(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s recent Public Service Commission approvals of energy rates for Alliant Energy and Xcel Energy will amount to a $300 million increase in rates for residential customers over the next two years, according to a Public Service Commission report.
That includes $156.4 million in a rate settlement for Alliant Energy and $148.3 million in rates for Xcel.
The group is set to vote on an increase for Madison Gas and Electric on Thursday. The increases will go into effect Jan. 1. Both utilities were recently approved to hold 9.8% profit margins for investors.
The commission reviews the company’s rate increase requests and reasoning and then approves the measure. In the case of Alliant, the settlement was between Alliant, Blacks for Political and Social Action of Dane County, Inc., Clean Wisconsin, Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 965, RENEW Wisconsin, Walmart and Wisconsin Industrial Energy Group.
“CUB deliberates carefully before agreeing to settle a rate case, as opposed to litigating all the way to the end,” CUB Executive Director Tom Content said. “In this year’s Alliant case, our team’s review concluded that, while some increases were unavoidable, the settlement amount is well below Aliant’s ask.”
Alliant has requested a $128.1 million increase for 2026 while $76.6 million was approved and the cumulative requested increase for 2027 was $215.7 million with $156.4 million approved.
The increase was mainly $144.1 million for electric rate increases while the natural gas increase amounted to $12.3 million for the two years.
“The wins achieved for Alliant Energy customers in the settlement were significant: Reduction in the size of the overall increase vs. the amount requested in March, creation of new and innovative programs to help customers use energy more efficiently and save money and commitment for stepped-up financial support from Alliant Energy shareholders to customers who are struggling the most to pay energy bills,” Content said.
Xcel requested $113.8 million in the first year and $175.1 million of cumulative increase over the two years and was granted $85.9 million in 2026 and $148.3 million cumulative in 2027.
That included $126.1 million in electric increases and $22.2 million for gas.
Content felt that there were “clear missed opportunities for more savings.”
“We argued strongly that the utility’s profit should have been reduced from 9.8%,” Content said. “After all, the same utility on the other side of the river in Minnesota is able to operate a healthy utility at a much lower profit, 9.25%.
“And the PSC should have gone further to push board of directors’ costs to shareholders rather than to customers. Boards of directors are in service to shareholders, and the utility was asked to demonstrate how customers benefit from the board experiences and it did not do so.”

(The Center Square) – There were no “no” votes from Wisconsin on the Jeffery Epstein files.
Every single one of Wisconsin’s members of Congress voted Tuesday to release the files that show some of the background of Epstein, and his connections to Washington, D.C.
“After months of delay and embarrassing public infighting over protecting child predators, House Republicans finally voted to release the Epstein files,” Milwaukee Democrat Gewn Moore said on X after the vote. “I commend the few who broke with Trump early and recognized that the nonpartisan priority needs to be the victims.”
“Just voted YES on releasing the Epstein files!,” Madison Democrat Mark Pocan added.
“I voted YES to release the Epstein files,” southeast Wisconsin Republican Scot Fitzgerald said. “This vote promotes greater transparency and oversight by giving the public access to information held by the government. I am confident the DOJ will handle this responsibly and not let it turn into another political witch hunt but instead treat it as a genuine effort to uncover the truth. Americans have a right to know what the government knows, and this is a step toward justice for those affected by Epstein’s horrific crimes.”
Green Bay-area Republican Tony Wied also said he voted to release the files to promote “transparency.”
“Today’s vote makes our government more transparent to the American people — exactly the way it should be,” Wied wrote on X. “While Democrats did nothing to release the Epstein files while they were in power, we have already released 60,000+ documents and now the rest are on the way.”
Only one congressman, Louisiana Republican Clay Higgins, voted against releasing the Epstein files. He said the move to release the files “abandons 250 years of criminal justice procedure in America. As written, this bill reveals and injures thousands of innocent people — witnesses, people who provided alibis, family members, etc.”
The Epstein file question immediately moved to the U.S. Senate, but there wasn’t a vote. Senators accepted the vote from the House by “unanimous consent.” That required each senator to agree but spared them from an up or down vote.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s online sports wagering bill won’t be voted on during session Wednesday, Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer, D-Racine, said.
Neubauer said she wasn’t certain yet the reason it was pulled but conservative radio host Dan O’Donnell reported the move came after eight Assembly Republicans objected to the bill, putting the total supporters under 50, which he said is a long-standing rule that 50 members of the majority party must support a bill in order for it to be put on the calendar.
Neubauer, meanwhile, said she would support Assembly Bill 601.
“We know that our tribes in Wisconsin have the right to control gaming in our state and that’s not happening with online sports betting,” Neubauer said. “I do hope that we pass a bill that puts control of that industry back in their hands.”
The move comes after Rep. Tyler August, R-Walworth, sent a memo to fellow lawmakers earlier in the week urging the bill’s passage as prediction markets – similar to sports wagering but allowed through federal oversight – are available across the country.
“If we leave a gray area in state law, national prediction platforms will fill it without our compact framework, Wisconsin oversight, or Wisconsin consumer safeguards,” August wrote. “AB 601 does the opposite: it channels activity into a regulated, Wisconsin-based, compacted environment with clear jurisdiction and accountability. This protects consumers, respects tribal sovereignty, and keeps revenue tied to Wisconsin operations rather than flowing to unaligned national apps.”
The proposal would also need to be approved by the Senate and signed by Gov. Tony Evers, who has indicated he would approve of a bill keeping gaming with the tribes.
The proposal would change the state’s definition of “bet” to allow the tribes to offer mobile sports wagering as long as the better is in Wisconsin and the sportsbook servers are on tribal land, an amendment to current compacts allowing for casino gambling and sports wagering on tribal lands despite the state’s ban on betting.
Prediction markets, however, have taken off this fall during football season with offerings very similar to sportsbooks where operators such as Kalshi and Polymarket offer what they call event contracts where users pick a side in a matchup or election and put their money behind that side against other users.
States tax regulated sportsbooks but are not able to tax the prediction markets. In Wisconsin’s case, the bill would pave the way for tribal online sports wagering that is subject to revenue sharing pacts between the 11 recognized tribes and the state.

(The Center Square) – Schools in the University of Wisconsin system will have to justify online class fees if a bill that passed the Senate becomes law.
The bill would prevent University of Wisconsin schools from assessing the online class fees unless the school can show actual additional costs to conduct the classes online.
“SB 532 eliminates unwarranted hidden fees that needlessly add to the cost of college coursework, classes that are often required to graduate and start a career. This bill is about transparency, affordability and fairness, but it’s also about embracing change,” Sen. Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield, said in a statement.
The bill passed the Senate with an 18-15 vote.
Representatives from the UW System said in committee that online courses can cost more for technology purposes and due to training of professors but those costs are sometimes difficult to identify clearly.
Hutton said that the fees at six UW campuses are $150 for a three-credit course and some of the classes are only offered online, forcing students to pay the fee.
“Technology should make a higher education more accessible and less costly, not the other way around,” Hutton said. “This bill helps UW campuses step into the future as more students seek greater flexibility and affordability.”

(The Center Square) – One of the sponsors of Wisconsin’s statewide sports wagering legislation is warning prediction markets could take over the sports wagering marketplace if state lawmakers don’t pass a law in the Assembly Wednesday allowing the state’s 11 tribes to offer online sports wagering in the state.
“If we leave a gray area in state law, national prediction platforms will fill it without our compact framework, Wisconsin oversight, or Wisconsin consumer safeguards,” wrote Rep. Tyler August, R-Walworth. “AB 601 does the opposite: it channels activity into a regulated, Wisconsin-based, compacted environment with clear jurisdiction and accountability. This protects consumers, respects tribal sovereignty, and keeps revenue tied to Wisconsin operations rather than flowing to unaligned national apps.”
The proposal would also need to be approved by the Senate and signed by Gov. Tony Evers, who has indicated he would approve of a bill keeping gaming with the tribes.
The proposal would change the state’s definition of “bet” to allow the tribes to offer mobile sports wagering as long as the better is in Wisconsin and the sportsbook servers are on tribal land, an amendment to current compacts allowing for casino gambling and sports wagering on tribal lands despite the state’s ban on betting.
Prediction markets, however, have taken off this fall during football season with offerings very similar to sportsbooks where operators such as Kalshi and Polymarket offer what they call event contracts where users pick a side in a matchup or election and put their money behind that side against other users.
Those markets are regulated federally through the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and do not require separate state taxes that Wisconsin would receive while the tribes would pay the state a revenue share based upon amended compacts that would have to be approved by the U.S. Department of Interior.
Kalshi, for instance, saw $230.2 million in activity on Week 11 NFL football alone and an overall $1.3 billion in activity the week of Nov. 3, up from $900 million in the first full week of October.
Both FanDuel and DraftKings recently announced they are quitting the American Gaming Association and will put large investments toward prediction markets in states without legalized mobile sports wagering.
“While we debate a narrow clarification that keeps wagering inside Wisconsin’s compact system, large national platforms are racing to roll out ‘prediction market’ apps that let users trade real-money contracts on sports, politics, and economic data,” August wrote.
August’s memo to fellow lawmakers included a 15-page response to legal questions about the bill from Attorney Ryan Walsh on behalf of the Forest County Potawatomi Community.
He argued the bill doesn’t change anything legally and it just amends the current pacts between tribes and the state, which is allowable.
“In my view, the Bill and associated compacts would not violate any provision of the U.S. Constitution, federal law, or the Wisconsin Constitution and should be upheld in any litigation,” Walsh wrote.
He said that Equal Protection Clause claims that the tribes are being treated differently due to race are no different than the current gambling pacts in the state and that the bill is not the Legislature creating a bill to allow for gambling but instead is simply allowing for an amendment to the agreements already in place.
The Sports Betting Alliance – which represents DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Fanatics and Bet365 – has said it supports Wisconsin increasing its mobile sports wagering to statewide but believes the state should allow for a change that would allow those companies to work with the tribes and pay less than the 60% of gross revenue required by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act for its services, an amount that SBA Counsel Damon Stewart said would be too much to allow those companies to operate in the state.
“I think our citizens in Wisconsin are better served by keeping this new platform within our current gambling structure,” Rep. Robert Wittke, R-Caledonia, said as the bill was approved in committee.

(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin Senate voted 22-11 on Tuesday to make the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association subject to open meetings and public records.
The private organization that governs high school athletics for the state’s public and private schools has fought the legislation, saying it is private and does not accept tax money.
The legislation would have to also pass the Assembly and be signed by Gov. Tony Evers before becoming law.
The group makes most of its funding from “host tournaments and through private donations” which includes hosting events featuring public high school teams at public high schools and making eligibility decisions on athletes.
Executive Director Stephanie Hauser told a committee previously that those eligibility decisions can become controversial and “I think we’re going to get pummeled with them” regarding public records requests.
Those advocating for the rules, however, believe that the WIAA needs more transparency on its decision-making authority over public high school athletes.
Hauser told a committee that “subjecting a private organization to open records policies is akin to forcing a church, small business or any other sort of private organization to such policies.”
The WIAA noted in a letter against the bill that former Gov. Scott Walker vetoed a similar bill in 2015 and Evers vetoed one in 2021.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty advocated for the bill, saying the Legislature has never granted power over public school athletics to the WIAA.
“WIAA is a nominally private membership association that exercises governmental power by playing gatekeeper over interscholastic athletics, a government-provided benefit,” WILL wrote.
After the vote, WILL Attorney Lucas Vebber wrote a post applauding the vote, which came after no debate on the bill.
“A great bipartisan group of state senators just voted to advance legislation to ensure the WIAA complies with the public records law. Long overdue legislation,” Vebber wrote.

(The Center Square) – There’s a plea offer on the table in Judge Hannah Dugan’s case.
New Interim U.S. Attorney in Milwaukee Brad Schimel said he’s been briefed on the case and says there is an offer.
He said, however, that Dugan’s attorneys have not accepted that offer. Schimel says the two sides continue to negotiate.
Dugan is scheduled to go on trial next month on federal felony charges that accuse her of helping an illegal immigrant avoid ICE agents at the Milwaukee County courthouse in April.
Schimel is not saying what the plea offer from his office includes.
Schimel is not personally handling the case, other prosecutors in his office are. But Schimel is the new, top federal prosecutor in Milwaukee.
The Trump Administration named Schimel as interim U.S. attorney on Monday. He previously served as Wisconsin attorney general, and as a Waukesha County circuit judge. Back heavily by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, Schimel also ran for Wisconsin Supreme Court in November, but was easily beaten by liberal Susan Crawford to help liberals maintain a majority on the court.
It appears that race kept Schimel from getting a permanent nomination.
Wisconsin’s Democrat U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin on Monday referenced the race in her opposition to Schimel’s new role.
“Brad Schimel was soundly rejected twice by Wisconsinites because they knew he would play politics with the law, not deliver justice fairly for everyone – and he has no business being a top prosecutor in Wisconsin,” Baldwin said in a statement. “As President Trump politicizes our justice system, it is more important than ever that the people serving in the courts and on the bench are committed to upholding the rule of law, not loyalty to the President.”
The Trump Administration ignored Wisconsin’s bipartisan judicial nominating process, and Baldwin did not sign-off on Schimel’s appointment.
“The Trump administration has skirted this law to keep in place other U.S. Attorneys, who were ardent supporters of the President, in place longer than the legally limited 120 days,” she added.
Schimel could be reappointed in 120 days, or he could see an up or down vote in the U.S. Senate.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s Republican Senate leadership said it would be back in session in November with a full slate of bills and they will do as promised on Tuesday morning, with a scheule including action on 68 different bills or resolutions.
The bills include everything from legislating free speech as Wisconsin’s public universities and technical colleges to making the state’s high school sports association subject to open meetings and public records law.
The Assembly will then meet on Wednesday when it votes on a law that would allow sports wagering to expand across the state through the state’s tribes despite questions on whether that law will violate the Wisconsin Constitution.
The Assembly is also set to vote on five bills related to school consolidation that included a $1,500 per student one-time payment for districts that consolidate in the three years starting in 2027.
The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association argued against the law change, claiming it would “get pummeled” with requests. The group said it is private and does not accept tax money but bill proponents are calling for transparency from the group that legislates how public school conduct high school sports.
The bills include one to prevent the University of Wisconsin system from charging an online course fee unless the school can show actual costs directly related to offering the course online.
The Senate calendar also includes legislation limiting which dogs are considered service dogs, blocking local guaranteed income programs, day care video monitoring rules and increasing the penalties for disarming or impersonating law enforcement.
The Assembly calendar includes a series of bills from Rep. Scott Krug, R-Rome, including a Monday absentee vote count bill that he said in committee he did not believe would pass this year.

(The Center Square) – Gov. Tony Evers isn’t on board with Wisconsin’s proposed anti-grooming legislation.
In a weekend appearance on UpFront, the governor, who is both a former teacher and a former state superintendent of schools, said he doesn’t want to turn teachers into robots.
“[Teachers] are not police officers. They are not D.A.s,” Evers said. He added he probably won’t sign the plan. “If it’s going to stop teachers from maybe putting their arm around a kid when they are hurting, probably not.”
The Cap Times reported last month that Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction, which Evers used to lead, investigated 200 teachers over a five-year period for grooming or sexual misconduct.
Evers said the problem is defining grooming.
“The issue of grooming is very difficult,” the governor said. “I remember when I was state superintendent, we went through some things to make [the laws] more thoughtful and helpful. But at the end of the day, grooming is something that is hard to define. And if we want it to be against the law, we need to identify what it is.”
The Cap Times last week revealed that Evers introduced grooming reforms while he was state superintendent, but those reforms were scrapped because of unidentified “pushback.”
“[It was] grooming, grooming, grooming, and then teachers will say ‘I can’t do this? I can’t do that?’” the governor added. “If we believe we can find a good definition for grooming, and it’s against the law, that will change everything. It’s just a very difficult thing to find.”
Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie, who is driving the anti- grooming legislation didn’t buy the governor’s reluctance.
“This statement from @GovEvers is ridiculous. Here is how grooming is defined in the bill (which he clearly has not read),” she wrote on X. “Absolutely nothing in this bill prohibits teachers from giving a kid a hug when they’re having a bad day. It’s about protecting kids from predators & abuse.”

(The Center Square) – The Mequon Police Department told The Center Square on Monday that there was one additional burglary over the weekend related to a string of recent burglaries of area homes. The burglary was reported on Monday morning.
The department alerted other area police departments of the burglaries last week, saying it believes that an organization out of South America has coordinated property thefts at area homes during the early evening hours on Thursdays through Sundays after entering homes through the backyard.
The department shared video of the incidents with The Center Square.
Mequon Police Operations Commander John Hoell told The Center Square that there are similarities between the recent burglaries and a burglary of the home of Milwaukee Bucks player Bobby Portis, which happened a year ago in River Hills during a Bucks game when nearly $1,500 worth of items were stolen.
That burglary was believed to be part of a string of high profile athlete burglaries from a Chilean South American theft group that led to charges against seven Chilean nationals for more than $2 million worth of items from athletes including Portis, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and unnamed Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Memphis Grizzlies players.
Mequon says that it alerted the other departments in a regional information-sharing meeting last Wednesday.
“The homes were often on cul-de-sacs or dead-end roads, near wooded areas or golf courses, and unoccupied at the time of the break-in,” the department said.
Items stolen included jewelry, watches, designer purses and cash.
Police believe the burglars used trail cams and monitoring devices to monitor comings and goings of residents.
Police said that audible security systems and exterior cameras are a deterrent and asked residents to always activate the alarms and cameras when they leave home, even for a short time.
Residents are asked to contact the Mequon Police Department on its non-emergency number at 262-242-3500 immediately if suspicious activity is observed and, if it is safe to do so, obtain and provide a description of clothing and the vehicle’s license plate, make, model and color.
U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-7th Congressional, said that the burglaries are a result of poor border policy.
“This is what Democrats imported into our country, and now not a single Democrat running for governor will condemn it or support removing these criminals from our communities,” Tiffany said in a statement. “I have fought for strong border security for years on the House Judiciary Committee. As governor, I will ban sanctuary jurisdictions and work with federal and local law enforcement to make Wisconsin safe again.”

(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.