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Author: knutson4

How a Florida lawyer with a checkered past became the go-to attorney for Wisconsin prisoners

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The types of allegations Story has laid out can lead to expensive and difficult-to-win lawsuits, according to Steven Wright, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and former attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.

“These are very hard cases to bring, both in terms of they’re expensive to develop the facts. The law is against your side,” said Wright. “It’s unequivocal that horrible things are happening at Waupun … But I am not certain, as somebody who’s a civil rights lawyer and who has worked for federal judges, that this is a problem that the federal courts are going to weigh in to solve.”

As protesters return to UW-Madison and UWM, new policies spark free speech concerns

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The first two weeks of the fall semester looked nothing like the last two weeks of the spring semester at Wisconsin’s largest universities.

The tents have not returned. The news cameras have largely vanished. The police no longer seem perpetually parked near the pro-Palestinian encampments that were fixtures of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and UW-Milwaukee campuses in May.

Survey: Demand for child care outpaces providers’ capacity

Wisconsin Public Radio

Hilary Shager, author of the report and associate director of the University of Wisconsin Institute for Research on Poverty, said not having enough staff was a primary reason for not expanding capacity, mostly among group providers. She said providers pointed to low compensation as one of their top issues.

Voter frustration fueled by lack of policy details on issues like health care, climate

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The town hall meeting featured a panel discussion with two faculty members from the La Follette School of Public Affairs at UW-Madison who focus on climate change and health care policy, Morgan Edwards and Yang Wang, and Laura Olson, chief business development officer at Eneration, a subsidiary of Gundersen Health System that helps health care companies reduce their energy costs.

These two Wisconsin cities are among the 100 best in the U.S., study finds

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

However, the ranking doesn’t tell the whole story: despite Madison’s relatively affordability compared to other U.S. cities, home prices and rents have skyrocketed in Madison in recent years and surpassed the area’s median income. University of Wisconsin-Madison students also face some of the highest off-campus rent prices in the Big Ten Conference.

Joe Gow isn’t alone. As industry booms, adult content creators fear being outed and fired

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Less than 10% of Silverstein’s clients are exposed, he said, but forcing them to face the worst-case scenario helps them understand the stakes. He then walks them through real-life examples of outed adult content creators, including a name now familiar to many in Wisconsin: former University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow.

Turning 40, the Haggerty Museum of Art is a Milwaukee venue deserving wider recognition

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Its permanent collection includes about 10,000 works of art, said John McKinnon, who came on board as director in July from a similar leadership post at Elmhurst Art Museum in Illinois. McKinnon earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and worked as assistant curator of modern and contemporary art at the Milwaukee Art Museum from 2007 to 2010.

A UW-Madison student’s racist video stirred outrage. Now, new ideas have been offered to improve campus climate

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A racist social media video featuring a University of Wisconsin-Madison student consumed the campus in spring 2023. A Black student advocacy organization formed. Protests staged. A petition signed, to the tune of 67,000 signatures. And an ad-hoc group formed to study the Black experience on campus.

Wisconsin Master Naturalists, Ho-Chunk Nation to host ‘Caring for Grandmother Earth’ volunteer summit

Wisconsin Public Radio

For more than a decade, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Division of Extension has been offering the opportunity for people to become Master Naturalists by attending expert-led training sessions and volunteering their time to conservation efforts. Altogether, Master Naturalists volunteer over 25,000 hours of service each year to over 700 organizations across the state.

As election cycle heats up, WisconsinEye calls on Baldwin campaign to pull ad footage

Wisconsin Public Radio

BJ Ard, a copyright expert at the University of Wisconsin Law School, said four factors determine whether the material is being used fairly. That includes the purpose and character of the use, the nature of the work being copied, the amount and substantiality of the work being copied and the market impact of the copying.

“There’s not a specific rubric spelling out which of these factors takes priority,” he said.

UW-Madison students show gratitude for program that expands study abroad access

Wisconsin Public Radio

During the 2022-23 school year, more than 2,500 UW-Madison students participated in a study abroad program, according to the university’s International Academic Programs annual report for that year.

“We really see it as an opportunity for growth,” said Dan Gold of UW-Madison’s study abroad office. “When you look at it conceptually, basically it’s just: What can you do that’s not on campus that will help your academic goals?”

Higher prices are burden for Wisconsin families. Senate candidates outline their remedies.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A scientific survey of nearly 4,000 Wisconsin residents by the UW Survey Center helped identify the top issues heading into the fall election. Throughout the year, we’ve been publishing opinion pieces from faculty at the La Follette School of Public Affairs at UW-Madison, our partner in the Main Street Agenda, exploring the public policy behind those issues.

Take a fall-colors, art-loving journey to see these 7 Wisconsin art exhibits this autumn

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“Weaving a Legacy” features nearly 200 works of black ash baskets made by more than 40 Ho-Chunk makers from the mid-1800s to the present. The exhibit, which runs through Nov. 10, is curated by Tom Jones, a University of Wisconsin-Madison photography professor, who has collected and studied thousands of Ho-Chunk baskets for more than decade.

What does it mean to be Jewish? Age, upbringing influence response to Israel’s war in Gaza

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“Tension would probably be an understatement,” said University of Wisconsin-Madison junior Reuben Berkowitz of Milwaukee.

Berkowitz said his family, who raised him to understand the shared importance of Israeli and Palestinian safety, have supported him as he explored his relationship with Zionism, and chose to participate last spring in UW-Madison’s encampment. His father, Joel, is the director of UW-Milwaukee’s Jewish Studies program.

Wisconsin’s Bizhiki spotlights powwow music and Ojibwe culture, with Justin Vernon’s help

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“We try not to romanticize our culture, but we are unapologetically Indigenous,” said Jennings, who is close to finishing the PhD program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Nelson Institute of Environmental Studies. “There are a lot of statistics about our communities and a lot of negative statistics. Our goal is to showcase and highlight the good things in our communities — the good people, those traditional values our communities still rest upon.”

Quagga mussels found in Wisconsin inland lake for first time

Wisconsin Public Radio

Jake Vander Zanden directs UW-Madison Center for Limnology — the study of lakes. He says both zebra and quagga mussels feed on phytoplankton, the base of the aquatic food chain.

“In effect, what they do is they will undermine the basis of the food web, and that can have impacts on fisheries,” Vander Zanden said. He added that the mussels create good conditions for algae growth, which gets smelly when washing up on beaches.

Wisconsin’s low-wage workers have seen gains in recent years, but challenges remain

Wisconsin Public Radio

Wages for the lowest-paid workers in Wisconsin have risen faster than pay for higher earners in recent years, but workers still face challenges.

That’s according to the new “State of Working Wisconsin” report from the High Road Strategy Center, an economic think tank at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The report is released annually around Labor Day to provide insights into how workers are doing in the economy.

Wisconsin social studies teachers face restrictions, complaints for teaching elections

Wisconsin Public Radio

Whether information on elections and current events comes from a dedicated civics course or another type of social studies class, University of Wisconsin-Madison education researcher Jeremy Stoddard said covering those topics is vital to creating informed, engaged citizens. It can also reduce political polarization.

“Schools might be the only place where they actually get exposed to different views on key issues of the day,” Stoddard told “Wisconsin Today.” “Otherwise, people get their news filtered in through one way … If they’re not doing it in schools, that’s a real problem.”