Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers Marks Veterans Day: About 300,000 Veterans Call Wisconsin Home
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers released a Veterans Day video message in Madison on November 11, thanking the approximately 300,000 veterans who live across Wisconsin for their service to the state and the country and emphasising the importance of supporting veterans and their loved ones. Madison, in Dane County, Wisconsin, is the seat of the state government.
Evers proclaimed November 11, 2026, as Veterans Day and November 5-11, 2026, as Veterans Recognition Week in Wisconsin. In his message, marking the 250th anniversary of the nation's founding, he recalled the sacrifices of generations of Wisconsin service members, from the battlefields of Europe and the jungles of Vietnam to the mud and snow of Korea and the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan, and said the freedom Americans enjoy comes with a cost.
On jobs, Evers announced on November 10 that Wisconsin now ranks among the top three states in America for successfully helping connect veterans with available jobs and maintain employment, and has retained a top five national ranking for four consecutive years, thanks in large part to the Wisconsin Departments of Workforce Development (DWD) and Veterans Affairs (DVA).
Supporting veterans has been a priority of the administration since day one. In 2022, Evers signed Executive Order #157, creating a Blue Ribbon Commission on Veteran Opportunity, and invested $10 million based on its recommendations to expand access to higher education and job training, address housing insecurity, and increase mental and behavioural health support and substance use disorder treatment.
The 2025-27 Biennial Budget signed last year added $5 million to support the operations of the Wisconsin Veterans homes, $200,000 to increase transportation grants to counties, $50,000 to increase the grant amount for Camp American Legion, and a five percent increase for county veterans service officers and Tribal veterans service offices.
The budget also provides $2.5 million for a new grant program to fund housing and comprehensive support services for veterans, $35 million for capital building projects at the Wisconsin Veterans Homes, including plumbing repairs, lead abatement, boiler replacement and technology upgrades, with over $3.4 million devoted to continuing expansion of the Northern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery, and $5 million to support a grant for war memorials in populous counties.
Evers also continues to advocate increasing eligibility for the Veterans and Surviving Spouses Property Tax Credit and offering a credit to those who rent their homes, and investing in the University of Wisconsin Missing-in-Action Recovery and Identification Project. He closed his message by saying the nation's heroes should never have to worry about having a roof over their heads, and that veterans must be helped not just to survive, but to thrive.
(Source: Office of the Governor of Wisconsin)
Source: Office of the Governor of Wisconsin
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于威斯康星州 Madison 的退伍军人纪念体育馆（Veterans Memorial Coliseum）。照片：Dori 摄，CC BY 2.5，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Madison, Wisconsin. Photo by Dori, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.
