Applications opened today for the second round of We're All In Small Business Grants, which will distribute an additional $50 million to small businesses hit hard by the COVID-19 shutdowns. The program aims to provide 10,000 businesses around the state with $5,000 grants that can be used for any purpose.

The first phase of the program provided more than $65 million in grants to over 26,000 businesses statewide this summer.

Applications for the grants opened at 8 a.m. this morning, and will close at 11:59 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2. As with the previous round of We're All In Grants, awards will not be made on a first-come, first-served basis.

The grants are available to all eligible small businesses, including those that have previously received the first round of We’re All In Grants from WEDC. Priority will be given to businesses hardest hit by the pandemic, such as restaurants and taverns, hair and nail salons and barber shops, and other services.

The grants will be administered by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue in partnership with WEDC. Learn more about the program and apply at revenue.wi.gov.

To be eligible for the second round of We’re All In Grants, an applicant must:

For this round, applicants will not be required to obtain a letter of support from a local business group and will not have to submit tax information. This phase of We’re All In Grants will be administered by the Department of Revenue in partnership with WEDC.

Before applying for a grant, applicants should familiarize themselves with the eligibility requirements and limitations as well as the information and documentation required to apply. This information, along with the grant application, can be found at revenue.wi.gov. If you cannot apply online, you may request assistance by calling the Wisconsin Department of Revenue at 608.266.2772.

The state's Annual Fiscal Report (AFR), a report of actual financial data for the 2019-2020 fiscal year on a budgetary basis, showed some positive state fiscal news for once.

The AFR shows the state ended fiscal year 2019-2020 with a $1.172 billion balance. The state's rainy day fund also grew to $761.8 million benefiting from a $105.8 million deposit to the fund.

"Budgets passed by Republican legislatures over the last ten years have consistently resulted in surplus balances," Rep. John Nygren, Co-Chair of the Joint Finance Committee. "This year, Republican policies have resulted in more than a billion dollar balance and the largest rainy day fund in state history. We likely have challenging fiscal times ahead, but because of responsible actions by Republicans we are on a solid foundation."

Nygren added, "we should remember that when the Governor introduced his budget in 2019 he included no rainy day fund deposits and projected a nearly $2 billion structural deficit heading into the next budget biennium. Thankfully, his disastrous budget that exploded spending, increased taxes, and put us in the red was rejected and a more responsible path was charted by Republicans."

Governor Evers' office did not comment on the state's Annual Fiscal Report.

The Department of Workforce Development (DWD) last week released the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) preliminary employment estimates for the month of September. The data shows that Wisconsin added 23,800 total non-farm and 13,700 private-sector jobs in the month of September.

Wisconsin's unemployment rate for September was 5.4 percent, down from August's revised rate of 6.3 percent. The national unemployment rate for September was 7.9 percent. Wisconsin's labor force participation rate also increased 1.7 percent to 67.3 percent.

Of the jobs added in Wisconsin, "Accommodation and food service added 7,200 jobs, but remains down by 53,100 compared to the same time last year," according to the BizTimes. Durable goods manufacturing also added 3,700 jobs, but remains down 17,100 from the same time last year. Arts and entertainment added 2,100 jobs and remains down 11,700 from September 2019.

The educational services sector lost 6,100 jobs last month- 10,100 short of 2019.

The number of Americans applying for unemployment rose last week to 898,000. According to the U.S. Labor Department, the job market is still 10.7 million jobs short of the 22 million lost due to government shutdowns.

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction announced late last week that enrollment in the state's public school districts has dropped 3% statewide for the current school year- about 25,000 students.

According to the department, parents are choosing not to enroll their children in kindergarten during the ongoing COVID-19 dilemma. According to the Wisconsin State Journal, "The drop represents a significant acceleration in the steady enrollment declines during the past five years."

Parents are increasingly sending their children to private schools or opting to home school when their home school districts choose to teach children virtually rather than return to the classroom. Multiple large school districts across Wisconsin are reporting massive enrollment declines, including Janesville, Wausau, Madison, and more.

When asked about the voucher school enrollment numbers, the Department of Public Instruction said those numbers would not be available for weeks.

Senior members of the Senate Democrat Caucus, including Senator Chris Larson of Milwaukee, are calling for "all-virtual schooling."

In a statement last week, Larson said "we have to do everything we can to protect our students, educators, their families, and our communities by moving immediately to all-virtual instruction."

Friday was the final day for states to turn in their vaccine distribution plans to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. According to a Department of Health Services spokesperson, the state was on time in submitting its initial plans to the CDC. Evers' administration would not release the detailed plan to the media when asked.

Local government health department employees are also getting their plans in place, though early on in the process. Some government health departments are also scheduling practice drive-thru vaccination events while using the flu vaccine.

When the plans are ready, officials say health care workers and first responders will be prioritized to receive the initial doses. The second round of doses would be given to elderly and those with pre-existing conditions. Subsequent rounds would be used for everybody else.

On Thursday, the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) announced that it has postponed the transition to the new Wisconsin State Hemp Plan. Instead of implementing the State Hemp Plan, the department will continue to administer the Wisconsin Hemp Pilot Program for another year.

On October 1st, Congress acted to extend the authority of states to operate hemp pilot research programs until September 30, 2021. Due to their actions, DATCP is now in the process of extending the current hemp program that was authorized under the 2014 Farm Bill.

Under state law, DATCP must regulate the Wisconsin hemp industry to the extent required under federal law and in a manner that allows the greatest opportunity to "plant, grow, cultivate, harvest, produce, sample, test, process, transport, transfer, take possession of, sell, important, and export."

To ensure the program continuity, DATCP must devise a new emergency rule in order to extend the current hemp pilot program in Wisconsin. The emergency rule will convert the current Pilot Program licenses and registrations to new licenses and registrations under the continuing Hemp Program. The no-fee conversion will occur automatically without any necessary action by licensees.

Weekly Unemployment Insurance Claims:

Sunday, 2,362 (2020) vs. 400 (2019)

Monday, 5,002 (2020) vs. 882 (2019)

Tuesday 3,139 (2020) vs. 613 (2019)

Wednesday 2,554 (2020) vs. 549 (2019)

Thursday 2,302 (2020) vs. 513 (2019)

Friday 2,109 (2020) vs. 624 (2019)

Saturday 645 (2020) vs. 125 (2019)

Up-to-date information can be viewed by clicking here.