Includes interview with Dr. Tanya Schlam, a UW-Madison researcher, about how Wisconsin could improve its response to tobacco use.
Funding for victim services, Wisconsin ski jumpers, New tobacco studies
Wisconsin Public Radio
February 14, 2024
Research
Valentines for your dog? It’s one way we treat pets like family
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Valentine’s Day reminds us to show our love to the important people in our lives. We usually declare our romantic love, but sometimes all the hearts and flowers remind us to express our love to others who are important in our lives as well. For a lot of us, this could mean our dogs. About half of U.S. households keep dogs as pets. Not only in word, but also in deed, many people express their love for their dogs not merely as pets, but as family.
Written by David L. Weimer is the Edwin E. Witte Professor of Political Economy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He is coauthor with Aidan R. Vining of “Dog Economics: Perspectives on Our Canine Relationships” (Cambridge University Press 2024).
UW survey shows parents of Wisconsin children struggle with finances
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Written by Sarah Halpern-Meekin, a Professor of Public Affairs with the La Follette School of Public Affairs and the Vaughn Bascom Professor of Women, Family, and Community in the School of Human Ecology.
Higher Education/System
State legislature passes bill ensuring top 5% of high schoolers admitted to UW-Madison
Badger Herald
Other UW campuses required to admit top 10%.
Legislature sends UW ‘automatic admission’ bill to Evers’ desk
Wisconsin Public Radio
State universities would be required to admit the top academic performers from Wisconsin high schools under a Republican measure passed by state lawmakers Tuesday.
Universities of WI would admit all top-performing high schoolers under bill
Associated Press
The University of Wisconsin-Madison would be required to admit all high school students who finish in the top 5% of their class, and other campuses would have to admit those in the top 10%, under a bill passed Tuesday by the state Senate that’s part of a deal reached between the Legislature and university
Campus life
RecWell encourages body positivity, inclusive recreation spaces through new initiatives
Badger Herald
University of Wisconsin Recreation and Wellbeing recently posted signs with messages such as “You are powerful” in recreational spaces across campus. The signage is designed to encourage body positivity, and is part of a larger campaign run by RecWell to support all students on campus regardless of identity, according to RecWell Associate Director of Marketing and Communications Sarah Barnes.
New sustainability center to be built on south shore of Lake Mendota
Badger Herald
A new visitor and education center located on the south shore of Lake Mendota was recently funded by a $14.3 million gift from Jerry Frautschi — a Madison philanthropist.
Madison’s Picnic Point is getting a $14.3 million sustainable visitors center and a makeover
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Lakeshore Nature Preserve’s Picnic Point, hiking trails and small Lake Mendota beaches provide an easy-to-access natural oasis just steps from downtown Madison and the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.
And soon, the thousands of students, Madisonians and others who visit the spot each year will be welcomed by a new “front door” when they arrive at the 300-acre natural area.
State news
Madison-Milwaukee tech hub gets near-unanimous support in Legislature
The Capital Times
Other members of Wisconsin’s tech hub consortium include businesses (GE HealthCare, Accuray, Exact Sciences, Plexus and Rockwell Automation), colleges and universities (Madison Area Technical College, Milwaukee Area Technical College, the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health and the Universities of Wisconsin), economic development agencies (Milwaukee7, Madison Region Economic Partnership and Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation) and workforce training organizations (Employ Milwaukee and WRTP | BIG STEP).
UW-Madison dorms might house law enforcement during 2024 RNC
Daily Cardinal
Exact details on which universities will have housing accommodations and the available rooms are still in the works. A UW-Madison spokesperson declined to identify to The Daily Cardinal which dorm or dorms may house law enforcement.
Crime and safety
UW-Madison police officer shoves pro-Palestine protester at career fair
Daily Cardinal
“You are being violent. We were peacefully protesting, and you were being violent,” the protester said in a subsequent video.
UW-Madison reviewing incident outside career fair after UWPD officer appears to shove protester
Channel 3000
In a statement to News 3 Now, UW-Madison spokesperson John Lucas said the university responded to multiple attempted disruptions at the career fair. Lucas said one person was cited at around 4:30 p.m. after they tried to disrupt the event and stop students from meeting with recruiters. That person was later released.
Agriculture
Is It Safe To Eat Moldy Cheese?
HuffPost
Some cheese varieties naturally have a moldy appearance, explained Mark Johnson, assistant director at the Center for Dairy Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The blue veins in a wedge of gorgonzola or the white rind on a wheel of brie are examples of mold.
Health
UW Health, Meriter to build rehabilitation hospital in Fitchburg
Wisconsin State Journal
UW Health and UnityPoint Health-Meriter, which have a rehabilitation hospital on Madison’s Far East Side, plan to open a second one in Fitchburg by 2026.
The US military is embedded in the gaming world. Its target: teen recruits
The Guardian
Scientific research has consistently shown that video games do not make people more violent. Playing games can, however, improve perceptual and cognitive functions, says Dr C Shawn Green, professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The Office of Naval Research funded Green to research how certain games (mainly shooters) improve warrior performance. “These games have lots of speed in them,” he says. “There’s lots of what we call ‘transient events’ – things pop up on the screen and disappear.” He says this can improve basic visual perception as well as heighten levels of cognition (such as working memory).
Opinion
Guest column: Three UW branch campuses set to shut down, diminish access to higher education
Badger Herald
Campuses that offered two-year programs set to shut down amidst funding, enrollment issues.
Business/Technology
UW students reflect on remote intern experiences as in-person work rises in Wisconsin
Badger Herald
Remote work in Wisconsin drops 11% as companies transition back to in-person work in wake of COVID-19 pandemic.
UW Experts in the News
Wisconsin Legislature adopts Gov. Tony Evers’ maps in bid to end legal challenge
Wisconsin State Journal
If Evers signs the proposal into law, one of the parties involved in the court case could ask the court to dismiss the case as moot, UW-Madison Law School associate professor Robert Yablon said.