Wisconsin
Wisconsin Loses Second Bid to Block Tax Exemption in Spat With Catholic Charity
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.
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 Dec. 20, 2025, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from Dec. 20 drawing
04-05-28-52-69, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 3
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from Dec. 20 drawing
Midday: 0-8-4
Evening: 4-1-4
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from Dec. 20 drawing
Midday: 0-8-8-6
Evening: 1-5-3-1
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning All or Nothing numbers from Dec. 20 drawing
Midday: 01-02-03-04-06-07-09-10-12-15-17
Evening: 03-04-05-07-10-12-13-14-15-18-21
Check All or Nothing payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Badger 5 numbers from Dec. 20 drawing
07-09-10-15-30
Check Badger 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning SuperCash numbers from Dec. 20 drawing
01-02-03-16-21-33, Doubler: N
Check SuperCash payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Megabucks numbers from Dec. 20 drawing
02-10-15-27-32-45
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.
Wisconsin
What time, TV channel is Johns Hopkins vs Wisconsin-River Falls game on today? Live stream, preview
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The Division III Championship Semifinals feature the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays (12-1) facing off with the Wisconsin-River Falls Falcons (12-1) as they look for a chance to play for a title. Kickoff takes place on Saturday, December 20, at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET (11 a.m. MST) with a live TV broadcast only with ESPN Plus.
• You can watch Johns Hopkins vs. Wisconsin-River Falls football streaming live on ESPN+ (now called ESPN Select) today.
Is Johns Hopkins vs. Wisconsin-River Falls on TV today, or streaming only?
When: Saturday, December 20, at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET (11 a.m. MST).
Where: David Smith Stadium at Ramer Field | River Falls, WI
TV channel: This game is not available on traditional broadcast TV, and is only streaming on ESPN’s live sports streaming platforms available on the ESPN App with one of the “ESPN Select” or “ESPN Unlimited” subscription plans. (This is the streaming service formerly known as ESPN Plus. Here’s a look at the breakdown of ESPN streaming plans, what they cost and include.)
Where to watch streaming live on TV, or online: You can watch a live stream of this game for less than $12 on ESPN Select (It’s just $11.99/month or $119.99/full year subscription, and you can cancel anytime. Just choose the “ESPN Select” plan in the drop down to sign up for the cheapest version of the service.).
- The best deal: If you sign up for ESPN Unlimited ($29.99/month), you will get all of the ESPN networks and services, including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, SEC Network, ACC Network, ESPN+, ESPN on ABC, SEC Network+, ACC Network Now and ESPN3.
- Get promo codes, signup deals, and free bets from our Oregon Betting News home page.
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) – The Wisconsin Cattlemen’s Association is speaking out about the U.S. House passing the “Pet and Livestock Protection Act”.
“I’ll be honest, our cattlemen are pretty fed up. I mean, they have been dealing with this issue for a long time, so. I mean just really felt like we are finally making progress here. And that’s really exciting that we can help our producers deal with this issue,” says Brady Zuck, a cow-calf producer and the past president of the Wisconsin Cattlemen’s Association.
Brady Zuck, one of many livestock producers in Wisconsin, is responding to the U.S. House passing a bill to delist the gray wolf from the “Endangered Species Act”.
The population of gray wolves is increasing, and according to the Wisconsin DNR, from April 2024 to April 2025, there were 70 verified wolf conflicts with livestock.
“That’s what’s been the most frustrating, is that we have producers locally here in northwest Wisconsin or your area by Green Bay that are dealing with this issue, and it’s all controlled in Washington, and we have people in our state that could make those management decisions, but their hands are tied,” says Zuck.
Supporters of the bill say non-lethal methods used to keep gray wolves away, such as strobe lights and music, are only short-term solutions.
“We’re asking, saying hey, if we’re having problems with wolves on farms, we need ways to effectively deal with that, that work,” says Zuck.
The Great Lakes Wildlife Alliance shared a statement from Thursday about the delisting, saying: “We are disgusted by this reckless abandonment of science-based wildlife management. However, our advocates showed up in extraordinary numbers against overwhelming odds, and their voices were heard. This organization and our supporters are not defeated.”
“As cattlemen, we never said we want to eliminate all wolves, we don’t want any wolves, we never said that. But we just need to make sure we have the tools in place that we can, you know, if we have wolves killing calves, we need a way to deal with it, right?” Zuck says.
The bill still has to pass the Senate and reach the president’s desk before changes are made.
Copyright 2025 WBAY. All rights reserved.
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