Mauriel Rodriguez Curras and UW-Madison ecology professor Jonathan Pauli collected DNA from foxes’ and martens’ scat and hair to investigate spatial, dietary and behavioral habits before wolves were introduced, within the first year of introduction and as packs coalesced on the island.
July 25, 2024
Research
Smith: National Wild Turkey Federation gathers in Wisconsin to celebrate species’ restoration
The Wisconsin turkey reintroduction was a partnership of the DNR and NWTF. Tom Yuill, a University of Wisconsin professor and wildlife disease expert, provided health testing of the birds.
Foam on Wisconsin water bodies may contain high levels of ‘forever chemicals’
Christine Remucal, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at UW-Madison, graduate student Sarah Balgooyen and other researchers looked at foam and surface water samples collected between 2020 and 2023, from areas across the state.
Inspired by Doritos as a child, a UW-Madison scientist cracked the secret of no-melt ice cream
As a graduate student at University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wicks created ice cream that doesn’t melt even after four hours at room temperature. While her concoction isn’t ready for consumption, her work could change the way we eat, store, and transport the beloved dairy treat.
Higher Education/System
Thousands of Wisconsin high schools students will be directly admitted to UW schools for 2025
Universities of Wisconsin schools will soon be offering admission to tens of thousands of Wisconsin high school seniors without receiving applications.
Legislative committee on future of UW draws skepticism, hope
The state Legislature has formed a study committee to discuss possible reforms and restructuring of the Universities of Wisconsin.
Even if they didn’t apply, some Wisconsin students to get admission offers from UW schools
Incoming high school seniors, check your inboxes: You may have just gotten into college without even applying.
Ten of the state’s public universities will send acceptance letters starting next week through a new “direct admissions” program. Eligible students at participating schools will be automatically admitted to universities based on their grades and coursework at the end of their junior year, essentially bypassing the traditional application process.
Direct Admit Wisconsin offers to be delivered next week
In a news conference Wednesday, Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman said students should check their high school email addresses for the notifications.
Direct admissions program to most UW schools starts next week
Starting next week, tens of thousands of high school students across Wisconsin will be offered admission to a Universities of Wisconsin campus for the 2025-2026 school year — without applying.
UW Direct Admit program starts sending acceptances next week
Most of the UW schools are participating in the program with the exception of some of the largest campuses in the system- UW-Madison, UW-Eau Claire and UW-La Crosse.
Campus life
Bursting the Bubble: How campus design can keep students trapped
As a former campus tour guide, I was often asked what made the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s campus so special. My answer? For a long time, I would tell incoming students a variety of answers: Lake Mendota, gameday culture or lakeshore in the fall.
But after living on Stanford University’s campus for the last month, that’s changed: what makes UW-Madison’s campus so special is our ability to leave it.
A last look at the Shell before it’s demolished for Wisconsin’s new practice facility
Events of all kinds have taken place under the arch of the 1,600-ton concrete roof in the Camp Randall Sports Center over the last 68 years.
State news
People in assisted living are getting sicker. Wisconsin isn’t ready to keep them safe.
Barbara Bowers, a long-term care researcher and professor emerita at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Nursing, said she is “astounded” by the medical complexity of the people in assisted living today.
“They look a lot like, 10 years ago, the people in nursing homes,” she said.
Health
The best pregnancy-safe deodorants, according to experts
Dr. Apple Bodemer, a board-certified dermatologist and associate professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, told us that she’s a fan of this deodorant since it won’t cause irritation, as it’s free of baking soda. Instead, it uses arrowroot powder and cornstarch to help you stay dry. The creamy formula is also infused with nourishing ingredients like coconut oil, castor seed oil and blueberry leaf extract
Athletics
So you didn’t get Wisconsin football season tickets: Now what?
As the summer calendar quickly turns toward August, University of Wisconsin-Madison students are gearing up for the new football season.
4 women from UW-Madison’s rowing team will compete for gold at Paris Olympics
The old joke about rowing, Lauren O’Connor said, is that it’s the only sport to have roots as a form of corporal punishment.
“You could go to prison, or you could row on the boats that were taking people across the ocean and doing this really, really hard labor,” she said.
O’Connor, who is from the village of Belleville — population 2,591 — is one of four women from the University of Wisconsin-Madison who will be competing in rowing at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Rose Lavelle stats, USWNT soccer career, more for 2024 Paris Olympics
Lavelle was a four-year starter for the University of Wisconsin from 2013-16. She earned Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Year honors as a freshman in 2023 after scoring six goals and seven assists across 19 appearances.
Wisconsin football players react to unique stadium they’ll play in this fall
Northwestern is building a new stadium to replace the drab Ryan Field, but that move left the program unhoused for this season and next. The solution in Evanston is a hybrid schedule in which the football program will host games at Martin Stadium, its soccer and lacrosse facility on Lake Michigan, and play November games at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The Badgers game against Northwestern on Oct. 19 is one of two Big Ten games at Martin Stadium.
Business/Technology
What really happens when you donate to charity at checkout? You asked, we answered
“I just always wondered: Does the money really get where they’re telling me it’s going?” Grimm asked Public Investigator. “Do they get a tax break?”
The short answer is yes and no.
Yes, the money customers donate at the cash register does go to the appropriate organization or cause, said Ross Milton, assistant professor of public affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and tax expert.
“Assuming that they are following the law,” Milton added. And no, businesses can’t receive a tax break for donations raised by customers, Milton said. If the donations aren’t made with the business’s money, it can’t collect the tax benefits, Milton explained.
New report shows home insurance rates are skyrocketing — this interactive tool can help you save on bills where it counts
Historically, getting an up-close look at home insurance costs across the U.S. has been almost impossible because private insurers don’t publicly disclose what they charge. Benjamin Keys, a professor of real estate at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, and Philip Mulder, a professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Business, have found a workaround.
UW Experts in the News
Misinformation surrounds us. Is it more dangerous than we think?
“Repeated messages tend to be stickier than things you only see once,” Dr. Michael Wagner, director of the Center for Communication and Civic Renewal at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told The Daily Cardinal. “Seeing the same kind of misinformation over and over, is more likely to have a sustained effect on somebody’s attitudes.”
Why Wisconsin’s court order against a CAFO farm was so unusual
Jeffrey Hadachek, a UW-Madison economist who studies agriculture, called the case a milestone in the state’s oversight of a growing sector in farming. Nationwide, researchers estimate 90% of American livestock is now raised at a CAFO with each having over 1,000 animals.
“This sets a precedent, not only for the DNR, but for the public in general that these are cases which can be brought forward,” Hadachek said. “These regulations, laws and policies are in place for a reason.”
UW-Madison Related
UW program administrators unenroll disabled student from study program, spark calls for accommodations reform
When Nikhita Steward-Trivedi searched for academic programs this summer, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Accelerated Learning Program (ALP) caught their eye.
‘Jerry Apps Day’ honors life of Madison’s prolific writer, historian
Jerry was a county extension agent and a professor of agriculture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for about 30 years. After his retirement in the early 1990s, he pivoted to writing full-time and penned more than 50 fiction and nonfiction books.
Voter registration online or by mail closes July 24
The City said students can provide a certified housing list from UW-Madison or Edgewood College, but must also show college ID. Staff at the City Clerk’s office will assist with any voter needs.