TUE AM News: Report details wins for some WI workers, but points to ‘economic storm’ on the horizon; DeForest Buc-ee’s faces roadblock over infrastructure funding

September 2, 2025

— Wisconsin’s median hourly wage hit a record high of $25.01 last year, as stronger wage growth for lower-paid workers helped cut wage inequality in the state.

That’s according to this year’s State of Working Wisconsin report from the High Road Strategy Center, a left-leaning nonprofit think tank based at UW-Madison. It focuses on various measures of worker success as well as broader economic trends for the state.

Both in Wisconsin and nationally, workers with lower wages have seen stronger growth in their pay between 2019 and 2024 than those at the upper end of the payscale, the report shows. Authors say this marks a “notable departure” from previous decades of rising wage inequality.

From 2019 to 2024, wages of workers earning more than 80% of the workforce rose by 5%. But for those in the bottom 20th percentile for wages, pay grew by 13% over the same period, greater than the national increase for the same group.

“Lower wage workers have seized the opportunity provided by tight labor markets and moved to higher paying jobs and secured higher wages in jobs that they stay in,” authors wrote. “As a result, our wage distribution is more equal today than it was in 2019.”

Along with a new record high for the state’s median wage in 2024, Wisconsin’s labor market hit a record 3,058,500 jobs in July of this year. Authors note “these are strengths to be celebrated.” But the milestones come amid slower job growth in the state.

The report shows job growth in the state “substantially lags” the pace of national recovery, as the U.S. economy exceeded the pre-pandemic jobs total before Wisconsin did and keeps growing more quickly than that of the state. In July, even as the state set a new labor market record, Wisconsin had just 2% more jobs than before the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns, falling behind the national increase of 5%.

Among key sectors for the state, the rate of growth in Wisconsin is below the national level for each one except for construction, with 13% state job growth in this sector since February 2020 compared to 9% at the national level.

The report also highlights ongoing disparities in state unemployment along racial lines. In the first quarter of this year, white unemployment in the state was at 2.5% while Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Wisconsin were at 2.9%. That figure was 4.6% for Hispanic state residents and 5.8% for Black residents.

“For decades, Black workers have been well over twice as likely to be unemployed as white workers in the state, and this ratio in Wisconsin has always substantially exceeded the national ratio of disparity,” authors wrote.

And while white men generally earn more than other categories of workers, the report also shows the gender wage gap has been steadily closing over the last 45 years. Between 1979 and 2024, women’s wages grew by more than 50% while men’s wages saw marginal growth.

But at the same time, racial inequalities in pay are growing, authors note. Wage growth among white women is driving much of the improvement in pay for women overall. Over the 45-year study period, white women’s wages have grown by 56%, compared to 41% for Hispanic women and 19% for Black women.

Meanwhile, wages grew more slowly for white men during that time, while median wages for Black and Hispanic men “have actually fallen substantially,” authors note. Wages for white men rose 9% while wages for Hispanic men and Black men fell by 11% and 12%, respectively.

Other sections of the report detail the state’s declining union membership, trends in labor force participation, the role of immigrants in the state economy and impacts of federal policy.

Authors warn of an “economic storm on the horizon,” pointing to higher costs linked to tariffs, the national deportation push, and federal layoffs in agencies tasked with supporting workers and unions.

See the report.

— Plans for construction of a popular convenience store chain in DeForest are up in the air after the state budget approved $2 million less than what the village asked for, leaving lawmakers to debate a bill that could fill the gap.

Buc-ee’s, a Texas-based chain known for its massive shopping center-style gas stations, has been planning a DeForest location with a cost of about $15.1 million for roadway and infrastructure improvements associated with the project, according to DeForest Village Administrator Bill Chang.

Buc-ee’s had agreed to pay half of that cost.

In the budget passed this summer, the state approved $4 million. This village had already budgeted about $1.8 million, leaving about $2.2 million to be filled by either Buc-ee’s or the village. Chang said there are a few options, while lawmakers told WisPolitics there may be a few obstacles.

A bill aimed at helping the project move forward passed in the Assembly in May, but has not yet gotten a committee vote in the Senate.

AB 137 would create exemptions for the tax incremental district and tax financing district. This would essentially allow the village to collect taxes to pay off project costs from the district Buc-ee’s would be in for a longer period of time than state law currently allows. Current law allows the village to collect taxes for 20 years after the creation of the TID, and the bill extends that period to 30 years.

The bill also would remove the project cap that allows only 12% of the municipality’s taxable property to be collected in a TID. Under the bill, there is no cap on how much in taxes can be collected from the Buc-ee’s TID.

Chang said this would help fund the infrastructure improvements because the village could collect the property taxes from Buc-ee’s for longer after its construction, creating more revenue. And the revenue would have no limits with the cap removed by the bill.

Sen. Van Wanggaard’s office told WisPolitics bill authors were “having some issues” negotiating the bill ahead of the budget because some senators are just against TID modifications in general.

Since then, a representative from the Racine Republican’s office said their office hasn’t heard much from other senators on if the bill would move forward.

The bill in the Senate was referred to the Senate Committee on Government Operations, Labor and Economic Development in March and had a public hearing in April, but the committee has yet to vote on it.

A representative from the office of Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, would not commit to saying if the bill would get an executive session or make it to the floor.

Chang also said an alternative is to ask Buc-ee’s to fill the gap if the bill doesn’t pass, but he hasn’t reached out to Buc-ee’s because he’s waiting on the Legislature. He said it would be “premature” for him to reach out to Buc-ee’s at this point.

“I respect that some of this stuff takes a little time,” Chang said, referring to the Capitol deliberations on the bill.

Buc-ee’s said in an email to WisPolitics it did not have a comment on whether it would fill in the funding gap if the bill did not pass.

See the full story here.

— Wisconsin has joined a multi-state lawsuit seeking to block certain federal agencies from using or sharing state Medicaid data for non-health care purposes, Attorney General Josh Kaul announced.

The lawsuit aims to prevent the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Homeland Security from using or sharing “personally identifiable, protected” Wisconsin Medicaid data for these purposes, according to the state Department of Justice release.

DOJ says the amended lawsuit filed Thursday is meant to keep the agencies from using the data for immigration enforcement, population surveillance or other “invasive” purposes.

It argues the federal government’s disclosure of these records to the Department of Homeland Security violates confidentiality protections, and also will likely discourage people from enrolling in Medicaid or getting necessary health care.

“Information that the federal government has about people’s health should be safeguarded,” Kaul said in a statement. “It shouldn’t be used at the federal government’s discretion.”

See the release and see the amended complaint.

— State and local health officials have now identified at least 23 cases of measles in Oconto County as the disease continues to spread in the community.

Of that total, three cases are in children four years old or younger, 13 cases are among those ages 5 to 17 years old and the other seven are in adults.

The state Department of Health Services measles dashboard shows all 23 of the cases were in unvaccinated people. Two hospitalizations have been reported.

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.

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