Wisconsin
Smith: Hunters tallying high marks in Wisconsin’s 2025 deer seasons
Deer hunters in Wisconsin had one of their best seasons in years, according to Department of Natural Resources data.
As of Jan. 27, hunters registered 338,685 white-tailed deer in the 2025-26 Wisconsin hunting seasons.
The preliminary total included 165,614 antlered deer, or bucks, and 173,071 antlerless deer, mostly adult females and fawns.
The total does not include deer taken on agricultural damage tags, the tribal harvest, in the Deer Management Assistance Program, vehicle-killed deer or at Ft. McCoy.
The Jan. 27 data also do not reflect the entire deer hunting year, which in some management units featured late bow seasons through Jan. 31.
Final data will be available in the coming weeks and likely add about 6,000 deer, mostly antlerless taken through the ag damage program, to the total.
But even with some numbers outstanding, the Badger State’s 2025-26 deer seasons are notable in several respects.
The total harvest is on track to be about 4% higher than the previous year and the highest since 2012, when 368,313 deer were registered, according to DNR data.
And remember the 2025-26 deer seasons included a lackluster nine-day gun hunt (the largest portion of the annual deer harvest). The Nov. 22-30, 2025 gun season resulted in 183,094 deer registered, a drop of 4% from the previous year.
A heavy snowstorm hit much of the state late in the nine-day season and likely reduced hunter effort.
But other portions of the 2025-26 Wisconsin deer hunting seasons more than took up the slack.
It started in October when 8,480 deer were registered in the youth hunt (a year-over-year increase of 15%) and picked up again in December with the muzzleloader season with 11,910 deer (48% higher than 2024), four-day December antlerless season with 10,590 deer (28% higher) and holiday antlerless deer hunt with 11,277 deer (47% higher).
Continuing a trend since 2014, the crossbow deer kill of 70,047 (43,006 bucks and 27,041 antlerless) is up 10% from last year.
And the archery (vertical bow) deer harvest actually reversed a long-term trend and increased this season. As of Jan. 27 the total was 41,459 (25,701 bucks and 15,758 antlerless), a 7% year-over-year increase.
“We know it’s not true everywhere, but for good chunks of the state, it’s the good old days (for deer hunters),” said Ryan Haffele, DNR acting deer specialist. “It’s a positive trend, and this year tells us about the depth and breadth of our seasons.”
One of the biggest points in the statewide pile of data is this: the 2025-26 buck kill of 165,614 is 14th highest on record and the most since 2007.
That’s saying something especially since the number of deer hunters has dropped by 116,640 (or 16%) in the last 25 years, according to the DNR.
It’s a continuation of last year, when 13 Wisconsin counties set buck kill records. The DNR will be able to make comparisons of those data from the 2025-26 deer seasons in the coming weeks.
It also bears mentioning this year’s buck harvest occurred in an era when deer hunters are more selective and more apt to pass up a shot at an antlered deer than ever.
Even with those caveats, many still consider buck kill a loose correlate for the deer population.
That association held up for the 2025-26 deer seasons.
The DNR estimated the state herd at 1.82 million deer following the 2024-25 hunting seasons, a slight year-over-year increase and highest on record. The herd has especially swelled in the agricultural zones since 2011 when the Legislature prohibited the Earn-A-Buck regulation and the early antlerless gun season.
Both the southern and central farmland zones had record high deer populations prior to the 2025 season, according to the DNR. And those estimates come at a time when chronic wasting disease is increasing in prevalence and likely causing localized declines in deer numbers in some southern counties, according to the DNR.
The contemporary “tool box” of Wisconsin hunting regulations lacks a device even remotely capable of reaching the antlerless harvest goals in the agricultural zones. The DNR and County Deer Advisory Councils can set the number but the deer kill consistently falls short.
The statewide deer population also got a bump from two consecutive mild winters, which primarily benefitted deer in the northern forest and central forest zones.
Keith McCaffery, 86, of Rhinelander, who spent his 37-year DNR career working on deer and is arguably the most respected deer biologist alive in the Upper Midwest, told me before the 2025 seasons that Wisconsin “hunters this fall could be taking to the field with more deer than anytime in recorded history.”
In addition to being a lifelong Wisconsin deer hunter, McCaffery has been involved in deer population monitoring and management for most of his life, including through the period of highest deer kills. The 2025-26 registration data has only supported his claim about the possible number of deer available to hunters this year.
Of course deer population estimates have margins of error. Biologists stress looking at the trend as opposed to an absolute number. The leading indicators point to a higher deer population in Wisconsin this year.
One can only guess how much higher the deer kill would have been this year if the same number of hunters had gone afield with the same effort, attitudes, access and regulations as they did in 2000 when the record Wisconsin harvest of 615,293 deer was set.
But that’s a good debate topic for the local watering hole or deer camp.
The realities of the 2025-26 seasons are getting entered in the books.
What else made this year stand out? Hunters in the later seasons, especially the muzzleloader, December antlerless and holiday hunts, enjoyed snow on the landscape statewide, said Jeff Pritzl, recently retired DNR deer specialist.
“That hasn’t been true many years,” Pritzl said. “And it also showed hunters were still willing to get out there and work on filling tags late in the year.”
Pritzl pointed to the antlerless deer harvest of 173,071, a 5% year-over-year increase, as another bright spot from this year’s preliminary numbers. And as referenced earlier, the antlerless kill will be slightly higher in the final tally but will still fall short of harvest goals.
My own hunting seasons once again exceeded the expectations of a kid who grew up in southeastern Wisconsin with very few deer.
I saw lots of deer on each outing this year, primarily in Waukesha and Waupaca counties. I registered three, all adult does, and all in keeping with my and the landowners’ goals. I kept two for family consumption and donated one.
I let eight antlered deer pass while waiting for a doe on opening day of the nine-day gun season in Waupaca County.
Most important, my season included making new friends and having new experiences in the field while helping, at least in a modest way, to address extremely high deer numbers in a couple locations.
The final 2025-26 Wisconsin deer hunting statistics will be released in the coming weeks and months. Haffele, the DNR’s acting deer specialist, is planning to give a presentation on the deer harvest data at the Feb. 25 Natural Resources Board meeting in Madison.
If you hunted deer this year, I hope your season was safe and successful. If you care to share your stories or photos with me and potentially other readers in future articles, please email me at psmith@jrn.com.
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 9, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from May 9 drawing
15-41-46-47-56, Powerball: 22, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from May 9 drawing
Midday: 2-4-4
Evening: 8-4-5
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from May 9 drawing
Midday: 7-3-4-7
Evening: 3-3-5-1
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning All or Nothing numbers from May 9 drawing
Midday: 03-04-05-06-07-09-12-13-14-16-19
Evening: 03-08-09-12-13-14-15-17-20-21-22
Check All or Nothing payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Badger 5 numbers from May 9 drawing
05-14-18-25-27
Check Badger 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning SuperCash numbers from May 9 drawing
02-09-16-28-32-35, Doubler: Y
Check SuperCash payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Megabucks numbers from May 9 drawing
02-20-36-39-40-41
Check Megabucks 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.
Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office
FOND DU LAC COUNTY, Wis. – Two people from Illinois were arrested following a police chase that started in Fond du Lac County and ended in Winnebago County on Friday, May 8.
Initial traffic stop
What we know:
According to the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office, just after 1 p.m. the sheriff’s office got an alert for a stolen vehicle out of Illinois heading northbound on I-41 from County Road Y.
It was learned that the vehicle was involved in two different police chases in the past week in Illinois, but had eluded officers each time.
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A short time later, a deputy spotted the vehicle on I-41 near Winnebago Street. The deputy continued to follow the suspect vehicle northbound, waiting for more deputies to get into position to attempt a high-risk traffic stop. Once those deputies were in position, a high-risk traffic stop was conducted. The vehicle initially pulled over and stopped, but right after deputies got out of their squad cars and started telling the people to get out of the vehicle, it instead fled northbound on I-41.
Chase into Winnebago County
What we know:
The chase went into Winnebago County, with the vehicle failing to pullover and instead speeding up. As the chase continued, the vehicle continued driving recklessly, passing by other vehicles on the interstate, including passing on the shoulder and weaving between vehicles, all at a high rate of speed.
The vehicle exited I-41 and ran three red lights. The chase continued southbound on State Highway 26, with the vehicle continuing to pass vehicles at a high rate of speed on the two-lane highway.
The vehicle then went off the road and drove through the yard of a home before circling around in the yard, traveling through the ditch, and reentering the highway going northbound. It then went into a field near County Road Z and Clay Road.
As a sergeant with the sheriff’s office was moving in to perform a Pursuit Intervention Technique (PIT Maneuver), the suspect vehicle went into reverse and rammed the front of the squad. The vehicle then attempted to leave the field by traveling through a ditch and back up onto the road, where another sheriff’s squad ended the chase by intentionally striking the vehicle and pushing it off the road and back into the ditch.
The vehicle rolled over in the ditch, came to rest upright, but was then disabled and could not move. Two people got out of the vehicle and were taken into custody. The vehicle started on fire and a fire department had to respond to extinguish the fire. Both people from the vehicle were evaluated by medical personnel on scene.
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Facing charges
What we know:
The driver of the vehicle was identified as a 23-year-old man from Des Plaines, Illinois. He was taken to the Fond du Lac County Jail on the following charges:
- Fleeing/Eluding an Officer
- 1st-Degree Reckless Endangering Safety (2 Counts)
- Resisting/Obstructing Officer
- Delivering Illegal Articles by Inmate (Ecstasy Pills).
The driver’s criminal history in Illinois was flagged as armed and dangerous with previous weapons offenses, dangerous drug offenses, and criminal damage to property.
The passenger of the vehicle was identified as a 23-year-old woman from Franklin Park, Illinois. She was taken to the Fond du Lac County Jail on the following charges:
- Fleeing/Eluding—Party to a Crime
- 1st Degree Reckless Endangering Safety—Party to a Crime
- Possession of THC
- Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
- Resisting and Obstructing an Officer
The Source: The Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office sent FOX6 a press release.
Wisconsin
Stepmom from hell accused of starving 35-pound teen daughter enters plea — could spend the rest of her life behind bars
The Wisconsin stepmother from hell accused of abusing her 35-pound 14-year-old daughter by depriving her of food and water has entered a no-contest plea in the twisted case.
Melissa Goodman, 52, now faces up to 46 years in prison if she’s handed the maximum sentence for charges of chronic neglect causing great bodily harm, chronic neglect causing emotional damage and false imprisonment.
She’s set to be sentenced on July 1.
Goodman, along with husband Walter Goodman, has been accused of starving her autistic stepdaughter.
Goodman’s daughter Savanna Goodman and her girlfriend Kayla Stemler were also charged over the alleged abuse, People reported.
The family is accused of locking the teen in a bedroom without a mattress, restricting her to only her room for years and depriving her of food and water, according to Wisconsin prosecutors.
The mobile home they lived in became a house of horrors for the teenager, who was mistaken for a 6-year-old when she was found by cops in August 2025 and rushed to the hospital.
Walter Goodman, the victim’s father, called 911 to report that his daughter was lethargic and ill.
Responding officers found her weighing just 35 pounds; she was hospitalized with multi-organ dysfunction, including respiratory failure and pancreatitis.
From 2020 until August 2025, the victim, whose name is not disclosed because she is a minor, was allegedly isolated in a trailer on Hattie Lane, in Oneida, Wisconsin.
Extended family members were told she was away on vacation or with other relatives to explain her absence.
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