TUE AM News: Legislation would broaden limits on where certain drones can operate; Circulating bill would expand eligibility for driver training grant program

November 25, 2025

— Legislation from GOP authors would broaden a prohibition on where drones can be operated in the state to include areas above “critical utility facilities” such as power plants.

The legislation is from Sen. Cory Tomczyk of Mosinee and Rep. Bob Donovan of Greenfield. It aims to strengthen “protections for Wisconsin’s essential utilities to prevent and deter threats against the public’s safety and critical infrastructure statewide,” they wrote in the co-sponsorship memo.

Under current law, the “unauthorized, noncommercial operation” of a drone over a correctional institution is not allowed, and comes with a financial penalty of up to $5,000.

Their bill would expand that ban to include water reclamation facilities, gas or electric power plants, telecommunications carrier plants and equipment, as well as public water system facilities, the memo shows. The legislation would prohibit the operation of a drone less than 300 feet over or within 500 feet of these facilities.

Friday’s memo references an incident from June 2024 in which staff at Milwaukee’s Jones Island Water Reclamation Facility found the remains of a crashed drone ahead of the Republican National Convention coming to the state. It was reported to the Department of Homeland Security.

“This situation highlights the rise and prevalence of drones in addition to security concerns they pose over critical infrastructure,” authors wrote.

The co-sponsorship deadline is 5 p.m. Dec. 5.

See the bill text.

— Another bill from Republican authors would expand eligibility for a grant program supporting organizations that provide commercial driver training.

Sen. Eric Wimberger of Oconto and Rep. Treig Pronschinske of Mondovi last week sent a co-sponsorship memo to other lawmakers seeking support for LRB 3318/1 & 5591/1.

They note the state’s current commercial driver training grant program offers funding to organizations listed in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Training Provider Registry that have a facility within Wisconsin.

“However, many trucking businesses either train drivers themselves or rely on third-party trainers that may not have a physical facility in the state, even if the business, employee, and training process are all located within Wisconsin,” bill authors wrote.

The state Department of Workforce Development provides the grants to recipients that meet certain requirements, including that the training they provide meets entry-level requirements under the FMCSA.

Under the legislation, grant eligibility would be expanded to include applicants other than training providers, as an applicant that pays for a third-party training provider could get a grant through the program.

Applicants would be required to have at least one site in Wisconsin, but the bill would cut the requirement that the training is provided at an in-state facility. It would also limit grants to one per individual being trained, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Bill authors say the change would allow any Wisconsin-based business that’s paying the cost for an employee to get commercial driver training to be eligible for the grant.

“This change will further help grow our talent pool of licensed drivers, expanding economic opportunities for Wisconsinites, and ensuring goods across the state can be moved with ease,” they wrote.

The grant program bill authors want to expand was created by 2023 Wisconsin Act 153. It was extended by another two years by the Legislature, with another $500,000 in funding provided through the 2025-2027 biennial budget, the memo shows.

The co-sponsorship deadline is 5 p.m. Dec. 3.

See the bill text.

— The Wisconsin Bankers Association says the latest federal figures show banks in the state are in a strong financial position, despite ongoing concerns around inflation.

The group yesterday issued a statement on the third-quarter Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation numbers, which shows year-over-year lending increased across all loan categories.

While farm lending rose 4.81% over the quarter and 5.3% over the year, commercial lending fell by 1.46% over the quarter but rose 4.93% over the year “as commercial customers continue to navigate inflation-related factors,” WBA said.

Meanwhile, residential real estate loans fell by 6.63% over the quarter but increased by 15.05% over the year, the release shows.

“The third quarter FDIC numbers continue to highlight the strength of Wisconsin banks, which are well positioned to help their customers and communities heading into 2026,” WBA President and CEO Rose Oswald Poels said.

See the release.

— Ahead of Thanksgiving, a Marquette University Law School poll shows a deep partisan divide in how Americans view grocery prices.

While 82% of Independent voters and 92% of Democrats nationwide say grocery prices have gone up in the past six months, only 56% of Republicans say the same.

“Twenty-one percent of Republicans said prices had actually gone down at the grocery store,” Charles Franklin, the poll’s director, told WISN-TV’s “UpFront,” which is produced in partnership with WisPolitics. “Maybe we should shop where they’re shopping, but I think it also reflects how much partisanship distorts our views of things, even as close to home as grocery prices, because honestly, Republicans and Democrats aren’t shopping in dramatically different supermarkets. It’s that one group sees price increases and translates that into the political realm, the other tends to downplay it.

“Still, with over 50% of Republicans saying prices are up, this is reflecting the problem even within the Republican Party about perceptions of inflation and the economy,” Franklin added.

See more from the show.

— UW Health is reporting better-than-expected growth in specialty care at its Eastpark Medical Center after its first year of operation.

The health system last fall opened the 475,000-square-foot facility, which has had about 1,050 clinic visits per day on average, according to today’s announcement. When looking at appointments for things like imaging, lab work, nutrition and rehabilitation, that figure rises to an average of 4,600 per day.

UW Health says 22% of those seen at the center over the past year were new patients for the health system, and 27% of patients with specialty care appointments were new to that area of care.

Teresa Neely, the health system’s vice president and regional chief operating officer, points to “rapidly growing demand” for specialty care.

“As part of the clinical program planning for Eastpark, we completed 10-year projected growth rates for the specialties planned for this location,” she said in the release. “Just four years into those forecasts, we’re seeing growth rates exceed the 10-year projections in 18 of those specialties.”

See the release.

Top headlines from the Health Care Report…

— State health officials say they’ve expanded respiratory virus testing amid a 13% drop in flu shots.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

Sign up here.

— The latest episode of “Talking Trade” features the second segment of a recent live panel discussion, featuring remarks on the latest developments in U.S. trade policy and international relations.

Watch part 2 here. See coverage from the event, held at Waukesha County Technical College’s School of Business, here.

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