WSUM Daily Newscast

INTRO GOOD (DAY) EVENING MADISON! YOU’RE LISTENING TO THE 5/6 O’CLOCK NEWS UPDATE ON WSUM 91.7 FM MADISON STUDENT RADIO. I’M TALULA HAYES.

IN THE NEWS TODAY,

IN STATE NEWS,
A Minnesota-based cooperative announced it is spending 700 million dollars to build a soybean processing plant in Evansville on Monday. This will be the nation’s second largest soybean crushing facility and will create 80 permanent jobs. The plant will have the capacity to hold 80 million bushels of soybeans each year and turn them into soybean meal and oil. Wisconsin produces 100 to 110 million bushels of soybeans per year already. The demand comes from local livestock farmers, who are in need of more soybean meal for animals’ feed. The CHS, the company creating this plant, is planning on beginning construction this fall and completing it in fall of 2028. Currently, Wisconsin does not have a major soybean processing facility, so grain farmers have to send the beans out of the state for processing. This means they’re losing a profit with the cost of shipping, and prices should increase for farmers in the area. The project is supported through a tax increment financing agreement with the city of Evansville.

IN NATIONAL NEWS,
The Supreme Court rejects Trump’s mail ballot restrictions ahead of midterm elections on Monday. Voting has already begun, and this decision allows for states to continue sending out their mail ballots under the same process used previously. Mail in ballots typically count for a third of votes cast. Trump is pushing for what he sees as ensuring election integrity, however there is little evidence of fraud with mail ballots. The Supreme Court claims that the push to uphold these restrictions will likely lose in court and the emergency order did not give enough substantial reasoning. Justice Samuel Alito dissented, claiming the Postal Service has broad authority to regulate the mail and has the power to enforce Trump’s restrictions. However, Justice Brett Kavanaugh claimed the restrictions should not begin for midterms but if the issue comes up at a later date he may rule in favor. Election officials claim there is no way they would be able to overhaul mail in ballots before the midterms, as Alabama, North Carolina and Wisconsin voters have already begun sending them in. Trump’s plan would require states to adopt a uniform envelope style and have voters submit to an online portal, with the Postal Service having jurisdiction over ballots to states that did not comply.

IN INTERNATIONAL NEWS,
The Trump administration is stripping tens of millions of dollars in U.S. military aid from Europe and the Mideast to support Trump-aligned nations on Tuesday. The State Department notified Congress they will reprogram $52 million dollars. The funding will be stripped from Slovakia, North Macedonia, Tunisia and Iraq and given to Panama, Peru, Ecuador and Columbia. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited these countries last week and pledged to give them aid as the administration has prioritized the Western hemisphere. There is a focus on their foreign policy in combating drug trafficking and illegal immigration. This reduction in money or troop deployments to Europe is consistent with Trump’s claim that NATO allies are not spending enough on defense. North Macedonia and Slovakia are both NATO members. These governments align with Trump’s right-wing movement and Trump is celebrating the renewal of the 19th century Monroe Doctrine, establishing dominance in the Americas. Foreign military financing will provide the countries with U.S. taxpayer dollars and allow them to purchase military equipment from American defense contractors.

IN ECONOMIC NEWS,
Median US household income rose to the highest number ever last year. The median income level rose by 2.6% up to $87,460. Despite the increase many Americans report feeling uncertain about income with rises in prices in groceries, utilities and housing. Both sides of the political spectrum have acknowledged the rising prices and crisis it has created. Meanwhile, the poverty rate dipped by half a percentage point to 10.2% in 2025, and the uninsured rate stayed essentially the same at 7.9%. The poverty rate for children fell a percentage point to 13.4%, the lowest on record. Women in full-time year-round jobs earned 83.9% of what their male counterparts did in 2025, up from 80.6%. The jump, which follows two years of declines in the earnings ratio, is the first statistically significant annual increase since 2016.
For WSUM News, I’m Nathan Jahn

OUTRO: THANK YOU FOR TUNING IN! FROM THE WSUM NEWS BOOTH, I’M TALULA HAYES. HAVE A GREAT EVENING MADISON!