News of the Day

Governor Tony Evers this week is kicking off the holiday season, celebrating “Shop Small Wisconsin Season” and encouraging Wisconsinites to shop at Wisconsin’s many local small businesses during the holidays.

For the fifth consecutive year, Governor Evers has proclaimed the weeks between Small Business Saturday through the end of the year as “Shop Small Wisconsin Season.” This year, the Shop Small Wisconsin Season will take place from November 29, 2025, through December 31, 2025, encouraging Wisconsinites to shop local and support Wisconsin’s Main Streets and small businesses during the holiday season. A copy of the governor’s 2025 Shop Small Wisconsin Season proclamation is available here.

“From retail and art to restaurants and coffee shops, small businesses are the hearts of our main streets, supporting Wisconsin families, creating community spaces, and bringing unique products and services to every corner of our state,” said Governor Evers. “Small businesses are more likely to buy supplies locally, hire locally, and give back to their communities, making them powerful drivers of our local and statewide economies. As Wisconsinites set out to do their holiday shopping, we are encouraging folks to keep their dollars local, and we look forward to getting out and meeting with many of our state’s incredible small business owners in the days and weeks to come.”

Throughout the Shop Small Wisconsin Season, the governor and members of his administration are encouraging all Wisconsinites to celebrate small businesses and the many contributions they make to communities across the state, to explore new small businesses and champion their success, and to show support for their neighbors and communities by shopping local this holiday season at their favorite small businesses. More information about the Shop Small Wisconsin Season, including ways to participate and facts and figures about the impact of shopping small during the holidays, is available on WEDC’s website here.

Agricultural bankers in Wisconsin and neighboring states report feeling pessimistic about farmers’ profitability at the end of 2025.

Surveys by the Federal Reserve Banks of Minneapolis and Chicago found tougher farm credit conditions in the third quarter of 2025. Surveyed farm lenders reported lower rates of loan repayment and higher demand for extensions and new loans.

The bankers projected those trends to continue for the final quarter of the year, despite the expectation for a strong corn and soybean harvest this fall. More than 80 percent of respondents to one survey expected farm income to be lower than a year ago.

Joe Mahon, regional outreach director for the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, said during a webinar on the data that a continued slump in crop prices is driving farm incomes down.

“We’re seeing, overall, the market conditions are sort of dominating,” Mahon said during the presentation. “Strong production should offset some of (the lower prices), so that’s good news to farmers. But we’re not necessarily seeing that balance out in terms of higher income because prices are so low.”

The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered a pair of three-judge panels to hear two lawsuits that argue the battleground state’s congressional maps must be redrawn because they unconstitutionally favor Republicans.

The current congressional maps were approved by the state Supreme Court when it was controlled by conservative judges. The U.S. Supreme Court in March 2022 declined to block them from taking effect.

Both of the pending redistricting cases in Wisconsin argue that the state’s congressional maps are an unconstitutional gerrymander favoring Republicans. Six of the state’s eight districts are currently held by Republicans.

Law firms that brought the pending cases in Wisconsin had argued over objections from Republicans that the cases should be heard by three-judge panels as required under a 2011 law. Any decisions of those panels can be appealed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

One case will be heard by judges from Dane, Portage and Marathon counties. All three of the judges endorsed Justice Susan Crawford, the liberal candidate in this year’s Wisconsin Supreme Court race, and two of them were appointed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.

The other case will be heard by judges from Dane, Milwaukee and Outagamie counties. Two of the judges endorsed the liberal Crawford this year and the third was appointed by Evers.

The two dissenting conservative justices blasted the court’s ruling creating the panels.

The Supreme Court did not address the underlying arguments of the lawsuit, only the procedural question of whether the cases should first be heard by three-judge panels.

The producer price index, a measure of what producers get for final demand goods and services, increased a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in September. However, excluding food and energy, the index rose just 0.1%. Both core and headline PPI had decreased 0.1% in August. Headline PPI was up 2.9% from a year ago, while core rose 2.6%.

Goods prices drove the PPI increase, rising 0.9% on the month, while services prices were flat. The jump in goods prices was the biggest since February 2024, according to BLS data.

Final-demand energy prices jumped 3.5% for the month, while food rose 1.1%. Of the energy increase, much of that was tied to an 11.8% surge in gasoline.

On the services side, transportation and warehousing prices rose 0.8%, while airline passenger fees surged 4%.

In other economic news Tuesday, the Census Bureau said retail sales increased 0.2% in September. Sales excluding autos rose 0.3%, in line with the estimate.

Miscellaneous retailers saw a 2.9% increase on the month, while gas stations, owing to the higher prices, increased 2%. Sporting goods, hobby and music stores saw a 2.5% decline while online sales were off 0.7%.

Sales at eating and drinking establishments, an indicator of discretionary spending, increased a solid 0.7% on the month and were up 6.7% from a year ago.

Retail sales, which are adjusted for seasonality but not inflation, increased 4.3% from a year ago, ahead of the 3% CPI rate for the month.

The Wisconsin REALTORS® Association (WRA) released its October 2025 Wisconsin Real Estate Report last Thursday, revealing that for the fifth straight month, both existing home sales and median prices increased statewide relative to October 2024.

Existing home sales in Wisconsin rose 3.4% in October compared to last year, with the median price increasing 6.9% to $331,500. Year-to-date sales are up 2.4%.

Total listings rose 1.7% compared to last October, signaling a modest improvement in housing supply. Despite this, the market remains tilted towards sellers with just 3.9 months of inventory, below the six-month benchmark for balance.

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate declined to 6.43%, continuing on a downward trajectory over the past 12 months.

Homes were on the market an average of 71 days, up 4.4% from last year.

An attempt by wedding barn owners to strike down changes requiring them to get liquor licenses has failed. On Wednesday, a Trempealeau County judge dismissed their claim that a major 2023 rewrite of Wisconsin’s alcohol laws unconstitutionally targeted them.

The massive bipartisan bill that overhauled Wisconsin’s liquor laws created a slate of new regulations for private event venues known as wedding barns.

Starting in 2026, the law gives wedding barn owners a choice: either get a liquor license and serve it at as many events as they want, or get a special permit allowing them to serve beer and wine without a license just six times per year.

Previously, there weren’t any restrictions on when or how those renting the facilities could bring and serve alcohol at their events.

The owners of Farmview Event Barn in Berlin and Monarch Valley Wedding and Events in Blair filed a lawsuit in May 2024 that claimed the upcoming ultimatum under the law violates their right to earn a living under the Wisconsin Constitution. The state Department of Revenue defended the law and argued in an October 31 motion to dismiss that the liquor license requirement will soon treat all businesses serving alcohol equally.

During his oral ruling Wednesday, Trempealeau County Circuit Court Judge Rian Radtke agreed with the DOR’s claim that the wedding barn provision falls under the state’s responsibility to protect against excessive drinking.

“As a result, it will likely reduce the risks of over consumption and the public danger that goes with such alcohol related behavior,” Radtke said.

The Federal Reserve’s top banking regulator on Tuesday released new guidelines for the agency’s supervision of the financial system.

In a set of sweeping changes, the principles call for bank examiners to focus on material financial risks and to “not become distracted from this priority by devoting excessive attention to processes, procedures, and documentation.” The guidelines are set out in a memo originally distributed to Fed employees October 29 but released Tuesday.

Michelle Bowman, the Fed’s vice chair for supervision, said the principles will “sharpen” the central bank’s focus and build “a more effective supervisory framework.”

“By anchoring our work in material financial risks, we strengthen the banking system’s foundation while upholding transparency, accountability, and fairness,” Bowman said in a written statement.

Under the Fed’s new rules, banks can only be tested for material risks to their businesses or balance sheets, such as bad loans or unsound business practices. Banks will also able to self-certify on certain risk and supervision issues. These changes have been among the top priority for the banking industry since President Trump was elected into office.

“Banks are most resilient when their examiners prioritize material financial risks, not check-the-box compliance exercises,” said Greg Baer, president and CEO of the Bank Policy Institute.

Wisconsin residential customers of two utilities are on the hook for at least $304.5 million in higher rates on their electric and natural gas bills over the next two years.

That’s $86.1 million less than what Alliant Energy and Xcel Energy sought for 2026 and 2027, according to preliminary figures the Public Service Commission shared with WisPolitics-State Affairs.

When the full increase kicks in starting on January 1, 2027, the average residential Xcel customer will pay $24.91 more for electricity a month than they do now and an additional $8.70 for natural gas. The typical Alliant customer, meanwhile, will pay an additional $17.45 a month for electricity starting in 2027 compared to now and $1.80 extra for gas.

Alliant Energy serves about 1 million electric customers and 430,000 gas customers in Iowa and Wisconsin, while Xcel Energy as of last year served 250,000 electric and 114,000 gas customers in northwestern Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Under state law, the PSC is required to approve rate increases that cover utilities’ reasonable costs and the opportunity to turn a profit.

The Assembly Speaker’s Task Force on Rulemaking will be holding a public hearing on Thursday, November 20^th at Northcentral Technical College to hear testimony on the rulemaking authority wielded by state bureaucrats. As the Chair of this Task Force, Representative Brent Jacobson (R – Mosinee) released the following statement:

“The regulatory uncertainty created by the Evers v. Marklein II decision is affecting every community in Wisconsin,” said Rep. Jacobson. “As our Task Force works to restore oversight to our unaccountable state bureaucracy, we cannot forget that the decisions made in Madison affect every Wisconsinite. I am excited to announce this public hearing, where my fellow task force members and I can hear from the everyday people affected by agency rulemaking.”

Members of the public are welcome to attend this public hearing and share their experiences with regulations from our state agencies. The schedule for this hearing is as follows:

Task force on Rulemaking Public Hearing

Thursday, November 20^th, 2025

11:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Northcentral Technical College – Timberwolf Conference Center/D100

1000 W. Campus Drive

Wausau, WI 54401

As inflationary costs have exceeded state transportation support over the past 15 years, a new study shows the number of local governments turning to wheel taxes for revenue has grown exponentially.

The analysis by the nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum shows nearly half of Wisconsin residents will have to pay local vehicle registration fees, or wheel taxes, by the end of the year.

While local governments have had the authority to unilaterally levy wheel taxes since the late 1960s and 1970s, the Policy Forum report shows how widespread the funding tool has become in recent times.

In 2010, just three cities and one county were using local registration fees. This year, 64 cities, counties, towns and villages had a wheel tax in place, which represents a 1,500 percent increase. The Policy Forum data shows nearly 50 percent of all Wisconsin residents will be ponying up added wheel tax fees by the end of 2025.

The surge in local wheel taxes has caught the attention of some Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature who are looking to tamp it down. A GOP-backed bill would not only require local referendum votes before new wheel taxes could be enacted, it would also require voters to retroactively approve any wheel tax on the books — no matter how long they’ve been in place.

Supporters of the legislation argue it would be no different than the referendum process school districts go through before raising residents’ property taxes. Opponents, like local government advocacy groups, say wheel taxes may not be popular, but they’re a reliable source of revenue to respond to roadbuilding costs outpacing state support.

On Tuesday, the Eau Claire City Council became the latest local government to increase its wheel tax, voting to more than doubled its tax to $50. With the county’s existing $30 registration fee, residents in the city will pay the highest combined local registration fees in Wisconsin the next time they renew their vehicle registrations.