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Author: Nathan Steagall

Woods Equipment Invests In The Next Generation

Q106 Madison

As part of its 80th anniversary celebration, Woods Equipment is making financial contributions to agriculture programs at universities and local organizations across the Midwest. Among the universities is UW-Madison.

“For 80 years, our equipment has worked alongside farmers and the next generation of land stewards,” said Jillian Love, Marketing Manager at Woods Equipment. “These partnerships are our way of giving back and making sure there is a next generation ready to carry that work forward.”

Madison growth strains housing supply near UW campus

Channel 3000

For more than a half-century, Madison has been considered one of the most desirable places to live in the United States. Since 2020, Dane County has added nearly 30,000 residents.

The engine driving much of that growth is in the heart of Madison.

“You can’t discuss housing in Madison without first understanding the impact of the university,” said Paul Soglin, who served as Madison mayor for nearly a quarter-century.

‘Pets for Life’ brings vaccines, supplies to Lac du Flambeau pet owners

ABC 9 Wausau

“Pets for Life” is a monthly wellness clinic hosted in Lac du Flambeau, in partnership with UW-Madison’s School of Veterinary Medicine, offering veterinary services that have been scarce in the community.

For the last year, staff from the university’s School of Veterinary Medicine have been making the trips, offering veterinary services that have been scarce in the community.

Golden oyster mushroom begins to invade Boone County. It’s not pretty

KBIA University of Missouri

No one could have predicted the massive spread of golden oyster mushrooms in the United States.

The golden oyster mushroom, or Pleurotus citrinopileatus, seems like an innocent and edible fungi, but it has become a rapidly spreading, invasive species throughout the central and northeastern United States.

In the last 15 years, it has been found in moist woodlands throughout Missouri, especially the upper part of the state and in Boone County.

What a former UW athletics director thinks of the job today

The Cap Times

To get around these days, Pat Richter has been using a cane, a concession to the toll on his 84-year-old hips and knees from playing football.

But he has taken it all in stride.

Even if that stride, in his words, has been reduced to “slow but sure” steps.

Some would suggest that’s the approach the University of Wisconsin should take in hiring its next athletic director, a title Richter once held for 14-plus years.

DeForest students participate in German+ Program at UW-Madison

The Star

On Monday, April 20, 2026, the German+ Program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison hosted its 34th “German Day” in Union South on the UW–Madison campus. Since 1990, students of German from high schools and middle schools have been showcasing their knowledge of German through poetry, spelling, skits, Pictionary, charades, solo and ensemble music performances, posters, and memes.

UW-Madison students reveal solar-powered race car

NBC 15

The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s solar racing team is unveiling a new solar-powered vehicle built by students.

What is Badger Solar Racing?

Badger Solar Racing is a student-run team at UW-Madison that designs and builds solar-powered vehicles to race in competitions. The organization began focusing on creating solar vehicles in 2021.

Kyle Ma, the president of Badger Solar Racing, said over 100 current and former Badgers are involved in the organization.

UnityPoint Health – Meriter, UW Health given 5-star rating from federal group

Channel 3000

UnityPoint Health Meriter and UW Health were recently found to be among the highest-quality healthcare providers in the nation by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

The agency gave the hospital and healthcare system a five-star rating for its quality of care including patient experience, safety and clinical outcomes.

Wisconsin students use prediction markets as experts warn of “public health crisis”

NBC 15

A University of Wisconsin-Madison business student predicts politics on prediction market platforms, wagering on foreign election outcomes and what President Trump will say during the State of the Union. In the past five months, Jack Campion says he’s made about $110,000.

“I’m making money doing what I love, like I’ve always loved reading the news,” Campion said. “It’s working. Doesn’t work for everybody though.”

Wisconsin Originals: Kathryn Clarenbach co-founded National Organization for Women

Wisconsin State Journal

Born Kathryn Dorothy Frederick, Clarenbach was raised in Sparta. After graduating from Sparta High School as valedictorian at age 16, Clarenbach went directly to UW-Madison to study political science. By 1946, the 22-year-old had earned her bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D.

She began her women’s rights career while devising a continuing education program for women through the University of Wisconsin-Extension. While she saw success with the program, her husband, a real estate agent, was able to rework his schedule to stay home with their kids.

UW Health launches WorkForward to bolster the nation’s health care workforce

Madison365

UW Health has announced the creation of WorkForward, a new non-profit organization that is designed to bolster the national health care workforce.

“Building on the health system’s nationally recognized leadership in developing innovative career pathways in health care, WorkForward is the first employer-based intermediary in health care, aligning employers, educators, governing bodies and other organizations around shared workforce development goals and outcomes,” UW Health said in a news release.

Wisconsin high schoolers, did you apply to UW-Madison? We want to hear from you

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

May 1 marked Decision Day for high school seniors. The date is the traditional deadline for high school seniors to commit to a college or university for the fall semester.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is doing some reporting on which Wisconsin students do – and do not – get into the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The state flagship is the most competitive school to gain admission.

UW researchers identify revolutionary biomarkers for early detection of Huntington’s disease

The Daily Cardinal

University of Wisconsin-Madison professors, Jane Paulsen and Michael Newton  discovered that two proteins decline in the human brain as Huntington disease develops, furthering improvements for treatments of the disease.

Huntington’s disease (HD) is a rare, genetic disease that causes neurons in the brain to degenerate over time, affecting a person’s movement, cognition and overall quality of life.

Psychedelic researchers confront the hard questions as medical research expedited

Wisconsin Examiner

To understand psychedelics — those powerful and cryptic agents of the mind — scientists are exploring uncharted landscapes. “We don’t yet really know why psilocybin or other psychedelic drugs seem to have the effects that they do,” Professor Paul Hutson, director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Transdisciplinary Center for Research in Psychoactive Substances, told the Wisconsin Examiner.

Wisconsin hospitals receive delayed reimbursement for COVID-19 response

WPR

A federal disaster recovery program is reimbursing some Wisconsin hospitals for costs related to COVID-19 response, years after the start of the pandemic.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency recently announced $5.4 billion in funding awarded from its Public Assistance program to states, local governments and health care systems across the country.

Wisconsin leaders push for state role in growing nuclear fusion industry

The Daily Cardinal

UW-Madison ranked third in the nation in the 2025 U.S. News and World Report’s Best Nuclear Engineering Programs. Four fusion companies spun out of the university — Xantho Technologies, SHINE Technologies, Type One Energy and Realta Fusion — and nearly 600 plasma physics PhD students have graduated from UW-Madison since its founding, interim chancellor Eric Wilcots said in opening remarks.

Meet the person stepping into Jennifer Mnookin’s shoes

Wisconsin State Journal

UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin is signing off as the university’s head this week, making way for an interim leader.

Eric Wilcots, the dean of UW-Madison’s College of Letters and Science, the largest division on campus, is succeeding Mnookin as the university’s temporary leader after her last day on Saturday.

The Smashing Pumpkins to bring tour to Kohl Center in October

Channel 3000

Another iconic music group is making a stop in Wisconsin this year. The Smashing Pumpkins will perform at the Kohl Center on Sunday, Oct. 11, UW Athletics announced Monday.

The alt rock band, known for hits like “Tonight, Tonight” and “1979,” are celebrating the 30th anniversary of their third studio album, “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.”

UW-Madison’s Bascom Hill filled with dozens of decoy turkeys to mark 50th anniversary of wild turkey reintroduction

NBC 15

It wasn’t pink plastic flamingos that filled Bascom Hill on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus Sunday morning. It was decoy turkeys.

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the reintroduction of wild turkeys to Wisconsin, the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) planted 50 decoy turkeys at the base of Bascom Hill.

Rising gas prices in Madison impacting cost of groceries

NBC 15

Gas prices have jumped nearly 78 cents a gallon in Madison over the past month, and experts say the increase is driving up grocery costs.

Regular gas is running at $4.57 per gallon on average in Madison, according to AAA.

At Jenifer Street Market on Madison’s east side, co-owner David McKenzie says prices continue to climb, particularly when it comes to produce.

Opinion: Jennifer Mnookin’s UW-Madison leadership deserves high marks

The Cap Times

Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin and I met for a sendoff lunch this week as she departs the University of Wisconsin-Madison after nearly four years.

I asked her how it feels to be moving to a job — the presidency of Columbia University in New York City — once held by Dwight Eisenhower, a future U.S. president.

She smiled and said the story told at Columbia is that Eisenhower, who joined the university in 1948 as a World War II hero, left to run for president in 1952 because, well, the politics required to run the entire nation would be simpler than Columbia’s.

Happy 75th, Unitarian Meeting House!

Isthmus

On Feb. 4, 1951, Max Otto delivered the inaugural sermon at the new Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Unitarian Meeting House. The UW-Madison philosophy professor and congregation member said that the striking building on Madison’s near west side, distinguished by a soaring glass and wood “prow,” “will truly be our own if our religious undertaking, ennobled by the beauty of its new home, has vitality and meaning enough to transcend the fame of the building in which it is housed.”

Hack at UW, elsewhere exposes dangerous weakness in online education

Wisconsin State Journal

College students might imagine many nightmare scenarios during finals week:

  • A damaged laptop entombs an important essay.
  • The least useful member of a group project accidentally deletes the shared Google document.
  • A burrito consumed on the eve of a crucial presentation fulfills an untimely revenge.

But what if these horrors weren’t yours alone? What if all students and their professors found themselves living a shared nightmare at the worst possible time?

Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin leaves UW-Madison for Columbia University

ABC 27

UW Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin is leaving the university to serve as the 21st president of Columbia University.

She received a farewell party at the Memorial Union Terrace for her last week, including music by the University of Wisconsin Marching Band. She later posted a farewell letter saying serving has been one of the greatest privileges of her life.

Her last day on campus is May 15.

College graduates navigate the job market as AI continues to develop

NBC 15

Thousands of students will graduate from colleges in Wisconsin this month, and while concerns about artificial intelligence loom, a college dean and a Madison college student said personality and durable skills are irreplaceable.

Alejandra Beal is a student studying radiography at Madison Area Technical College. She also works as a peer coordinator specialist for the college’s career and employment services department, helping students navigate resources, schedule appointments and approve jobs on Handshake.

Opinion: Has the University of Wisconsin Really Abandoned DEI?

City Journal

Universities across the country have wound down their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in recent years, following criticism of the programs’ patterns of racial discrimination and compelled speech. In some cases, DEI roles were not removed but simply renamed and moved to other departments. In fact, a recent Inside Higher Ed survey found that 43 percent of universities have rebranded their DEI initiatives. The names change; the agenda remains the same.

UW-Madison La Follette School of Public Affairs: New UW-Madison study shows drinking water filtration systems may add months to lifespan

WisPolitics

As more than two billion people worldwide still lack access to safely managed drinking water, new research from the La Follette School of Public Affairs investigates the effects of early-life exposure to citywide water filtration on longevity in the early 20th-century.

UW professor talks war in Iran, rising fuel prices

The Daily Cardinal

Jon Pevehouse, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who specializes in international relations, discussed the Iranian war, its effects and what its outcome might look like in the United States in an interview with The Daily Cardinal.

The U.S. began bombing Iran in February 2026. The campaign, Operation Epic Fury, was intended to upheave Iranian leadership, destroy their military and end Iran’s nuclear program, according to President Donald Trump.

UW-Madison names 9-member committee to find next athletics director by summer

ABC 27

UW-Madison has officially launched a search for its next director of athletics.

Incoming Interim Chancellor Eric Wilcots is leading the search process after outgoing Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin asked him to take charge, given her time as chancellor ends May 16.

“Wisconsin Athletics plays a vital role in the life of our campus and our community; its success matters,” Wilcots said in a statement issued Tuesday.

Nuclear fusion facility could come to Madison’s former Oscar Mayer plant

Wisconsin State Journal

A nuclear fusion company that got its start at UW-Madison is nearing the end of a nationwide search for the right place to advance the technology it hopes will power the future.

It didn’t have to look far.

After some promising successes using powerful magnets to shape plasmas, Realta Fusion is ready to build a prototype fusion device, which it will use to test whether the plasma inside will perform as expected at a commercial scale.

Colts GM part of search committee for next UW athletics director

Channel 3000

UW-Madison on Tuesday announced the launch of its search for a next director of athletics, with a search committee including the Indianapolis Colts’ general manager.

Outgoing Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin asked interim Chancellor Eric Wilcots to take the lead on the search process, given that her time as chancellor concludes on Saturday. The new athletics director is expected to begin their role this summer.

Opinion: School cellphone bans alone won’t reverse test score drops

The Cap Times

In his article in The Atlantic, grimly titled, “America is sliding toward illiteracy,” Idrees Kahloon uses data largely from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, to reflect on the recent degradation of American education. Kahloon uses this data to test theories as to why K-12 test scores have plummeted since 2007 after a brief but substantive window of improvement.

Warm weather and April showers bring … more foliage

Wisconsin State Journal

Question: Are we ahead of schedule with the spring greening?

Answer: We all just lived through a historic April here in Madison, and broadly across the region.

In Madison and Milwaukee, April 2026 was the wettest April since record keeping began in 1869 and 1871, respectively. Madison received 7.26 inches of rain during the month, more than half of that amount coming on just three days (1.34 inches on April 2, 1.53 inches on April 14 and 0.98 inch on April 17).

Tom Still: These ‘moonshots’ are grounded in engineering know-how

Wisconsin State Journal

The term “moonshot” most often reminds people of the Apollo space program that first landed astronauts on the moon in 1969 or April’s Artemis II mission, which was the first crewed flight beyond Earth’s orbit since 1972.

Devesh Ranjan, the new dean of UW-Madison’s College of Engineering, is hoping people will also associate “moonshots” with lofty research goals in the coming decade.

 

UW-Madison Chancellor Mnookin is leaving after 4 years. Here’s what she says went right — and what didn’t

Wisconsin State Journal

After four years leading UW-Madison, Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin’s exit this week is like a graduation of sorts.

“Like many of our seniors, I feel like I am graduating after four years, and so I, too, know the enormous life-changing impact that a place like this can have,” Mnookin said during an interview Monday in Bascom Hall.

Neurodegeneration in Down Syndrome Begins at Birth

Technology Networks

Signs of neurodegeneration in individuals with Down syndrome may start as early as birth, a critical stage of brain development, a new study shows. The research, from investigators at the Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, provides an atlas of early brain development in Down syndrome that could inform potential targeted treatments to address the developmental and degenerative aspects of the condition.