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Author: knutson4

How good was the forecast? Texas officials and the National Weather Service disagree

Posted on
NPR

Michael Morgan, a professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said precipitation forecasting remains “one of the most vexing problems” of his field.

But he said he believed the National Weather Service did its job by giving a general sense of the Texas storm and then providing more specific local forecasts as additional information became available to highlight the most serious potential threats.

“I think the [National] Weather Service forecasts were on point,” Morgan said. “Specifically targeting in locations that are going to receive the maximum rainfall is an incredibly challenging forecast problem.”

Which universities mint the most PhDs in key technology areas?

Posted on
Forbes

The University of Maryland, University of Michigan, Purdue University, and UCLA also ranked among the top 5 institutions in 4 or more of the CETs. The University of Wisconsin ranked first in Biotechnology dissertations. UCLA led in Communications and Networking. Purdue claimed the top spot in Data Privacy and Cybersecurity. The University of Colorado-Boulder was first in Space Technology.

Madison architect Kenton Peters dead at 93. Here are some of his best-known projects

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Wisconsin State Journal

A UW-Madison alumnus and former Badgers football player, Peters began his career in Madison in the early 1960s and was a prominent figure in the city’s development scene into the 2000s. He designed and built two of the high-rise condominiums now overlooking Lake Monona, including the metallic Marina building, among numerous other distinctive projects Downtown, on the UW-Madison campus and throughout the region. Many are still standing — and standing out — today.

Vigil honors former Rufus King, UW Madison running back Nate White

Posted on
WISN -- Channel 12 Milwaukee

A balloon release vigil was held at Rufus King High School in Milwaukee to honor Nate White, a former Rufus King and Badger running back who died last week.

After playing at Rufus King High School and then UW Madison, White then transferred to South Dakota State and played there for six months. Throughout his time out of state, family and friends said White kept in close contact with the community in Wisconsin.

Evers signs ‘compromise’ budget quickly after Wisconsin Legislature gives final OK

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Wisconsin Examiner

Gov. Tony Evers signed the $111 billion two-year state budget bill into law overnight following a marathon day of overlapping Senate and Assembly floor sessions where the bill received bipartisan support from lawmakers. The budget cuts taxes by $1.3 billion, makes investments in the University of Wisconsin system, boosts public schools’ special education reimbursement rate to 45% and allocates about $330 for child care.

National Weather Service cuts degrade accuracy of Wisconsin forecasts, meteorologists say

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

“Meteorologists have been launching weather balloons for almost 100 years now. We continue to do it because that is the only way that we get direct measurements of everything that’s going on above us in the atmosphere,” said Chris Vagasky, who manages the Wisconsin Environmental Mesonet, or Wisconet, a network of weather and soil monitoring stations across the state.

In wee hours, Legislature passes and Evers signs 2-year, $111-billion state budget

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Wisconsin Public Radio

Wisconsin lawmakers voted to approve a state budget late Wednesday night that spends more than $111 billion over the next two years, cuts more than 300 state jobs and increases funding for the child care industry and the Universities of Wisconsin system. It also cuts taxes by about $1.4 billion.

How Green Bay became a hub for genomic testing under MCW and UW-Madison program

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Green Bay Press-Gazette

The Badger Baby Network program was launched in 2024 by University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and Medical College of Wisconsin. The two medical schools train neonatologists at NICUs to identify babies that need genetic testing, determine which genomic test to order, and interpret the complex results.

Sometimes genetic professionals recommend testing for newborns if they aren’t responding as expected to medications, have different behaviors, or are born with a congenital disorder, said April Hall, genetic counselor and assistant professor of pediatrics at University of Wisconsin School of Medicine.

New Wisconsin partnership aims to expand memory care for Latino community

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Wisconsin Public Radio

Wisconsin’s only bilingual memory clinic is partnering with the University of Wisconsin’s School of Medicine and Public Health for a new elective course aimed at boosting doctor training, prevention and treatment to help with dementia in Latino communities.

Dr. Maria Mora Pinzon, an assistant professor of medicine at UW, leads the research team collaborating with the Latino Geriatric Center Memory Clinic. On WPR’s “Wisconsin Today,” Mora Pinzon highlighted the center’s over 17 years of experience of working with older Latino adults who are suffering from dementia.

Is abortion now permanently legal in Wisconsin? What the Supreme Court ruling means.

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“We could see future cases that argue there is a constitutional right to abortion in Wisconsin and challenge other laws that we have in the state related to abortion,” said Bryna Godar, a staff attorney with the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School. “But those would be a bit more nuanced than challenging an outright ban.”

Legislature passes and Evers signs budget after sprint to get ahead of Trump big bill

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The overall package cuts taxes by $1.3 billion, spends hundreds of millions on building projects on University of Wisconsin System campuses, expands Medicaid funding, increases funding for special education and funds new childcare programs, among other measures. In all, it spends $111 billion, a 12% increase over current spending levels.

Wisconsin Supreme Court blocks 1849 law, allows abortion to continue

Posted on
The Washington Post

Advocacy groups could continue trying to litigate whether there is a right to the procedure under the state constitution, said Miriam Seifter, a professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School. But for now, Wednesday’s ruling ends a complicated, three-year conflict over the state’s abortion laws.

“The question all along has been, how do they fit together?” she said.

How does the job market determine whether or not there’s inflation?

Posted on
MarketPlace

Slower wage growth has an outsized impact on the cost of services, said Menzie Chinn, an economics professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“Because services are provided, you know, the main input is going to be labor,” he said.

But Chinn said there are factors that could actually lead to higher wages in the service sector. For instance, employees might ask for higher wages to help them cover the cost of tariffs.

The Diddy verdict and the message it sends sexual assault survivors

Posted on
USA Today

Black women survivors also face an uphill battle to be believed. In a 2025 study conducted by Chloe Grace Hart, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she found that Americans were less likely to say they believed a Black woman describing a sexual harassment experience compared to a white women describing the same thing.

Wisconsin’s 1849 law does not ban abortion, the state Supreme Court rules

Posted on
NPR

Planned Parenthood had posited that the 176-year-old law conflicts with the provisions in the state constitution establishing a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as well as equal protection. So, the constitutional question goes unresolved, according to Bryna Godar, a staff attorney with the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School.

“And so, I think there will be continued conversations about what constitutional protections we have in Wisconsin,” says Godar. She says that could be future court cases or constitutional amendment ballot questions.

Evers, lawmakers agree to increase UW System funding by $256 million

Posted on
The Daily Cardinal

Gov. Tony Evers and Republican legislative leaders reached an agreement Tuesday to a $256 million increase for the University of Wisconsin System — the largest funding increase in about two decades.

This would be a major turnaround for the UW System in the budget after Republican lawmakers threatened an $87 million cut just two weeks ago. The UW Board of Regents and Evers originally proposed a record-high $856 million increase for the system, a total that would bring the state’s public higher education funding in line with the national median.

A coming wave of student loan defaults will be ‘calamity’ for borrowers, a drag on the economy

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Barron's

The wave of defaults may also inflict costs on taxpayers. Sending debts to collection comes with administrative costs, says Nicholas Hillman, a professor of education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “There are inefficiencies in the loan repayment system and the collections system,” says Hillman. “So it’s expensive.” Hillman stressed, however, that the alternative to collections—allowing borrowers to forgo debt payments, effectively canceling the loans—would be far more costly for taxpayers.

Sea spiders lack a key body part and a missing gene could explain why

Posted on
The New York Times

Biologists interested in reconstructing the family trees of spiders and their relatives have long sought a complete sea spider genome, said Prashant Sharma of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who is an author of the new paper. Because sea spiders are members of a group that are siblings of arachnids on land, characteristics they share with modern land spiders could be traced to a common ancestor.

Madison musicians, artists collaborate at Next Wave

Posted on
The Cap Times

On the last weekend in June, artist and recent University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate Ava Albelo organized “Cog in the Machine” at Next Wave Studios, a multimedia production space on Madison’s east side.

Albelo said she funded the project with a grant from the UW-Madison Art Department. She hoped younger people would come to the show “and be interested in the artwork and ask questions and enjoy the music.”

After uptick in firework injuries, Wisconsin medical providers urge safety on July Fourth

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Dr. Patrick Shahan, trauma and acute care surgeon at UW Health, said last year’s uptick in injuries was also felt in Wisconsin.

“It can be something as small as a hand burn from a sparkler up to really substantial, life-threatening injuries from explosions,” he said. “Things like really severely injured and disfigured hands, especially from people who are holding fireworks when they’re lighting them.”

Cool spring has given way to a warm, wet growing season for Wisconsin crops

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

During a recent training session for crops and soils specialists, plant pathologist Damon Smith with the University of Wisconsin says growers are experiencing weather that is ideal for corn tar spot infection.

“It’s too early to see symptoms now,” he told them, “but it is likely that infections are occurring and that growers need to be vigilant in their scouting of susceptible fields in coming weeks.”

Republican budget leaders moving forward a plan to close the aging Green Bay prison

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The plan to close the prison was not part of a negotiated deal with Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, which included tax cuts, increased Medicaid funding and a boost for the University of Wisconsin System. Because the prison plan is not a part of the deal, Evers could veto the plan once the full budget reaches his desk.

Walter E. Dewey

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

He graduated from Wauwatosa East High School in 1979 and earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance, Investments and Banking from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1983. He earned his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 1989.

In the final weeks of Walter’s life, he and his family established a focused strategy to advance pancreatic immunology research at the UW Carbone Cancer Center. In lieu of flowers, the family invites memorial gifts to support this initiative.

Kaul sues Trump administration for abrupt halt of mental health funds, calls it ‘awful policy’

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

But most notably, he cited the impacts. The funding cuts have marred efforts to train 24 school psychology graduates at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who were set to work in high-need schools after graduation. Although 19 students were on track to graduate, the university projects a loss of more than $2.8 million. That funding loss, the institution warned, means some students may not be able to finish their degrees or afford to work in the schools once they graduate.

Budget deal gives some lawmakers heartburn. Tony Evers, GOP leaders say that’s what compromise looks like

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The budget deal includes $14 million in municipal service payments — payments from the state for police, fire and waste removal services provided to state facilities by local governments — a significant chunk of which will go to the City of Madison. It also includes $194 million for projects at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which is in Roys’ district.

Musk vows to start a third party. Funding’s no issue, but there are others.

Posted on
The Washington Post

“A new party is going to benefit most from Musk if they can draw on his resources but keep him in the background,” said Barry Burden, director of the University of Wisconsin’s Elections Research Center. “And if he can portray himself as an innovator and a tech entrepreneur — and somebody who is really contributing to the American economy and funding this new operation without being its front person — I think that’s probably going to lead to the most success.”

Gov. Evers, legislative leaders reach budget deal that includes funding increases for UW System, child care

Posted on
WKOW - Channel 27

Gov. Tony Evers, Assembly Republicans, Senate Republicans and Senate Democrats say they’ve reached a bipartisan deal on the next state budget.

The announcement comes just hours before the legislative committee that writes the state budget is set to vote on funding for a slew of government agencies.

Gov. Evers, legislative leaders reach budget deal that includes funding increases for UW System, child care

Posted on
WKOW - Channel 27

Gov. Tony Evers, Assembly Republicans, Senate Republicans and Senate Democrats say they’ve reached a bipartisan deal on the next state budget.

The announcement comes just hours before the legislative committee that writes the state budget is set to vote on funding for a slew of government agencies.

Negotiations change in final year of Wisconsin’s agreement with Under Armour

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

The final year of the 10-year contract between the University of Wisconsin and Under Armour, which started Tuesday, is set to deliver $4 million in rights fees to the school and $3.05 million worth of products to outfit Badgers teams.

Whether the partnership will still be in place a year from now and under what terms are issues that’ll be resolved in the coming months.

Gov. Tony Evers and legislative leaders reach bipartisan deal on budget after months of negotiations

Posted on
Wisconsin Examiner

Gov. Tony Evers and Republican and Democratic legislative leaders have reached a tentative agreement on the 2025-27 state budget, agreeing to invest hundreds of millions in the University of Wisconsin system, to create new grant and payment programs for child care facilities, further boost investment in special education and cut $1.3 billion in taxes.

Wisconsin’s Democratic governor reaches budget deal with Republicans to cut taxes, fund university

Posted on
Associated Press

Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Republicans who control the state Legislature announced a deal Tuesday on a new two-year budget that cuts income taxes, increases funding for the Universities of Wisconsin despite a threatened cut and raises fees to pay for transportation projects.

Aging Studies comes to UW-Madison; alcohol-related liver disease deaths increasing; The Weather Guys return

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Wisconsin Public Radio

We talk about why UW-Madison will offer an Aging Studies Certificate starting this fall. Then, we’ll talk about the worrisome increase in U.S. deaths from alcohol-related liver disease. Then, the Weather Guys return after another widespread heat wave.

Here’s a sample of the common readers colleges are assigning this year

Posted on
Forbes

Duke University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison are both assigning “James” by Percival Everett as their common reader. The novel is a fiercely satiric and darkly funny reimagining of Mark Twain’s American classic, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” told from Jim’s point of view. It won both the National Book Award for 2024 and the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.