Public college is less affordable in Wisconsin than in nearly every other state, according to a new analysis of 2022-23 school year data. The nonprofit National College Attainment Network, which advocates for college access, reports annually on each state’s “affordability gap” between the cost of college and what students and their families can pay.
The analysis included 28 Wisconsin colleges, finding that all of the state’s public four-year schools and nearly 90% of the technical colleges were unaffordable.
Just four states ranked lower than Wisconsin in the share of their colleges considered affordable: Delaware, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Rhode Island. Nationwide, nearly half (48%) of all public four-year colleges and more than a third (35%) of community or technical colleges were affordable, the report found.
“We saw (Wisconsin) stand out as particularly unaffordable as compared to our national average and to the other states in the region,” said report author Louisa Woodhouse, a senior associate for the organization.
To estimate what students could pay at each school, Woodhouse added up the average grants, loans and work study payments they receive, as reported in a federal database. She added that to an estimate of summer wages — based on full-time work at the state minimum wage — and an “expected family contribution” using average Pell grant awards.
Woodhouse compared those figures with each school’s published cost of attendance. That included tuition, fees and estimated costs of items like housing, food, books and transportation. She added a flat $300 for emergency expenses.
The report considers a college affordable if attendance and emergency expenses totaled less than income and aid.
The study included 13 Wisconsin public colleges or universities that grant bachelor’s degrees, as well as 15 of the state’s 16 technical colleges. It excluded Madison College, which belongs to the technical college system but is classified as a four-year school in federal data.
None of the four-year schools and just two technical colleges were affordable, Woodhouse found.
Wisconsin technical college students face an average affordability gap of $1,336, nearly triple the $486 national average, Woodhouse calculated.
Students at Wisconsin’s four-year schools experienced a $3,549 gap, more than twice the national average of $1,555.
Calling affordability and accessibility “cornerstones of our mission,” Universities of Wisconsin spokesperson Ethan Schuh noted that the system charges the lowest average tuition rates in the Upper Midwest.
“We recognize there can be affordability gaps,” Schuh said in an email, adding that the report’s “novel datasets and methodologies” might “unintentionally disadvantage universities with low tuition and limited aid,” like those in the UW system.
Schuh attributed cost issues raised in the report to broader national trends, which “underscore the need for continued investment in financial aid and student support.”
“While we are not immune to these challenges, we are actively working to address them,” Schuh said.
Wisconsin Technical College System spokesperson Katy Pettersen said the report “raises important concerns about affordability.” But she questioned whether the study’s methodology accurately evaluated the state’s tech colleges, where students often attend school part time while working full time. Many earn above minimum wage in Wisconsin’s competitive labor market, Pettersen said.
Meanwhile, Pettersen said, Wisconsin’s technical colleges work differently than counterparts in other states, making them hard to compare. Wisconsin’s tech colleges emphasize hands-on education in technology-intensive labs, while many community colleges elsewhere prioritize lower-cost classroom education, Pettersen said.
“We acknowledge that many students face unmet financial needs. Addressing these challenges is a priority, and we continue to explore ways to support students beyond tuition,” Petterson said in an email. “Affordability is a multifaceted issue, and while we recognize the challenges, we remain committed to providing high-value education and supporting students in every way we can.”
Wisconsin college costs are partially the result of state and federal policy decisions. Like many of their Midwestern peers, Wisconsin’s public colleges rely heavily on tuition, Woodhouse said.
Wisconsin’s state government allocates nearly 17% less funding per full-time student than it did in 1980, according to the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association — a trend UW system leaders are closely watching.
Today, the state provides just 20% of the system’s budget, half the share it covered in 1985, Schuh said.
About 60% of university revenue now comes from tuition and fees, nearly triple the previous levels, Schuh added.
“This shift has placed a growing financial burden on students and families, limiting access to the same educational opportunities that have long defined Wisconsin’s public universities,” Schuh said.
Paying for college in Wisconsin could get more difficult in the coming years, Woodhouse said, pointing to recent federal cuts to food aid, Medicaid and other safety net programs. States often fill the gap in those services by diverting money from education.
Colleges, in turn, may raise tuition to patch budget holes, putting college further out of reach.
”That’s just another argument towards the importance of investing in higher education funding, both operational support for public institutions and also need-based aid in the years to come,” Woodhouse said.
Wisconsin tech college tuition over the last decade has risen no faster than inflation, Petterson said. At UW system campuses, tuition rose 4% to 5% this year, following a 10-year tuition freeze.
Political debates are swirling around the value of college, with Republicans increasingly asking whether pursuing a degree is worthwhile. Carole Trone, executive director of the Wisconsin-based Fair Opportunity Project, wants more bipartisan scrutiny of those high price tags.
“Are colleges doing everything they can do to keep the college costs down?” asked Trone, whose organization offers online counseling to help students nationwide apply to and pay for college.
Some studies show inflation-adjusted tuition rates have plateaued or even declined, Trone said, but rent and other living costs are soaring.
“The cost of college keeps going up because of all those other costs that, in some cases, are outside of a college’s control,” Trone said.
Meanwhile, federal aid doesn’t stretch as far as it used to. Federal Pell grant awards, for instance, have increased more slowly than inflation. In 1975, they covered more than three-quarters of the average cost to attend a public, four-year university, according to the National College Attainment Network. That’s compared to just one-third of average attendance costs today.
A growing number of Wisconsin students are eligible to have their full tuition and fees covered with the help of “promise” programs, which pick up remaining costs after eligible students use federal financial aid and scholarships.
UW-Madison’s Bucky’s Tuition Promise, launched in 2018, helps students with household incomes of $65,000 or less. It covers most costs but excludes expenses like rent, groceries or textbooks.
The UW system expanded the program to other campuses in 2023 but cut it the next year due to budget woes.
The system resumed the program this fall with private funding: Madison-based student loan guarantor Ascendium Education Group will cover costs for students in households making $55,000 or less.
Until the program has stable funding, Woodhouse said, eligible students may hesitate to enroll in college for fear of being stuck with costs in future years.
Democratic state lawmakers want to allocate nearly $40 million to provide that stability. They introduced legislation on Thursday to extend the Wisconsin Tuition Promise program with state dollars, covering costs for students of all UW schools except UW-Madison whose families make $71,000 or less.
“Higher education powers Wisconsin and cost should not prevent students from families in every income bracket in Wisconsin from having the opportunity to earn a degree,” Senate Democratic Leader Dianne Hesselbein, D-Middleton, said in an emailed statement.
Schuh said the proposal would allow Wisconsin to compete as other states take steps to lower college costs.
“It would eliminate the affordability gap for thousands of students and restore the promise of higher education as a public good,” Schuh said. “It would ensure that the opportunities available to past generations remain accessible to all Wisconsinites today and into the future.”
Disclosure: Ascendium Education Group is a donor to Wisconsin Watch but has no control over its editorial decisions. A complete list of donors and funders, as well as donation acceptance policies, can be found on our funding page.
Natalie Yahr reports on pathways to success statewide for Wisconsin Watch, working in partnership with Open Campus. Email her at nyahr@wisconsinwatch.org.
Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletters for original stories and our Friday news roundup.
Study: Wisconsin trails most states in college affordability is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.
For $4, hungry dairy enthusiasts who attended the recent World Dairy Expo could enjoy a grilled cheese bite at the “cheese stand” with a choice of American, Swiss or the daily “specialty cheese.”
With options such as Muenster, smoked Gouda and dill havarti, one in four customers tried the specialty cheese, estimated Grace Mansell, a biological systems engineering student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and manager of the stand operated by the Badger Dairy Club and the Collegiate Farm Bureau.
“It’s a really great, new and exciting thing that people are getting into (specialty cheese). It’s not necessarily just your classic flavors anymore,” Mansell said. “Everybody likes a good classic American, but it’s kind of fun to have something different every day for people to try.”
Last year, over a quarter (28%) of the cheese produced in Wisconsin was considered specialty cheese, according to the USDA. Longer-term data show a growing interest among cheesemakers in making more specialty cheeses each year.
Specialty cheese generally refers to premium cheeses that stand out for their unique styles, flavors or craftsmanship, according to Chris Kuske Riese, senior vice president of channel marketing for Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin. There’s no single definition for the category, so they can be cheese curds with Cajun spices, cheddar cheese with smoked flavor, or a wide variety of Hispanic cheeses.
“From a marketing perspective, specialty cheese plays an important role in consumer perception,” Riese wrote in an email to Wisconsin Watch. “These products help elevate Wisconsin Cheese’s reputation for quality and innovation, while complementing the broader category of cheeses consumers enjoy every day.”
Wisconsin cheesemakers produced over 1 billion pounds of specialty cheese in 2024. That marked a twelvefold increase since the USDA started collecting data in 1993.
USDA reported 93 of Wisconsin’s 116 cheese plants manufactured at least one type of specialty cheese last year. The number has more than doubled within three decades. However, the number of specialty cheesemakers remained mostly stable since 2009, meaning cheese plants are increasing specialty cheese production each year.
Luke Buholzer, vice president of sales for the Klondike Cheese Company, said the company produced about 38 million pounds of cheese last year, almost doubling the production from a decade ago. All of his company’s products are considered specialty cheeses.
Wisconsin cheesemakers first showed their interest in specialty cheese in the early 1980s.
“Cheesemakers at smaller plants started to become more flexible, entrepreneurial and willing to take on some risk. They got fed up with the low cheese prices and trying to compete with commodity plants and recognized they needed to do something different,” John Lucey, director of the Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, wrote in a guest column for Cheese Market News.
“The whole reason we went into specialty cheeses is because they do have better (profit) margins, so we can keep the business afloat,” Buholzer said. Cheesemakers needed larger production volumes to make commodity cheeses profitable, yet drastically increasing production volume was not ideal for smaller cheese manufacturers.
Klondike made commodity cheeses like cheddar and Colby during that time. The company introduced Muenster cheese in the early 1980s as its first specialty product. The company gradually introduced more specialty cheese products throughout the decade, including feta in 1988 and dill havarti in the early 2000s. The company simultaneously phased out its commodity cheese production.
Among all the specialty cheese products from Wisconsin, Hispanic cheese eclipses all, with over 150 million pounds being produced last year. Feta followed closely in second place. Buholzer said the popularity of this Greek-style cheese was largely boosted by a baked feta pasta recipe that went viral on TikTok in 2021. The recipe required 8 ounces of feta cheese.
“Within a week, I saw sales on that particular item go up over 288%,” Buholzer said.
Parmesan wheels are also gaining popularity. Specialty cheddar, havarti and Asiago are also some of the more commonly produced specialty cheeses in Wisconsin.
“Several market reports suggest growth in the gourmet food/premium foods space,” Riese wrote. “Wisconsin has a distinct advantage in this space because of its long tradition of cheesemaking, the only Master Cheesemaker program outside of Switzerland, and the ability to innovate while still producing at scale.”
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DataWatch: Wisconsin-made cheese is special. Here are the numbers to prove it. is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.
As the demand for power increases with the rise of data centers, Wisconsin lawmakers are continuing legislative efforts to advance nuclear energy growth in the state.
The issue has previously seen bipartisan support in the Capitol. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in July signed two Republican-led bills into law: one that creates a board to organize a nuclear power summit in Madison and another that directs the Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities, to study new and existing locations for nuclear power and fusion generation in the state. Nuclear fusion, an emerging technology, produces more energy than nuclear fission and almost no radioactive waste, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
In a statement at the time, Evers called the bills “an important step in the right direction” toward lowering costs, growing the economy, mitigating climate change and reducing Wisconsin’s reliance on out-of-state energy sources.
The Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee in August approved $2 million to fund the nuclear power siting study. A spokesperson for the Public Service Commission said the agency is working through “internal processes” to begin the study, including whether outside assistance is needed to complete it. A report is due to the Legislature in early 2027, just after a new governor takes office.
Point Beach Nuclear Plant in Two Rivers is Wisconsin’s lone nuclear power plant, and in late September the federal government extended its licenses to 2050 and 2053.
But the bipartisan interest in boosting Wisconsin’s role as a nuclear energy generator has opened the door for more legislation in the Capitol. State Rep. Shae Sortwell, R-Two Rivers, introduced a bill this month that he said builds off the legislation from earlier this summer. Sortwell said his proposal, Assembly Bill 472, aims to ease costs associated with building nuclear power plants through items like tax credits.
Evers’ office said the governor has not reviewed Sortwell’s bill. But in a statement, Evers said Wisconsin should invest in options to expand nuclear energy in the state.
“It’s important that we continue our work to help lower energy costs and reduce our reliance on out-of-state energy sources,” Evers said.“With new, advanced nuclear technology and the ever-increasing need for energy across our state, investing in clean energy solutions like innovative nuclear options could be a game-changer for Wisconsin, our economy, and folks across our state.”
Sortwell, who cosponsored the earlier bills, said now, while Evers is still in office, is the time to prioritize nuclear energy policy. Evers is not running for reelection, and Sortwell said an open governor’s race in 2026 could swing power in that office toward a candidate who is less supportive of growing Wisconsin’s role as a nuclear energy producer.
“I don’t want to lose this opportunity when I’ve got a Democrat governor I know who is supportive right now and I may not have one in 15 months,” Sortwell said.
Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann and U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, the two Republicans running for governor, have both signaled support for nuclear energy.
Among Democratic candidates, two so far shared their position with Wisconsin Watch. Rep. Francesca Hong, D-Madison, said she supports nuclear energy, but not incentivizing its expansion over wind and solar, and not to accelerate the development of data centers. Brewers beer vendor Ryan Strnad said he supports advancing nuclear generation.
Sortwell’s bill, scheduled for a hearing Wednesday, includes several provisions, including prioritizing nuclear energy as an option to meet Wisconsin’s energy demands. But it largely focuses on the costs tied to producing nuclear energy, including allowing public utilities to raise consumer rates to recover their construction costs.
“The issue is, nuclear power can have a little bit longer of a time to actually get up and operational,” Sortwell said. “It could take several years and those costs then just kind of build up on the front end.”
The bill would create a tax credit for new nuclear energy generation, which a company could claim over the course of 20 years. EnergySolutions and WEC Energy Group in May announced plans to build a new plant at the Kewaunee Power Station, which would be able to take advantage of the tax credits in the bill upon operating, Sortwell said.
It also allows public utility companies through their rates to recover expenses related to developing nuclear energy sites. Those costs could include dollars for site evaluations or regulatory filings, according to the bill.
But that should be a concern for customers, who would see those expenses in their bills before these plants are even built, said Tom Content, the executive director of the Citizens Utility Board. He pointed to a 2024 We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service request to collect about $20 million from ratepayers for costs associated with building natural gas projects. The Public Service Commission denied the request in July 2024.
“When we’re thinking about the bottom line for customers in the context of bills that are already rising more than inflation, we really need to keep our eye on what people are paying every month for energy and how we can keep that affordable,” Content said.
The bill also eases the regulatory process for private power producers that may seek to generate nuclear energy for “very large customers,” such as data centers, Sortwell said. The legislation would require the Public Service Commission to approve rates and charges if the power generated is nuclear energy within 75 miles of the “very large customer.” Those specifications could put less of a strain on Wisconsin’s power grid, Sortwell said.
Both the Senate and the Assembly have floor sessions scheduled Tuesday. The Assembly is expected to vote on several law-enforcement-related bills including:
The Senate’s Committee on Universities and Technical Colleges will hold a public hearing Wednesday on Senate Bill 498, which prevents Universities of Wisconsin schools and technical colleges from “restricting free speech protected under the 1st Amendment” and limiting “expressive rights and academic freedom” of instructors. The bill, which was filed in the weeks after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, would allow the attorney general, a district attorney or a person whose rights were violated to sue the UW System Board of Regents or a technical college district board.
Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletters for original stories and our Friday news roundup.
Nuclear energy gains bipartisan steam in Wisconsin heading into a pivotal 2026 election season is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.
Worried about private equity ownership, residents explore purchasing parks and running them as cooperatives. Wisconsin doesn’t make it easy.
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Several solar energy projects across Wisconsin are facing community pushback, including two large projects being opposed by local governments.
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Republican legislators are proposing a "Dual Enrollment Reform Bill" they say would simplify the process to make it more accessible for all students.
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The story of Dr. Kate Pelham Newcomb and her practice in the very rural Wisconsin Northwoods is well known around Woodruff — there’s even a museum dedicated to her. It […]
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A municipal judge in Milwaukee County recently resigned from her position after she was charged for allegedly lying about obtaining signatures she needed to run for reelection.
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The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Monday heard oral arguments in a case that could have ramifications for tribal sovereignty when it comes to land development.
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One of the proposals seeks to protect Devil's Lake State Park, while the other is a more general resolution encouraging the state to affirm the rights of all natural resources in the state.
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A field officer in Madison says furloughs and service disruptions are stressing an already overburdened agency.
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Allison Jonjak comes from a multigeneration family cranberry farm in Sawyer County. As a cranberry outreach specialist traveling around the state, she believes the industry is moving in a positive direction.
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The roof of the Hotel Verdant in Downtown Racine is topped with a green roof planted with sedum and covered with solar panels. (Wisconsin Examiner photo)
The news that $130 million in already-committed clean-energy funding for Wisconsin is on the chopping block is not abstract politics. It pulls real tools out of Wisconsin homes, schools, farms, and shop floors — right as our state is building momentum. The result is simple: higher bills, fewer choices, and lost jobs.
In a purple state like ours, climate action has succeeded because it’s kitchen-table common sense. It lowers costs, creates good local jobs, and protects the air and water families depend on. Our playbook is pragmatic — align smart policy with market innovation, center justice, and let businesses, workers, tribes and frontline communities lead together. Clawing back funds mid-stream breaks that compact and injects uncertainty just when we need reliability and speed.
Across Wisconsin, 82 clean-energy projects are moving forward: EV-charging corridors that support tourism and commerce from Superior to Kenosha; solar on schools and farms that cuts operating costs and keeps dollars local; grid upgrades that reduce outages for households and manufacturers. Clean energy already supports more than 71,000 Wisconsin jobs, with manufacturers, contractors and building trades poised to add tens of thousands more if the rules stay steady.
This is not coastal hype — it’s Menomonee Valley and the Fox Valley. Companies like Ingeteam in Milwaukee build components that power wind and EV projects nationwide. Give our manufacturers clear, predictable rules and Wisconsin will keep making core parts of the transition -— batteries, solar panels, wind components, EV chargers, and smart-grid equipment -— right here at home.
Schools and local governments are also using direct-pay to put solar on rooftops, electrify buses, and cut fuel and maintenance. Green Homeowners United and similar groups are helping thousands of households -— including many lower-income homeowners of color — tap rebates that reduce bills and carbon at the same time. These are the practical tools that stretch tight budgets and improve health outcomes in neighborhoods that have carried the burden the longest.
Rolling back incentives is a hidden tax on working families — up to $400 more a year on energy without the savings tools people are using now. With AI and data centers accelerating demand, the cheapest, fastest reliability gains come from efficiency, storage, and renewables. Cut those tools and we invite more price volatility and more outage risk — exactly what Wisconsin manufacturers, hospitals and farms can’t afford.
The “Big, Broken Bill” passed in Washington goes further, weakening EPA pollution standards and letting big polluters sidestep responsibility. That doesn’t eliminate costs; it shifts them to families in the form of asthma, missed school days and medical bills. It’s not fiscal conservatism to socialize pollution costs while privatizing short-term profits.
And for farmers, whose energy and conservation projects were finally penciling out with IRA tools, canceling support mid-contract leaves family farms holding the bag after planning in good faith. That’s not how you build durable rural economies.
Here’s the other half of the story: Wisconsin’s transition won’t stop because some programs are attacked. Market forces, including the declining cost of renewables and storage, efficiency that pays for itself and corporate and municipal sustainability commitments, continue to drive projects. Public-private partnerships, rural co-ops, tribal governments, school districts and village halls are working together to reduce risk, share data, and scale what works. That coalition will keep moving.
But let’s be clear: Clawbacks and moving goalposts slow us down and raise costs. They strand planning, freeze hiring and deter investment — especially in manufacturing corridors that depend on multi-year production schedules. If Congress wants to improve programs, fine. Just don’t pull the rug out mid-project.
Wisconsin’s approach is neither red nor blue; it’s results-based:
We’ve also learned to say no when it matters and yes to better options. When a $2 billion methane gas plant was proposed, business and civic leaders asked basic questions: Is this the least-cost, least-risk path for ratepayers? Would it lock us into volatile fuel prices just as renewables, storage, demand response and efficiency are scaling? Pushing for a cleaner, more affordable portfolio wasn’t ideology. It was risk management.
Wisconsin has the talent, the supply chains — more than 350 in-state clean-energy companies — and the tradition of stewardship to lead the clean-energy economy. If we stay focused on trust, collaboration and measurable results, Wisconsin’s green momentum will outpace politics.
Don’t make Wisconsinites pay more to get less. Let’s build it here, power it here and prosper here.
John Imes is co-founder and executive director of the Wisconsin Environmental Initiative and village president of Shorewood Hills. He will speak Oct. 22 on the American Sustainable Business Network national panel “Purple State, Green Momentum” — how Wisconsin’s pragmatic climate playbook lowers bills, creates good local jobs, and protects our air and water.
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The river flowing through Wauwatosa's Hart Park overflowing with flood water. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)
Over $80 million in federal relief funds have gone to Milwaukee County residents and businesses impacted by the historic flooding in August. Local officials are urging residents to tap into the funds, with just one month left to apply for federal aid. Thousands of Milwaukee County residents were affected by the floods, which blanketed streets and parks in flood water and debris after a record-breaking thousand-year storm.
“Federal assistance is a crucial resource to help our residents repair their homes, recover from flood damage, and take a major step toward normalcy,” Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said in a statement. “But to unlock this funding you must apply. I know the process can feel overwhelming, representatives from our federal partners are available throughout Milwaukee County at Disaster Recovery Centers and Disaster Survivor Assistance locations to help you every step of the way. With only one month left to apply, I strongly urge everyone affected by the flood to start the application today. Don’t wait until the last minute.”
The deadline to apply for federal aid is Nov. 12, with residents able to apply at DisasterAssistance.gov, or by phone at 800-621-3362. Residents are also encouraged to visit one of the disaster recovery centers at the West Allis Senior Center (7001 W National Ave), or the Milwaukee recovery center at McNair Elementary School (4950 N. 24th St). A recovery center that had been located at the Wauwatosa City Hall closed Friday Oct. 10, after assisting more than 500 residents with Federal Emergency Management Agency applications over its two and a half weeks of operation, according to a press release.
In the month since federal assistance became available, FEMA has distributed nearly $92 million to flood survivors statewide. Of that, just over $82 million has gone to 15,666 Milwaukee County residents. Additionally, the U.S. Small Business Administration has approved $10.2 million in disaster loans to Milwaukee County homeowners, renters and business owners.
FEMA has also continued providing flood relief through the government shutdown. A spokesperson from the office of U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee) told the Wisconsin Examiner at the onset of the shutdown that FEMA will continue conducting essential duties, including payments to disaster survivors, debris removal, emergency protective measures and salaries for the disaster workforce.
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Relatives and friends of hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal embrace as they learn the news of his release on Oct. 13, 2025, in Ra'anana, Israel. The ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas has brought an end to the two years of war that followed the attacks of Oct. 7, 2023. A condition of the deal was the immediate return of hostages held in Gaza. (Photo by Dima Vazinovich/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — After just over two years in Hamas captivity, the surviving Israeli hostages were released Monday as President Donald Trump visited Israel and Egypt to celebrate a U.S.-brokered peace deal to end the war in Gaza.
In remarks to Israel’s Knesset, the country’s parliamentary body, Monday afternoon Jerusalem time, Trump hailed “the golden age of Israel and the golden age of the Middle East.”
“Israel, with our help, has won all that they can by force of arms. You’ve won. I mean, you’ve won. Now it’s time to translate these victories against terrorists on the battlefield into the ultimate prize of peace and prosperity for the entire Middle East. It’s about time you were able to enjoy the fruits of your labor,” Trump said during remarks that lasted just over an hour.
Israeli military forces, with financial and arms support from the United States, have bombarded the Gaza Strip since Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel from the Palestinian territory on Oct. 7, 2023, killing roughly 1,200 and taking 250 people captive.
Gaza health officials said Monday the death toll in the small enclave had risen to 67,869 since the conflict began, including roughly 60 in the past 24 hours, according to Palestinian National Authority state-run media.
Hamas returned the remaining living 20 Israeli hostages Monday and committed to returning bodies of deceased hostages as part of the ceasefire agreement. In exchange, Israel released roughly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
As of Monday, Hamas still had to return the remains of two dozen hostages killed while held captive. The militant group that holds political power in Gaza returned the remains of four hostages to the National Institute for Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv, CNN reported Monday.
Many who attended Trump’s Knesset remarks wore red MAGA-style hats bearing the message “Trump the Peace President,” according to journalists who traveled with Trump to Israel.
Trump said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be remembered “far more” for the peace deal than for the fighting.
Trump notably asked Israeli President Isaac Herzog to pardon Netanyahu, who is under investigation for bribery and fraud.
“Hey, I have an idea. Mr. President, why don’t you give him a pardon?” Trump said, adding, “Cigars and some champagne — who the hell cares?”
Trump then traveled to Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Monday evening, where roughly 30 world leaders met for a short summit marking the deal between Israel and Hamas — with many details yet to be hammered out.
Among those present was Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian National Authority. Video published by The New York Times showed Trump and Abbas chatting and shaking hands. Trump held onto Abbas’ hand while giving a thumbs-up with his other hand for a photo of the pair.
Trump invited Netanyahu, but the prime minister declined “due to time constraints” ahead of an upcoming holiday, according to an announcement posted by his office.
Trump, along with the leaders of Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, signed what the president described as a “document that’s going to spell out a lot of rules and regulations.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for text of the document.
Speaking to reporters as he signed the “historic document” in front of two rows of presidents and prime ministers, Trump marveled at how long it took to achieve the cessation of hostilities and predicted “it’s gonna hold up, too.”
The 20-point peace plan required the release of all living and deceased Israeli hostages, a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces and a reform of the Palestinian government, including completely disarming Hamas of weapons and political power.
World leaders heaped praise on Trump at Monday’s summit. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the U.S. president is “a man of peace” and that he backed Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, according to video and reports from journalists at the summit. Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi awarded Trump the Nile Collar, his country’s highest state honor.
U.S. Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike praised the freeing of the surviving Israeli hostages.
House Speaker Mike Johnson applauded the “leadership, strength, and fortitude of President Trump.”
“For the first time in 738 days, there are no living Israelis hostages (sic) in the hands of Hamas. In just eight and half months in office, President Trump and his Administration have ensured the safe release and return of all 20 living Israeli hostages from Hamas captivity, putting lasting peace in the Middle East within reach,” the Louisiana Republican said in a statement Monday.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who delivered a scathing rebuke on the Senate floor to Netanyahu’s leadership last year, celebrated the ceasefire deal Monday.
“Today is a wonderful day. Finally, finally, finally, the last living hostages brutally held by Hamas are home, an immense and overwhelming sigh of relief. I commend the enormous advocacy of the tireless hostage families, President Trump, his administration, and all who helped make this moment happen,” Schumer, a New York Democrat, said in a statement.
“Today, we celebrate the return of the hostages — the joyous images of their reuniting with their families — and we solemnly reaffirm our commitment to bringing home all the deceased hostages, including my constituents Omer Neutra and Itay Chen.”
Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, an outspoken critic of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, urged the immediate activation of humanitarian aid to the territory, including granting “unfettered access” to the United Nations.
The Vermont senator, who caucuses with Democrats, said in a statement that Americans must “grapple with our role in this extremely dark chapter,” highlighting that the U.S. government provided billions in taxpayer dollars to support what he described as “Netanyahu’s barbaric campaign.”
“The vast majority of Americans understand that Israel had a right to defend itself against the horrific Hamas terrorist attack that killed 1,200 innocent people and took 250 hostages,” Sanders said. “But most Americans also understand that Israel did not have the right to go to war against the entire Palestinian people, killing or wounding almost 237,000 Palestinians — more than 10 percent of Gaza’s population — most of them women, children, and the elderly.”
A WIC child participant takes a WIC-approved product off the shelf in a grocery store in Seattle in September 2024. (Photo by U.S. Department of Agriculture)
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is infusing $300 million into a key federal nutrition program to keep it running through October, while a government shutdown continues without an apparent end point.
USDA’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children — known as WIC — has relied on short-term funds amid the shutdown. That has worried advocates as states are left to fill the gaps when the money runs out.
USDA is transferring $300 million into WIC from its child nutrition programs account, which has long been funded in part by tariff revenue from prior years, according to a congressional aide familiar with the plan.
The transfer does not require congressional approval and is expected to keep the program afloat through the end of this month.
A USDA spokesperson said in a statement to States Newsroom that the agency “will utilize tariff revenue to fund WIC for the foreseeable future,” though the spokesperson did not offer any specifics. President Donald Trump’s administration had announced the transfer last week but also did not provide much detail.
“Our hope is that that money can just get released really swiftly and provide funds to states by next week to prevent further disruptions to WIC,” Georgia Machell, president and CEO of the National WIC Association, told States Newsroom.
“Full funding for the program is still the priority here, and it’s great to have short-term solutions, but we need the long-term commitment from Congress to continue funding WIC on a bipartisan basis, which it’s done for decades,” added Machell, whose organization serves as the nonprofit advocacy voice and education arm of WIC.
The program serves nearly 7 million people and offers “free healthy foods, breastfeeding support, nutrition education and referrals to other services,” per USDA.
But as a discretionary program, WIC is subject to congressional approval each year — making it particularly vulnerable to the ongoing funding lapse.
With no funds so far congressionally appropriated for the program in fiscal 2026, which began Oct. 1, WIC has relied on several small pots of money in recent days to keep it running, including USDA’s $150 million contingency fund. States received allocations from that fund.
Leftover money for the program from the prior fiscal year was also reallocated to states last week, and was expected to keep WIC operating for several more days.
Members of the U.S. Senate were scheduled to vote Tuesday on a stopgap spending bill passed by the House that would reopen the government. But with no deal at hand, it was expected the legislation would again fail to win the support of the 60 senators needed.
USDA’s decision to use the tariff revenue came as Trump has sought to slash part of WIC’s funding in his fiscal 2026 budget request, including taking away “more than $1.3 billion in fruit and vegetable benefits from 5.2 million participants,” according to an estimate from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
The full Senate passed its bipartisan bill dealing with Agriculture Department funding, including WIC, back in August. The measure fully funds the program for fiscal 2026 at $8.2 billion and “continues full funding for additional fruit and vegetable benefits,” according to Senate Appropriations Committee Democrats.
Meanwhile, the House Appropriations Committee’s version of the bill, which passed out of the Republican-controlled panel in June, provides $7.5 billion for WIC, and includes a “10 percent cut in the cash value vouchers for fruits and vegetables for women and children,” according to the panel’s Democrats.
Kate Scully, deputy director of WIC at the Food Research & Action Center, said “we’re still urging Congress to pass a full-year budget that provides WIC the funding it needs to serve everyone who’s eligible for the program and applies, and that includes keeping benefit levels where they are today.”
Scully, whose national nonprofit works to reduce poverty-related hunger through research, advocacy and policy solutions, said “families should still utilize their benefits, go to scheduled appointments, but check with their state agency to see if there are any changes.”
Scully said her organization is “hearing reports of some places closing,” but that might change with the $300 million infusion of funding. “So, certainly check with your state, but don’t not use your benefits or go to your appointments, because WIC should still be operational.”
Wisconsin Department of Correction Secretary Jared Hoy was one of the keynote speakers at the EXPO gala.
Jared Hoy, Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, offered something the crowd gathered to celebrate Ex-Incarcerated People Organizing (EXPO) could relate to – a confession, followed by a commitment to do better.
“I don’t think we’ve done a very good job of engaging with people who are receiving our services, friends and family,” Hoy said in a speech at the EXPO gala Oct. 11 at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center in Madison, explaining the reason for conducting Friends and Family Forums between DOC management and the public.
Hoy, one of two keynote speakers during the “EXPOnential” gala, expressed the aim of overcoming challenges confronted by people caught up in the carceral system, including several honorees at the event who had served time in prison, some still on community supervision, including a woman working on becoming a certified peer counselor, a former Iraq war vet and practicing lawyer from Eau Claire, and a newly appointed official for Milwaukee.
EXPO is a non-profit advocacy group in Wisconsin that works to end mass incarceration, dismantle structural discrimination and restore formerly incarcerated people to community life. It’s largely staffed by the formerly incarcerated, including its executive director, Jerome Dillard, who explained the theme of the gala.
The term exponential, he said, is “not just a gala name, but it’s a map of mercy and it’s an algorithm of potential. An exponent takes a small number and it raises it and turns it into two, into many and sparks into a skyline. And that’s what Wisconsin EXPO is. It’s organizing with formerly incarcerated neighbors to restore rights.”
Marianne Oleson, operations director for EXPO, noted the Beth Israel Center, a conservative synagogue in Madison, was receiving the Ally Organization of the Year recognition for its “shared love” with EXPO’s goals.
“Beth Israel has opened their doors so that we can gather, learn and share our truth with the community, but their generosity extends far beyond the walls of their synagogue,” said Oleson. “They have opened their homes and they have opened their hearts to us. They share their wisdom, compassion, creativity. in so many ways that remind us what true allyship looks like. They give our state residents rides, share the incredible gifts of art, and they bring us homemade lasagna.”
Deandrea “Dee” Hardman received the Woman of the Year recognition. Hardman said before going to prison she had made many bad decisions, living on the streets, surrounded by people who took advantage of her, and burning bridges with people in her life, so that when she left the chaos of her life for prison, she actually felt free.
“Going to prison disrupted my tormented cycle,” she said. “It was the first time I felt like I had an option to choose a different life. I had every opportunity that came my way to grow and change.”
In prison she became a certified welder and participated in work release, and even though she was surrounded by others who didn’t want to change their behavior from the street, she chose differently.
She said being able to reenter society in the EXPO Safe House helped her succeed outside of prison.
“I came home and worked extremely hard, but it was not solely my hard work that got me here — It was my sisters who supported me in the home and everyone who works within the organization,” she said. “For the first time in my life, I was leaving an institution not alone, but with an entire team of people behind me who wanted to help me and have absolutely nothing but the best for me.”
Hardman noted that she had just received her certification to become a peer support specialist and her aim was to share her experience with others to overcome the trauma of addiction and imprisonment.
Man of the Year David Carlson said Expo was one of the first organizations that helped him gain a “foothold” and “get traction in rebuilding my life after re-entry.”
His wife, Alicia Carlson, said her husband was identified by the number “558672” when he was serving time in prison, but recently he had obtained another number, “1138342,” his state bar license number to practice law in Wisconsin.
“He stepped out of a system that had silenced him and set out on a mission to make people listen, and just as important to make sure that those around him, especially those who’ve been overlooked, blocked out, written off, were seen and heard too,” she said.
Of the two numbers identifying her husband, she said, one reminded him of what it was like to be silenced and the other “gives him a platform to make sure others never are.”
Carlson described the initiatives her husband launched since he left prison, including a peer support agency with 80 mentors operating in 30 western Wisconsin counties
Carlson, who is now the Justice Forward Wisconsin Coalition coordinator, noted he was sentenced after serving a second tour in Iraq in the military. While in the Stanley Correctional Facility, he had the opportunity to leave early under the earned release program, but he was a self-described “hothead” who probably was going to serve his whole sentence until a mentor, a fellow resident, saw his potential.
“Instead of seeing me as a dumb, young hothead, he really took me time to mentor me,” Carlson said. “I think mentorship is a key theme in my life and my success in what I have accomplished.”
The Justice Forward Wisconsin Coalition, he said, is a network of “justice-impacted individuals mentoring each other and advocating for each other.”
He said the work needs to be led by those who have experienced incarceration.
“But if you’ve never felt what it feels like to be by yourself in solitary confinement, if you’ve never felt what it feels like to be a teenager in solitary confinement missing your mom, if you’ve never felt what it feels like to be treated and dehumanized after a visit, strip searched, told to bend over and cough — like, these types of things never go away,” he said. “I’m 10 years out, and it never goes away. I’m a lawyer, and it never goes away… I think that it’s time that individuals that have those experiences lead the way, and that’s what this coalition is about.”
Adam Procell, the new director of Community Wellness and Safety for the City of Milwaukee, a position that aims to prevent and reduce violence through community partnerships, received the Ramiah Whiteside Changemaker recognition.
Procell said on the first day of his new position he went back to the site where 35 years earlier, at age 15, when he was a gang member, he had killed 18-year-old Robert Bruce.
“Day One of my job, I went and started at the scene of my crime because I knew I was going to have to ask others to lean into uncomfortable situations,” said Procell, “So I can’t ask the community to lean into uncomfortability unless I take my two feet to be the most uncomfortable place on the face of this Earth, which is where Robert lost his life.”
Procell said there was much pressure on him to succeed and he admitted that he needed help and encouragement. He said others should also be honest about their struggles, adding that “transformation is never born in isolation – It rises from connections.”
“It wasn’t punishment that changed me. It was the love and hope that I got when I came into this community that made a huge difference, and it changed me,” Procell said.
During his keynote speech, Hoy noted that in one of his early training sessions at the DOC, he participated in an exercise for recruits in which they were asked whether they perceived themselves as different from those they would be supervising or the same, and he perceived himself as the same.
“And that always stuck with me, because fundamentally I don’t see myself at all different than any people that are being sentenced to Wisconsin DOC,” he said.
Hoy said he was challenged by Procell to talk to those receiving services from the DOC to see how effective those services were.
Hoy said he told his staff that they would sit in a room with members of the community to listen.
“It’s just to hear how our policies, how our decisions, impact the lives of not only the people that we care for, provide services to, but their friends and family, and it’s probably been one of the best things that I’ve done since I started,” he said.
Hoy thought the forums would be opportunities to educate the public as well as providing feedback to the DOC.
“I think we are benefiting more by just being there and listening and understanding that the folks across the table and in those small groups are human beings just like us,” he said. “After the first forum, I sat at a table, after just about everybody left with a warden, and I won’t out him, but he was in tears and talked about how much his decisions impact not just people in our care, but their families and their systems. That is culture change.”
Hoy said recommendations are being generated to change the operation of the DOC, but what is more fundamentally important to him is the department’s culture.
“If we don’t make sure to address the culture and how we treat people, making sure that everything we do is treating people with dignity and respect, it’s not going to matter if we bring the overhead time from 35 days on average down to 20 or whatever it might be,” he said.
He noted that those working in maximum security prisons and restrictive housing settings often experience aggression by residents, including bodily fluids thrown at correctional officers.
“I get a lot of pushback when I say, not letting anybody off the hook for it, but what are the conditions that we are creating that make it OK for a human being to do that to another human being?” He said. “That’s the culture that we have to address, and it’s not everywhere. I’m not up here to completely bash DOC. I mean, I’ll tell it like it is, but there are pockets [needing change].”
Hoy also asked for understanding on the difficulty of making changes in an organization with 10,000 staff, 70,000 in community supervision and over 23,000 incarcerated.
“There’s going to be challenges; there’s going to be gaps,” he said of the DOC. But he asked for understanding for the thousands of people who work for DOC “who “are trying to help change lives.”
The last keynote speaker of the evening was David Ayala, executive director of the national organization of The Formerly Incarcerated Convicted People and Families Movement, a network of over 60 organizations.
Ayala talked about the work of EXPO as part of a national movement that centers leadership by the people directly affected by the carceral system, narrative story-telling, fighting for systemic change and creating infrastructure for reentry.
He stressed the importance of telling success stories like Carlson’s journey to obtaining his law degree.
“We need to lift up stories like that,” he said, “… there are many Davids across this country.”
Ayala encouraged EXPO to work across state lines with similar organizations.
“You’re not alone,” he told the group. “You are part of a rich, resilient national web — a movement that believes freedom is not just a word, but a living horizon where every person returning home is met with care, dignity, and possibilities.”
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