(The Center Square) – Wisconsin continues to look at the future of
driverless cars and trucks in the state.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s Automated Vehicle External Advisory Committee is tasked with taking the first steps toward likely future automated vehicle regulations.
But no one is saying what those regulations will look like.
A recent hearing focused mainly on the data that Wisconsin, and other states, currently have from the new technology that is already in cars, trucks, buses and other vehicles.
“Vehicle telematic data can…better inform local agencies on traffic incident response needs,” Wis-DOT said in its announcement. “In a snowstorm, for example, recognizing areas where vehicles are slowing down, turning on their wipers, or changing lanes can help get snowplows or crash teams out to respond, improving safety and reducing traffic congestion.”
Wis-DOT managers say there is a lot to learn from that data. The agency also says there is a lot to like, and a lot to worry about, as more cars, trucks, and buses become more automated.
“WisDOT is committed to exploring emerging technologies that will help us develop a safe and efficient transportation system for the 21st century,” said Wis-DOT’s Lea Collins-Worachek. “Vehicle telematics is a promising tool that has the potential to revolutionize so many aspects of our work, but we must ensure we’re using it wisely.”
Wisconsin has been studying automated vehicles through the WAVE committee since 2020. The committee has met nearly a dozen times since but no one is saying when the committee may have formal or final recommendations.

(The Center Square) – Meta’s new $1 billion artificial intelligence data center in Beaver Dam will have 100 operational jobs once it comes online in 2027, the company announced.
The project will be eligible to be part of a tax increment district, meaning additional property taxes collected at the site due to its increase value after construction, won’t go to the local government and instead will be collected and retained by Meta for up to 20 years.
The Beaver Dam project was a specific part of a law approved earlier this year allowing municipalities to waive a 12% cap on TID projects within a municipality for qualified data centers.
The project is also eligible for a sales tax exemption on construction materials, electricity and equipment within the data center, a state exemption that has already far exceeded fiscal expectations by costing the state $70 million in sales tax in the first two years since implementation.
Meta says that it will cover $200 million in energy infrastructure for the project including network upgrades, utility substations and transmission lines.
The company said that more than 1,000 workers will be at the site during peak construction.
“Once operational, the Beaver Dam data center will be optimized for our expanding AI workloads, supporting our growing fleet of industry-leading AI infrastructure, and setting us up to deliver the future of AI innovation,” Meta said about the project.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s Public Service Commission approved a pair of residential electricity rate hikes last week, including 13.9% for Alliant Energy over two years and 20% for Xcel Energy.
The Alliant natural gas rate will increase nearly 11% while Xcel Energy’s was 14%.
The group is set to vote on an increase for Madison Gas and Electric on Nov. 20. The increases will go into effect Jan. 1.
That means that the commission has approved more than $2 billion in electric and natural gas rate increases since Gov. Tony Evers became governor, according to Americans for Prosperity – Wisconsin.
“Skyrocketing energy bills are hurting Wisconsin families, renters, and small business owners already struggling to make ends meet, pushing the American Dream further out of reach,” AFP-Wisconsin Legislative Director Jerry Ponio said. Today, our state ranks among the highest in the Midwest for electric rates – proof that the current system under Evers is broken.”
Alliant said that its rate increase would amount to an average residential electrical monthly bill increases of about $6 a month in 2026 and another $8 a month in 2027. The increase would be $3 a month to the average residential natural gas customer’s bill in 2026, and about $3 a month in 2027, Alliant said.
Alliant received a 12% electricity rate increase and 9.86% for gas rates in 2023.
“Wisconsin needs leadership that puts people ahead of utility profits—and AFP-WI is leading the charge,” Ponio said. “Through grassroots action, we’ll keep pressing for the accountability families deserve and fight for energy policies that put consumers first.”

(The Center Square) – A group of five Wisconsin K-12 school consolidation bills passed an Assembly committee after slight modifications on Thursday.
One bill was amended to give a one-time $1,500 per student payment for schools that consolidate in 2027, 2028 and 2029 before providing $650 per student in the second year and then $150 per student in the next three years to help the schools through the process.
The bill was amended after school districts testified at a public hearing on Tuesday saying that 2026 would be too soon for schools to consolidate.
“It’s the same amount of money but it would make it easier for budgets,” said Rep. Joel Kitchens, R-Sturgeon Bay.
Rep. Joe Sheehan, D-Sheboygan, said that the most important part of the bills for him were feasibility studies, including a statewide study and local studies costing up to $25,000. Sheehan voted for the feasibility studies but did not support the other consolidation bills.
Rep. Angelina Cruz, D-Racine, voiced opposition to the bills, saying “closing schools de-stabilizes communities.”
The measures are aimed at helping school districts use consolidation to combat decreased enrollments and aging buildings across the state. Public school enrollment in Wisconsin is expected to decline by 200,000 students by 2050. The state has seen an estimated 10,000 fewer students each year.
The bills also include grants for districts that consolidate but have differing levy limits and school board consolidation grants of $500 per student for whole grade sharing.
Kitchens reiterated that the bills are funding for voluntary consolidations and that “no one is calling for schools to board up their windows” after Cruz said that the bills were asking for schools to do that.
Kitchens compared the bills to efforts to fix Social Security issues on a national level with many knowing it is an issue but efforts to fix the issue leading to complaints, saying “lead, follow or get out of the way.”
“We are giving options to schools because we know, down the line, that has to happen,” Kitchens said. “Let’s give them the tools.”

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s members of Congress all voted as expected on the plan to reopen the government.
The state’s two Democrats, Mark Pocan from Madison and Gwen Moore from Milwaukee, Wednesday night voted against the plan.
“I voted no on a bill that fails the American people. This legislation does nothing to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits that keep health care affordable for more than 22 million Americans,” Pocan said on social media.
“I won’t vote for legislation that does nothing to address the health care crisis Republicans have inflicted on the American people,” Moore said before the vote. “They passed tax giveaways for billionaires and billions in Medicaid cuts without my vote, so they can pass this without my vote too.”
Wisconsin’s six Republicans in Congress all voted to reopen the government.
“There was no reason our government should have been shut down in the first place,” Congressman Bryan Steil said Wednesday night. “Democrats fought for over a month to keep our government shut down, causing chaos for working families.”
“After 43 long days this vote ensures our service members and federal workers finally get paid, and that we resume critical services for and struggling American families,” Congressman Tony Wied said in a statement. “House Republicans got the job done.”
“This reckless approach put critical programs and hard-working Americans at risk for no reason,” Congressman Glenn Grothman said. “As we look ahead to January 31, I hope Democratic leadership will put governing ahead of political games.”
But that may not be part of the plan.
Wisconsin’s Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who on Sunday voted against reopening the government, said X that “this fight isn’t over.”
President Trump signed the government funding plan late Wednesday night, officially reopening the government.

(The Center Square) – An education advocacy group has filed a federal Title IX civil rights complaint with The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights over access to gender-specific restrooms on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The complaint says that policy allows for male students to access female restrooms if they choose and tells female students to instead use a limited number of single-occupancy restrooms if they are not comfortable with it.
The lawsuit from Defending Education says that the policy in question states “students, staff, faculty, and visitors have the right to use the restroom, locker room, shower, or changing facility most safe and comfortable for them, without being harassed or questioned, regardless of gender expression or sex assigned at birth.”
Defending Education says that it is an organization that aims to protect students “from activists imposing harmful agendas.”
“While many female students feel unsafe or uncomfortable sharing restrooms with students of the opposite sex, UW-Madison guidance explicitly dismisses these students’ concerns,” the complaint states.
Attempts by The Center Square to reach UW-Madison for comment were unsuccessful.

(The Center Square) – Mobile sports wagering across Wisconsin took another step forward on Wednesday when a bill allowing the state’s tribes to take wagers anywhere in the state passed the Assembly Committee on State Affairs.
Rep. Robert Wittke, R-Caledonia, noted testimony from Sports Betting Alliance Counsel Damon Stewart, who said that a requirement that 60% of the gross revenue from mobile sports wagering under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act would be too high of a cost for top national brands such as DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Fanatics and Bet365.
Wittke said that he believes Wisconsin is better served sticking with the current proposal and having the state’s tribes operate sports wagering in the state.
The argument against that is by limiting which operators can offer wagers in the state, the most competitive promos, lines and technology as well as the widest variety of wagering options, such as prop bets, won’t always be available.
“While we support the goal of legal online sports betting in Wisconsin, this bill will only result in limited choices for consumers with no national brands, no chance for all Wisconsin tribes to actively participate in the market, no ability to make a dent in the illegal market that already exists in the state, and years of litigation that will hold up implementation of legal sports betting in Wisconsin,” Stewart wrote in his testimony.
The proposal would create a technical exception to the term “bet” in Wisconsin law by not counting mobile sports wagers that were conducted through a sportsbook with servers located on tribal land as one of those banned “bets.”
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty issued a memo on the bills Tuesday, saying it believes the laws are unlawful and explained the reasoning, starting with a state law that the Legislature cannot pass a law to allow for gambling in the state and because IGRA prevents creating a tribal gambling monopoly off reservation.
The memo also says the 14th Amendment prevents creating a race-based monopoly like the tribal gaming approval.
“These legal issues are significant,” the WILL memo says. “In our view, if passed, these bills would likely be struck down. Furthermore, litigation over these bills would result in intense judicial scrutiny of Wisconsin’s entire gambling apparatus, not just the subject matter presented by these bills.”
Jeff Crawford, attorney general for the Forest County Potawatomi Community, noted during testimony at a public hearing that the Milwaukee Brewers, Milwaukee Bucks and Green Bay Packers are supportive of Wisconsin expanding its tribe-based mobile sports wagering statewide.
He said that the tribes take offense that SBA insinuated that the tribes could not properly handle the technology of statewide mobile sports wagering.
Crawford said that estimates show there were $150 million in offshore or illegal sports wagers placed by Wisconsin consumers in 2018, that exploded to $1 billion worth in 2024 and it is projected to only expand from there.

(The Center Square) – Eau Claire’s City Council approved an increase in its wheel tax from $24 to $50 at a Tuesday night meeting, making it the largest wheel tax in the state.
A wheel tax is a local fee added to vehicle registration costs in the state, with nearly half of the state’s municipalities now having wheel taxes after just four had them in 2010.
Overall, wheel taxes will cost taxpayers $70 million in 2025, according to a new report from Wisconsin Policy Forum.
Along with Eau Claire, new wheel taxes were recently approved in Fitchburg, Oshkosh, Sun Prairie and Wauwatosa. The taxes are in addition to Wisconsin’s $85 registration fee.
In 2015, wheel taxes raised $10 million. The taxes then grew rapidly through 2021, then the growth slowed until 2025, when wheel taxes went up 12% statewide, according to the report.
“In many communities, leaders of local governments such as the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County will have to make difficult decisions about whether to make the kinds of investments needed to repair aging streets and maintain transit services despite rising costs,” the report said. “Local wheel taxes could help meet these needs, but policymakers and voters will have to weigh the benefits against the costs.”
Sen. Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield, recently introduced legislation that would require local officials to ask voters to approve a wheel tax.
“This doesn’t take away options from local governments, but it does require local officials to make their case directly to the people and ensures taxpayers have the final say at the ballot box,” Hutton said.

(The Center Square) – The criticism continues to roll in for Wisconsin’s
new school report cards.
The state’s Department of Public Instruction released the report cards from
last year Tuesday. DPI said the report cards show that more than 90% of schools in Wisconsin got passing grades.
“Of the 378 public school districts receiving report cards, 355 (94%) met, exceeded, or significantly exceeded expectations,” DPI said in its report card announcement.
But some education reformers, including the Institute for Reforming Government, said that 94% number is misleading.
“DPI’s state report cards say rich districts are worth the property taxes, even when they aren’t, and poor districts meet expectations, even when they don’t. Meanwhile, DPI underrates many of Wisconsin’s best districts,” IRG’s Quinton Klabon said.
He added to the criticism on social media.
“DPI’s report cards measure poverty, not quality,” he wrote. “There is not a single 1-star district. [In fact] 51% of schools are 4 or 5 stars, up from 2024.”
IRG said that discrepancy punishes some districts that do a good job teaching students to read, write and do math.
“DPI says lower-poverty, low-performing districts like Lodi, Lake Mills, and Saint Croix are 4 or even 5 stars. Even worse, DPI says higher poverty, high-performing districts like Wisconsin Dells, Sheboygan, and Janesville are just 3 stars,” the Institute said in a statement.
The IRG said DPI has lowered the bar by changing what it means to “meet” expectations, or become a 5 star district, Klabon said that has left parents with a false sense of how well their kids’ schools are doing.
“Parents should not have to play a guessing game about where their children can learn best,” Klabon added.

(The Center Square) — Most schools in Wisconsin received passing grades in the state’s latest round of report cards, a process that generated more criticism as the grades were released.
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction on Tuesday said report cards for every school in the state showed that more than 90 percent passed.
“Of the 378 public school districts receiving report cards, 355 (94%) met, exceeded, or significantly exceeded expectations,” the department said. “Among the 436 private schools participating in a Private School Choice Program, 161 (85% of scored Choice report cards) met, exceeded or significantly exceeded expectations.”
Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty Research Director Will Flanders, an advocate of voucher schools, said that comparison doesn’t tell the whole story.
“Private choice and charter schools remain bright spots,” Flanders wrote on X. “Choice schools in (Milwaukee) saw proficiency rates 10-11% higher than public schools when key control variables are considered. Charters saw higher performance in (Milwaukee) in both reading & math and higher in reading outstate.”
Flanders said the report makes it look like a lot of public schools are doing better than they really are.
“DPI continues to try to hide the ball on student outcomes, but they have failed to do so here. Despite absurd ratings like schools with less than 15% proficiency ‘exceeding expectations,’ very real achievement and achievement gap problems persist,” Flanders added.
The new numbers are the first since the department changed its benchmarks for local schools in recent years.
The Department of Public Instruction has said the new grading system was determined by a 26-member advisory committee that works with the contracted Center for Assessment, leaving DPI out of the decision-making process.
The latest report card information can be found here. It includes a search tool for school districts and individual schools.

(The Center Square) — Chris Lindner knows the possibility of his Loyal School District consolidating with Greenwood in Clark County has plenty of people paying attention.
School consolidations in Wisconsin, now a rarity, could increase if his is successful.
“It very well could be a pendulum swing,” Lindner told Wisconsin’s Assembly Committee on Education during a public hearing Tuesday on five school consolidation bills.
The measures are aimed at helping school districts use consolidation to combat decreased enrollments and aging buildings across the state. Public school enrollment in Wisconsin is expected to decline by 200,000 students by 2050. The state has seen an estimated 10,000 fewer students each year.
Sponsors of the bills emphasized they are based on supporting voluntary consolidation for districts.
Included in the bills is a statewide consolidation and feasibility study supported by leaders of Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction. They said a study hasn’t been done since the 1960s and would provide a road map for what the state’s 421 districts could look like and which areas have the potential to benefit from consolidation.
If done quickly, the study could be expensive but could answer questions on “how do we sync some of these things up,” said DPI Deputy State Superintendent Tom McCarthy.
There is no estimate for the cost of a statewide study. Lindner said his district paid $12,000 for an individual district consolidation report.
McCarthy said the state had 7,000 school districts in the 1920s, reduced to 4,000 in the 1940s and further to 800 in 1950s and 1960s as K-8 districts and unified high schools consolidated in many areas.
The state’s last school consolidation came in 2018, when two districts combined to create the Holy Hill School District in Richfield.
McCarthy said two-thirds of the state’s school districts are experiencing declining enrollment and 75% of the state’s students are being educated in the largest 100 districts in the state, while 53% of school districts have less than 1,000 students.
“We need a toolset for our districts,” said Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie.
The consolidation bills would give districts an additional $2,000 per student for the first year after consolidating; a $25,000 grant to conduct its own consolidation or shared services study; grants for districts that consolidate but have differing levy limits; and school board consolidation grants of $500 per student for whole grade sharing.
Rep. Joel Kitchens, R-Sturgeon Bay, said some districts are considering consolidation or whole grade sharing, and the incentives could provide an impetus to make it happen.
“I don’t expect them to be out there begging for this,” Kitchens said, but noted that many districts also “recognize that this is going to be necessary.”
Senate President Mary Felzkowski, R-Tomahawk, said consolidation isn’t feasible for some of the smaller districts in her area because of the logistics of wide-spread school districts and transportation, noting she can drive 3 ½ hours from one end of her legislative district to the other.