AGP Executive Report

Right to Repair: The FTC and Wisconsin DOJ helped secure a settlement with John Deere that lets farmers and independent shops access diagnostic and repair tools, ending Deere’s restrictions that pushed repairs through authorized dealers. Public Safety & Telecom: Wisconsin AGs joined a national push at the FCC to tighten rules against illegal robocalls, targeting how scammers buy and rotate real phone numbers to scam residents. Manufacturing Recognition: Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry earned “Metal caster of the Year” honors from the American Foundry Society and Modern Casting, citing modernization and digital upgrades. Housing & Construction: Beloit’s Town and City are moving multiple projects forward, including a 126-home subdivision and a 55-unit affordable housing plan tied to federal and state funding. Energy & Grid: USDA expanded crop insurance options for forage producers in Wisconsin, while separate coverage highlights how data centers are driving higher power demand. Local Economy & Workforce: Fort McCoy hosted its 20th Government Opportunities Business Conference, spotlighting contracting chances for Wisconsin firms. Agriculture & Environment: A new study warns Lake Altoona sedimentation could cost lakefront property values and tax revenue if conservation efforts stall. Community Spotlight: The Northern Wisconsin State Fair returned, and Beloit Youth Hockey launched an all-girls program, the Beloit Riveters.

AI Data Centers & Power Demand: Wisconsin’s energy demand could jump 40% by 2032 as data centers expand, raising new pressure on the grid and utilities. Local Housing & Development: West Bend approved a developer’s agreement for a roughly 400-unit multifamily subdivision, including road improvements tied to access at Paradise Drive and River Road. Energy Storage Innovation: ESS Tech launched the ESS Bridge modular sodium-ion battery system aimed at utilities, AI-driven data centers, and commercial users seeking non-lithium storage. Industrial & Cyber Risk: Northeast Wisconsin businesses are seeing more fraud attempts that rely on social engineering and AI-generated phishing, with banks urging staff not to ignore “urgency” tactics. Agriculture Workforce: A new analysis says USDA staffing cuts hit Iowa hardest in 2025, leaving county offices understaffed and affecting farmer-facing NRCS and FSA support. Community Finance: The Greater Milwaukee Foundation opened applications for 2026 ThriveOn small business loans, offering up to $50,000 at a 3% fixed rate for eligible neighborhood commercial operators. Courts & Records: A citizens group sued New Berlin seeking records tied to the Milwaukee Rescue Mission’s New Journey project, alleging open-records violations. Food Business: Graze Craze opened in Brookfield, bringing charcuterie boards and event platters to the local market.

Industrial Construction & Logistics: Amazon is building a 216,000-square-foot “last mile” delivery station at SouthPointe in Sheboygan, with an opening expected in 2027. Transit & Infrastructure: Milwaukee County’s MCTS won a $14.7 million federal BUILD grant to modernize aging fuel and maintenance infrastructure, aiming to cut operating costs and reduce service disruptions. Energy Demand & Planning: Wisconsin’s draft six-year Strategic Energy Assessment projects peak demand rising from 14.2 GW to over 20 GW by 2032, with data centers driving more than 72% of the growth; the PSC will hold an Aug. 20 hearing on the draft. Industrial Power & Business: Milwaukee-based Enerpac Tool Group reported fiscal Q3 results ahead of expectations and also announced an agreement to acquire SFE Group for about $472 million. Local Governance & Data Centers: Hammond Village Board voted to seek an injunction challenging a conditional use permit for a 6-megawatt data center proposed by Metered Mining. Agriculture & Water: DATCP is accepting applications for 2027 Producer-Led Watershed Protection Grants through Sept. 15 (up to $40,000 per eligible group). Elections: Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell urged absentee voters to mail ballots by July 28 so they’re in officials’ hands by 8 p.m. on Aug. 11. Public Health: A Cyclospora outbreak tied to cyclosporiasis is spreading across more than a dozen states, including Wisconsin.

Energy & Grid Policy: A coalition of 56 state lawmakers, including Wisconsin’s, urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to keep competitive bidding rules for new transmission projects, warning that pausing competition could raise costs for ratepayers. Data Centers & Power Demand: Wisconsin regulators’ draft assessment projects electricity demand could jump more than 40% by 2032, with most of the peak load tied to major data center builds. Housing & Land Use: Madison approved buying about three acres from an old farm site for future housing, with environmental cleanup and inspections built into the deal. Trade & Economic Development: Gov. Tony Evers and WEDC plan an Africa trade mission to Ghana and South Africa to expand Wisconsin business ties. Agriculture & Food Safety: Organic dairy companies sued USDA over the federal milk marketing system, and health officials are investigating a growing cyclosporiasis outbreak that has reached Wisconsin. Manufacturing/Workforce: Deer Run Dairy highlighted Focus on Energy rebates for efficiency upgrades, cutting annual electricity use by hundreds of thousands of kilowatt-hours.

Housing & Permitting: A newly enacted Wisconsin law is already taking aim at delays in housing construction, potentially speeding up projects statewide. Data Centers & Local Planning: Milwaukee’s Midtown Center redevelopment is moving forward without a proposed computing research facility after public backlash and planning sessions, with a revised mix including a library, affordable housing, and storage. Courthouse Costs: Milwaukee County’s downtown courthouse overhaul is now projected at $897M—nearly double earlier estimates—driven by inflation and shifting timelines. Manufacturing & Jobs: Aztalan Engineering in Lake Mills has been folded into Chandler Industries, keeping local operations while adding growth and apprenticeship opportunities for medical parts production. Agriculture & Weather: Pro Farmer’s CCI corn rating dipped slightly, while USDA crop progress shows corn mostly in “good to excellent” condition and soybeans easing a bit. Trade & Exports: Gov. Tony Evers and WEDC are sending a trade mission to Ghana and South Africa to deepen ties and expand market opportunities for Wisconsin firms. Finance: First Business Bank announced its Q2 2026 earnings call schedule.

Fusion energy & supply chain: Wisconsin is positioning itself as a fusion “hot spot,” with companies like Realta Fusion, Type One Energy and SHINE Technologies pushing toward practical power and a growing local ecosystem. Energy infrastructure & data centers: Wisconsin’s power demand is projected to surge as data centers expand, raising questions about grid capacity, costs, and community impacts. Manufacturing jobs: Cruisers Yachts in Oconto is hiring for roles including assemblers and lamination, highlighting continued boatbuilding demand in northeast Wisconsin. Healthcare oversight: A watchdog group warns that private equity joint ventures with nonprofit healthcare providers can create risks for patients and care quality, calling for more government oversight. Environmental & public health: New research tracks how PFAS “forever chemicals” move through the Great Lakes food web into people, adding urgency to cleanup and monitoring. Rural entrepreneurship: A new push is helping rural Wisconsin founders get more support, with initiatives aimed at closing the gap outside Madison, Milwaukee and Green Bay. State economy leadership: Gov. Tony Evers takes stock of Wisconsin’s economy and remaining priorities heading into the next gubernatorial chapter.

Energy & Storm Response: Severe storms swept through southeast Wisconsin and the region, knocking out power and damaging infrastructure, including reports of outages and crews working to restore service. Manufacturing Safety: A Sunday fire at Milwaukee’s Sellars Shipping and Receiving was extinguished by sprinklers, with no injuries; the cause is under investigation. Housing & Growth Planning: Beloit’s City Council is set to consider multiple housing moves, including duplex construction and approvals tied to the Beloit Riverside Apartments project, while Jefferson’s council weighs next steps for a downtown conference center plan. Data Centers & Local Impact: Beloit and other Wisconsin communities are increasingly tying housing and zoning decisions to data center development, as residents and councils push for clearer planning and data. Agriculture & Food Industry: The U.S. egg industry faces fallout after a multistate and federal settlement over alleged price manipulation, with Wisconsin-linked attention on broader supply-chain pricing pressures. Workforce & Education: UW-Stout named local students to its Polytechnic Dean’s List, highlighting continued demand for engineering and technology talent. Local Business Spotlight: Whirlpool marked its 115th anniversary with a consumer photo sweepstakes tied to its U.S. manufacturing footprint. Transportation & Fuel: GasBuddy reported a low E15 price in Portage County, underscoring ongoing Wisconsin fuel volatility.

Data Centers & Local Impact: Residents of Racine County have filed a proposed class-action against Microsoft over alleged constant noise from its “Fairwater” AI facility, arguing the Mount Pleasant campus is an industrial-scale acoustic intrusion affecting more than 1,000 nearby households. Energy Policy: The Trump administration is spending nearly $3 billion to buy back offshore wind leases, effectively killing multiple future projects as legal challenges mount. Food Safety: The CDC says a growing cyclosporiasis outbreak tied to Cyclospora is spreading across more states, with Michigan emerging as the biggest cluster; investigators still haven’t pinned down a single food source. Construction & Storm Damage: Severe weather hit the Midwest hard, including reports of a silo collapse in Walworth County and widespread power outages across the region. Workforce Housing: Habitat for Humanity Waukesha-Jefferson-Rock won a Wisconsin Builders Association workforce housing award for an under-$350,000 Watertown development. Cross-Border Logistics: Mexico’s cargo theft is down, but attacks on truckers are getting deadlier, raising pressure on freight security.

AI & Local Property Rights: Three Racine County residents filed a proposed class-action against Microsoft over alleged constant noise from its “Fairwater” AI data center near Mount Pleasant, arguing the intrusion is unreasonable and affecting more than 1,000 nearby households. Community & Food Supply: Second Harvest Northland broke ground on the final phase of its $20 million Nourish the Northland campaign, adding a west Duluth market-style food shelf plus a volunteer and community engagement center as demand keeps rising. Ag & Safety: A silo collapse in Walworth County injured five people as severe storms rolled through; responders also reported downed lines and damage to about 40 homes. Energy & Reliability: After storms, more than 350,000 Michigan customers were still without power Saturday afternoon, underscoring the regionwide strain on utilities during holiday weather. Local Business: Rochester’s Cheap Charlie’s diner will close July 31 after 58 years, a reminder of how hard it is for iconic Main Street spots to survive. Workforce Pipeline: Shawano County and New North secured a $425,000 WEDC grant to recruit transitioning service members to fill local job vacancies.

Data Center Noise Lawsuit: Sturtevant residents have filed a class-action against Microsoft over alleged noise from the Mount Pleasant data center, adding to Wisconsin’s growing pushback on how big tech facilities affect nearby communities. Energy Demand & Grid Tension: New reporting highlights how Wisconsin’s electricity demand is set to surge as data centers expand, while residents in southern Minnesota are organizing against a proposed 765-kV transmission line—an early sign of the permitting and local-impact fights utilities may face. Severe Weather & Power Restoration: Storms across the region knocked out power for hundreds of thousands, with Michigan reporting major outage counts and crews working through the holiday; Wisconsin communities also saw damage and outages tied to the same system. Geneva Lake Tragedy: A sudden storm led to a boat capsizing on Geneva Lake, killing three children; investigators are working with DNR and local law enforcement. Wisconsin Manufacturing Spotlight: Ron Wanek, raised on a dairy farm and later building Ashley Furniture into a global giant, is profiled as a Wisconsin Original. Workforce Skills: A Pitt Community College electrical systems student won bronze at SkillsUSA Nationals, underscoring the pipeline from Wisconsin-area trades training to industrial jobs.

Data Centers & Power Shift: Invenergy is pivoting from wind to gas for Wisconsin data centers as PSC projects electricity demand could jump 40% by 2032, driven by hyperscale builds. Local Energy & Reliability: A major heat wave pushed southeast Wisconsin into extreme-heat conditions, while storms Thursday/Friday knocked out power across Milwaukee and surrounding counties and left fatalities after an overturned boat on Geneva Lake. Legal & Community Pressure: Residents filed suit over noise from Microsoft’s Mount Pleasant data center, and a separate multistate egg price-fixing settlement secured 53 million eggs and $3.3 million—an enforcement win that still matters for Wisconsin food supply chains. Environment & Land Use: Wisconsin DNR approved a CAFO permit for Door County and temporarily closed public access at Seeley Lake during dam removal. Workforce & Industry Education: Lakeshore College’s summer camp is training teens for culinary, manufacturing and IT careers, and Carroll University students helped set up Milwaukee’s lakefront drone show—signaling growing demand in drone engineering. Ag & Food Safety: Crop conditions look mixed with storm and heat impacts, while a Cyclospora outbreak in the Midwest continues with no source identified.

Milwaukee Construction: Milwaukee County’s courthouse complex overhaul price tag has doubled to about $897 million, with officials warning delays could add up to $4 million a month. Transportation & Logistics: WisDOT says I-94 work will pause for the July 4 holiday, then resume with long-term closures starting July 6, including St. Paul Avenue between 29th and 27th Street. Energy & Agriculture: Wisconsin DNR approved a CAFO permit for Gilbert Farms in Door County, letting the dairy expand from about 1,400 animal units to 2,400 despite environmental objections. Food Prices & Supply Chain: The Wisconsin Farm Bureau reports a record-high July 4 cookout cost—$75.50 to feed 10 people—driven by higher farm inputs, fuel, fertilizer, and processing/transportation costs. Public Safety & Environment: DNR temporarily closed public access at Seeley Lake in Sauk County while a dam is removed, citing an active construction zone. Business & Housing: Victory Homes of Wisconsin won a WBA Badger Craftsman Award for a new home project, highlighting top homebuilding work across 18 categories. Trade & Economic Development: Gov. Evers announced a Wisconsin trade mission to Ghana and South Africa, including visits tied to cocoa processing and Wisconsin manufacturing exports.

Milwaukee-area infrastructure: Prairie County’s Milwaukee Bridge resurfacing and rehabilitation project cleared its last federal permit hurdle, with plans signed and contractors lining up for a July 16 bid solicitation. Data centers & neighbors: Three Sturtevant residents filed a class action against Microsoft over alleged excessive noise from the Fairwater AI data center, citing diesel generators and cooling systems; the dispute adds to growing Wisconsin scrutiny of data-center impacts. Courthouse spending: Milwaukee County’s plan to replace its aging downtown criminal courthouse complex now carries an estimated $897 million price tag, up sharply from earlier projections. Construction & workforce: A Wisconsin Laborers union launched a peer support program for members dealing with addiction, substance abuse, or mental health, including a round-the-clock hotline and trained specialists. Food safety: Cyclospora cases are rising across multiple states, with Wisconsin consumers urged to watch for contaminated produce as misdiagnosis remains a concern. Agriculture & heat: A Mequon farmer says corn is already past hip-high despite the season’s biggest heat wave, while input costs remain a pressure point.

Heat & Public Safety: A potentially record-breaking heatwave is pushing Extreme Heat Warnings across 26 states, with officials urging hydration, cooling centers, and limits on outdoor activity ahead of July 4. Transportation & Construction: WisDOT scheduled a second public meeting on the proposed I-94/Highway F diverging diamond interchange in Waukesha, with construction targeted to start in 2028. Manufacturing/Engineering: Vanguard added i3 Product Development to its Battery Technology Partner program to help OEMs integrate battery systems into off-highway and commercial equipment moving from concept to production. Dairy & Food Industry: Whey protein is surging as a mainstream product, turning cheesemaking byproduct into a driver of demand and farmer revenue. Agriculture & Consumer Impact: Multistate egg producers reached a settlement over alleged price-fixing, with millions of eggs and $3.3M tied to the case, including Wisconsin food-bank donations. Local Business Resilience: The Stone Lake Pub reopened one year after a fire destroyed the original building, marking a major comeback for the owner and community. Workforce/Education: UW-Stout Polytechnic graduated 18 students from Washington County across fields including cybersecurity, mechanical engineering, construction, and industrial design. Tech/AI & Small Business: UW Oshkosh’s Center for Applied AI is running a Small Business AI Clinic to help local companies build confidence and adopt practical AI tools.

AI Data Centers & Foreign Influence: A new study says China-linked groups and the Party for Socialism and Liberation helped fuel anti–AI data center campaigns, stalling or killing about $23.6B in U.S. projects, including Wisconsin efforts tied to a DeForest hyperscale campus and Port Washington’s referendum. PFAS & Wastewater Regulation: The Wisconsin DNR issued a PFAS monitoring general permit for biosolids generators, requiring facilities to monitor and report PFAS concentrations under the state’s new law. Energy Grid Pressure: Three electric co-ops issued a peak energy alert, urging members to conserve power and adjust cooling and charging habits during high-demand hours. Ag & Food Industry Antitrust: DOJ and states reached a settlement with major egg producers over alleged price-fixing, with payments and large egg donations headed to food banks, including Wisconsin. Infrastructure & Ports: Algoma’s Lake Michigan break wall rebuild is underway, with the pierhead light removed for restoration and planned reinstallation. Road & Holiday Travel: WisDOT warned of long-term I-94 closures starting July 6, while state officials reminded drivers to plan ahead for heavy Fourth of July travel. Local Development: Oak Creek is moving toward Buc-ee’s construction, with groundwork starting mid-July and a possible early-2028 opening. Workforce & Business: A western Wisconsin roundtable with WEDC and Sen. Brad Pfaff highlighted employer concerns around healthcare, housing, and workforce pipelines.

Food & Antitrust: The DOJ and Wisconsin joined a multistate settlement with major egg producers over alleged price-fixing, with companies paying $3.3M and donating 53M eggs nationwide—about 2M headed to Wisconsin food banks. Energy & Environment: Milwaukee is finishing a $122M “bathtub” storage facility under the Hoan Bridge to hold contaminated sediment from Lake Michigan waterways, while regulators also respond to an Enbridge Line 5 reroute drilling-fluid spill tied to the Bad River Band. Construction & Infrastructure: Work continues on major Wisconsin River bridge projects, and Milwaukee’s Metcalfe Playfield is set to reopen after a full renovation with new amenities. Agriculture & Research: UW-Madison researchers are pushing agrivoltaics—pairing solar with farming—while scientists confirm an invasive “bloody red” shrimp breeding population in Lake Superior’s Duluth-Superior Harbor. Public Safety: Lake Michigan swim safety coverage highlights drowning risks and what to watch for before heading in. Cybersecurity: A phishing campaign targeted Microsoft 365 accounts by spoofing Wisconsin contractors’ billing emails to accounts-payable staff.