The Wisconsin state government lost decisively a second time in what has become a convoluted effort to block a Catholic charity from receiving a long-running state tax exemption.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Dec. 15 blocked state Attorney General Josh Kaul’s attempt to fully eliminate an unemployment tax exemption after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Diocese of Superior’s Catholic Charities Bureau was entitled to the tax break.

The U.S. Supreme Court in June had ruled that Wisconsin violated the First Amendment when it denied the tax exemption to the Catholic group on the grounds that the group’s charitable undertakings were not “primarily” religious.

The state responded in October by moving to eliminate the exemption entirely, arguing that the tax break is “discriminatory” and that ending the policy would “avoid collateral damage to Wisconsin workers.”

In a brief order on Dec. 15, the state’s high court affirmed that the U.S. Supreme Court ruling allows the Catholic charity to access the tax break. The court directed the state Labor and Industry Review Commission to declare the charity eligible for the exemption. 

The religious liberty law group Becket, which has represented the Catholic charity in the legal fight, said in a press release that the Wisconsin Supreme Court had ended the state government’s “crusade” against the Catholic charity. 

“You’d think Wisconsin would take a 9-0 Supreme Court loss as a hint to stop digging,” Becket Vice President Eric Rassbach said. “But apparently Attorney General Kaul and his staff are gluttons for punishment.” 

“Thankfully, the Wisconsin Supreme Court put an end to the state’s tomfoolery and confirmed that Catholic Charities is entitled to the exemption it already won,” Rassbach said. 

The ruling “protects not just Catholic Charities, but every faith-based organization that relies on this exemption to serve the public,” he added. 

In its June ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court said the First Amendment “mandates government neutrality between religions” and that Wisconsin had failed to adhere to this principle in refusing to issue the tax exemption to Catholic Charities. 

“It is fundamental to our constitutional order that the government maintain ‘neutrality between religion and religion,’” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in the decision. “There may be hard calls to make in policing that rule, but this is not one.”

Justice Clarence Thomas, meanwhile, said that governments “may not use [entities such as a Catholic charity] as a means of regulating the internal governance of religious institutions.”

Following the ruling this week, David Earleywine — the associate director for education and religious liberty at the Wisconsin Catholic Conference — said the Catholic charity has been fighting for the exemption for “decades.”

“[T]rue Catholic charity is inherently religious and cannot be reduced to another secular social service,” he said.

POLK COUNTY (DrydenWire) – An investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation, into multiple cybertips from Google about suspected child sexual abuse materials has resulted in felony charges for a Wisconsin Man.

Cody Struemke, age 27, of Amery, WI, is facing nearly a dozen charges for possessing child pornography, including Felony Possession of Virtual Child Pornography.

The criminal complaint against him alleges that Struemke saved a photo from Facebook of juveniles known to him, and digitally edited the photo to make it appear they were nude.

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Last Update: Dec 16, 2025 9:27 am CST

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) -Respiratory illness season has begun in Wisconsin, with health professionals reporting increased flu cases and higher demand for medications and vaccines.

Over-the-counter medicines are flying off the shelves at Forward Pharmacy in McFarland, according to manager Tony Peterangelo.

“We’ve had to increase like how much of some of that stuff we’ve kept on hand,” Peterangelo said. “We had to make some special orders to really bulk up on some of it too.”

Upland Hills physician Benjamin Hecht said the respiratory illness season typically begins after Thanksgiving.

“As of right now, we are just starting in the last week or two to see some Influenza A. Last year was a pretty tough flu year for us, influenza in Wisconsin. It’s still to be seen how severe of a year this is going to be in 2025-26,” he said.

Respiratory viruses are hard to avoid according to the Upland Hills physician.

“You can wear masks and wash your hands a ton, but you’re going to get exposed to these viruses at some point,” Dr. Hecht said.

RSV poses concern for young children

Dr. Hecht said another concern this season is RSV, particularly for young children with developing immune systems.

“The kids that get this, especially the really young kids, that don’t have a mature immune system, they can get pretty sick from RSV. That’s a particularly scary one. If you’re in a position where you qualify to get that vaccination or perhaps your kids do, please consider that,” Dr. Hecht said.

Forward Pharmacy is meeting demand for vaccines, which Peterangelo said can help protect against viruses.

“All of that stuff reduces the need to scramble on the back end to get antibiotics and cough suppressants. It doesn’t completely reduce your risk, but it reduces it enough that your likelihood of getting that is down,” Peterangelo said.

The pharmacy has given out dozens of flu and covid shots in a day.

“I would say maybe in the 60 to 80 range,” Peterangelo said.

Dr. Hecht said influenza B will come later in the season. He recommends people with severe respiratory symptoms like breathing troubles to see a doctor.

“The big thing is just living a healthy lifestyle, staying well hydrated, getting good sleep, doing what you can with physical activity and exercise to make sure your immune system is in tip top shape,” Dr. Hecht said.

According to new CDC data, doctor visits for flu-like symptoms rose to more than 3% in the last two weeks. The majority of flu cases are caused by a mutated strain that causes more severe illness, particularly among older adults.

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