Press Release: Gov. Evers Honors Wisconsin Veterans on Veterans Day

State of Wisconsin sent this bulletin at 11/11/2026 05:00 AM CST
Office of Governor Tony Evers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 11, 2026
Contact: GovPress@wisconsin.gov 
 
Gov. Evers Honors Wisconsin Veterans on Veterans Day
 

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today recognized and celebrated Veterans Day with a video message honoring the approximately 300,000 veterans who live across Wisconsin, thanking them for their service to the state and country, and emphasizing the importance of supporting veterans and their loved ones.

Gov. Evers yesterday announced that Wisconsin now ranks among the top three states in America for successfully helping connect veterans with available jobs and maintain employment. Under Gov. Evers and the Evers Administration, thanks in large part to the efforts of the Wisconsin Departments of Workforce Development (DWD) and Veterans Affairs (DVA), Wisconsin has retained a top five national ranking for four consecutive years, underscoring the governor’s and his administration’s commitment to supporting Wisconsin’s veterans and working to ensure they have the resources and tools needed to thrive once they return to their civilian lives.

Gov. Evers proclaimed Nov. 11, 2026, as “Veterans Day” and Nov. 5-11, 2026, as “Veterans Recognition Week” in Wisconsin. The governor’s video message is available below.  
Gov. Evers 2026 Veterans Day Video Message Thumbnail
Supporting Wisconsin’s veterans and their families and ensuring they have the resources and tools needed to thrive has been a top priority for Gov. Evers and the Evers Administration since Day One. In 2022, Gov. Evers signed Executive Order #157, creating a Blue Ribbon Commission on Veteran Opportunity to develop comprehensive, long-term efforts to support the state’s veterans and address the challenges they face. Based on the Commission’s recommendations, Gov. Evers invested $10 million toward addressing gaps in existing veteran services and reducing barriers to economic security, including efforts to expand access to higher education and job training, address housing insecurity, and increase mental and behavioral health support and substance use disorder treatment. 

Additionally, the 2025-27 Biennial Budget signed by Gov. Evers last year built on the Evers Administration’s efforts over the past eight years to support Wisconsin’s veterans and their families, providing investments and provisions that will help expand access to affordable housing and comprehensive support services for veterans. This includes:
  • $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;   
  • Providing a five percent increase for county veterans service officers and Tribal veterans service offices that serve veterans in communities across the state; 
  • $2.5 million for a new grant program to fund housing and comprehensive support services to veterans;   
  • $35 million for needed capital building projects at the Wisconsin Veterans Homes to repair plumbing, abate lead, replace boilers, and improve technology, 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 to honor our nation’s heroes. 
The governor also continues to be a staunch advocate for increasing the eligibility for the Veterans and Surviving Spouses Property tax credit and offering a credit to those who rent their homes to provide tax relief to veterans and their families and investing in the University of Wisconsin Missing-in-Action Recovery and Identification Project, as well as fixing the failures of the Legislature in the 2025-27 state budget to invest in the Veteran Housing and Recovery Program (VHRP) that provides housing and supportive services to veterans. The governor believes these must continue to be top priorities for elected leaders in the state.

To learn more about resources and services available to veterans and their families in Wisconsin, visit DVA’s website. 

A transcript of Gov. Evers’ video message to veterans is available below.

Hey there, folks. Governor Tony Evers here.   

 

On Veterans Day, we are proud to honor the nearly 300,000 veterans who call our state home.   

 

From the battlefields of Europe to the jungles of Vietnam, and through the mud and snow in Korea and the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan, we owe our nation’s heroes a tremendous debt of gratitude.   

 

As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding this year, we reflect on the incredible sacrifices that have been made to see us here today.  

 

We are reminded that the freedom that we enjoy comes with a cost. And today, and every day, we honor the generations of Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Guardians, and Coast Guard members from Wisconsin and beyond who have answered the call to serve our nation.   

 

Throughout my tenure as governor, I fought to strengthen Wisconsin’s commitment to our service members, veterans, and their families, but we still have much more work to do to ensure our military and veteran community gets the support, benefits, and assistance they need and that they have earned through their service.    

 

That includes investments in education, employment, and job training. It includes supporting mental health services, peer-to-peer recovery, and treatment.   

 

And it includes expanding the Veterans and Surviving Spouses tax credit and investing in housing because our nation’s heroes should never have to worry about having a roof over their heads.  

 

We owe it to our veterans to work together to find meaningful solutions that allow our veterans not just to survive, but to thrive, because we share a duty and a responsibility to protect and defend all those who have protected and defended us.  

 

So, today, we reaffirm our commitment to our veterans. We must never turn our backs on them, and we thank them for the service and sacrifice on behalf of our state and nation.   

 

As we reflect on the past 250 years and look forward to the next 250, we must always remember those who answered the call to serve and that our nation endures today because of them.

So, happy Veterans Day, Wisconsin, and thank you.
An online version of this release is available here.
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