TUE AM News: WI and 19 other states sue Dollar General, allege deceptive pricing; PlayPower, BCI Burke call off planned merger

October 27, 2026

— Wisconsin and 19 other states are suing Dollar General Corporation, accusing the retailer of deceptive pricing that “harms the very consumers it claims to serve,” namely low-income households.

The state Department of Justice yesterday announced the states, along with the Federal Trade Commission, have joined a lawsuit against the discount store company.

Headquartered in Tennessee, the business says it operates more than 21,000 stores in 48 states and had $42.7 billion in sales in fiscal year 2025.

DOJ and other plaintiffs allege Dollar General stores routinely charge more than what’s listed in their ads and on the shelves, resulting in millions of dollars in improper costs. They argue the business has engaged in these practices for years, impacting its core customer base of low-income and fixed-income households.

The company sells about 2,000 different products for $1 or less, and households earning $35,000 or less represent about 60% of the company’s total revenue, according to details included in the complaint.

“The prices that folks see displayed when they’re shopping should be the same as the prices they’re charged when they check out,” Attorney General Josh Kaul said in a statement. “If the prices charged in the checkout aisle are higher than the prices on the shelves, there should be accountability.”

In a statement on the lawsuit, the company says it will “defend this litigation vigorously” and argues it always strives for “100% accuracy” between shelf and register prices.

“As with other retailers and despite our policies and procedures, occasional price discrepancies can occur,” the statement reads. “When that happens, our store teams are instructed, empowered, and expected to make things right for the customer. In recent years, we have enhanced our price-accuracy processes and remain committed to continuous improvement.”

While portions of the plaintiffs’ 95-page argument are redacted, they outline examples of “pervasive and systemic pricing inaccuracies,” claiming they go beyond isolated or accidental errors. Between Jan. 1, 2023 and March 31,2026, the company received more than 29,000 complaints about not honoring marked prices that were submitted across all 48 states where it operates.

And though the company has already paid out more than $6 million in penalties through seven settlements with state AGs and consumer protection agencies over pricing issues, the plaintiffs say Dollar General has “failed to implement adequate safeguards” to prevent further overcharging.

As a result, “consumers nationwide have paid significantly more than they expected for basic household goods and necessities, enriching Dollar General at the expense of the low-income and rural households it markets itself as serving,” plaintiffs wrote.

They’re seeking a permanent injunction to prevent future violations of numerous consumer protection laws, as well as monetary penalties and attorneys’ fees.

— Playground equipment makers PlayPower and Fond du Lac’s BCI Burke are calling off a planned merger after a coalition including the state DOJ sued to block the acquisition.

North Carolina-based PlayPower and BCI Burke yesterday evening announced they’re ending the planned merger, referencing the lawsuit filed Oct. 19 by states and the Federal Trade Commission.

The plaintiffs had argued the merger would result in higher prices and less innovation in an already concentrated market.

PlayPower CEO Bryan Yeazel said the companies still believe the merger would have protected American jobs and benefited workers and their families. But he added “the time and expense required for long, protracted litigation are better allocated to our respective businesses” that will keep operating separately.

Still, he said the companies would have prevailed in court, arguing the allegations of states and the FTC “reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of the market and the highly fragmented industry in which we operate.”

— Green Bay port officials are touting “an exceptional month” of shipping traffic in September, helping to further offset the impact of extreme weather from earlier this year.

Brown County officials yesterday announced a total of 317,554 metric tons of cargo passed through Port Green Bay last month, marking an 84% increase from September 2025’s total of 172,264 metric tons.

As a result, year-to-date cargo totals have risen to 1.24 million metric tons — an increase of 23% compared to the same period of 2025. That’s despite the port temporarily shutting down in May due to unprecedented high water levels in the region.

“These numbers are a positive sign as we head into the final months of the 2026 shipping season,” Port Director Dean Haen said in a statement, adding “we’re encouraged by the steady flow of shipments and the opportunities they create for continued economic growth in northeast Wisconsin.”

A total of 27 vessels entered the port in September, bringing the total so far for this year to 110. The top commodities they were carrying included limestone, coal, cement, petroleum products, salt and more.

See the release.

Hear more about the earlier port disruption in episodes of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” and “Talking Trade.”

— The USDA has rolled out $14.5 million in new financing for a high-speed internet expansion project benefitting residents of seven Wisconsin counties.

The agency yesterday announced the financing for the West Wisconsin Telecom Cooperative adding fiber internet capacity for residents of Buffalo, Chippewa, Dunn, Eau Claire, Pepin, Pierce and St. Croix counties.

Funding comes from the USDA’s Telecommunications Infrastructure Loans and Loan Guarantees program.

USDA Rural Development Wisconsin State Director Andrew Iverson says the project aims to provide “greater opportunities and economic growth” for the residents of these rural counties.

He argues it will “expand access to healthcare and educational opportunities, strengthen business connectivity, and support job creation” in the modern economy.

See the release.

— U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and a bipartisan group of lawmakers are urging the Department of Veterans Affairs to add a rare muscle disease to its list of presumptive service-connected conditions, in hopes of getting coverage for more veterans.

The Madison Dem and other lawmakers late last week sent a letter to the federal agency’s leadership, detailing their concerns about inclusion body myositis, or IBM. They note the muscle disease is similar to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, in that it’s a rare, incurable neuromuscular disease.

It’s also more common among veterans than the civilian population, according to figures from the The Myositis Association, with 189 cases per one million veterans versus 15 cases per one million civilians. At the same time, veterans with IBM have much higher mortality rates and often get disease up to 15 years earlier than civilians.

But VA records show an 82% denial rate for IBM claims, Baldwin’s office says.

“Like ALS, IBM causes irreversible muscle weakness, loss of mobility and fine motor function, difficulty swallowing, and eventually respiratory failure … Yet unlike ALS patients, Veterans with IBM are not afforded a presumptive pathway to benefits, resulting in inconsistent adjudications and inequitable outcomes,” lawmakers wrote.

A total of 6,771 veterans were getting care for IBM as of July 2025, according to the letter. That marks an increase of 221% in diagnosed cases since 2010, “underscoring the growing impact of this debilitating disease and the need for further research” into what’s causing it, lawmakers wrote.

See Baldwin’s release.

Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from the latest WisBusiness column by manufacturing expert Buckley Brinkman.

— There’s a fatal flaw in artificial intelligence: almost no one makes money with it.

The technologists say AI will transform our jobs, our businesses, and the way we live. The impossible becomes possible, and new tools will ease — or eliminate — our toughest problems.

The fatalists say AI will destroy careers, eliminate jobs and doom society. At the extreme, this camp predicts the end of humanity as AI-powered robots, agents, and networks take over the world.

Both camps create lively debate, but the economics will affect most of us more than any laser-eyed robot. Investors committed more than $3 trillion to building AI models and the infrastructure that runs them. They expect a return.

Read the full column by Buckley Brinkman here.

Find more columns from Brinkman at the AI in Wisconsin page.

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