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January 16, 2025

Research

How California’s wildfires could lead to higher insurance costs for the rest of the country

Barron's

Expect more increases ahead. “If you are thinking about housing expenses, you probably shouldn’t rely on historical data on premiums and don’t assume that this is a high point that will be a flash in the pan,” says one of the paper’s authors, Philip Mulder, a University of Wisconsin professor of risk and insurance.

‘They would have been small, it would have been very cute’: UW-Madison researchers discover newest, oldest dinosaur in northern hemisphere

WISC — CBS Channel 3

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have discovered a completely new dinosaur in Wyoming, the oldest in the Northern Hemisphere. “I say: ‘I have a dinosaur,’ and people are very underwhelmed when I’m like, ‘and here it is!’,” Dave Lovelace said, taking the rock-sized ankle bone out of a box. “It’s one of the most important bones, probably that I’ll have ever found in my career.”

Higher Education/System

These Wisconsin specialty license plates were the most popular in 2024

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Anyone can show their love for the Wisconsin Badgers with this plate — it’s not just available to alumni. While the UW-Madison plate is the most popular, you can choose a plate logo for any of the other UW System campuses.

The annual donation associated with the plate is $20, less than the typical $25. Proceeds support scholarship programs at the selected campus.

Arts & Humanities

Bad Bunny is a better leader for Puerto Rico than its politicians

MSNBC

This “love letter to Puerto Rico,” as one headline about the album puts it, isn’t just entertainment. Working with Jorell Meléndez-Badillo of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of “Puerto Rico: A National History,” Bad Bunny includes 17 mini-history lessons about the island, one for each song.

“[Bad Bunny] was really interested in having that sort of historical component, so people were not only listening to the songs on YouTube, but learning their history while they do so,” Meléndez-Badillo told the Los Angeles Times.

Health

Madison bakery ahead of the curve as FDA bans Red No. 3 food dye

Spectrum News

Audrey Girard is a food scientist and assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Girard explained why the effort has taken a long time. “We have other natural additives, but a lot of times they’re more expensive and not as stable,” Girard said.

Girard explained that a scientific study on rats — completed more than 40 years ago in the 1980s — first raised health concerns about the dye. “At high ingestion levels, rats can have adverse effects, like growing tumors,” Girard said.“At high ingestion levels, rats can have adverse effects, like growing tumors,” Girard said.

Business/Technology

How layoffs at local TV news stations affect Wisconsin communities

Wisconsin Public Radio

Mike Wagner, a journalism professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told “Wisconsin Today” that these types of reductions are becoming more common in local television across the state and country.

“We’re seeing local television stations experience less investment from their owners,” Wagner said. “Reporters are tasked with doing more stories for more newscasts, plus do stuff for the web, plus do stuff for social media, all in the job of also trying to chase down the verifiable truth about important matters for their audience.”

UW-Madison Related

Number of WPR listeners, PBS Wisconsin viewers shrinking

The Capital Times

“We are watching all of those things very closely to ensure that we’re meeting Wisconsinites where they want to consume public media,” said Jordan Siegler, interim executive director of the Division of Public Media at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which along with the Educational Communications Board oversees PBS Wisconsin and Wisconsin Public Radio.

An ice castle rises in Wisconsin’s North Woods

Wisconsin State Journal

“I put it together and then we talk about it. It’s not like we have an architect,” said Anderson, who shared the design with his classmates in an MBA program he’s in at UW-Madison. “The comradery we have in our leadership corps really helps in our construction process. But our volunteer firefighters are really what makes this happen.”