The Main Street Agenda is here to help you navigate these times. It is an election-year project designed to provide information and civil conversations about the issues Wisconsin voters care most about. The topics come from a UW Survey Center survey, WisconSays, that asked residents about the top issues they face.
September 4, 2024
Research
Why is dental care so hard to get in Wisconsin?
The share of Wisconsin dentists serving Medicaid patients is lower than the national average. In 21 counties, fewer than four out of every 10 dentists filed Medicaid claims in 2021 — and in seven counties, not one dentist did, according to the UW-Madison La Follette School analysis. The numbers were similar in Dane County, where about six out of 10 dentists filed no Medicaid claims that year and less than one-third of Medicaid patients received dental care.
Higher Education/System
UW tuition promise programs finding success, but need funding
For years, national surveys of students and families have shown the cost to attend college heavily influences where high school students choose to enroll. Educators in Wisconsin have taken that seriously.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison launched Bucky’s Tuition Promise in 2018. The program covers a student’s tuition for four years if the family has a household income of $65,000 or less.
Hearing set on revoking tenure of former UW-La Crosse chancellor who made porn
Former UW-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow will have one last chance to keep his teaching job when the UW Board of Regents meets later this month to decide whether to revoke his tenure over pornographic films he produced with his wife.
FAFSA fiasco, Supreme Court ruling on race may affect UW enrollment
UW-Madison will conduct its official student census on the tenth day of classes. Roughly 8,400 first-year students and another 1,400 transfer students are expected to enroll this fall, the university estimated in late August. Over 70,000 applicants sought a spot in the incoming class.
Community pushes for UW-Oshkosh Fox Cities educational buildings to stay open
In less than nine months, the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh will close its Fox Cities branch, leaving an unknown future for its campus facilities.
Campus life
Students return to UW-Madison for start of fall semester
Mark Charter was live on campus during Wake Up Wisconsin learning more about the upcoming opportunities for students.
UW-Madison welcomes new students at convocation
“The plurality that makes UW-Madison special includes you. Emphatically,” Mnookin told the gathered students. “You create the tapestry that makes us who we are.”
UW Madison educates freshmen, transfers on campus land history
Before freshmen hit the classrooms, the university educated students on the land they will be walking on for the next four years. Students watched a video highlighting areas of significance during the 2024 Student Convocation on Tuesday afternoon.
State news
Wisconsin’s prison population swells as other states limit incarceration
Extended periods of supervision after release from prison do little to improve public safety, according to Cecelia Klingele, a University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School professor of criminal law. The long terms “may interfere with the ability of those on supervision to sustain work, family life and other pro-social connections to their communities,” she wrote in a 2019 study examining 200 revocation cases.
“Fewer, more safety-focused conditions will lead to fewer unnecessary revocations and more consistency in revocation for people whose behavior poses a serious threat to public safety,” she added.
Wisconsin voter ID law still causing confusion, stifles turnout in Milwaukee, voting advocates say
“It’s a small factor compared to not liking the candidates or not caring about the outcome,” said Barry Burden, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of the Elections Research Center. His university colleagues published a 2017 study on the effect of the law.
Crime and safety
Sexual assault reported at UW residence hall
Incident occurred at west campus residence hall early Sunday morning, victim and offender allegedly know each other.
Sexual assault reported in west campus residence hall
The incident occurred at 1:00 a.m. Sunday morning and the individual did not report it to UWPD, according to an email UW-Madison sent to students Tuesday.
Agriculture
The emerald ash borer is now in every Wisconsin county. But the fight isn’t over. Why?
Homeowners and communities can also take steps to slow the spread. Ash trees should be checked out for emerald ash borer symptoms, and insecticides can be applied according to guidelines provided by a certified arborist or the University of Wisconsin extension. Trees can also be removed, and replaced with non-susceptible species.
Arts & Humanities
10 diverse children’s books with Wisconsin connections
But the number of diverse children’s books and creators has significantly increased since then, the Cooperative Children’s Book Center found. The CCBC is based in the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education and receives funding from the state Department of Public Instruction. It reviews the diversity of both content and creators of about 3,500 children’s and young adult books each year.
“Children are curious learners, and are most naturally interested in themselves and also in understanding the world they live in,” CCBC Director Tessa Schmidt said. “Books should offer children the opportunity to see themselves, as well as people in their local and global communities.”
Health
A probiotic called Akkermansia claims to boost health. Does it work?
While there’s a “much larger body of evidence” suggesting beneficial metabolic effects of akkermansia, the studies pointing to potential downsides should not be ignored, said Federico Rey, a microbiologist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison who studies the relationship between the gut microbiome and cardiometabolic disease. “The overwhelming data suggests that akkermansia is good for your metabolic health, but there’s also data suggesting that it might not be good for other conditions,” he added. “There’s a lot of moving parts we still have to understand before making general recommendations.”
Athletics
Fix coming for info missing from Camp Randall’s new video board at Wisconsin opener
The down and distance to gain were displayed, but there was no indication of what yard line the ball was on. That’ll change for Week 2 when the Badgers host South Dakota on Saturday, a Wisconsin official said.
Business/Technology
J. Michael Collins on the US economy and low wage workers
UW-Madison La Follette School of Public Affairs professor J. Michael Collins discusses low unemployment, higher pay and stock market growth as economic indicators amid experiences of low wage workers.
UW Experts in the News
A Democracy With Everything but a Choice
“The distribution of offices does not align with the distribution of voters,” said Barry C. Burden, who heads the Election Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.