Wisconsin
How has Wisconsin’s poultry been impacted by bird flu, hardest hit counties and more answers
Dozens of Wisconsin poultry flocks, both commercial and backyard, have felt the effects of the lethal bird flu outbreak since its ignition three years ago.
As of the end of 2024, Wisconsin lost 3.67 million birds — laying hens, turkeys and upland game birds — across 19 commercial flocks since the current strain was first detected in wild birds in the U.S. in January 2022.
Today, the outbreak among poultry has been found in all 50 states, impacting, birds, growers, workers and consumers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 156.25 million birds in 1,531 flocks have been killed. Nearly half of those flocks were raised in commercial operations.
The disease was first detected in dairy cows in Kansas and Texas dairy herds in March 2024. However, according to the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) bird flu has not been detected in any of the state’s dairy herds.
As of Feb. 5, 2025, bird flu was confirmed in 959 dairy herds in 16 states. Of those herds infected, 753 are from the state of California. In the last 30 days, 34 news cases have been detected in just two states: California and Nevada.
How has Wisconsin’s poultry been impacted by bird flu?
While dairy cows infected by bird flu typically recover over time, the disease is lethal to poultry and wild birds.
The death of millions of laying hens has caused a table egg shortage in many parts of the country, which has driven prices up to record levels.
To date, 3.67 million birds from 19 Wisconsin commercial poultry flocks across eight counties — Barron, Burnett, Dunn, Jefferson, Polk, Racine, Trempealeau and Washburn — have been depopulated.
Among those deaths were 722,200 meat turkeys, 13,200 breeder turkey hens, 2.75 million laying hens, 187,900 upland game birds and 10,000 meat ducks, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA/APHIS). DATCP reported a loss of 1,424 birds from backyard flocks.
On Dec. 18, 2024, Wisconsin health officials reported the first human case of bird flu in the state when a worker at a commercial turkey farm in Barron County tested positive after experiencing mild symptoms. Health officials reported that the worker had been exposed to infected poultry at the operation.
How much have egg prices increased?
Egg prices have risen nationwide by about 38% in the past year, bringing the average cost of one dozen up to $3.65 in November vs. $3.37 in October and $2.14 in November 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index. Prices have risen even more since fall.
Of course, $3.65 is just an average. Data from the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service demonstrates the variation in egg carton prices.
As of Jan. 10, it shows that the wholesale price for a carton of large eggs in the New York market rose to $6.25 a dozen. The Midwest region saw prices around $5.91 and California as high as $8.97.
In other cases, eggs are absent from shelves.
What counties have been hit hardest by bird flu?
Jefferson County suffered the largest losses in March 2022 when 2.75 million laying hens at Cold Spring Egg Farms, owned by S&R Egg Company had to be depopulated by the disease.
Barron County reported several outbreaks in 2022, 2023 and 2024 where 293,600 birds were infected.
Trempealeau County reported three bird flu outbreaks at turkey farms, killing 123,500 birds.
What year was the most deadly for bird flu outbreaks?
The first year of the outbreak was the deadliest for state poultry with 3.3 million birds affected in 29 outbreaks in 2022.
Over 307,000 birds died in 2023 in six outbreaks, while 73,169 birds were depopulated in 4 outbreaks in 2024.
Wisconsin has not confirmed a new bird flu outbreak in a poultry flock since Dec. 26, 2024.
National bird flu statistics paint a grim picture of bird flu devastation
In the last 30 days, USDA/APHIS reported 127 flocks with confirmed cases of bird flu impacting 21.54 million birds nationally.
The deadliest month for bird flu across the U.S. was January, when 85 commercial flocks lost 23.25 million birds.
What states have been the hardest hit across the U.S.?
According to USDA/APHIS, the top 4 hardest hit states in the U.S. include:
- California, 104 commercial (broiler/table eggs) flocks, 38 backyard flocks, 23.48 million birds;
- Minnesota, 141 commercial flocks (mostly turkeys), 43 backyard flocks, 9.14 million birds;
- Ohio, 56 commercial (table egg) flocks, 11 backyard flocks, 19.71 million birds; and
- South Dakota, 114 flocks (mostly turkey and upland game), 25 backyard flocks, 6.1 million birds.
Claire Reid and Mary Walrath-Holdridge contributed to this article.
Contact Colleen Kottke at 920-517-2653 or ckottke@gannett.com. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @ColleenKottke.
Wisconsin
South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, officials in standoff with homeowner over year-round skeleton display
The city of South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has ordered a homeowner to take down his year-round giant skeleton display or face fines, but the homeowner is standing firm and refusing, even as the deadline to remove the display has passed.
Now there’s a skeleton standoff.
The city cited ordinance violations in their order for Sean Oster to dismantle the lawn decorations. The notice specifically references “large Halloween decorations being displayed not during the appropriate time of year.”
Oster was also ordered to make other improvements to his property.
But Oster has refused to take down the display, which is re-dressed as the year goes on and is currently sporting a Fourth of July theme. The Institute for Justice, a public interest law firm, has come to his aid, saying the city’s actions violate Oster’s First Amendment rights.
City administrators declined to comment, citing a pending investigation. Neighbors have been divided by the display; some say they’re fine with it, and think it brings fun and positivity to the neighborhood, but some others want to see it removed and say the lawn should be kept up better and more consistently.
Oster said he’s hoping to reach an agreement with the city, and said he’s corrected all other violations outside of the display.
Wisconsin
Former Wisconsin judge to be sentenced after conviction in obstructing arrest of Mexican immigrant
Former Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan, who was convicted of felony obstruction for helping an immigrant evade federal officers in a case that highlighted President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown, is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday in federal court.
Dugan, 67, faces up to five years in prison after a jury convicted her on Dec. 19. She resigned from her position as a Milwaukee County circuit judge two weeks later amid threats of impeachment from Republican state lawmakers. She had been a judge for nine years.
Trump administration tried to make an example out of Milwaukee judge
The Trump administration brought the case against Dugan as the president pressed ahead with his sweeping immigration crackdown. Trump’s administration and his allies branded Dugan as an activist judge, while Dugan’s attorneys said during the trial that the Trump administration was trying to make an example out of Dugan to “crush her.”
Immigrant rights advocates and other Dugan allies argued that the administration was trying to use her case to blunt judicial opposition to Trump’s immigration efforts. The case became a bellwether nationally in the conflict between the judiciary and Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, a fierce Trump loyalist running for Wisconsin governor, urged authorities to “lock her up” in a social media post following her conviction.
Dugan’s attorneys declined to comment ahead of the sentencing. Dugan did not testify during her trial, but her attorneys said she would be making comments to the court on Wednesday. That would be her first public comments on the case in more than a year.
Prosecutors push for ‘serious sentence’
Dugan’s attorneys argued that as a judge she was immune from prosecution. U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman, who will hand down the sentence, has rejected attempts by Dugan to vacate her obstruction conviction.
Prosecutors argued in a sentencing memo filed last week that Dugan violated her oath as a judge and put both law enforcement and the public at risk.
“Judges are entrusted with tremendous discretion, but there is a line they cannot cross,” Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Frohling wrote. “The defendant crossed that line.”
Dugan’s attorneys argued she has “punished enough,” including resigning as a judge and facing threats of violence. They argued in her sentencing memo that she should not be sentenced to any jail time besides the part of one day she already spent in federal custody.
Under federal sentencing guidelines, the presentence report calls for 15 to 21 months behind bars. The judge is not bound by those guidelines.
Prosecutors said the average sentence for obstruction cases is 16 months, but they did not recommend a sentence.
“This was a serious offense, and it warrants a correspondingly serious sentence,” Frohling wrote.
No matter what she is sentenced to, Dugan’s attorneys said they plan to file an appeal.
Dugan’s case was a first for Wisconsin
Dugan’s case marked the first time that a state judge in Wisconsin went to trial on charges of obstructing immigration agents. She was found not guilty of concealing an individual to prevent arrest, a misdemeanor.
On April 18, 2025, immigration officers went to the Milwaukee County courthouse after learning 31-year-old Eduardo Flores-Ruiz had reentered the country illegally and was scheduled to appear before Dugan for a hearing in a state battery case.
Dugan confronted agents outside her courtroom and directed them to the chief judge’s office because she told them their administrative warrant wasn’t sufficient grounds to arrest Flores-Ruiz.
After the agents left, she led Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a private jury door. Agents spotted Flores-Ruiz in the corridor, followed him outside and arrested him after a foot chase. A week later, FBI agents arrested Dugan in the courthouse, leading her outside in handcuffs.
Flores-Ruiz was deported in November.
MENASHA, Wis. (WFRV) — History was made today, as Melodee Liegel successfully completed her nearly 17-hour swim just before 9:00 p.m. on July 7.
The swim, which started at the Fond du Lac Lighthouse and ended in Menasha, was just under 28 whole miles in length. Liegel began her swim at 4:00 in the morning, treading water only occasionally for snack and rest breaks.
Liegel, a resident of Delafield, Wisconsin, is the first person in history to complete the swim, which covered the entirety of Lake Winnebago.
Local fishing guide Troy Peterson was riding alongside Melodee as she completed her swim. His Facebook has more information, as does their website tracking her swim.
WFRV will update this story as necessary.
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