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Author: knutson4

Who is Kamala Harris’s mother, Shyamala Harris?

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The family lived in Madison from the time Kamala was three to five years old. Shyamala worked as a breast cancer researcher in the McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research at University of Wisconsin-Madison, while Donald was an associate professor of economics at the university.

Wisconsin Palestinians have felt isolated from politics. The upcoming election has made it worse.

Wisconsin Watch

University of Wisconsin-Madison student Reem Itani, 20, who was involved in the uninstructed movement in the April Democratic presidential primary, told Wisconsin Watch she felt “very unsafe” living under a Trump presidency, pointing to his administration’s 2017 travel ban from seven predominantly Muslim countries, which Trump called a “Muslim ban.”

Wisconsin’s inmate population swells as other states limit incarceration and close prisons

Wisconsin Watch

Extended periods of supervision after release from prison do little to improve public safety, according to Cecelia Klingele, a University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School professor of criminal law. The long terms “may interfere with the ability of those on supervision to sustain work, family life and other pro-social connections to their communities,” she wrote in a 2019 study examining 200 revocation cases.

“Fewer, more safety-focused conditions will lead to fewer unnecessary revocations and more consistency in revocation for people whose behavior poses a serious threat to public safety,” she added.

New biohealth workforce training program aims to be ‘major catalyst’ for Wisconsin economic growth

Wisconsin Public Radio

A new workforce development program in Wisconsin will train 2,000 workers over the next five years in a growing sector of the health care industry.

The Actualizing Biohealth Career Pathways project is a partnership between Wisconsin technical colleges, universities and employers that want to keep up with anticipated demand in the field.

After declaring financial emergency, Alverno College lands $10 million gift

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

John Morgridge is the former chairman of Cisco Systems, and Tashia Morgridge is a retired special education teacher. They have a long history of donating to Wisconsin colleges and universities. Both of them graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and have given hundreds of millions of dollars to their alma mater for various causes, such as faculty recruitment and a new computer and data sciences building. They have also given money to Cardinal Stritch University — where Tashia earned a doctorate of education — before the university closed in 2023.

The surprising depth of human-insect relationships with Heather Swan

WORT FM

On today’s show host Douglas Haynes sits down with Heather Swan to talk about her new book “Where the Grass Still Sings: Stories of Insects and Interconnections.” Heather Swan is a poet, writer, and lecturer in the University of Wisconsin – Madison’s English Department. Her book tells stories of human-insect connections through the lens of science and art, with a focus on the way we can connect across species.

UW System funding ranks 43rd nationally. A big budget request would move it to middle of pack

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The state public university system is leaning heavily on a low national ranking in a bid seeking $855 million from the Legislature.

Wisconsin ranks 43rd among 50 states in funding its public four-year universities, according to the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. The advocacy group represents the UW System, as well as other state university systems.

First of its kind ‘energy dome’ storage project takes another step forward in Wisconsin

Wisconsin Public Radio

Beyond partnerships between the utilities, Alliant is also working with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison College, Shell Global Solutions U.S. and the Electric Power Research Institute.

Oliver Schmitz is a professor in nuclear engineering and engineering physics at UW-Madison and director of the university’s Clean Energy Community Initiative. He said the Clean Energy Community Initiative helped Alliant craft its proposal for federal funding, and is providing support to the community benefits portion of the plan.

After RNC spotlight, Milwaukee Democrats Cavalier Johnson and David Crowley head to DNC

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

For those who are able to seize the moment, the attention can serve as a type of political currency to open doors and build credibility within the Democratic Party, according to University of Wisconsin-Madison journalism professor Michael Wagner.

“Politicians are ambitious. Politicians who are local leaders in places where there’s a national convention have an opportunity to parlay that ambition into some dollars, into some connections. But it’s not a silver bullet to the next step up the political rung,” Wagner said.

Monkey business: Wisconsin primate sanctuary running out of space

Wisconsin Public Radio

In the 1990s, Kerwin worked at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Harlow Center for Biological Psychology and cared for 97 rhesus monkeys, the same species she cares for today.

The center was named after Harry Harlow, a scientist who used methods of isolation and maternal deprivation on infant monkeys to show the impact of contact and comfort on primate development in the 1960s and 1970s.

Wisconsin businesses say high interest rates have slowed expansion plans

Wisconsin Public Radio

Steven Deller, a professor of agricultural and applied economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the Fed increased interest rates to slow the economy and bring inflation down — and it looks like it’s working.

“They wanted to put the brakes on the economy,” Deller said. “They didn’t want to slam the brakes. That’s what happened in the early 1980s (when) inflation was so out of control.”

Nearly 1K students died at federal Indian boarding schools. At least 11 of those schools were in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Public Radio

Kasey Keeler, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, joined WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” to discuss the reports.

Keeler teaches civil society and community studies as well as American Indian and Indigenous Studies. She is also an enrolled tribal citizen of the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians and Citizen Potawatomi.

What to know about Ben Wikler, chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Barry Burden, director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Elections Research Center attributed the success of donations to Wikler.

“Under Ben Wikler, the state Democratic Party has become one of the most prolific parties for fundraising in the country,” Burden said of the state party’s chairman. “During the height of the pandemic, he organized online events featuring celebrities and other notable figures to attract interest and donations from across the country. Protasiewicz is now benefitting from the national network of donors that has built up since 2020.”

With available housing at an all-time low, Madison city planners look to increase density to accommodate rising population

PBS Wisconsin

Kurt Paulsen said he can understand that perspective, because for current residents, the market seems to be in good shape.

“We’ve lived in our house for a long period of time, it’s gone up in value,” said Paulsen, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of urban planning. “And we refinanced our mortgages at less than 3%. So for the majority of people who are already here, it does not look like there’s a housing crisis, right?”

But Paulsen, who researches housing policy and has written two of Dane County’s housing needs assessments, has many data points ready to illustrate the extent of the housing problem.

Wisconsin voters reject ballot questions restricting governor’s power over federal funds

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“Either the messaging from Republican and conservative leaders did not fully penetrate or the confusing legal language led some Republicans to vote ‘no’ rather than enact something they were unsure about,” said Barry Burden, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of the university’s Elections Research Center. “Democrats did put some money into the campaign to defeat the amendments and their message appears to have reached their primary voters.”

Now a Notre Dame sculpture teacher, Keith Kaziak returns to Wausau to install new work

Wausau Daily Herald

Kaziak, a 1998 graduate of Wausau East High School, earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Minnesota and a master’s of fine arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He takes part in exhibitions across the Midwest and has won numerous awards, including Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture in 2021, bestowed by the International Sculpture Center.

Author Joyce Carol Oates describes moment at UW-Madison that could have ‘sabotaged’ her life

Wisconsin Public Radio

Acclaimed author Joyce Carol Oates loved much of her time as a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She loved the city, the water and the student union.

But she has written that her campus years in Wisconsin were in some ways a “lost time” for her. She found much of the older, male-dominated faculty — and their old-school teaching methods — to be dull. And her time featured a turning point that could have led her down a path away from her future accolades, which include a National Book Award, the National Humanities Medal and several Pulitzer Prize nominations.

How Wisconsin groups are mobilizing voters on Aug. 13 constitutional referendum questions

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“Turnout is going to be quite uneven across the state, just depending on whether there’s something of interest that’s really got voters’ attention or not. That unevenness is probably going to determine whether these issues end up passing or not,” said Barry Buden, a political science professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of the university’s Elections Research Center. “These are big choices made by a relatively small number of folks.”

Her 15-year-old son was arrested. Brookfield police won’t give her the body camera footage.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Cary Bloodworth, a University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School professor, told Public Investigator that she hasn’t seen a blanket policy for juvenile records like this one before.

However, she said there are some advantages to such policies, like maintaining a minor’s privacy. The goal of the juvenile justice system is focused on rehabilitation, she said, rather than punishment.

State law provides an exception for news organizations that request law enforcement records about children and youth for “the purpose of reporting the news,” as long as they do not publish their identities.

2 Republicans compete for chance to take on Pocan in 2nd Congressional District

Wisconsin Public Radio

“It’s been a very quiet contest in a district that is not likely to elect a Republican anytime soon,” University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor Barry Burden said of the GOP primary race. “But this is at least an opportunity for the party to pick a favorite and try to make a stab at winning a difficult seat.”

Kamala Harris campaign leans into celebrity influence with Bon Iver, Megan Thee Stallion

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Almost no one will cast a vote because of a celebrity endorsement alone, according to Michael Wagner, a professor of journalism and mass communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. But he said endorsements serve other purposes, like energizing blocks of voters, earning free media attention and shaping a narrative about the campaign.

“When the stories are about Kamala Harris being Brat and Tim Walz Midwestern dad memes, they aren’t about the things that candidates would rather not answer questions about on the campaign trail,” Wagner said.

Wisconsin seeing record high employment, wage growth. Let’s break down what that means.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

In February, March, and May of this year, Wisconsin led the nation in “inflation adjusted hourly earnings growth,” the release said, citing data from the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics.

That means “wages are going up faster than prices” — a very good thing, said Ross Milton, an assistant professor of public affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who specializes in state and local finance.

Wisconsin’s largest cities have synergies to make tech hub flourish with new partnership

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Madison serves as the innovator – home to the University of Wisconsin-Madison where research is king. The school ranks eighth in nation for research expenditures among public and private universities according to the National Science Foundation with more than $1.5 billion invested annually. UW also ranks high in patents granted – 12th in 2023. Additionally, the city’s startup scene is consistently ranked within the top-150 ecosystems globally. This innovation leads to products that need to be manufactured. Enter Milwaukee.

Wisconsin’s opioid crisis complicates an already troubled health care system

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Written by Christine Durrance ,a professor in the La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin–Madison who studies health economics and policy, with particular interests in risky behavior, including substance use and the opioid crisis; maternal, infant, and reproductive health; child maltreatment and domestic violence; and competition in health care markets.

Tammy Baldwin says Eric Hovde wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Does he?

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

On the health care page, Hovde doesn’t explicitly say he wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act, rather that the health care system is “deeply flawed and in need of reform.”

The webpage “has many inaccurate statements and misrepresentations of data,” said Donna Friedsam, a researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studies health care policy and reform.

 

Gaza ceasefire negotiations in peril after assassinations

WORT FM

Jennifer Loewenstein joins 8 O’Clock Buzz host Tony Castañeda to discuss the assassination of two of Hamas’ senior leaders in recent days, and how the killings may affect the ceasefire negotiations underway in the 10 month Israel-Gaza war. Loewenstein is a human rights activist and freelance journalist. She was formerly (now retired) Associate Director of Middle Eastern Studies and Senior Lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.