A former construction worker at Camp Randall Stadium settled for $22 million from a general contractor after burning over 70% of his body in an explosion in 2022, according to the man’s attorney.
Author: jnweaver
28 movies you should check out at the 2024 Milwaukee Film Festival
“String Theory: The Richard Davis Method”: Richard Davis, the legendary bass player who became a revered music professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, gets a much-deserved spotlight in this documentary portrait.
Why a Wisconsin voting site in Madison stayed open 90 minutes past the closing of polls
As polls closed throughout most of Wisconsin for this battleground state’s spring primary election, one voting site’s hours were extended by 90 minutes. The court-ordered adjustment was a response to what officials have chalked up to a mistake made by University of Wisconsin-Madison Memorial Union employees.
UW Health Transplant Center marks 20,000 organ transplants
This April, which marks Donate Life Month, the UW Health Transplant Center is reflecting on a major milestone. In Feb. 2024, surgeons completed the 20,000th organ transplant in the program’s history.
“Kind of top of mind is the fact that, how many people have helped that many people receive the gift of life,” Dr. Dixon Kaufman, UW Health Transplant Center’s medical director, said. “At the top of that list are all the organ donors [and] their families — the vast majority from our community and the state of Wisconsin. That … allows us to give the gift of life to so many people.”
Once near extinction, cranes are featured in a symposium at a Door County sanctuary
The symposium kicks off at 6 p.m. April 12 with a keynote presentation (via Zoom) by Stanley Temple of the University of Wisconsin-Madison on “The Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Then and Now: Is it Still Working?” Temple will talk about the first century of migratory bird protection and speculate about its future, given ongoing challenges from loss and degradation of habitat, collisions with human-made structures, predation by cats, pesticide poisoning and oil spills.
UW-Madison Professor Taylor Odle talks FAFSA delays
This year, the U.S. Department of Education revised their Free Application for Federal Student Aid – or FAFSA. They say that the new application is more user friendly and could broaden eligibility for federal aid by more than 600,000 students.
Learning about WisconsinEye, More evictions, Advancements in kidney disease research
The Massachusetts General Hospital recently completed the world’s first successful transplant of a genetically altered pig kidney. A pair of Wisconsin kidney specialists share their insights on this milestone. Then, we dive further into chronic kidney disease, including transplantation and dialysis. Includes interview with Dr. Didier Mandelbrot, the medical director of the UW Health Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation Program
Wisconsin dairy farms closely watching avian flu cases in cattle
Keith Poulsen, director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, said the case highlights the importance of immediate action by dairy farmers if they see disease symptoms in their animals, which can include decreased lactation and low appetite. He said the people working on a farm with sick animals should be monitored closely.
“We don’t think that it’s a significant public health threat at this point,” Poulsen said. “But just like in our farms with poultry (highly pathogenic) avian influenza, they’re getting a large challenge, so we need to watch them very closely, and make sure that everyone is provided with the best public health care that we have available.”
Concordia University to lay off 24 employees amid fiscal challenges
Concordia University Wisconsin will lay off 24 employees at its Mequon campus, according to a federal WARN Notice filed with the state Department of Workforce Development.
Surprise! Wisconsin scientists discover more eyes on daddy longlegs
In the dark, dungeon-like basement of Birge Hall at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, researcher Guilherme Gainett examined a tiny arachnid under a microscope and jumped from his chair in excitement.
Wisconsin Primary ballot features ‘Zuckerbucks’ measure: What to know
It is likely the election funding ballot initiative will pass, but it is hard to gauge voter turnout in a presidential primary when neither major party has a competitive contest, said Kenneth Mayer, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Zolper Properties warns tenants of potential rent increases if MPS referendum passes
University of Wisconsin-Madison public affairs assistant professor and property tax expert Ross Milton said it is hard to find academic literature with “real world evidence” of how higher property taxes are shared between tenants and landlords.
He said renters voting Tuesday should be aware that landlords can decide to make them bear the brunt of higher property taxes. However, Milton added that property companies can raise rent whenever they want in Wisconsin, regardless of a new tax. “We don’t have rent control in Wisconsin,” Milton said.
Gov. Evers vetoes bill to curb road salt use, citing broad immunity to salters from slip-and-fall suits
Potential solutions to the problem are ongoing across the state. Brining, where salt is mixed with water before being applied to roads, cleared Wisconsin highways faster and resulted in a 23% reduction in salt use on average, a study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison found. Some counties even use beet juice as a brining agent to allow the solution to work at colder temperatures, since standard road salt won’t work if it’s colder than 15 degrees.
Up to 40 percent of dementia cases are preventable, geriatrician says
One of the most common myths about dementia — a general impairment in thinking and memory — is that it’s a normal part of aging. But Dr. Nathaniel Chin, an assistant professor and geriatrician at UW Health, wants to bust that myth.
“There are plenty of people who live a really long and healthy life that never develop advanced thinking changes,” said Chin, the director of medical services with the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and host of the “Dementia Matters” podcast.
At a loss, surviving after the death of a loved one
Many people seek the help of professionals after the death of a spouse or partner. We talk with Shilagh Mirgain, a psychologist from UW Health, about what options are available and how to decide what is right for you.
Wisconsin experienced its warmest winter on record. But that doesn’t mean it’s time to plant your garden yet.
For the most part, the winter season was downright balmy, with only one small stretch of negative temperatures in January, making it the warmest on record for Wisconsin, said Steve Vavrus, Wisconsin’s state climatologist and the assistant director at the University of Wisconsin Madison’s Center for Climatic Research. The El Nino effect — which carries warm air from the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean across the U.S. — is largely to blame for the warmth.
“It was a full two degrees warmer than the previous record, which is a huge amount,” he said. “We had the warmest December on record. We had the warmest February on record and we had the 10th warmest January on record. So that really is extreme in terms of consistent warmth over a whole season.”
Political divides, declining population are causing fewer people to run in rural local elections
Reasons for the lack of candidates include the time commitment matched with lack of monetary compensation as well as declining participation in local government, according to Barry Burden, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“The positions often entail significant time commitments, do not provide much if any monetary compensation, and subject people to complaints, criticism, and even harassment,” Burden told The Post-Crescent.
UWPD launches one-button alert for deadly threats
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Police Department (UWPD) launched a one-button alert system. The new tool aims to accelerate critical emergency notifications during a deadly, active threat.
UW campuses plan to raise in-state tuition in the fall
Wisconsin’s in-state undergraduate students will see a tuition hike of 3.75 percent in the fall, Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman announced Thursday.
Before Jenn Tran was The Bachelorette’s first Asian American lead, she was a Wisconsin Badger
Before she was “The Bachelorette,” she was a Wisconsin Badger.
That’s right, Jenn Tran — the show’s first Asian American lead — is a University of Wisconsin-Madison alum.
UW-Milwaukee faculty at branch campuses to be laid off under little-used policy
The closure of two University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee branch campuses will lead to the layoffs of tenured faculty members under a policy that’s previously been applied just once.
University of Wisconsin campuses seek to increase in-state tuition by 3.75% next year
The University of Wisconsin System wants to increase tuition for in-state undergraduates by 3.75% next school year, UW System President Jay Rothman said Thursday.
If approved, it would be the second consecutive increase for resident students after a decade of seeing their base tuition rate frozen. Tuition increased by an average of 5% this school year.
RNC may again adopt a party platform this year after not having one in 2020, Lara Trump says
Party platforms have internal and external purposes, said Barry Burden, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of the university’s Elections Research Center.
Internally, the platform serves to get all party faithful around the country on the same page, he said. The document is worked out in the lead-up to the convention and adopted by delegates at the event itself.
Innovative research into cover crops is helping Oneida white corn co-op restore depleted soil
For the members of Ohe·láku, a co-op of Oneida Nation families growing their traditional white corn together, what started as an experiment has become a success story.
A few years ago, they partnered with the University of Wisconsin-Madison to test different cover crop mixes to restore soil they grow on, which had been depleted under prior ownership. Cover crops are left in the soil after the primary crop is harvested. The idea is to make sure the fields are never bare, increasing soil fertility, limiting runoff and keeping the soil moist.
Milwaukee Bucks, Deer District community benefit deal seen as model for more development
“From Community Benefits, to Collective Bargaining, and Back” was written by researchers Pablo Aquiles-Sanchez and Laura Dresser of the High Road Strategy Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The center describes itself as a “think-and-do tank” promoting solutions to social problems that focus on shared growth and opportunity, environmental sustainability and resilient democratic institutions as “necessary and achievable complements in human development.”
Family of Wisconsin sheep shearers reflects on novel role in Midwest farming
“The need for sheep shearers is at an all-time high around the country and globally,” said Todd Taylor, a manager of the sheep research unit for the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Taylor said the physical demands of the job, mixed with experienced shearers retiring, is contributing to the shortage.
Breast cancer screenings should start at age 40, draft recommendations say
The mixed recommendations are confusing, acknowledged Dr. Mai Elezaby, associate professor and breast imaging section chief at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health and medical director of breast imaging at UW Health, during a recent appearance on “The Larry Meiller Show.”
News from the Upper Mississippi; Weather Guys explain the drama of spring
The Weather Guys, Steve Ackerman and Jon Martin from UW-Madison, are back to tell us why spring is often the season with the most dramatic weather. Plus, they’ll share their predictions for this summer’s heat and explain visibility ratings.
Q&A: Behind the scenes of ‘The Look Back’, PBS Wisconsin Education’s new history series
For a behind-the-scenes look at the series, PBS Wisconsin Education spoke with education producer Ian Glodich along with host Kacie Lucchini Butcher, who is director of the Center for Campus History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Selling of former UW-Milwaukee chancellor home is latest step in state higher ed budget cuts
The former home of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee chancellor is on the market for nearly $1.3 million.
The university announced in January it hoped to sell the house as part of an effort to cut costs. In February, the Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents approved the university’s request.
Here is a look inside the former home of the UW-Milwaukee chancellor on Milwaukee’s east side
UWM is selling the former home of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee chancellor on Milwaukee’s east side. Here is a look inside the residence at 3435 N. Lake Drive, listed for $1,295,000. The stone Tudor mansion has six bedrooms, four baths and close to 5,000 square feet. It was built in 1926, according to the Wisconsin Historical Society. The listing states the home was designed by architect Charles Valentine.
What are the fastest growing counties in Wisconsin? Here’s what census data shows
The official U.S. Census is only taken every 10 years, so estimates like these are “ballpark figures” determined by “symptomatic indicators of population change,” including births, deaths, and domestic and international migration, said David Egan-Robertson, a demographer with the University of Wisconsin’s Applied Population Laboratory. Still, they’re likely to closely reflect reality.
The new estimates reveal that, in the 2020s, some Wisconsin counties have seen significant population growth while others have seen steep declines.
What the ‘uninstructed’ movement means for Wisconsin voters, Biden’s chances
El-Hassan, a 24-year-old University of Wisconsin-Madison law student, first heard about uninstructed voting on a trip to Michigan. Among a group of law students and professors, conversation swirled around the subject of Michigan’s uncommitted movement, led by a cohort of Arab Americans and Muslim activists.
El-Hassan, who’s Muslim, hoped to find a similar initiative in Wisconsin. Then, Listen to Wisconsin, a group encouraging Wisconsin voters to cast uninstructed votes, emerged. On Monday, 20 state and local elected officials endorsed the campaign.
You can own the UWM chancellor’s former home on Milwaukee’s east side for $1.2 million
The former home of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee chancellor is for sale on Milwaukee’s east side.
UWM announced in January that it planned to seek permission from the UW Board of Regents to sell the residence at 3435 N. Lake Drive. The UW Board of Regents approved the sale last month. It was listed on Friday for $1,295,000.
Wisconsin eclipse chasers plan to drive a thousand miles for total solar eclipse
James Lattis, director of the UW Space Place, said a partial eclipse is a rare site. They are an opportunity for scientific discovery. Lattis said people can watch the progression by facing away from the sun and looking at the image of the sun made by a pinhole, leaves on a tree or holes in a kitchen colander.
“You see the distant shadow of the moon rushing up on you,” Lattis said. “The crescent of sunlight that’s left is getting gradually thinner and thinner. You start seeing lighting effects in the environment around you.”
State agencies could offload even more office space, remote work audit finds
Wisconsin state agencies could consider offloading even more office space than previously planned, according to an audit presented to state lawmakers this week.
Madison building bus rapid transit system
Douglas Meier has been using city buses since starting as a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison five years ago.
“It was just the most convenient option,” he said. “Parking is really, really expensive on campus, if not impossible, and it was just a really convenient way to get around.”
‘Here & Now’ Highlights: Robert Yablon, Sen. Jeff Smith, Chairman Tehassi Hill, Brandi Grayson
With two questions on the April 2 ballot asking whether to amend the Wisconsin Constitution, University of Wisconsin Law School professor Robert Yablon explains what they’re asking.
Older Wisconsinites have the highest suicide rate of any age group. Why don’t we talk about it?
There’s a disconnect in how we respond to older people struggling with their mental health, said Dr. Sarah Endicott, a clinical professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison focused on geriatrics. Some of that, she suspects, may be chalked up to ageism, which the World Health Organization defines as the stereotypes, prejudices and discrimination toward others based on age.
“I don’t think it’s intentional, but the lower value we place on older adults in general, especially when it comes to end-of-life, I’m guessing that’s part of the cause,” said Endicott, who also works as a geriatric psychiatrist at Stoughton Hospital in Dane County.
It’s America’s ‘most hated tax’ but not the one Wisconsinites fret most about
Written by Ross Milton ,an assistant professor with the La Follette School of Public Affairs at UW-Madison. His research focuses on the political economy and public finance of state and local taxes and includes studies of tax limitation policies and the effects of local taxes on alternative revenue sources.
Milwaukee airport says parking lots might reach capacity Sunday due to spring break travel
Spring break started this weekend at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the state’s largest campus, and several Milwaukee-area school districts also start their breaks on Monday, March 25.
UW Oshkosh chancellor says Universities of Wisconsin system didn’t sell out students of color for $800M
At least one administrator doesn’t think the Universities of Wisconsin system has “sold out” its students of color.
Even after the Board of Regents accepted a deal that restructured 43 diversity positions, UW Oshkosh Chancellor Andrew Leavitt believes the campuses are still catering to all of their diverse student groups.
4 Wisconsin teams are on their way to March Madness
Get your brackets ready. Four Wisconsin teams are headed to college basketball’s ultimate arena, the NCAA Tournament.
The Marquette and Wisconsin Badgers men’s teams and the Marquette and UW-Green Bay women’s teams are each vying to win it all.
With maple syrup season coming early, Wisconsin specialist wants to tap into state’s full potential
During a strangely warm winter that made maple trees ready to share their sap earlier than usual, a Wisconsin forestry outreach specialist found a constant: The state still has a lot of trees ripe for tapping.
While Wisconsin trails Vermont, New York and Massachusetts for maple syrup production, Wisconsin has more untapped maple trees than any other state, according to Tony Johnson, a natural resources educator for the University of Wisconsin-Extension.
“There is a lot of room for growth,” Johnson said recently on WPR’s “Central Time.”
Student podcast recognized by NPR, America’s hardest jobs, Research on daddy longlegs, Carbon neutral parks
A UW-Madison student tells us about his podcast on changing technology. Then, a Washington Post columnist and a member of the Milwaukee Fire Department talk about America’s hardest jobs. Then, we explore new research on daddy longlegs. Then, we discuss efforts to make national parks along Lake Superior carbon neutral.
‘Cripes!’: Superior leaders approve contract with Charlie Berens to draw tourists
Berens previously produced a video with former interim Universities of Wisconsin President Tommy Thompson during the COVID-19 pandemic in a “smash off” contest, urging residents to get tested for the virus.
‘It’s desperate’: Thousands of immigrants in Wisconsin are in court without lawyers
As part of that initiative, Dane County received a $100,000 grant from the Vera Insitute in 2017. That pilot program, which has since ended, helped fund attorneys through Community Immigration Law Center and the University of Wisconsin Law School’s Immigrant Justice Clinic for people facing deportation.
Members of UW-Madison community visit Washington, D.C. for annual lobbying day
Members of the University of Wisconsin-Madison community descended on Capitol Hill Wednesday to make the case for more research funding.
“We can create jobs. We can create innovation, new technologies, and improve human health and improve the human condition,” said Charlie Hoslet, the vice chancellor of university relations at UW-Madison.
Pretending local elections aren’t partisan is actually making voters angrier
Written by Benny Witkovsky, a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin—Madison. His dissertation examines nonpartisan politics and polarization in small cities in Wisconsin.
Child care in Wisconsin can cost more than college. Why is it so expensive?
The average cost of infant care in Wisconsin, whether center-based or family child care, exceeds in-state tuition at University of Wisconsin-Madison for the 2023-24 academic year. Tuition for this academic year is $9,646, according to the university bursar’s office’s website.
Gov. Evers announces free birth control for BadgerCare recipients
“This is a huge step in the right direction to break down barriers to access contraceptives,” Dr. Abigail Cutler, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin’s School of Public Health said.
Lay counselors for therapist shortage, 32-hour workweek, Soft skills
As automation and artificial intelligence become bigger parts of the workplace, employees will be relied on more for their “soft skills” like time management and interpersonal communication. We talk to Matthew Hora, an education professor at UW-Madison, about where and how we teach and learn those skills and how we can improve them.
Could Ron Johnson be the next Republican Leader in the Senate? He isn’t saying no.
Johnson “has become an influential voice in his party because of his outspoken nature and eagerness to weigh in on issues even when his position is unpopular,” said Barry Burden, a UW-Madison political science professor and the director of the Elections Research Centerthere, in an email.
“But Johnson is unlikely to become party leader because he has not developed a network of trusting relationships with his colleagues,” Burden continued. “Although fellow Republicans often appreciate his bold critiques of Democrats and other authority figures, Johnson has not shown himself to be a coalition builder who carefully attends to the concerns of his Senate colleagues. He tends to oppose measures that are moving forward rather than finding ways to bring them to fruition.”
Crazylegs Classic: Iconic race returns to UW for 42nd year
The yearly tradition started with the work of three students at UW who were looking to raise money for the Badgers’ athletic teams at the time. In 1982, Tom Grantham, Ken Sparks and Rich Backus approached Elroy Hirsch, who was the current Athletic Director, the website home page said.
Young Americans for Freedom said UW-Madison’s security fees were ‘unprecedented.’ Records show that’s not the full story
The University of Wisconsin-Madison waived more than $4,000 in security and event fees for an event hosted by Wisconsin Young Americans for Freedom on March 11 after a lawsuit threat from conservative law firm Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty.
Changing AI landscape pushes campus departments to increase AI literacy programing
As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into education, both students and faculty are grappling with the question ‘How can AI support learning?’
UW’s generative AI policies vary from classroom to classroom, depending on instructor preference, and students are responsible for getting permission ahead of time if they are unsure of classroom expectations. But, students are always required to cite paraphrasing and word for word text created through instructor-approved AI usage.
Students in teacher education program express concern over student teaching end date
Students in the teacher education program at the University of Wisconsin’s School of Education recently voiced concerns with administrators’ failure to adhere to an emergency rule that would allow students to stop participating in teacher education programs upon graduation.
Computer and data science school starts new fundraising project amid budget deficit for building
The School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences (CDIS) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is currently facing a $15 million budget shortage for construction of its new building, set to open in 2025.
UW-Madison moves to protect itself from future anti-DEI legislation
Months after a controversial deal which exchanged funds for capped diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) positions, the University of Wisconsin-Madison is looking for ways to protect itself and fight against a nationwide anti-DEI movement.
Smith Starbucks benefits to student workers outweigh corporate union busting allegations
University of Wisconsin students are banding together to evict Starbucks from campus. Specifically, students want the university to end the licensing contract that allows Starbucks to have a location inside of Smith Residence Hall, which opened in 2020.