently, only Wisconsin’s Legislature can place proposed constitutional amendments on statewide ballots.

“Republican lawmakers have repeatedly worked to put constitutional amendments on the ballot that Republicans drafted, Republicans passed, all while Republicans refused to give that same power to the people that we serve,” Evers said. “Republican lawmakers shouldn’t be able to ignore the will of the people and then prevent the people from having a voice when their legislators fail to listen.”

Evers is asking the GOP-led Legislature to pave the way for an expansion of that process, starting with language that could be included in Wisconsin’s biennial budget.

Under the changes proposed by Evers, citizens in Wisconsin could gather signatures to bring proposals to the ballot. That would allow Wisconsinites to change state law or Wisconsin’s constitution with a statewide majority vote.

Changing Wisconsin’s referendum process would likely be a lengthy endeavor that would require a constitutional change. That means both chambers of the state Legislature would have to vote in two consecutive legislative sessions to place the measure on Wisconsin ballots in an upcoming election. The measure would then take effect if it’s approved by a majority of voters statewide.

Marshfield Clinic Health System has joined the largest rural health system in the United States.

The central Wisconsin-based health clinic announced the completed merger with Sanford Health on Thursday, nearly six months after it was first reported. Marshfield Clinic will become a region of Sanford Health, according to a press release, and the Marshfield brand “will continue to be predominant” at locations in the region. Sanford is based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and has locations across the Dakotas, as well as in Iowa, Minnesota and other states.

According to the press release, Marshfield Clinic patients will continue to receive care from the same providers with no immediate changes.

Marshfield Clinic had previously attempted to merge with Duluth-based Essentia Health before the partnership fell through a year ago.

Wisconsin has seen a number of health care system mergers in recent years, following a national trend of rapid consolidation over the last decade. Researchers have found hospital mergers tend to increase health care prices, while having a negligible effect on patient care.

During the first nine months of 2024, lenders wrote off more than $46 billion in seriously delinquent credit card loans, according to a report from the Financial Times citing data analyzed by BankRegData. That’s an increase of 50% from the first three quarters of 2023, and the highest since 2010.

The New York Federal Reserve reported last month that Americans’ credit card debt hit another record high in September, climbing to $1.17 trillion during the third quarter and marking the highest level on record in Fed data dating back to 2003.

The report showed total household debt also climbed to a new high of $17.94 trillion, along with balances on mortgages ($12.59 trillion), auto loans ($1.64 trillion) and student loan balances ($1.61 trillion).

In a call discussing the report following its release, New York Fed researchers discussed the growth in debt balances across the board, the persistent and “concerning” growth in auto loan and credit card delinquencies, and how stresses and high delinquency rates are concentrated among younger borrowers.

“We’ve seen notably elevated flows into delinquency, particularly for credit cards as well as auto loans during the past few years,” one researcher said. “This is something that we have been pointing to as a reason for concern — something to keep an eye on.”

Holiday spending surged in 2024, blowing past expectations and outpacing customer purchases over the gift-buying season last year, according to data released on Thursday by Mastercard SpendingPulse, which gauges in-store and online retail sales.

Retail sales climbed 3.8% from November 1 to December 24 compared with the same period last year, Mastercard SpendingPulse data showed. The boost in spending exceeded a Mastercard SpendingPulse estimate of 3.2%, while outperforming last year’s growth of 3.1%. The retail sales data excludes automotive purchases.

Jewelry sales grew more than any other product category, climbing 4% compared to last year, the data showed. Spending on apparel and electronics also climbed at a solid pace.

The shopping surge was most pronounced online, where spending grew 6.7% compared to the same period last year, the data showed.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has extended the January 1, 2025, deadline for most reporting companies to file beneficial ownership information (BOI) reports with the Treasury Department until January 13, 2025, after a federal court of appeals lifted an injunction on December 23 that had halted the new law.

In an alert, FinCEN said the BOI reporting deadlines have been extended as follows:

• Reporting companies that were created or registered prior to January 1, 2024, have until January 13, 2025, to file their initial beneficial ownership information reports with FinCEN. (These companies would otherwise have been required to report by January 1, 2025.)
• Reporting companies created or registered in the United States on or after September 4, 2024, that had a filing deadline between December 3, 2024, and December 23, 2024, have until January 13, 2025, to file their initial beneficial ownership information reports with FinCEN.
• Reporting companies created or registered in the United States on or after December 3, 2024, and on or before December 23, 2024, have an additional 21 days from their original filing deadline to file their initial beneficial ownership information reports with FinCEN.
• Reporting companies that qualify for disaster relief may have extended deadlines that fall beyond January 13, 2025. These companies should abide by whichever deadline falls later.
• Reporting companies that are created or registered in the United States on or after January 1, 2025, have 30 days to file their initial beneficial ownership information reports with FinCEN after receiving actual or public notice that their creation or registration is effective.

Karen Hyun will be the state’s next secretary of the Department of Natural Resources, a cabinet position that’s gone unfilled for more than a year.

Governor Tony Evers announced the appointment Monday morning. Hyun will assume the office on January 27, and her appointment marks the end of the office’s longest vacancy in more than 50 years, according to a former agency head.

Hyun most recently served as the chief of staff of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, since 2021.

“Dr. Hyun’s extensive science background and expertise working in fish and wildlife, shoreline restoration, and coastal management and resilience will make her a great asset to the Department of Natural Resources and to our administration,” Evers said in a news release. “Having spent most of her career working in environmental policy, Dr. Hyun brings a wealth of experience navigating many of the issues the department is charged with managing every day, and I’m so excited for her to get started.”

Hyun has also served as a senior advisor for NOAA and the deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks at the Department of the Interior. She was the director of water and coastal policy for the National Audubon Society before becoming vice president of coastal conservation in 2018. During that time, Hyun spearheaded work on coastal resilience, marine conservation and restoration within the Gulf of Mexico.

She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from California’s Stanford University, as well as a doctorate from the University of Rhode Island. Hyun lives in Madison with her husband and children.

Retailers reported a 93% increase in the average number of shoplifting incidents per year in 2023 versus 2019 and a 90% increase in dollar loss due to shoplifting over the same time period, according to a new study released today by the National Retail Federation. Conducted in partnership with the Loss Prevention Research Council and sponsored by Sensormatic Solutions, “The Impact of Retail Theft & Violence 2024” examines how theft and violence have evolved since before COVID and how retailers are combating today’s retail crime landscape.

“Retailers continue to navigate a rising retail theft landscape that has evolved significantly over time,” NRF Vice President for Asset Protection and Retail Operations David Johnston said. “Protecting store associates and customers, coupled with reducing today’s levels of violence and retail crime, requires a whole-community approach and collaboration across all stakeholders.”

According to the study, retailers surveyed experienced an average of 177 shoplifting incidents per day in 2023. However, that number can reach over 1,000 depending on the retail sector.

Violence remains a major concern for the retail industry. About three-quarters (73%) of those surveyed say that shoplifters are exhibiting more violence and aggression than they were a year ago, and 91% say that shoplifters are exhibiting more violence and aggression compared with 2019. Still, retailers continue to take measures to keep those within their retail environments safe. Compared with their last fiscal year, 71% of retailers have increased their budgets to support employee training related to workplace violence.

“Retailers and solution providers must work together to build and drive technology that goes beyond thwarting theft in the moment to predicting it, so we can proactively lower the chance of violence by mitigating crime,” Sensormatic Solutions President Tony D’Onofrio said. “Neither party can accomplish this feat alone.”

Multi-person theft incidents are also on the rise, with 62% saying that two to three individuals working together to steal multiple items is more of a concern than it was a year ago. Those incidents that are conducted in a coordinated effort under organized retail crime (ORC) groups continue to permeate the industry. Seventy-six percent say shoplifting connected to ORC is more of a concern than it was one year ago. Furthermore, retailers with the capability to track such incidents specifically saw a 57% increase on average in ORC incidents from 2022 to 2023.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced its third straight interest rate cut, lowering the benchmark rate by 25 basis points amid economic data showing that inflation remains above the central bank’s target rate.

With the 25-basis-point cut, the benchmark federal funds rate will sit at a range of 4.25% to 4.5%. The Fed’s move follows a 25-basis-point cut in November and a larger-than-normal cut of 50 basis points at its September meeting, which was the first reduction in rates since March 2020 and brought them down from a range of 5.25% to 5.5% — the highest level since 2001.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the group within the Fed responsible for setting monetary policy, said in a statement that “labor market conditions have generally eased, and the unemployment rate has moved up but remains low” and while inflation has progressed toward the 2% objective, it “remains somewhat elevated.”

“The Committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run. The Committee judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals are roughly in balance. The economic outlook is uncertain, and the Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate,” the FOMC added.

One member of the FOMC, Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, dissented from the decision to cut rates and preferred to hold the benchmark rate at a range of 4.5% to 4.75%.

The FOMC also released a summary of economic projections, which reflected two rate cuts in 2025, two cuts in 2026 and one cut in 2027. It had previously projected four cuts in 2025 in its most recent projection from September.

Sales at U.S. retailers rose 0.7% last month, the government said Tuesday. Sales in October were also a bit strong than originally reported.