The future of UW-Madison’s new engineering building, as well as other Universities of Wisconsin building priorities, is again in limbo after Republicans on the state’s Building Commission refused to reallocate nearly $70 million in state funds.
December 19, 2024
Top Stories
Research
Sandhill crane committee supports hunting, and solar farms can accommodate crops
Can large solar farms and cultivated crops coexist? Our guests says “yes.” Agrivoltaics is the convergence of agriculture and solar farms, which is the area of study of UW-Madison hydrologist and professor Steven Loheide and professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences Ankur Desai.
TikTok influencers are driving raw milk sales – Here’s why it’s still a bad idea
What these idealists forget is that while people used to live on more natural products, they were also pretty unhealthy. According to John A. Lucey, PhD, a professor of food science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and director of the Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research, it’s estimated that in 1938, pre-pasteurisation, milk-borne outbreaks constituted 25% of all disease outbreaks (related to food and water) in the United States. Now, they make up fewer than 1%.
Higher Education/System
UW-Madison engineering building funds denied by State Building Commission
The State Building Commission denied a motion to allow $70 million in underspent funds to be used for a series of planned Universities of Wisconsin projects including the new engineering building at UW-Madison.
Robin Vos wants to mirror Elon Musk’s DOGE committee in Wisconsin
Q: Would you support a change in the university’s governance structure or spinning off the University of Wisconsin-Madison from the rest of the Universities of Wisconsin?
A: I supported those ideas in the past, so I’m certainly open to having discussions, but our caucus has had no discussion about any of those kinds of things.
Republicans stall UW-Madison engineering building again, citing transparency concerns
The new University of Wisconsin-Madison engineering building is again in peril.
Republican lawmakers rejected the UW System’s request to increase the project’s $347 million budget by $73 million during a State Building Commission meeting Wednesday. The ask to bump up the budget was based on increased costs and design changes, including an additional floor for business partnership opportunities.
Fate of UW-Madison’s new engineering building up in the air after vote
Plans for a new, long-awaited engineering building at the University of Wisconsin-Madison face another obstacle after the State Building Commission denied a request Wednesday to adjust funding and approve construction.
Wisconsin copies DOGE with new committee focusing on wasteful spending
Nedweski outlined a plan to address possible inefficiencies within Milwaukee Public Schools, the University of Wisconsin, the Department of Safety and Professional Services, and law enforcement. She is known for her efforts to shut down a Kenosha Unified School District board meeting in 2021 as a member of Moms for Liberty. Nedweski and others appeared at the meeting, holding signs that read, among other things, “We do not co-parent with the government.”
Building Commission turns down UW request to use unspent money on engineering building
The request came after bids for projects in Eau Claire came in well under budget. However, the commission shot down the request due to what Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu called a lack of transparency.
State news
Abortions in Wisconsin halved immediately after Roe was overturned, new CDC report says
“The really shocking number [in this report] is the dramatic decline in abortions provided in Wisconsin in 2022, and we know that that’s largely a result of the Supreme Court’s decision that overturned federal protections for abortion,” said Dr. Jane Seymour, a research scientist for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Collaborative for Reproductive Equity (CORE).
Crime and safety
Mystery around Natalie Rupnow’s mother as questions remained unanswered
The University of Wisconsin police department told Newsweek on Wednesday via email: “Madison Police Communications staff are very overwhelmed right now, and it is our understanding that they are not releasing any information about victims, names, ages, parents, etc. at this time.
“When they are ready to release more information they will through media sources, is what we have been informed of.”
Health
You have depression, PTSD, anxiety. Then, without even an exam, your leave is denied. How?
His UW Health providers had determined he struggled with debilitating depression and anxiety, but the hired psychologist — using only chart notes — told the insurer he still could work. The insurer issued a denial Dec. 9, 2021.
1,000 patients a day: New UW Health clinic hits the ground running
UW Health’s new Eastpark Medical Center has seen an average of 1,000 patients a day in the month since it opened, an immediate wave of demand that reinforces the clinic’s goal of addressing a regional need, a top official says.
UW-Madison Related
Column: After an oil spill, he took a vow of silence. Today he preaches kindness
During his years of not speaking, Francis earned a PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied oil spills. Then in 1989, after the Exxon Valdez tanker ran aground in Alaska’s Prince William Sound, spilling nearly 11 million gallons of crude oil, the U.S. Coast Guard asked him to help write new pollution regulations.
This Hanukkah and Christmas, remember it takes all of us to stand up to hate
At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Muslim student collaborated with Jewish Social Services, the Alpha Lambda Rho Muslim interest sorority and campus student services offices to pack essential items for newly arrived refugees.