News of the Day

Yesterday, Governor Evers announced he has signed Executive Order #282, declaring an energy emergency in the state of Wisconsin. Due to persistent challenges caused by a pipeline disruption within the Midwestern pipeline distribution system, coupled with high demand from severe winter weather for residential heating fuel, including heating oil and propane, Executive Order #282 will allow for the swift and efficient delivery of these products throughout the state.

 “The health, welfare, and safety of our neighbors depend on access to fuel for home heating, so I’m declaring this energy emergency to ensure folks and families across our state have the fuel they need to stay warm and safe,” said Gov. Evers.

According to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin’s Office of Energy Innovation, multiple suppliers report challenges such as long lines at terminals and having to drive further distances to collect needed products.

Executive Order #282 will provide a waiver of certain state and federal hours of service restrictions, allowing suppliers to get caught up from the pipeline and weather-related delays. The waiver remains in effect through January 2 or as long as drivers transporting residential heating fuel are responding to the emergency, whichever is shorter.

Executive Order #282 can be found here.

On December 1, 2025, the U.S. average retail price of regular gasoline fell below $3.00 per gallon (gal) to $2.98/gal, according to data from the Energy Information Administration’s Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update. When adjusted for inflation, the December 1 price is the lowest average U.S. gasoline price since February 2021.

The falling price of crude oil, which typically accounts for about half of the retail gasoline price, has led to a drop in the price consumers pay for gasoline.

Gasoline prices vary by region. On December 1, regular gasoline prices ranged between a low price of $2.55/gal on the U.S. Gulf Coast and a high price of $4.03/gal on the U.S. West Coast.

The Commerce Department on Friday reported that the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index rose 0.3% in September from a month ago and is up 2.8% from last year.

Core PCE, which excludes volatile measurements of food and energy prices, was up 0.2% on a monthly basis and 2.8% year over year.

Federal Reserve policymakers are focusing 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. Headline PCE was flat at 2.8% from August to September, while core PCE declined slightly from 2.9% to 2.8%.

Prices for goods were up 1.4% in September from a year ago, an acceleration from the 0.9% reading in August and the 0.6% readings reported in both June and July.

Durable goods were up 0.9% from a year ago in September, a slight deceleration from the 1.2% reading in August. Nondurable goods price growth accelerated in September, rising 1.7% compared with last year following a 0.7% reading in August.

Services prices were up 3.4% in September from a year ago, slightly cooler than the 3.6% reported in August.

Governor Tony Evers has appointed a new leader to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, the governor’s office announced Wednesday.

John W. Miller will become the agency’s secretary and CEO beginning December 15. WEDC’s past secretary, Missy Hughes, stepped down in September and announced a bid for governor that month.

Miller is a Marquette Law School graduate who previously served as a congressional staffer in Washington, D.C. for Wisconsin’s 4th Congressional District.

He became the CEO of his family’s agricultural equipment manufacturing business in 2008, and founded a venture capital fund in Milwaukee to invest in Midwest startups in 2015, according to the governor’s office.

In a statement, Governor Evers said Miller has a “proven track record” of success in both the public and private sectors and called him “uniquely qualified” to lead the state’s economic development agency.

“John understands what it takes to build the 21st-century economy Wisconsinites need and deserve, and I have no doubt that his leadership will help us continue our work toward a stronger future for our state and communities across Wisconsin,” the governor stated.

Miller also served on the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board of Directors during the Obama Administration, and the United States Trade Representative Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations during the Biden administration.

On Tuesday, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) announced the latest major milestone in the state’s efforts to expand high-speed internet statewide under a federal program designed to expand access to high-speed internet across the country.

On December 2, the federal government approved Wisconsin’s final proposal, which will unlock over $1 billion in federal investments secured under the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The Evers Administration’s proposal aims at expanding access to high-speed internet to more than 175,000 homes and businesses across the state.

The more than $1 billion in federal investments are unlocked through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) approving Wisconsin’s final Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program proposal. As approved by NTIA, the awards will provide funding to serve all BEAD-eligible locations throughout the state with the support of more than $397 million in matching funds provided by recipients.

Funding will also support high-speed fiber internet services at Community Anchor Institutions such as schools, libraries, and local government and educational facilities. The breakdown of technologies represented in the awards is 76 percent fiber, 10 percent fixed wireless, and 14 percent satellite. With this NTIA approval, environmental review and final engineering of projects can now begin, and infrastructure construction is expected to commence in 2026.

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.