Thursday, November 27, 2025
Wednesday, November 26, 2025
Tuesday, November 25, 2025
Foxconn promises 1,374 new jobs, gets $16 million more in state money
Foxconn to invest additional $569 million over four years
Foxconn Technology Group is getting another $16 million from Wisconsin taxpayers in return for the company expanding its Mount Pleasant operations by adding more than 1,300 jobs.
Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., a state agency, approved what it calls "performance-based tax incentives" for Foxconn, a Taiwan-based electronics manufacturer.
The company said the additional work was tied to demand from data centers such as the massive $7.3 billion Microsoft complex under construction nearby on land previously controlled by Foxconn.
The state funds will support the company’s investment of an additional $569 million, creating 1,374 new jobs over the next four years, according to the agency's Nov. 25 announcement.
With that expansion, Foxconn could receive up to $96 million in state tax credits through 2029.
Under the amended WEDC contract, the company will create 2,616 jobs and spend $1.2 billion in capital investments during that period.
“WEDC has been committed to ensuring Foxconn’s success and growth in our state,” said Sam Rikkers, deputy secretary and chief operating officer, in a statement.
Foxconn says it's expanding to meet rising demand from U.S. customers.
“As the demand for more data infrastructure continues to rise, Foxconn will keep responding to our customers’ needs with flexibility and at scale in the United States,” said Jerry Hsiao, chief product officer.
This is Foxconn’s second contract amendment with WEDC.
A 2021 agreement allowed Foxconn to earn up to $80 million in state tax credits by the end of 2025 based on the company’s planned investment of $672 million and creation of 1,454 jobs.
WEDC says it's verified that as of Dec. 31, 2024, Foxconn had invested nearly $717 million in its Mount Pleasant operations and created 1,242 jobs, qualifying the company for $62.9 million in tax credits.
Then-Gov. Scott Walker and Foxconn in 2017 agreed to a $2.85 billion tax incentive package ― including state and local funds ― if the company met annual hiring and capital investment goals.
Foxconn promised to bring 13,000 high-tech jobs to Wisconsin and create a massive large-screen LCD manufacturing facility in Mount Pleasant.
But those plans failed to materialize, and Foxconn instead shifted to contract manufacturing with fewer jobs and lower capital investments.
That led to the 2021 renegotiated WEDC contract under the administration of Gov. Tony Evers.
Meanwhile, much of the land acquired for Foxconn has since been sold to Microsoft Corp. for its data center campus.
Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram,Bluesky, X and Facebook.
Travelers should plan for cold, blustery Thanksgiving in Southeast Wisconsin
Holly Gilvary
RACINE COUNTY — Southeast Wisconsin should plan for a cold, blustery Thanksgiving holiday weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
As of late Tuesday morning, the NWS declared a wind advisory for the Racine and Kenosha areas for Wednesday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Andy Boxell, a NWS meteorologist, said Wednesday will bring strong wind gusts of 40-45 mph, along with a few snow showers.
“I would encourage folks to be mindful of the wind, especially if anybody’s driving a larger vehicle,” he said. “Especially anybody driving (on) a north-south roadway, that’s going to have that crosswind and that’ll make things a little bit bumpy.”
According to Boxell, most of Wednesday’s snow likely will be north of Racine County.
“If anybody’s traveling north — like you’re traveling north toward the Green Bay area, for instance — those snow showers are going to be much more widespread as you get up into central and northern Wisconsin,” he said.
Winds will slow to 25-30 mph on Thanksgiving Day, but temperatures will drop, Boxell said, with highs expected at 30-32 degrees Fahrenheit in Racine and Kenosha counties.
More snow is possible Friday into Saturday night. Boxell said the NWS could not give accumulation estimates as of Tuesday morning.
Who will be traveling this holiday weekend?
AAA predicted 1.65 million Wisconsin residents will travel at least 50 miles from home between Tuesday, Nov. 25, and Monday, Dec. 1.
This is a 2% increase from last year and a new record for Thanksgiving travel in the state, according to AAA.
About 1.45 million Wisconsinites will travel by car, a 1.7% increase from last year; 140,550 will travel by air; and more than 50,000 will travel by bus, train or cruise, AAA said.
Summer Hegranes, marketing coordinator at the Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, said the airport expects a similar travel volume to last Thanksgiving, with about 20,000 passengers departing from and arriving to Milwaukee for the holiday.
She said the Milwaukee airport does not foresee significant delays over the holiday weekend.
Winter parking rules begin Dec. 1 in Racine: What drivers should know
Holly Gilvary
RACINE — The city's annual winter parking rules take effect Dec. 1 and will run through April 1, except for Dec. 25 and Jan. 1.
The city will enforce alternate-side overnight parking from 2-6 a.m. Drivers must park on the even-numbered side of the street on even-numbered calendar days, and on the odd-numbered side of the street on odd-numbered calendar days.
Violations may result in a citation.
When a snow emergency is declared, no parking is permitted on arterial or collector streets for the duration of the emergency. Vehicles parked on these roads will be towed.
On local streets, alternate-side parking (based on the next day's date) begins when the emergency is declared and continues until the following morning at 6 a.m.
City of Racine launches new official website
Holly Gilvary
RACINE — The City of Racine has launched a new official website, cityofracinewi.gov.
This marks the first complete redesign of the city's digital presence in a decade, according to a news release.
The redesigned site offers a secure ".gov" address; improved navigation; a mobile-friendly layout; streamlined menus; integrated service links for paying bills, reporting issues and applying for permits; built-in feedback options for residents to report broken links or suggest improvements; increased accessibility features; and enhanced search tools, the city said.
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| The screenshot show the homepage of the City of Racine's new website -- cityofracinewi.gov. |
Pages also can be translated into Spanish, Danish, French, Japanese and Portuguese.
Visitors to the old website will be automatically redirected to cityofracinewi.gov during the transition period.
City staff email addresses will continue to use the "@cityofracine.org" domain.
OnPoint Insights, a U.S.-based digital transformation and data solutions company, partnered with the city to develop the new website.
Monday, November 24, 2025
Slender Man stabbing defendant found in Illinois after escaping group home
Anna Kleiber
Geyser, now 23, went missing from her group home Nov. 22 after she cut off her Department of Corrections monitoring bracelet. She had last been seen in the area of Kroncke Drive around 8 p.m. with an adult acquaintance, according to Madison police.
It remains unclear why 12 hours passed between when she was last seen and when police and the public were notified.
She was taken into custody in Illinois around 10:34 p.m. Nov. 23, police said.
She had been granted conditional release earlier this year after a judge he saw no risk to the public or to her.
Geyser and co-defendant Anissa Weier were charged with the attempted homicide of their friend Payton Leutner, whom Geyser stabbed 19 times near Davids Park in Waukesha in May 2014. All three girls were 12 years old at the time.
Geyser and Weier said they believed they were doing the bidding of the fictional online character Slender Man. They were found not guilty by reason of mental defect or disease in 2017 and sentenced to mental confinement, Weier for 25 years, and Geyser for 40 years.
Anna Kleiber can be reached at akleiber@gannett.com.
Never, ever, trust "mental health experts." They are often menially ill themselves - that's why they got into the business in the first place. I've met dozens of them.
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