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Tony Evers names Sheboygan County Administrator Adam Payne as the next leader of the Department of Natural Resources

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Noted: Raised in Stevens Point, Payne grew up learning how to fish, trap and hunt from his father along the Wisconsin River. He now lives in Plymouth with his family, and is still an avid outdoorsman and conservationist. He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in communications and urban and regional planning.

Judge rules against Kari Lake in bid to overturn Arizona election results

Washington Post

Noted: Olsen relied heavily on the testimony of Rich Baris, a conservative author and pollster who goes by the name “The People’s Pundit” on Twitter. Baris told the court that interviews he had conducted with 813 residents in Maricopa County proved that the printer problems were to blame for Lake’s loss. A defense witness, Kenneth Mayer, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, called the theory “pure speculation.”

In Memphis, the Phonics Movement Comes to High School

New York Times

Quoted: Mark Seidenberg, a cognitive scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who has studied reading, described the program as “the legacy of balanced literacy” because it offers teachers many options, some more effective than others.

“There are things in there that would allow teachers to teach many different ways — and that is the problem,” he said.

What older Americans need to know before undergoing major surgery

CNN.com

Quoted: Ask your surgeon, “How is this surgery going to make things better for me?” said Dr. Margaret “Gretchen” Schwarze, an associate professor of surgery at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Will it extend your life by removing a fast-growing tumor? Will your quality of life improve by making it easier to walk? Will it prevent you from becoming disabled, akin to a hip replacement?

Schwarze, a vascular surgeon, often cares for patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms, an enlargement in a major blood vessel that can be life-threatening if it bursts.

Here’s how she describes a “best case” surgical scenario for that condition: “Surgery will be about four to five hours. When it’s over, you’ll be in the ICU with a breathing tube overnight for a day or two. Then, you’ll be in the hospital for another week or so. Afterwards, you’ll probably have to go to rehab to get your strength back, but I think you can get back home in three to four weeks, and it’ll probably take you two to three months to feel like you did before surgery.”

Among other things people might ask their surgeon, according to a patient brochure Schwarze’s team has created: What will my daily life look like right after surgery? Three months later? One year later? Will I need help, and for how long? Will tubes or drains be inserted?

UW Health expert offers advice for keeping children safe while driving in winter weather

CBS 58

As holiday weekend travel gets underway, an expert at UW Health in Madison is sharing some steps to keep children safe on the roads.

If you want to warm up your car before heading out for the day, try to move the car outside of the garage to avoid the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. Then, ensure that the vehicle’s tailpipe is not blocked with snow or ice.

Vehicles should also be inspected to ensure any child’s car set or booster seat is installed correctly, while remembering that bulky clothing or winter coats will impact the fit of a safety harness on a child.

Rishelle Eithun, a UW Health pediatric injury prevention manager says, ” … but definitely making sure that when we’re traveling, they’re making sure they’re sitting up nice and tall, and they’re not falling to the window to take a nap, those are you know some of those risks we try to stay away from if we could.”

Should UW-Madison Reconsider Striking Fredric March’s Name?

WORT FM

In 2018, students called on UW-Madison to remove the name of Fredric March – a UW alum and one of Hollywood’s most celebrated stars in the 1930s and 40s – from a theater in Memorial Union.

That came after a UW-Madison study, commissioned in the wake of the 2017 white supremacist march in Charlottesville, examined the history of student organizations in the 1920s.

Wisconsin’s 52 Most Influential Black Leaders, Part 4

Madison 365

Noted: Kurt Rose is director of human resources operations for Madison Metropolitan School District, one of the largest employers in Dane County. Before taking on that role in June 2022, he was interim human resources director for the University of Wisconsin’s School of Education, where he had worked since 2018 in a variety of roles with increasing levels of responsibility. He is president of Urban League of Greater Madison Young Professionals, which has dramatically increased its membership over the last few years. Kurt also serves on the board of directors of Madison Ballet.

Dr. Linda Vakunta is Deputy Mayor for the City of Madison, where she assists with housing and human services issues. She previously served as Program Director at the Chicago-based Heartland Alliance International (HAI), where she led, developed, and designed training programs for government, community, and non-governmental organizations to combat trafficking in persons. She holds a PhD in Environmental Studies, a Master’s Degree in Rehabilitation Psychology and a Bachelor’s Degree in psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Black and Hispanic Students Far Less Likely to Receive Race-Matched Instruction

Diverse Issues in Higher Education

Noted: The team of researchers, led by Dr. Taylor Odle, an assistant professor of educational policy studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, found even lower levels of matching in crucial first courses in subjects like reading and writing, as well as gateway classes like algebra. Only 4% of Black students matched in reading and writing courses and only 6% in non-STEM math courses.

Black and Hispanic students had the highest match rates in remedial and developmental courses: 34% for Hispanic students and 17% for Black students. However, Odle’s team found that the faculty in these matches were more likely to be temporary staff or adjuncts, rather than tenured or tenure-track. Although contingent faculty may be equally good teachers as tenured faculty, their positions might limit them as mentors for students of color.

Wisconsin’s 52 Most Influential Black Leaders, Part 5

Madison 365

Noted: Willie R. Glenn Sr. is the first Black teen librarian at Madison Public Library, where he also previously served as youth services librarian assistant. He began his journey here in Madison as Student Support Service Coordinator for UW-Madison’s PEOPLE program, and later as the Assistant Director at Meadowood Neighborhood center. He has served in several capacities in youth and adult education, including as a lead instructor with UW-Madison’s Odyssey program, Out of School Youth Coordinator for Madison Metropolitan School District and a program coordinator for the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee. One of his proudest moments is helping spawn Madison’s “Parks Alive” from his “It Takes A Village Community Resource Fair” which brings people together over the summer months.

Ashley Morse is Rock County Circuit Court Judge, the first Black woman to servein that position. Morse worked for the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office beginning 2010, and was based in Janesville since 2014, representing indigent clients as an assistant state public defender in a variety of criminal and civil proceedings in several counties across the state. Locally, she has served on the Rock County Trauma Task Force, the Rock County Youth Justice Racial Disparities Committee, and has coached the Turner High School Mock Trial Team. She is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and of the University of Wisconsin Law School. She has worked extensively with the National Juvenile Defender Center (now The Gault Center), including her selection as an Ambassador for Racial Justice.

Alnisa Allgood the founder and executive director of Nonprofit Tech, a company that helps nonprofits use technology to work more efficiently, and Collaboration for Good, a  Madison-based company focused on building the capacity of for-profit or not-for-profit community service organizations. Collaboration for Good plans the annual Madison Nonprofit Day Conference, the Social Good Summit, and partners with Forward Fest, Madison’s premier tech and entrepreneurship festival. In the early 1990s, she was the founder and inaugural director of the LGBT Campus Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

University of Wisconsin System spent $240K of federal COVID-19 relief money on unallowable expenses, audit finds

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The University of Wisconsin System spent nearly $240,000 of federal COVID-19 relief money on expenses not allowed under federal criteria, a new nonpartisan state audit found.

The $239,200 in misspent funds identified by the Legislative Audit Bureau on Dec. 22 represent less than 1% of the $564 million that UW System received in federal money to help navigate through the pandemic.

Kathleen Gallagher: Could Wisconsin be the center of a regional medical physics hub? The stage is already set.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Quoted: At the heart of Great Lakes medical physics research is the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Medical Physics. It was the first such department in the country and is the largest in terms of faculty members and graduate students, said Brian Pogue, department chair and a professor in the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health.

“We have close to 100 grad students working on medical imaging technologies,” Pogue said. “We have an army.”

Medical Physics’ faculty are among the university’s top royalty recipients and have developed world class technologies like the tomotherapy radiation technique, the ubiquitous pinnacle radiation treatment planning software, and lunar bone mineral densitometry to detect osteoporosis.

Shining a light on the growing problem of antisemitism in Wisconsin

PBS Wisconsin

Quoted: University of Wisconsin-Madison sociology professor Chad Alan Goldberg said this type of rhetoric is partly driven by what’s termed “affective polarization,” which describes the partisan sorting via demographic characteristics a political party dislikes or distrusts.

“What you see is an increasing reluctance for people to call out antisemitism within their own political camp,” Goldberg said, “So they will be happy to call it out when it appears on the opposite side, but when it appears on their side, there’s a kind of defensive reaction.”

Biden poised to lean into election denial attacks even if reforms pass

Washington Examiner

Quoted: Acknowledging the limitations of the Electoral Count Reform Act, included in the $1.7 trillion omnibus government funding deal struck to avoid a shutdown at the end of this week, University of Wisconsin-Madison Elections Research Center Director Barry Burden agreed it is an “important improvement.”

“It is unlikely that any change in law on its own will have much effect on misinformation about how elections are run in the U.S.,” the political science professor said. “However, the bipartisan initiative to put more guardrails on the electoral count process is a welcome reform that should control efforts to undermine future presidential elections.”

Richland Center points finger at UW-Platteville for mismanaging UW’s smallest campus

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Linda Gentes ordered “Save our campus” buttons this fall to hand out around the University of Wisconsin campus in Richland Center. She was worried about her former employer and its future. With just 60 degree-seeking students enrolled this semester, she and others felt the need for a public awareness campaign to do something, anything, to turn the tide.

Wisconsin’s 52 Most Influential Black Leaders, Part 1

Madison 365

Noted: Angela Fitzgerald Ward is the host of Wisconsin Life on PBS Wisconsin, as well as the limited series Why Race Matters. In addition to her work hosting the television series, Angela is the Associate Dean for the School of Academic Advancement at Madison College. Previously she worked as Director of Family, Youth & Community Engagement for the Madison Metropolitan School District. She is also pursuing her Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she is studying the intersection between education, organizing, and research as it relates to improving outcomes for historically marginalized groups.

Charged with homicide for the shooting death of his mother, a 10-year-old is being tried as an adult. Some legal experts say that’s too young.

Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: Ion Meyn, an assistant professor of law at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, believes 10 is too young to face criminal culpability in the same way as an adult.

“The science is finding that in many respects, it’s irresponsible to decide that a child should be incarcerated for conduct,” Meyn said.

Wisconsin sees 2 major hospital mergers finalized back to back

Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: University of Wisconsin-Madison Economist Alan Sorensen said mergers may give hospitals more leverage in negotiations with insurance companies.

He said insurance companies want to pay as low a price as they can negotiate, while health care providers want to get paid as much as they can negotiate.

“Those negotiations are enormously important for the bottom lines of these companies,” Sorensen said. “A lot of times what’s driving the mergers is that (hospital systems) feel like if they’re bigger, they’ll do better in those negotiations, they’ll have more bargaining power, they’ll be more indispensable to the insurance company.”

If health systems can negotiate for higher rates, he said, it could raise prices for patients.

“If the insurance companies have to pay higher prices to the hospitals, some of the increase is going to get passed through to the consumer in the form of higher insurance premiums,” Sorensen said.

UW-River Falls program will offer in-depth training on humane handling of animals by meat industry workers

Wisconsin Public Radio

An expert at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls hopes a new focus on humane handling of animals at slaughter facilities will help the meat industry build a more sustainable future.

UW-River Falls launched the new Humane Handling Institute at the end of October through funding from the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection’s Meat Talent Development program. Starting next fall, the program plans to offer five different 2.5-day workshops designed primarily for people already working in the meat industry. The topics focus on everything from the safe transport of animals to the operation and maintenance of equipment.

The Gavel Gap: What It Is & Why It Matters

Up North News

Noted: Less than three-percent of all current Wisconsin law students are Black women. According to 2022 numbers, there were 17 Black women enrolled at Marquette Law School (out of 594 total students.) There were 16 (out of 757 students) at the University of Wisconsin Law School.

A statue honoring Vel Phillips, the first Black woman to graduate from University of Wisconsin Law School in 1951, is currently under construction for the corner of West Main and South Carroll at the Wisconsin State Capitol (across from the Park Hotel.) Vel broke the state’s color barrier in 1971, when she was named to the Milwaukee County bench as Wisconsin’s first Black female judge. She was also the first woman elected to the Common Council of Milwaukee (in 1956) and the first African American elected Secretary of State in 1978.

Mabel Watson Raimey became the first Black woman to earn a Bachelor’s degree from UW-Madison in 1918, but was fired from her teaching job after her employer found out she was Black (she had white ancestors, so people often assumed she was, too). Mabel then enrolled in Marquette Law School, where she was the first Black woman to attend, and later, the state’s first Black female attorney.

Study finds Indigenous people face high financial burden of Alzheimer’s disease, related dementias

Spectrum News

A new University of Wisconsin-Madison study finds that Indigenous people face high health and financial burdens from Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

Researchers said it costs $880 million to $1.9 billion annually in additional health care-related costs for dementia diagnoses among Indigenous people.

“Taken together, this work exemplifies the potential benefits of offering programs to prevent, accurately diagnose and treat Alzheimer’s and related dementias among Indigenous adults,” said Adrienne Johnson, assistant professor of medicine, UW School of Medicine and Public Health, and lead author of the study, in a press release.

Deaths on public roadway eyed in new WI farm-related fatalities report

Wisconsin State Farmer

Quoted: “Farm fatality numbers remain alarmingly high, and because a farm is like any other dangerous industrial workplace, the types of hazards are many,” said John Shutske, Ph.D., professor and agricultural safety specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Many continue to be concerned with the high number of deaths on public roadways. Clearly, as farms get bigger and farmers need to spend more time on the road moving from farm to farm/field to field, we are going to see more and more risk on roadways.”

Growing number of UW System campuses installing opioid overdose kits

Wisconsin Public Radio

As opioid deaths surge in Wisconsin, a growing number of universities are making the overdose reversal drug naloxone publicly available in dormitories and other campus buildings.

This fall, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, UW-Milwaukee, UW-La Crosse, UW-Eau Claire and UW-Parkside installed opioid overdose rescue kits called “Nalox-ZONE” boxes aimed at preventing opioid overdose deaths. They join UW-Oshkosh, which installed the boxes in late 2021.

Dairy Management CEO received $2.68 million pay package in his last year on job

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Quoted: “It may be hard to set another record in 2023, but there is a possibility of increased exports,” Robert Cropp, professor emeritus at University of Wisconsin-Madison Cooperative Extension professor said in a recent column.

Each dollar of net farm income results in an additional 60 cents of economic activity as farmers spend money in their local communities, according to University of Wisconsin research.

Engineer vying for Miss America uses platform to show women can succeed in male-dominated fields

Wisconsin Public Radio

A University of Wisconsin-Madison student from Wausau will be the first nuclear engineer to compete in the Miss America contest Dec. 15. Grace Stanke, who was crowned Miss Wisconsin in June, is using her platform to advocate for nuclear energy while showing women they can succeed in male-dominated industries.

The FCC has a new broadband map, and you can challenge the results

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Quoted: “I think it’s going to be a giant goat rodeo,” said Barry Orton, telecommunications professor emeritus from University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Even with its flaws, most agree the new mapping system is much better than the one it replaced.

“I’d say it’s five to 10 times more accurate. The previous one was absolutely worthless,” Orton said.

Stop the blame game, listen to each other and seek out good information to help solve big problems

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

It was a very welcome thing to me that the Journal Sentinel along with the La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Wisconsin Public Radio brought the Main Street Agenda to “We the People” in Pewaukee.Many people I know (regardless of political affiliation, economic status, or cultural background) are fed up with the incessant blaring ads and speeches blaming whoever the “other” is in order to get us vote for them.The ads say very little of substance about what the core issues are, and even less about how they would go about resolving them, only who to blame − again, so you vote for the candidate running the ad. Nothing useful is gained by them.

Wisconsin utilities prepare for attacks like the one in North Carolina that left thousands without power

Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: Burying critical transmission lines is one method to make the grid less vulnerable, according to Vicki Bier, an energy expert and professor emerita in industrial engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“But, that again, is expensive and not something we want to do every place all across the country,” Bier said. “Maybe just a few places might justify that kind of investment.”

Bier said it would likely take insider-level knowledge of the power grid to have a high likelihood of success on a larger scale than the incident in North Carolina. Federal documents obtained by one media outlet indicate other attempts to disrupt Duke Energy substations that authorities say likely involved inside knowledge of critical substations. She noted one of the largest threats facing the grid is that it’s spread out.

“There are not a small number of critical electric facilities where after you’ve protected those, the risk is really small,” Bier said. “There’s a very wide range of facilities and all pose potential risk.”

Sen. Tammy Baldwin proposes federal travel funding for abortion seekers

Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: Amy Williamson is the associate director at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Collaborative for Reproductive Equity, or CORE. She said even before Roe ended, it was difficult for many abortion seekers to raise the funds needed for the procedure, as well as any necessary childcare and time off work. The added requirement of traveling to another state makes it all the more difficult, she said.

“We know that some pregnant Wisconsinites are traveling hundreds of miles to other states at great expense and difficulty in their lives to access the care they need, or they remain pregnant when they do not want to be,” Williamson said.

Miss Wisconsin Grace Stanke is a nuclear engineer. She will compete for the title of Miss America this week.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Noted: While perfecting her violin skills and earning scholarships, Stanke also grew up watching her father work, inspiring her to want to work in engineering. But what field of engineering was up for debate. She said she heard of nuclear engineering while on a campus tour as a high school junior, and it stuck with her. It sounded fun, she said. As she reached graduation, her scope narrowed to aerospace engineering or nuclear engineering. The University of Wisconsin-Madison happens to only offer nuclear, so she started on that path.

Smith: Sandhill cranes provide one of Wisconsin’s greatest wildlife spectacles

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Quoted: “I’ve been privileged to see it hundreds of times, and I can tell you it never gets old,” said Stanley Temple, Beers-Bascom professor emeritus in conservation in the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and science advisor to the Aldo Leopold Foundation board. “It’s simply spectacular.”

What’s the best way to treat spider plants?

House Digest

Spider plants (Chlorophytum comosum) are a species of great houseplants that are known to be easy to grow, tolerant of neglect, and adaptable to many conditions. They are native to the south African coast, as explained by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, so they are used to warm temperatures and consistent sunlight. Truthfully, these are the only two things the spider plant needs besides some water.

Period underwear is better for the environment, but does it work? Experts weigh in

CNN

Brands behind conventional period products aren’t required by the US Food and Drug Administration to list every material included in their products, so knowing exactly what you’re putting in contact with your body is another great reason to use period underwear, said Sarah Frank, a doctoral student and lecturer in the departments of sociology and legal studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Because of Wisconsin’s abortion ban, one mother gave up trying for another child

NPR

Quoted: Decisions about how many children to have, when to start trying, how close in age children should be spaced – are usually not made by individuals alone, explains Dr. Abigail Cutler, an obstetrician-gynecologist and professor at the University of Wisconsin’s medical school.

Those decisions are often made with other people, “partners within the context of families, romantic relationships, extended family or chosen family, friends, faith leaders,” she says. Now, after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, she says a new element must be added to that calculus: the state laws where people live, and whether they have access to comprehensive care during pregnancy.

 

Is the poverty line, created five decades ago, an effective measure of need? Experts say no.

USA Today

Quoted: At a time that has seen record inflation and soaring housing costs, it’s even more important poverty is measured accurately and low-income families access benefits that can help them, said Timothy Smeeding, a leading expert on the poverty line and professor of public affairs and economics at University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“Just being over the poverty line isn’t enough to really help a kid reach the middle class or for a kid to grow well. You need lots of help,” Smeeding told USA TODAY.

UW System’s merger couldn’t save UW-Platteville Richland. What about other UW branch campuses?

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

By this time next fall, the University of Wisconsin System’s smallest campus will cease to exist in its current form.

In-person degree programs at UW-Platteville Richland will end July 1. The 60 students enrolled this fall can transfer to another campus or end their academic pursuits. The two dozen employees who still work there might have a job elsewhere within UW, but there’s been no assurances offered.

With their campus facing extinction, UW-Richland students confront UW president

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

New University of Wisconsin System President Jay Rothman was confronted Thursday with the real human cost of his decision to end in-person degree programs at the Richland Center campus.

About a dozen students, or roughly 20% of the 60-person student body at UW-Platteville Richland, delivered a petition to Rothman at the UW Board of Regents meeting that was signed by nearly 1,400 individuals pleading for the campus to be saved.

Wisconsin’s Assembly maps are more skewed than ever. What happens now?

Wisconsin Watch

Quoted: University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor Ken Mayer examined the geographic phenomenon and found the bunching of Democrats in cities accounted for a 2- to 3-point Republican advantage, nowhere near the current split.

“There will be people who deny it to you with a straight face, but there is no empirical doubt that this remains the most gerrymandered state in the country,” Mayer told Wisconsin Watch.

Secretary Karen Timberlake steps down from Department of Health Services

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Noted: Prior to her appointment earlier this year, Timberlake was a partner at Michael Best Strategies, where she advised in areas of public health, health care delivery and healthy community investments. Prior to Michael Best, she served as the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute Director and an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

Wisconsin senior nose tackle Keeanu Benton announces he will skip the Badgers’ bowl game and enter NFL draft

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Nose tackle Keeanu Benton could have turned pro after the 2021 season, his third at Wisconsin.

The graduate of Janesville Craig High School chose to return to UW for his senior season for two reasons:

To help UW win a Big Ten title and to improve as a player.

UW failed to win the Big Ten West and finished just 4-5 in the Big Ten, but Benton put together his best season with the Badgers and on Friday announced via Twitter he is entering the 2023 NFL draft. Benton could have returned for a fifth season because of the COVID year exception.

There is a hunger in Wisconsin for thoughtful conversation about pressing policy issues.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

This fall, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s La Follette School of Public Affairs was excited to team up with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Wisconsin Public Radio on the Main Street Agenda project. It is part of our mission to bring people together to solve the problems affecting our communities, and our faculty have remarkable research and expertise to help inform those public policy discussions.

Written by Susan Webb Yackee is a professor of public affairs and director of the La Follette School of Public Affairs at UW-Madison.

Fresh off win on same-sex marriage, Sen. Tammy Baldwin proposes federal travel fund for women seeking abortions

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Noted: Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison estimated in an August report that patients in 42 of the state’s 72 counties would see the distance they have to travel to get an abortion increase by an average of 82 miles, one-way. In Milwaukee and Dane counties, which accounted for 56% of the state’s abortions before the Dobbs decision, residents would have to travel 70 and 120 more miles to reach an abortion clinic, respectively. In the state’s 30 other counties, the distance to an abortion clinic didn’t change because they were already closest to an out-of-state clinic.

State Rep. Brandtjen — who called for decertifying 2020 presidential election — is joining race for state senate

Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: Republicans closely tied with Trump have been losing support in suburban areas, said Barry Burden, a political science professor and director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Elections Research Center. He said that goes for the 8th Sen. district as well.

“Now, I think the party has become somewhat concerned about Trump’s presence in the party, given how the Republicans did in this midterm election,” Burden said. “But there still is a lot of enthusiasm for him among the base, especially the activists who turn out in primaries and who give money to candidates.”

More broadly, Burden said election deniers running for statewide office in swing states this year were roundly defeated in November.

“But Brandtjen will be running in a district that is a little redder than the state as a whole. And so there might still be room for someone with her profile to be successful,” Burden said.

Four Menomonee Falls High School alumni will be added to the school’s Wall of Recognition

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Noted: Carolyn Yeager, a 1978 Menomonee Falls graduate and valedictorian, went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Colorado.

She worked for several technology companies developing custom software. That work helped her earn NASA’s Space Act award in 2006 for work she did for the International Space Station, Yeager’s wall description read.

In 2008, she started a mentoring program for human trafficking survivors after noticing the pain and suffering survivors experienced, as well as the lack of resources available for them. She received the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies’ Outstanding Advocacy and Service Award in 2014.

She also turned her career toward developing software for trauma recovery, according to Yeager’s wall description. Yeager became the first to graduate with a doctorate in trauma psychology from the University of Colorado and received the university’s Outstanding Ph.D Clinical Graduate Student award in 2018.

With Republicans in the Senate minority, Ron Johnson says he’ll coordinate with House on investigations

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Quoted: Patrick Remington, a former epidemiologist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s preventive medicine residency program, noted that vaccines “save tens of thousands if not millions of lives each year.” Remington added that the scientific community’s knowledge of COVID has continued to evolve. While vaccines might not prevent infection from COVID, he said, they have been shown to reduce risk of serious illness or death.

“I would encourage any investigation to be non-partisan but also focused not simply on identifying problems, but understand what’s worked,” Remington said. “If a hearing went into identifying the reasons for the success that we’ve seen, then that hearing could be balanced with opportunities for improvement.”