FRI AM News: Microsoft announces $4 billion investment in Mount Pleasant; BLS data shows August growth of 8,600 jobs

September 19, 2025

— Microsoft announced it plans to invest another $4 billion in its datacenter in Mount Pleasant by the end of 2028.

The new investment comes after Microsoft announced last May it would be investing $3.3 billion by the end of 2026. The new investment, announced Thursday morning, will go toward building a new facility on the same site, previously owned by Foxconn, as part of Microsoft’s distributed training supercomputer for the company’s artificial intelligence services.

Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith in a statement touted the news as “a promise to grow responsibly, invest deeply, and create opportunities for Wisconsin and for the nation.”

“We’re in the final phases of building the world’s most powerful AI datacenter in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin—part of a region forged by generations of hard work and ingenuity,” Smith said. “This facility is more than a technological feat.”

Smith also said the company is on track to complete its $3.3 billion portion of the project and bring the AI datacenter early next year.

He added the new, larger investment “will house hundreds of thousands of the world’s most powerful NVIDIA GPUs, operating in seamless clusters connected by enough fiber to wrap the planet four times over.”

Smith also worked to address some concerns about the environmental impacts of such large-scale datacenter projects.

“More than 90 percent of the facility will rely on a state-of-the-art closed-loop liquid cooling system, filled during construction and recirculated continuously,” he said. “The remaining portion of the facility will use outside air for cooling, switching to water only on the hottest days, minimizing environmental impact and maximizing operational efficiency.”

That’s a change from the total-loss style of water cooling datacenters of the past used, where water goes into the facility to cool the system and then gets dumped right back out. The closed-loop system works much the same way a car’s radiator cooling system does.

Smith also said Microsoft is “pre-paying for the energy and electrical infrastructure that we’ll use.”

He argued the move will ensure utility prices will remain stable and protect consumers from increases because of the datacenter.

As for the environmental impact of the center’s increased electricity consumption, Smith said Microsoft will match every kilowatt hour it consumes at the new facility from fossil fuels with carbon-free energy.

“This includes a new 250 MW solar project in Portage County that is under construction to support this commitment,” he said. “And our partnership with WE Energies ensures we will continually explore and add energy transmission, generation, and usage — under transparent tariffs that support grid reliability.”

Gov. Tony Evers praised the investment as one that puts Wisconsin “on the very cutting edge of AI power, not just in the U.S., but throughout the world, while creating good, family-supporting jobs, growing our communities and bolstering our critical biohealth, personalized medicine, and advanced manufacturing sectors here at home.”

“Throughout our history, innovation has been the key to Wisconsin’s success, championing ideas of discoveries that have transformed people’s lives the world over, and this announcement is no different,” Evers said.

See Microsoft’s release.

See Evers’ release.

— The Department of Workforce Development announced August saw a gain of 8,600 jobs, putting the annual total so far at 3,068,700.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows a total gain of 22,800 jobs in 2025 so far. But the construction and manufacturing sectors also fell in August, with construction losing 400 and manufacturing losing 1,400. Construction is still up 2,600 jobs compared to last year, but manufacturing is down 1,500 compared to last year.

Unemployment also fell by 1,100 in August to 97,500, which is 3,400 more than last year. The unemployment rate also held steady at 3.1%, lower than the national average of 4.3%.

The total number of employed people in the state fell by 6,000 in August, bringing that state down to 3,045,000 employed, 40,400 over the year.

DWD economist Scott Hodek said there’s “no unusual movement” in unemployment claims and the numbers are tracking seasonal trends.

However, Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate is down to 64.8%, which is 1.2% lower than last year, but 2.5% higher than the national rate. Participation dropped by 7,100 over the month and 36,900 over the year. The underlying challenge with the state’s workforce remains demographics, Hodek said.

“It’s that baby boomers are aging out of the labor force,” he said. “So that’s kind of underpinning most of the changes overall in the economy and most of the things we’re dealing with. But in summary, you know, the Wisconsin labor market has cooled a bit, along with the national economy, but unemployment rates do remain historically low.”

As older workers leave the workforce, they reduce the pool of workers in the labor force, which impacts the employment rate. The number of unemployed people being higher than last year is more related to the national economy, Hodek said.

“Generally speaking, those combined to create some kind of unusual movements with the unemployment rate, because of the mathematics of it,” he said. “It’s basically the percent of the labor force that’s either working or actively looking for work.”

Watch the briefing.

— Wisconsin’s 2025 Clean Energy Report predicts a 72% decrease in emissions from electricity production by 2030.

The 48-page report released Thursday morning largely highlights individual projects completed or under construction since the state’s Clean Energy Plan was published in 2022. The main goal of the plan is to get electricity production in Wisconsin to 100% carbon-free by 2050, something many have called a lofty goal.

“A clean energy economy is as much about protecting the health of our communities as it is about protecting the health of our environment; it’s also about creating significant economic opportunities for folks across our state,” Gov. Tony Evers said.

One of the bigger achievements toward that goal is that utilities plan to retire three major coal plants, which produce a combined roughly 2,800 megawatts of electricity. The move would cut the amount of electricity generated roughly in half to 16% from 31%.

Utilities also plan to construct roughly 4,200 megawatts of new solar capacity, nearly 1,200 megawatts of wind capacity and 900 megawatts of battery storage, which would more than offset the loss of the coal plant production.

Some of the state’s efforts have also led to improved energy efficiency, such as Wisconsin’s Focus on Energy program helping businesses and residents save 7.7 billion lifecycle kilowatt hours in 2024.

The report also highlights achievements in sustainable transportation, modernizing buildings and industry, environmental justice and other areas.

See the report.

See the original Clean Energy Plan.

— Stoughton Trailers announced the opening of its new 53,000 square foot global headquarters in Stoughton.

The company held its ribbon-cutting ceremony last night in Stoughton, where the new facility that will house up to 200 employees is located. President and CEO Bob Wahlin told WisBusiness the new building and campus is specifically designed to help employees use their time the best way possible and develop their skills both inside and outside the transportation industry.

“We really wanted to create a space where people can, especially as we attract people from further and further away from Stoughton, utilize their time the best,” he said. “They can get their workouts in, they can stay mentally and physically healthy, and they have opportunities to develop on things that they’re interested in, even if they’re outside of the transportation industry.”

The new building is located near roughly 90 acres of greenspace, which Wahlin said the company plans to develop with cycling and walking trails that connect to other existing trail systems.

The land will also include a community park, which Wahlin said the city of Stoughton plans to name after the company, which will include ponds and prairie land.

Inside, Wahlin said the office spaces are specifically designed to allow more natural light in and offer views of the greenspace. There’s also a workout facility, yoga room and even a golf simulator. There will also be a golf pro occasionally visiting to help employees work on their game, Wahlin added.

“So for Stoughton trailers, this is an investment in the future,” he said. “We’ve been a Wisconsin company through and through, all the way since the beginning in 1961. We are committed to the communities that we’re in. We’re committed to this state, and we’re committed to manufacturing. So we’re not going anywhere. We’re investing in the future, and to do that, this new headquarters is a big part of that.”

See the release.

Wisconsin Farmers Join NFU Call for Farm Bill Action

Microsoft plans $4 billion expansion of Racine County work for an advanced AI data center

TOPICS

AGRIBUSINESS

– UWRF Secures $325K for Water Quality Research Projects

CONSTRUCTION

– Work stalls on Milwaukee’s Edison tower

– Data center campus will get over 2,300 new trees

ENVIRONMENT

– Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin awards $4.2 million to Universities of Wisconsin water programs

HEALTH CARE