Wisconsin
Head Start funding holds persist for some programs in Wisconsin • Wisconsin Examiner
At least five Wisconsin Head Start child care programs for low-income families have reported that they’re still unable to collect federal funds to cover their routine costs in the last two weeks.
On Thursday, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) sent a letter to Trump administration officials demanding they address the unexplained halt in payments.
“It continues to be a very significant problem,” said Jenny Mauer, executive director of the Wisconsin Head Start Association, the membership organization of Wisconsin’s 39 Head Start providers. Mauer said that as of late Thursday afternoon, at least five of those providers have not yet been able to receive payments for routine expenses submitted under their contractual agreements with the federal government.
The funding halt coincided with a broad freeze ordered by the Trump administration in federal grant and loan disbursement starting the last week of January.
Administration officials said the funding freeze did not include Head Start funds. Despite those assertions, Since Tuesday, Jan. 28, Head Start programs in Wisconsin and across the country have reported being unable to get paid through the online portal that processes their routine payment draw requests.
The delays have persisted a week after two federal court orders to the administration to lift its freeze on payments.
“Up until Monday last week, these were not issues that our programs experienced,” Mauer told the Wisconsin Examiner on Thursday afternoon. She said Head Start directors around the state who have been with the program for up to a decade have confirmed the current problem is unprecedented.
“Typically we have really stellar communications with the Office of Head Start,” Mauer said. “Typically things work very smoothly.”
Fond du Lac program: 10 days without payment
In the lower Fox Valley, a three-county community action agency in Fond du Lac has yet to receive a payment for monthly Head Start expenses submitted 10 days ago.
ADVOCAP provides community services for Fond du Lac, Winnebago and Green Lake counties, including operating a Head Start child care program with three centers in Fond du Lac County and one in Green Lake County. The centers combined enroll 202 children, serving 191 families.
April Mullins-Datko, ADVOCAP’s Head Start director, said the program’s expenses for January were submitted on Tuesday, Jan. 28 through the federal payment management system website. The expenses are usually about $250,000 a month.
Instead of the usual automatic acknowledgement message when the information is uploaded, “we got a ‘pending review’ message,” Mullins-Datko told the Wisconsin Examiner.
She is accustomed to seeing the payment deposited in the agency’s account in 24 to 48 hours. As of Thursday, however, “we still cannot access our funding,” Mullins-Datko said. “This morning, the payment management website is not even online. It’s having a pretty big impact.”
On Wednesday, ADVOCAP released a statement outlining the halt in funds and its potential impact on the program.
“ADVOCAP is doing everything in our power to continue providing uninterrupted Head Start programming while we await resolution. However, if the funding delay extends into next month, we will need to assess the implications for the future of our program,” the agency’s statement said.
ADVOCAP’s current Head Start contract with the federal government runs through Dec. 31, 2028, Mullins-Datko said. The federal rules for the grant require the recipient agency to incur the expense, then submit those documents for reimbursement. Usually “it’s dependable. It’s just recently that it’s not,” she said.
Mullins-Datko said she has tried contacting federal Head Start staff in Chicago and Washington, D.C., but received no response.
“Right now we’re having to start February services without cash flow coming in,” she said. “Currently we’re staying open, but we’re running on a line of credit that only goes so far.”
The vast majority of families the ADVOCAP Head Start program serves — 93% — “are working families,” Mullins-Datko said. “They’re working and trying their very best to make ends meet.”
In December, some child care providers in the Fond du Lac area closed, she added. “Child care is already difficult to find, and it’s very expensive,” Mullins-Datko said. Without Head Start, “Our families wouldn’t have access to child care.”
Reaching out to lawmakers
Mullins-Datko said she made 39 calls to the offices of Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Glenbeuhlah), as well as Baldwin.
On Thursday, a member of Baldwin’s staff called her, several days after her first inquiry. “They let me know that they’ve been flooded with calls and they apologized for not getting back sooner,” Mullins-Datko said. “Still no access to funds, but I remain hopeful.”
She said she has not heard back from the other lawmakers, however.
In a letter Thursday to Dorothy Fink, acting secretary of the federal Department of Health and Human Services, and Tala Hooban, acting Head Start director, Baldwin called attention to the persistence of the delays.
“Head Start programs in Wisconsin are continuing to have problems accessing their funds, which raises continued uncertainty about their ability to keep their doors open,” Baldwin wrote. “This is unacceptable and requires your immediate attention.”
Baldwin demanded an accounting of directives from the Trump administration in freezing funds as well as directives after the court orders to suspend the freeze.
She also demanded information on the number of Head Start grant recipients who had trouble or were unable to access the payment system from Jan. 28 on, as well as details on the reasons recipients were unable to get access to the system.
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(WFRV) – Authorities in northern Wisconsin are investigating after suspected human bones may have been found by a forester.
According to a release from the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office, a forester marking trees on Friday, May 8, notified officials that he may have found human bones.
Rusk County deputies, DNR officials, and officials with the Wisconsin Department of Justice – Division of Criminal Investigations responded to the scene and were led through the woods and recovered the suspected human bones.
Authorities say they are working with the Rusk County Medical Examiner’s office and a forensic anthropologist to confirm the identity.
Positive identification has not yet been made, but officials say a positive identification is expected to be made based off of medical records.
No other information is available at this time.
Manuel Franco claims his $768 million Powerball jackpot
Manuel Franco, 24, of West Allis was revealed Tuesday as the winner of the $768.4 million Powerball jackpot.
Mark Hoffman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Wisconsin Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at May 10, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Pick 3 numbers from May 10 drawing
Midday: 4-5-6
Evening: 6-9-4
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from May 10 drawing
Midday: 3-8-0-8
Evening: 5-0-5-0
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning All or Nothing numbers from May 10 drawing
Midday: 07-08-09-11-12-15-16-17-20-21-22
Evening: 02-05-06-07-11-13-17-18-19-20-22
Check All or Nothing payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Badger 5 numbers from May 10 drawing
17-19-23-28-29
Check Badger 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning SuperCash numbers from May 10 drawing
05-09-10-14-33-39, Doubler: N
Check SuperCash payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
- Prizes up to $599: Can be claimed at any Wisconsin Lottery retailer.
- Prizes from $600 to $199,999: Can be claimed in person at a Lottery Office. By mail, send the signed ticket and a completed claim form available on the Wisconsin Lottery claim page to: Prizes, PO Box 777 Madison, WI 53774.
- Prizes of $200,000 or more: Must be claimed in person at the Madison Lottery office. Call the Lottery office prior to your visit: 608-261-4916.
Can Wisconsin lottery winners remain anonymous?
No, according to the Wisconsin Lottery. Due to the state’s open records laws, the lottery must, upon request, release the name and city of the winner. Other information about the winner is released only with the winner’s consent.
When are the Wisconsin Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Super Cash: 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
- Pick 3 (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
- Pick 3 (Evening): 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
- Pick 4 (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
- Pick 4 (Evening): 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
- All or Nothing (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
- All or Nothing (Evening): 9 p.m. CT daily.
- Megabucks: 9:00 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
- Badger 5: 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
That lucky feeling: Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.
Feeling lucky? WI man wins $768 million Powerball jackpot **
WI Lottery history: Top 10 Powerball and Mega Million jackpots
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Wisconsin editor. You can send feedback using this form.
(Stacker) – Homebuilding plays a critical role in maintaining a steady housing supply and keeping prices at sustainable levels. As the U.S. population grows, more housing is needed to meet demand. Since the Great Recession, construction has lagged well behind what is needed, which is one of the main reasons home prices are so high today.
Supply has slowly increased over the past few years but is still below what is needed for the market to balance out. Until that gap closes, prices are likely to remain elevated, and many buyers will likely struggle to afford a home.
So, how many homes are getting built in Northeast Wisconsin in 2026? Is construction increasing or decreasing?
Redfin Real Estate analyzed the rate of housing permits issued in the cities of Appleton, Fond du Lac, Green Bay, Oshkosh and Sheboygan over the past 13 months to find out.
Appleton
2026
- January – Building permits: 29 (1.2 per 10,000 population)
2025
- January – Building permits: 57 (2.3 per 10,000 population)
- February – Building permits: 52 (2.1 per 10k)
- March – Building permits: 46 (1.9 per 10k)
- April – Building permits: 74 (3.0 per 10k)
- May – Building permits: 74 (3.0 per 10k)
- June – Building permits: 60 (2.5 per 10k)
- July – Building permits: 183 (7.5 per 10k)
- August – Building permits: 53 (2.2 per 10k)
- September – Building permits: 128 (5.3 per 10k)
- October – Building permits: 139 (5.7 per 10k)
- November – Building permits: 86 (3.5 per 10k)
- December – Building permits: 246 (10.1 per 10k)
Fond du Lac
2026
- January – Building permits: 10 (1.0 per 10,000 population)
2025
- January – Building permits: 12 (1.2 per 10,000 population)
- February – Building permits: 12 (1.2 per 10k)
- March – Building permits: 11 (1.1 per 10k)
- April – Building permits: 20 (1.9 per 10k)
- May – Building permits: 21 (2.0 per 10k)
- June – Building permits: 15 (1.4 per 10k)
- July – Building permits: 17 (1.6 per 10k)
- August – Building permits: 16 (1.5 per 10k)
- September – Building permits: 21 (2.0 per 10k)
- October – Building permits: 19 (1.8 per 10k)
- November – Building permits: 11 (1.1 per 10k)
- December – Building permits: 20 (1.9 per 10k)
Green Bay
2026
- January – Building permits: 304 (9.3 per 10,000 population)
2025
- January – Building permits: 84 (2.6 per 10,000 population)
- February – Building permits: 67 (2.0 per 10k)
- March – Building permits: 97 (3.0 per 10k)
- April – Building permits: 166 (5.1 per 10k)
- May – Building permits: 141 (4.3 per 10k)
- June – Building permits: 93 (2.8 per 10k)
- July – Building permits: 185 (5.6 per 10k)
- August – Building permits: 120 (3.7 per 10k)
- September – Building permits: 88 (2.7 per 10k)
- October – Building permits: 155 (4.7 per 10k)
- November – Building permits: 156 (4.8 per 10k)
- December – Building permits: 62 (1.9 per 10k)
Oshkosh
2026
- January – Building permits: 16 (0.9 per 10,000 population)
2025
- January – Building permits: 15 (0.9 per 10,000 population)
- February – Building permits: 23 (1.3 per 10k)
- March – Building permits: 22 (1.3 per 10k)
- April – Building permits: 46 (2.7 per 10k)
- May – Building permits: 61 (3.6 per 10k)
- June – Building permits: 54 (3.1 per 10k)
- July – Building permits: 77 (4.5 per 10k)
- August – Building permits: 26 (1.5 per 10k)
- September – Building permits: 87 (5.1 per 10k)
- October – Building permits: 125 (7.3 per 10k)
- November – Building permits: 16 (0.9 per 10k)
- December – Building permits: 79 (4.6 per 10k)
Sheboygan
2026
- January – Building permits: 3 (0.3 per 10,000 population)
2025
- January – Building permits: 13 (1.1 per 10,000 population)
- February – Building permits: 31 (2.6 per 10k)
- March – Building permits: 27 (2.3 per 10k)
- April – Building permits: 9 (0.8 per 10k)
- May – Building permits: 19 (1.6 per 10k)
- June – Building permits: 22 (1.9 per 10k)
- July – Building permits: 11 (0.9 per 10k)
- August – Building permits: 11 (0.9 per 10k)
- September – Building permits: 15 (1.3 per 10k)
- October – Building permits: 174 (14.7 per 10k)
- November – Building permits: 13 (1.1 per 10k)
- December – Building permits: 38 (3.2 per 10k)
Nationally
2026
- January – Building permits: 1,386,000 (44.2 per 10,000 population)
2025
- January – Building permits: 1,460,000 (46.6 per 10,000 population)
- February – Building permits: 1,454,000 (44.2 per 10k)
- March – Building permits: 1,481,000 (47.2 per 10k)
- April – Building permits: 1,422,000 (45.4 per 10k)
- May – Building permits: 1,394,000 (44.5 per 10k)
- June – Building permits: 1,393,000 (44.4 per 10k)
- July – Building permits: 1,362,000 (43.5 per 10k)
- August – Building permits: 1,330,000 (42.4 per 10k)
- September – Building permits: 1,425,000 (45.1 per 10k)
- October – Building permits: 1,411,000 (45.0 per 10k)
- November – Building permits: 1,388,000 (44.3 per 10k)
- December – Building permits: 1,455,000 (46.4 per 10k)
National permit data is a seasonally adjusted annual rate; metro-level permit data is the non-seasonally adjusted total number of permits issued per month.
Copyright 2026 Stacker via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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