On Nov. 23, 1889, the University of Wisconsin played its first football game. The game was one to forget for UW, who lost 27-0 against the Calumet Club of Milwaukee.
November 23, 1889 – First UW-Madison football game
WMTV - Channel 15
Author: knutson4
Small businesses feel more uneasy ahead of the holidays after a year of slow sales and high costs
Wisconsin Public Radio
“If you are a consumer worried about what’s going to be happening to your food, housing or health care expenses, you might start to cut back on the categories that are less essential or in the categories where you have options,” said Tessa Conroy, associate professor and economic development specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Liver transplant has Wisconsin administrator, donor connected for life: ‘Such a gift’
Wisconsin State Journal
Years living with an autoimmune disease meant it was a matter of when, not if, Adam Barnes would need a liver transplant. That time was approaching after he was hospitalized for a blocked bile duct in 2024. The idea of seeking a living donor came up but there was something about it that turned him off.
Barnes, the University of Wisconsin senior associate athletic director for business operations, initially didn’t want someone else to go through the danger of elective surgery and a painful recovery to benefit him.
Wisconsin men’s basketball tumbles out of AP rankings after lopsided loss
Wisconsin State Journal
The Badgers (4-1) narrowly fell out of the Associated Press men’s college basketball rankings on Monday, three days removed from a 98-70 blowout loss to BYU on Friday at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. It matched the most-lopsided loss of Wisconsin coach Greg Gard’s tenure.
Don’t let politics tear Thanksgiving apart. Talk it out.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The good news amid the rancor is that people are not only studying why we’re so polarized, but they are also working on ways to fix it. I learned that fact during my recent interview with Susan Yackee, director of the La Follette School of Public Affairs at UW–Madison.
The school is launching a new undergraduate public policy program in the fall of 2026, including a required course titled Advancing Public Policy in a Divided America.
In it, students literally practice talking across ideological divides. “If I don’t work out my bicep, it’s just not gonna get strong, right? It’s the same thing with our students and their skills in talking across differences,” Yackee told me. “[It’s] super easy for them to be siloed in their own little social media environments and not hear or have to interact with people that think differently than them. So we’re gonna force that in the class.”
Evers approves SNAP payments for November during uncertain federal order
The Badger Herald
Though the regular full-time student does not meet the requirements for SNAP, there are special opportunities for students with different circumstances, like students in a work study program or who have a child caretaking role.
“There are certain exemptions that make students able to access SNAP … working in a work study job, if you have a caretaking role or if you have a certain kind of disabilities,” said University of Wisconsin assistant director for student engagement Kasie Strahl. “Finally, if you work more than an average of 80 hours a month, you qualify.”
UW awards record number of degrees in spring 2025
The Daily Cardinal
A record number of degrees were disbursed among University of Wisconsin students last Spring. According to UW, 13,733 degrees were awarded to 13,663 recipients, the highest number in UW’s history. The number exceeded the previous year’s record total of more than 1,200 degrees, according to UW.
UW-Madison police announce K9 Ritter’s retirement
WKOW - Channel 27
The UW-Madison Police Department announced that K9 Ritter is retiring.
In a Facebook post, UWPD said Ritter hasn’t missed a single Badger football game in eight years and officially worked his final game on Nov. 22.
Wisconsin could face heavy flu season as virus ramps up, vaccinations decline
Wisconsin Public Radio
Dr. Jim Conway, medical director of UW Health’s immunization program, said he thinks health care providers and public health officials have done a good job communicating the risks of flu and other respiratory illnesses for seniors.
“But it is a little bit troubling that they do seem to be, even for that group, a little bit behind,” he said.
Justin Sydnor on rising costs for ACA health insurance plans
PBS Wisconsin
Extending enhanced tax credits for Affordable Care Act Health Insurance Marketplace plans was what Democrats were holding out for in the government shutdown that ended on Nov. 12. The continuing resolution put forth by Republican lawmakers ended up passing without that extension, and ACA policyholders are girding for premium hikes that could more than double.
“There’s really no uncertainty about that — it’s basically pretty straightforward, simple math,” said Justin Sydnor, a professor of risk and insurance at the Wisconsin School of Business. “The way the tax credits work is that they’re tied to a share of the percent of your income, and the enhanced tax credits increased or decreased the share you would have to pay, and increase the income range for people who are eligible. So they’ll definitely go up. The share that you’re responsible for paying goes up if those subsidies expire — how much depends a lot on your income level.
Student Affairs holds ‘Swipe Out Hunger’ drive to raise funds for UW food assistance services
The Badger Herald
Student Affairs along with other campus organizations held the semesterly Swipe Out Hunger Drive Nov. 24 to raise funds to help ensure all Badgers have access to affordable and nutritious food.
‘ICE off campus’ rally held at Library Mall
The Daily Cardinal
The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) petitioned the university to become a “sanctuary campus” to protect international students at a Nov. 14 rally on Library Mall.
Eastpark Medical Center appointments higher than expected in first year, UW Health says
Channel 3000
This fall marks one year since UW Health opened its Eastpark Medical Center, and the facility’s usage is already outpacing the healthcare provider’s predictions.
The 475,000 square-foot facility, located at 4621 Eastpark Blvd., saw about 1,050 clinic visits per day in its first year. There were also about 4,600 ancillary appointments per day for services such as imaging, nutrition and rehab.
If you want to be a [Bucky] Badger, just come along with former mascot Cecil Powless
PBS Wisconsin
While a fuzzy microfiber suit, red-and-white striped Motion W sweater and 30-pound head are standard issue, it is up to the people inside the costume to make Bucky Badger unique.
In anticipation of the 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2 premiere of the new historical PBS Wisconsin documentary narrated by comedian Charlie Berens — Bucky! — we tracked down former Bucky Cecil Powless to unmask what it takes to become the chaotic and infectious icon of energy that is beloved by the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the entire state.
WARF increases UW research investment with $206.9 million
The Daily Cardinal
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) announced a $206.9 million commitment on Nov. 13 to support research and innovation at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in FY26. The commitment is one of the largest annual investments in the university’s history and marks the celebration of the foundation’s centennial celebration and federal research funding uncertainty.
How a Madison woman’s question sparked a growing statewide civics contest
Wisconsin Watch
The competition has grown so much, in fact, that it’s too big for the five staff members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association to handle. They’re now handing the reins to the Universities of Wisconsin, which has sponsored the event since its inception.
The games will be overseen by the university system’s Wisconsin Institute for Citizenship and Civil Dialogue, which will soon become the Office of Civic Engagement, said Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman. Separately, that office will host civic education workshops for teachers across the state over the next three years, funded by a $1.1 million grant through the U.S. Department of Education’s American History & Civics Seminars program.
Students battle tough travel decisions ahead of short Thanksgiving break
The Daily Cardinal
Many University of Wisconsin-Madison students told the Cardinal they are frustrated about the length of Thanksgiving break, especially those who have to fly home. The timing often results in expensive flights, long travel days or the decision to miss a family holiday rather than attempt the trip.
To help their kids ‘climb the ivy,’ Chinese mothers uproot their families for Silicon Valley schools
San Francisco Chronicle
Her older son, 20, is now studying computer science at Santa Clara University. Her younger one, 18, is a computer engineering student at the University of Wisconsin. In school, they played in a jazz band and cultivated their love for music. These are things, she believes, they couldn’t have had in China. Gao couldn’t spend the last year of her father’s life with him due to the pandemic, but, “I have no regrets,” she said. “Because I see my kids.”
Abortion pill makers brace for restrictions a year after Trump’s election
CNBC
“The more that these drugs are stigmatized, the more that the pharmacies themselves risk becoming stigmatized simply by providing the drugs,” said R. Alta Charo, a professor emerita of law and bioethics at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, said. “At some point these pharmacies may say we don’t want to get involved in that, and they may just decide not to stock the drug.”
Investigators race of find the cause of botulism contamination in ByHeart infant formula
CNN
“If you think about seeds, like plant seeds, spores are like the same version, only produced by bacteria,” said Dr. Kristin Schill, a food microbiologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Food Research Institute. “They package their DNA and kind of like a protein shell, like a seed, that prevents them from being killed in harsh environments.”
Students find more violent imagery near University of Wisconsin campus after anti-ICE displays probed
FOX News
More violent imagery appeared near the University of Wisconsin-Madison late last week, mirroring similar imagery found on the public school’s campus over a span of weeks, according to two students at the school.
Question for longtime Wisconsin football season ticket buyers: Will they renew for 2026?
Wisconsin State Journal
Wisconsin football season ticket buyers now face the same decision as they’ve had every other season: Renew for next season or give up their seats. It has been 33 years, however, since consecutive losing seasons has been a factor in the discussion.
22 people ejected, 20 citations issued at Saturday’s Wisconsin footballl game
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison police issued 20 citations at Saturday’s game against Illinois.
Citations included six for underage alcohol, four for throwing hard objects and two for trespassing. UW students accounted for nine of the 20 citations.
U.S. colleges’ international enrollment drops 17%. How has UW-Madison fared?
Wisconsin State Journal
The number of new international students at colleges and universities across the country fell 17%, according to the nonprofit Institute of International Education’s annual report released Monday from data collected from 825 U.S. higher education institutions, including UW-Madison.
Wisconsin asks for approval of extension with apparel provider that adds NIL funding
Wisconsin State Journal
The University of Wisconsin is seeking approval for an extension of its agreement with Under Armour to be the Badgers’ official apparel supplier.
The Board of Regents scheduled an 8 a.m. special meeting Tuesday to consider a seven-year extension through 2033 that carries a three-year option through 2036.
Invasive tree-killing pest ‘highly likely’ to show up in Wisconsin, expert says
Wisconsin Public Radio
The insects have killed millions of trees in the eastern U.S. and threaten 80 million eastern hemlock trees in Wisconsin. A single egg sac may contain as many as 300 eggs. Hundreds of thousands of the insects can feed on the trees with their needle-like mouth parts, said PJ Liesch, an entomologist with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension.
“It’s a whole bunch of them ganging up on the trees,” Liesch said. “Together, that combined feeding damage over time causes those hemlock trees to decline and ultimately die.”
A first look at The Center for Black Excellence and Culture
The Cap Times
Leaders at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are excited about the Center, Gee said. The chancellor and provost recently toured the building.
He said the Center is developing partnerships with six university departments and that UW leaders “believe we can help sell the university as a place for students, researchers and faculty.” “I love that, but the other piece is if we connect (with) Milwaukee, Beloit, Racine, and we unite those Black communities so that we set agendas together, we dream together, we celebrate together.”
Here’s why Wisconsin Republican lawmakers pass bills they know Gov. Tony Evers will veto
Wisconsin Watch
Barry Burden, director of the Elections Research Center and political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said political messaging votes can have impacts on elections, especially in what will be some of the close Senate races in 2026.
“It’s kind of a messaging opportunity, not really a policymaking opportunity. It’s also maybe a way for Republicans to let off some steam,” Burden said.
How much will Thanksgiving dinner cost in Wisconsin in 2025?
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
It’s more uncertain this year somewhat because of the government shutdown but also because of some other factors moving around in some of these markets,” said Jeff Hadachek, assistant professor of agriculture and applied economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Generally, I anticipate prices will be higher, but the question is: ‘How much higher?’”
UW research examines AI’s role in journalism
The Daily Cardinal
Tomas Dodds, journalism professor and founder of the Public Media Tech Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, hopes to help local journalists understand the implications of AI in the newsroom by providing a variety of resources, such as training sessions and workshops.
“In the newsroom, you don’t know how your colleagues are using AI,” Dodds said, adding that the Public Media Tech Lab would facilitate discussions in the newsroom where coworkers could disclose how they use it and create AI usage policies from these discussions.
Kids are expensive. Do they have to be?
NPR
Families across the country are asking that same question when it comes to childcare, as the yearly costs for daycare are becoming comparable to a year’s rent in many places. How did childcare become so expensive, and how might everyone benefit if the government provided more support to parents? Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Jessica Calarco, and Senior Fellow at the Think Tank Capita Elliot Haspel are here to help Brittany find out.
Experts say recent elections in blue areas bode well for Democrats but Trump coalition holding firm
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“It’s another sign Democrats have the edge in general going into 2026,” Barry Burden, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor and director of the university’s Elections Research Center, said about the election outcomes.
‘Separating us makes us weaker’: Students decry UW-Madison’s DEI cuts
The Cap Times
Students have criticized the changes, though. Members of the university’s student governing body say they are concerned about “the lack of clarity and transparency from university administration about the future of DEI at UW-Madison.”
What are NAD+ supplements good for? We asked the experts.
USA Today
“When it comes to skin health and appearance, the data is pretty limited,” says Dr. Apple Bodemer, an integrative dermatologist at UW Health, and professor of dermatology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
New UW gen ed policy may ease transfer process. But will it erode campus autonomy?
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The state budget passed this summer increased the UW system’s budget by $256 million but came with strings, including requiring all core general education courses be transferable between UW campuses and satisfy general education requirements at the receiving institution by fall 2026.
New general education policy will make transferring between UW campuses easier
Wisconsin Public Radio
Universities of Wisconsin students will have an easier time transferring general education credits from one campus to another after the Board of Regents approved a new core general education policy this week.
Give 4,000 Thanksgiving meals? No sweat for these Madison volunteers
The Cap Times
Student athletes from the University of Wisconsin-Madison join Sunday to help the largest push of the weekend. Elected officials, including Gov. Tony Evers, have participated as well.
Q&A: UW Marching Band member details tradition, performance within the ensemble
The Daily Cardinal
Assistant drum major Arista Whitson helps lead the University of Wisconsin-Madison Marching Band in collaboration with drum major Caleb Monge. For every Badger football game played at Camp Randall, the band performs a pregame, halftime and fifth quarter performance celebrating their legendary tradition with energy and precision.
What are international students doing for Thanksgiving?
The Daily Cardinal
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is home to over 7,000 international students from more than 120 different countries. For some students, visiting home means a long flight and an uncomfortable middle seat. But with fall break just around the corner, many international students are bringing fresh perspectives to Thanksgiving.
UW-Madison toes the line between burnout culture and mental health
The Daily Cardinal
November is Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison is once again covered in wellness graphics, posters and reminders to slow down and take care of ourselves. The intention is good, but the timing is almost ironic, because if there’s one thing students don’t have in November, it’s the time — or bandwidth — to actually “prioritize wellness.”
Miss America 2023 to serve as winter commencement speaker
The Daily Cardinal
Miss America 2023 Grace (Stanke) Vanderhei will return to her alma mater on Dec. 14 to deliver the winter 2025 commencement address, the University of Wisconsin-Madison announced Wednesday.
Dick Cheney’s power, controversies and legacy
USA Today
Dick Cheney was a Westerner. He grew up in Wyoming. He was a college dropout at one point, seemed a little at loose ends. Then he married Lynne Cheney, his wife, who set him straight. She was a very disciplined person from then, at that point and forever. He went to graduate school at the University of Wisconsin seeking a Ph.D. never got the Ph.D. He got an internship in Washington, and there he found his path working first as a congressional aide and then as the youngest White House chief of staff ever working for President Ford.
Miss America, Wausau native to speak at UW-Madison winter commencement
WMTV - Channel 15
A former Miss America and Wausau native will take the podium as the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s winter commencement keynote speaker, UW officials announced Wednesday.
UW-Madison’s new center studies the link between aging and diseases
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison researchers at a new federally funded center on campus will examine how aging influences diseases, such as cancer and neurodegenerative conditions like Parkinson’s.
The Wisconsin Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging will fund new research that examines how metabolic changes associated with aging are linked to disease. The center’s researchers aim to develop improved treatments or methodologies that physicians can use to better address their patients’ conditions.
UW-Madison School of Nursing Dean Linda Scott, a leader in her field, dies at 69
Wisconsin State Journal
Linda Scott, who served for nearly a decade as dean of the UW-Madison School of Nursing and was a leader in her field, died Monday. She was 69.
A native of Kalamazoo, Michigan, Scott’s ambition to work in nursing started during her childhood, inspired by her mother’s career as a nurse attendant. This year was Scott’s 10th in the role at the School of Nursing as its eighth leader and the program’s first Black dean.
Wisconsin football seniors reflect on career disappointments, points of pride
Wisconsin State Journal
Sighs, long pauses and stares into the distance accompanied many of the answers to a difficult question posed to University of Wisconsin seniors over the past three weeks.
The class, which will be celebrated Saturday night when the Badgers face Illinois for the final game at Camp Randall Stadium this season, finds itself celebrating something different than most senior days.
UW-Madison, Microsoft, TitletownTech team up to boost Wisconsin research with AI
WKOW - Channel 27
A new collaboration between UW-Madison, Microsoft, and TitletownTech is set to boost scientific research in Wisconsin. The partnership will leverage advanced AI tools to help researchers tackle major challenges more efficiently.
University of Wisconsin Police investigating stickers promoting violence against ICE
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Police are investigating stickers that appeared on campus encouraging violence against federal immigration agents.
Republicans are pointing to the imagery as another example of the hostile climate conservatives face on college campuses.
New UW faculty workload policy could hinder faculty recruitment, professors say
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The UW Board of Regents on Nov. 19 approved controversial changes to a teaching workload policy despite some criticism and concern from faculty.
Under the proposal, full-time instructors would be required to teach at least 24 credits every school year, or four three-credit classes each semester. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison and UW-Milwaukee, where professors are expected to produce more research, the minimum load is 12 credits per year, or two classes per semester.
Former Miss America returns to UW-Madison as commencement speaker
Wisconsin State Journal
Former Miss America and UW-Madison graduate Grace Vanderhei will be back at UW-Madison’s commencement — less than three years after she celebrated her own graduation — as the university’s winter commencement speaker.
UW Regents pass workload requirements, redesigned gen eds
Wisconsin State Journal
The UW Board of Regents on Wednesday approved minimum teaching requirements for Universities of Wisconsin professors and a redesign of general education courses to make them easier to transfer between schools.
It’s time to break up the programmatic accrediting agency monopolies
Inside Higher Ed
As John D. Wiley, former provost at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, correctly noted almost 20 years ago, “We are already seeing this very phenomenon of degree inflation, and it is being caused by the professions themselves! This is particularly problematic in the health professions, where, it seems, everyone wants to be called ‘doctor.’ I have no problem whatsoever with the professional societies and their accreditors telling us what a graduate must know to practice safely and professionally. I have a big problem, though, when they hand us what amounts to a master’s-level curriculum and tell us the resulting degree must be called a ‘doctor of X.’ This is a transparently self-interested ploy by the profession, and I see no conceivable argument that it is in the public interest. All it does is further confuse an already confusing array of degree names and titles, to no useful purpose.”
The polar vortex is about to bring a wild weather pattern change
CNN
It’s still not certain there will be a major winter blast, but scientists are watching for colder than normal conditions to develop in the mid-latitudes — where most of the world’s population resides — over the next month or so. Once the polar vortex is disrupted, it can take a month or more to recover, said Andrea Lopez Lang, a meteorologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“We can see more active and shifted storm tracks and increases in cold air outbreaks in regions across the Northern Hemisphere,” she said in an email.
Honda invests in soil carbon removal credit scheme to offset emissions
Newsweek
University of Wisconsin Madison Division of Extension’s Crops and Soils program defines a carbon credit as, “a certified, tradable carbon offset that is exchanged under a cap and trade system of emissions regulation.” Under that system, companies are allotted a certain number of credits to offset their emissions impact. Farmers who have generated their own credits may sell them to companies who, in turn, may release more harmful emissions into the atmosphere.
What the Trump administration’s latest moves to dismantle the Education Department mean for schools and students
Time
Experts also expressed concerns that the process of disseminating funding or services may change once they’re moved to other federal agencies. Nicholas Hillman, a professor in the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says he wonders, for instance, if a college that is seeking funding from an OPE grant will now be asked different questions and will have to undergo a different review process, which could potentially create “additional hurdles” for colleges that are “already stretched pretty thin.”
QTS announces $1.5M partnership with UW-Madison amid plans for DeForest data center
Channel 3000
QTS, the company planning to build a data center in the DeForest area, on Friday announced a $1.5 million partnership with UW-Madison.
The money will go towards a new research initiative focused on data center sustainability.
QTS partners with UW–Madison for sustainable data center research Fary
WKOW - Channel 27
QTS Data Centers is partnering with the University of Wisconsin–Madison to advance sustainable digital infrastructure.
The initiative, Advancing Data Center Sustainability, involves a $1.5 million investment from QTS, aimed at driving innovation in responsible data center development.
Americans want to restore civility. A new UW-Madison major will help.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Written by Susan Webb Yackee, a professor of public affairs and director of the La Follette School of Public Affairs at UW-Madison.
UW-Madison, QTS partner on $1.5 million data center development initiative
WMTV - Channel 15
QTS Data Centers is partnering with University of Wisconsin-Madison to invest $1.5 million in a new research initiative.
The new initiative, Advancing Data Center Sustainability, will help the university advance sustainable digital infrastructure though research and innovation.
Conservative group files complaint against UW-Madison over gender inclusive restroom policy
Wisconsin State Journal
A conservative nonprofit on Wednesday filed a complaint against UW-Madisonover a university policy intended to allow those on campus, such as transgender and gender-nonconforming students or visitors, to use the restroom of their choice.