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Author: knutson4

Here’s how early education experts, Wisconsin legislative candidates plan to tackle child care issues

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Appleton Post-Crescent

While employers can help, they alone cannot save the day, Schmidt said, referencing figures from a recent report by the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It found that if the providers surveyed could operate at full capacity — many cannot because of staffing shortages — they could serve a total of 33,000 more children. To fill those slots, the state would need roughly 4,000 more early childhood educators, Schmidt said.

Former UW-Superior chancellor says diversity of experience is key for successful college presidents

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Wisconsin Public Radio

he average tenure of university presidents is on the decline.

Nine of the 13 Universities of Wisconsin chancellors assumed their post over the past four years. That tracks with data from The American Council on Education, showing the average tenure of college presidents is roughly six years, down from 8.5 years in 2022.

A new book by a former UW-Superior chancellor digs into why college leaders are vacating these powerful positions. The book profiles seven presidents who stayed at their institutions and brought them through difficult times.

The Main Street Agenda project uncovers top issues among Wisconsin residents

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Wisconsin Public Radio

The Main Street Agenda is a project done in partnership between the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the La Follette School of Public Affairs at UW-Madison. La Follette Director Susan Yackee told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” the project aims to get people from different political backgrounds talking with one another.

“We need to be able to talk to each other to get to the mission of the La Follette School, which is evidence-based policymaking,” she said. “That oftentimes takes political compromise and we just can’t get to political compromise if people aren’t talking to each other anymore.”

Watch our Main Street Agenda town hall meeting on inflation

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Journal Sentinel partnered with the Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Wisconsin Public Radio on the Main Street Agenda, a 2024 election project designed to focus on the issues Wisconsin voters care about most. Panelists included Menzie Chinn, professor at the La Follette School of Public Affairs and Department of Economics at UW-Madison, and . J. Michael Collins, professor at the La Follette School of Public Affairs and School of Human Ecology at UW-Madison.

Change is on the Air: New series explores state of Wisconsin talk radio ahead of November election

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Wisconsin Watch

In a new series, student journalists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, led by Wisconsin Watch State Bureau Chief Matthew DeFour, explore all of those changes. The students who collaborated on this series include: Benjamin Cadigan, Hallie Claflin, Meryl Hubbard, Ray Kirsch, Frankie Pica, Ashley Rodriguez, Andrew Schneider, Sophia Scolman, Paige Stevenson and Omar Waheed.

Far from the border, immigration a top GOP issue in swing state Wisconsin

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Wisconsin Public Radio

Trump regularly invokes anecdotes about immigration and crime. But despite some high-profile individual cases, University of Wisconsin-Madison sociologist Michael Light says research shows increased immigration is not tied to higher crime rates.

“Criminologists have been studying the issue of immigration and crime for over a century and, generally speaking, what we find is that immigrants tend to have lower crime rates than native-born U.S. citizens,” he said. “It’s a fairly consistent finding.”

Garden Talk: Overview of this year’s gardening season; Growing ferns

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Wisconsin Public Radio

This has been an unusual growing season. Garden Talk regulars Lisa Johnson and Brian Hudelson are in to talk about what they’ve seen regarding plant disease, insects and the effects of a wet spring and dry fall. And then we talk to an expert about how to grow ferns – both inside and out – and learn a little of the history of this ancient plant.

Young voters could be important in the election. Here’s what some Wisconsin students say

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“The number of people who could fit into the Kohl Center would be enough to tip the outcome of the election in Wisconsin, and potentially in the electoral college,” said Barry Burden, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of the university’s Elections Research Center. “Students, if they choose to vote in Wisconsin, have a lot of power.”

Opinion: UW-Milwaukee won’t retain top status with more cuts. Wisconsin could fall behind.

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A modern, thriving Wisconsin requires universities rated in the top tier of research institutions, ones that produce productivity enhancing innovations making modern life possible, while also imparting knowledge enabling citizens to create and think. Thus armed with these capacities, graduates of these Research One, or R1, universities find success in the arts, professions, sciences and as entrepreneurs.

Voters in Wisconsin are weighing which candidate better understands their economic anxieties.

Posted on
The New York Times

The middle class is an amorphous concept that neither candidate has really defined. But one thing is clear, said Katherine Cramer, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison — the days when “middle class” meant “stability” are long gone.

“Now, there’s just so much precarity in terms of people not being sure of whether the jobs that they’re currently in are going to be there in the future,” Cramer said. “They’re not sure of their ability to maintain their standard of living, whether it’s meeting their mortgage payments or rental payments.”

Why some farmers are making the big switch from dairy to beef production

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Bovine Veterinarian

While beef-on-dairy production continues to grow in the U.S., it was a novel concept in 2018 when it came to the attention of Ryan Sterry, regional dairy educator with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension.

“A few colleagues and myself were noticing more chatter about this, more farms were experimenting with it,” Sterry recalls.

International students can get hands-on training and experience in their chosen field with CPT.

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U.S. News & World Report

“There are consistent general eligibility requirements, such as maintenance of valid F-1 status and practical training directly related to the degree program. However, federal regulations on CPT are quite vague, so it is up to each institution to develop its own CPT policy and procedure that match institutional policies and procedures,” says Samantha McCabe, international student services director at the University of Wisconsin—Madison.

University of Wisconsin continues to expand Wisconet network

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Spectrum News

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is continuing to grow its Wisconet system, which is a statewide network of weather and soil monitoring stations.

The university’s weather network, called Wisconet, is expected to be a game changer for farmers, climate researchers and many other industries in Wisconsin — especially those in remote areas.

Verizon is purchasing Frontier. How will that affect customers in Wisconsin?

Posted on
The Badger Project

The federal government’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, supported by all the congressional Democrats from Wisconsin, and none of the Republicans, has provided billions of dollars to bring faster internet to unserved and underserved areas. So big money is available for companies, communities and co-ops to make upgrades. But that comes through a “very long and convoluted pipeline,” said Barry Orton, a telecommunications professor emeritus with UW-Madison and fierce critic of Frontier.

6 things to eat to reduce your cancer risk

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Time

Almonds and walnuts, in particular, have cancer-fighting powers. “Nuts increase your fiber intake, and they have vitamin E and antioxidants that may help with cancer prevention,” says Bradley Bolling, an associate professor of food science at the University of Wisconsin. Bolling found that eating 28 grams of nuts per day—about a handful of almonds or walnuts—is linked to a lower risk of getting and dying from cancer. Dried fruit without added sugars may have a similar effect, though data are limited, Bolling adds.

How strict new voter ID laws in key swing states could play a deciding factor in the 2024 election

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Yahoo News

“These laws, they do nothing but make it more difficult to vote,” said Kenneth Mayer, a professor of American politics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who has conducted research on the effects of voter ID in his state. “And for every possible case of voter impersonation that you might prevent, you’re talking about thousands or tens of thousands of people who face these burdens.”

Teen Vogue Generation Next 2024: Meet the winning designers

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Teen Vogue

Robyn George: I’m 22 years old and I’m from Milwaukee, Wisconsin … I entered college at UW-Madison as a political science major which really heavily informed the way that I use the medium to digest the world around me, it also pushed me to create spaces like The Issue on campus where art and culture can combine to create something new and unrestricted.

Wisconsin has among the lowest kindergarten vaccine rates in the U.S. That worries doctors

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Dr. James Conway, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and medical director of UW Health’s immunization program, said the personal convictions exemption tends to be applied loosely.

“It’s been allowed to be interpreted as, basically, if you don’t want it, you don’t have to get it,” he said.

Fact check: Eric Hovde says opponent Tammy Baldwin ‘gave stimulus checks to illegals.’

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Michael Wagner, director of the Center for Communication and Civic Renewal and professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said voting against the Young/Cotton amendment is not tantamount to supporting “giving stimulus checks” to nonresident immigrants.

“Stimulus checks only went to people with a Social Security number,” Wagner said in an email to PolitiFact Wisconsin. “Some noncitizens legally employed by DHS can get a Social Security number, and a small number of people in the U.S. on legal temporary working visas may also have been eligible for stimulus checks.”

Wisconsin is on the front lines of psychedelic research that could reach millions

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Wisconsin Public Radio

Researchers say people with clinical depression could be helped by a treatment involving psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms. Wisconsin scientists are among those conducting dozens of clinical trials worldwide on the use of the drug in treating depression. They say the evidence shows that, in combination with therapy, it shows great promise.

“It works,” said psychiatrist Charles Raison, a professor of human ecology and psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “How far (psychedelics) get into the culture, how far they get into the clinical space? That’s a mystery.”

Wisconsin family farms increasingly relying on off-farm employment to supplement income

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Wisconsin Public Radio

The economic relationship between Wisconsin family farms and the rural communities that surround them is changing.

UW-Madison agricultural and applied economics professor Steve Deller said that smaller farms are struggling to generate enough income to support themselves, so families are more often turning to off-farm employment to help pay the bills.

Study: Over 50% of returned tests in Wisconsin Indigenous community had high levels of radon

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Spectrum News

“We successfully increased knowledge of radon in this community, and more importantly, they could not have afforded the radon mitigation without our project’s support. This community had noted higher rates of cancer among their people for many generations and expressed concern that their land was poisoning them. They were correct,” said lead study author and associate professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Noelle LoConte in a release.

Remote drivers could someday help self-driving semi-trucks

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Wisconsin Public Radio

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are studying what needs to happen for a person to remotely operate long-haul trucks that are otherwise autonomous.

“The vehicle operates on its own until it needs you,” said lead researcher David Noyce. “And then when it needs you, it calls you and says, ‘Can you get on the joystick here, and have control of the vehicle? Because I don’t understand what to do.’”

State estimates around 40 percent of private wells contain pesticides

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Wisconsin Public Radio

Trade associations for corn, soybean, potato and vegetable growers in Wisconsin were either unavailable or didn’t respond to requests for comment. Russ Groves, chair of the Department of Entomology at UW-Madison, said detections of pesticides are unfortunately a logical outcome in areas where agriculture is more intense on the landscape.

“Those are the tools that we have relied upon so that we don’t have real significant economic losses for a producer or an industry,” Groves said.

Wisconsin experienced the third warmest September on record

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Wisconsin Public Radio

At the beginning of September, parts of the state were experiencing highs in the mid- to upper-80s, which are between five and 15 degrees higher than normal. Near Boscobel Airport on Sept. 15, the temperature rose to 92 degrees.

“It was a very weird September,” Steve Vavrus, director of the Center for Climate Research at UW-Madison, told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.”  He added it was also among the 10 driest, with data going back to the 1890s.

Wisconsin’s air quality continues to improve, UW-Madison professor says

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Wisconsin Public Radio

Earlier this year, the Federal Environmental Protection Agency tightened air quality regulations across the United States.

University of Wisconsin-Madison environmental studies professor Tracey Holloway told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” that these regulations are the tightest they’ve ever been. And that means our air is the cleanest it’s ever been.

Eric Hovde said trans youths have highest rate of suicide, driven by regret. Not true.

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Health care providers in Wisconsin require parental consent before gender-affirming care can proceed for children under the age of 18, and gender-affirming surgery for minors, especially genital surgery, is rare, according to Stephanie Budge, an associate professor in counseling psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.