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October 2, 2025

Top Stories

FAFSA opens despite government shutdown

Wisconsin Public Radio

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, for the 2026 academic year went live Wednesday as scheduled, despite the government shutdown.

Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman is urging high school students and their families to fill out FAFSA paperwork if students plan to attend one of the state’s 13 public schools or other private colleges.

Research

Bipartisan legislation would create a Wisconsin registry for Parkinson’s Disease cases

Wisconsin Examiner

The draft legislation calls for the establishment of a registry at the Department of Population Health Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. The registry would include a website with annual reports on the incidence and prevalence of Parkinson’s Disease in Wisconsin.

Fall wildlife, and the impact of antibiotics pollution on frogs

Wisconsin Public Radio

For another Wildlife Wednesday, emeritus professor and UW Extension wildlife ecologist Scott Craven joins us to talk about fall hunting seasons, the cost of poaching, and the latest on wolves in Wisconsin.

Antibiotic drugs are polluting waterways and exacerbating the spread of an infectious fungal disease in frogs and salamanders. We talk to Jessica Hua, an associate professor in UW-Madison’s Forest and Wildlife Ecology Department, about new research on the subject.

Local industries impacted by government shutdown

Spectrum News

Barret Elward is an engineer at UW-Madison, and co-president of United Faculty and Academic Staff (UFAS) Local 223, the union that represents faculty and staff at UW-Madison.

Elward and his team study fusion energy. Their work is mainly funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, which is directly affected by the government shutdown.

“We’ve already been operating under don’t buy the expensive things, or be really cautious about your expenses,” Elward said.

Higher Education/System

UW-Madison international enrollment drops to lowest in a decade

The Daily Cardinal

The University of Wisconsin-Madison international student enrollment fell to its lowest point in at least a decade, reflecting a national trend caused by shifting visa policies in the United States.

More than 67,000 students applied to UW-Madison this admission cycle, making it the most competitive applicant pool the university has ever seen. But the number of enrolled international students dropped by 30%, reaching its lowest point since at least 2013.

Campus life

UW panel discusses impact of housing quality on equity, well-being

The Badger Herald

The University of Wisconsin’s Institute for Research on Poverty hosted a webinar Sept. 30 to examine the impact of housing quality on families and communities — focusing on health, stability and the lasting effects of discriminatory policies such as redlining.

The event featured presentations from senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Erik Hembre, Emory University assistant professor of epidemiology Christine Ekenga and Boston University assistant professor of sociology Steven Schmidt.

UW students to lose local abortion access

The Daily Cardinal

University of Wisconsin-Madison students will no longer have access to local abortion services, as Madison’s East Planned Parenthood clinic will pause performing abortions in October, forcing students seeking care to travel to the closest clinic located in Rockford, Ill. or independent practices in Milwaukee.

Arts & Humanities

Health

Flu, COVID-19 vaccines available at UW Health

WMTV - Channel 15

Dr. Jim Conway, medical director of the UW Health immunization program and infectious disease physician with UW Health Kids, stressed the importance of vaccines to protect yourself and your loved ones respiratory illness season kicks off.

“By getting vaccinated, you decrease your chances of getting infected, or, if you do get infected, it’s more likely to be a milder case,” said Conway, who is also a professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. “Everyone who can, should get the vaccines, but especially those who are 65 and older or individuals with high-risk factors.”

Ascension Wisconsin no longer in-network for patients with UnitedHealthcare after talks fail

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

In the short term, it will also force patients to rethink their upcoming health care appointments, said Dan Sacks, associate professor of risk and insurance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“It absolutely puts people in this impossible situation where you’re signed up for a plan that you thought covered your provider, and then it turns out it doesn’t for three months,” he said.