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Author: Nathan Steagall

Madison medical professionals use virtual reality and simulation to practice life-saving skills for newborns

NBC 15

UW Health and UnityPoint Health-Meriter have opened a new training facility designed to help medical staff prepare for critical situations involving newborn babies.

The NEST, or Neonatal Education Simulation and Training Center, opened last month as a permanent space where medical professionals can practice life-saving skills using advanced technology and realistic scenarios.

Slow Food, WASB collab on food insecurity panel, homemade meal

The Daily Cardinal

The Wisconsin Alumni Student Board (WASB) collaborated with student organization Slow Food UW to host “Food For Thought” at The Crossing on October 23rd, providing a free, homemade meal and discussion on food insecurity.

Food For Thought — this semester’s collaboration between Slow Food UW and WASB — serves as an initiative to raise awareness around ongoing food insecurity locally and globally, as well as how students and other members of the Madison community can improve access to healthy, nutritious food.

Despite Trump moves, COP30 will show efforts to curb planet warming persist

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Next week, world leaders will descend on the port city of Belém, Brazil for the United Nations’ COP30, which begins Nov. 10.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the largest and most significant annual gathering in global efforts to address climate change, and the U.S. government will likely not attend. The Trump administration has made it clear that it wants no part in international efforts to take action on a rapidly warming planet.

As Wisconsin voters question data centers, tech companies tout research, community gains

Wisconsin Public Radio

Three companies behind planned and ongoing data center developments on Thursday separately announced efforts aimed at supporting Wisconsin researchers and communities.

The announcements come as new polling shows most Wisconsin voters believe the costs associated with data center projects outweigh the benefits of those developments.

UW Health promotes lung cancer screenings for early detection

Channel 3000

UW Health encourages lung cancer screenings, as it is the leading cause of cancer death and the second most common cancer in the U.S. excluding skin cancer.

Dr. Cheryl Czerlanis, a medical oncologist and UW Health and a professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, says screening is a critical tool for early cancer detection.

Amid SNAP uncertainty, Wisconsin campus food pantries are already stretched thin

Wisconsin State Journal

UW-Madison’s food pantry, in one sense, looked a lot like business as usual Friday: Student workers continued to dump bags of carrots and onions into bins. They wrote produce labels. They trained volunteers.

The bevy of activity, however, was set against a backdrop of uncertainty, as millions of Americans were set to lose Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding, known as SNAP payments, due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.

 

4 UW-Madison students diagnosed with viral meningitis

Wisconsin State Journal

Four UW-Madison students were diagnosed with viral meningitis in late October, according to an official with University Health Services.

All the students, who were diagnosed from Oct. 24 to Oct. 31, received prompt medical care, UHS director of medical services Andrew O’Donnell said in an email. One student was briefly hospitalized and has been released. The other three were not hospitalized, he said.

Whatever Happened to Those Old-School ‘Grandma Candies’ Everyone Loves?

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

There’s a certain kind of candy that instantly takes you back-not to Halloween or the movie theater, but to your grandparents’ house. It’s those shiny red-and-green strawberry candies that lived in a glass dish on the coffee table. Unwrapping one revealed a hard, glossy shell that eventually gave way to a soft, jammy center bursting with strawberry sweetness.

 

What’s Missing From Your Favorite Chocolate Bar? It May Be Chocolate.

The New York Times

So how can you tell when your favorite candy changes? I compared current labels on the packages of Mr. Goodbar, Rolo caramels, and Almond Joy with past ingredient lists using the crowdsourced database Open Food Facts, a U.S. Department of Agriculture ingredient database, and data compiled by Richard Hartel, a food science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who each year writes down ingredients in common chocolate bars for one of his classes.

 

Will My Halloween Candy Expire?

CNET

Does Halloween candy expire? Yes, but not in the same way that perishable items such as eggs, chicken and produce do. When candy goes bad, it’s “almost always a physical (drying out) or chemical (lipid oxidation, flavor change) change and not microbial,” Richard W. Hartel, a food science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says.

UW African Studies Program director discusses future of studies following federal budget cuts

The Badger Herald

The University of Wisconsin African Studies Program hosted a discussion Wednesday afternoon featuring UW Vice Provost and Dean of the International Division Frances Vavrus and other program directors. The discussion provided insights into the importance and future of international education amidst federal funding cuts.

$45 million rehabilitation hospital planned for Fitchburg

Wisconsin State Journal

UW Health and UnityPoint Health-Meriter rehabilitation hospital to treat patients recovering from a stroke, neurological diseases or brain or spinal cord injuries is coming to Fitchburg.

A groundbreaking was held Thursday for the estimated $45 million inpatient facility, located at 5094 Greenmarket Place in Fitchburg, which is expected to be completed in early 2027. The 58,000-square-foot hospital will offer 40 private rooms.

UW-Madison researchers testing dairy milk for avian flu

Spectrum News 1

Avian flu—otherwise known as bird flu, or H5N1—has spread to dairy cattle in several states across the country. The first confirmed case of the virus in dairy cattle was recorded in March 2024. Luckily, there have been no cases among cattle in Wisconsin.

As a prime dairy state, Wisconsin has implemented mandatory testing of milk entering the supply chain, and researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are actively helping to keep tabs on bird flu in dairy milk by testing samples.

Microsoft partners with UW-Madison, Princeton to accelerate AI scientific discovery

Channel 3000

Microsoft, in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Princeton University, and the New Jersey AI Hub, announced a unique partnership with TitletownTech to accelerate scientific discovery.

This new model will combine the agility of a startup, the technology of a global company, and a university’s expertise.

UW-Madison secures $13.5 million boost for cancer research accelerator

The Daily Cardinal

The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents approved a request from University of Wisconsin-Madison on Sept. 18 seeking an additional $13.5 million to make space for a cancer research project.

Originally budgeted at $48.5 million, researchers at the Wisconsin Institute for Medical Research found the new structure requires significantly more complex infrastructure, adding $13.5 million to construction costs. The building will  support a cyclotron particle accelerator, [brief definition], and will be ready in 2027 according to UW-Madison’s request.

Rutgers professor talks shifting narrative, reclaiming power at UW Gender and Women’s Studies 50th Anniversary Celebration

The Daily Cardinal

Professor, author and orator Brittney Cooper discussed the need to reframe narratives surrounding attacks on justice and recognize individual power in reforming systems rooted in oppression at her keynote speech at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center Saturday for the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Gender and Women’s Studies 50th Anniversary Celebration.

Protesters rally against Israel ceasefire violations

The Daily Cardinal

Nearly 150 students attended The University of Wisconsin-Madison Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) rally against Israel’s violation of their ceasefire in Gaza Thursday on Library Mall.

Students from the Palestine Solidarity Committee, Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine, Young Democratic Socialists of America and World Beyond War also attended the rally.

UW students react to new Halloween weekend guest fee

The Badger Herald

University of Wisconsin dorms will require residents to register guests for a rate of $100 during Halloween weekend. To ensure students are abiding by the new registration fee, Wiscard and ID checks will continue to be performed at larger dorms to gain entry into the dorm buildings, and all dorms will be locked for the weekend.

UW Health set a patient-care record in fiscal year 2025

Wisconsin State Journal

UW Health broke its own record again this year with number of patients served and hired more than 1,200 employees, while also adding medical facilities.

The health care system cared for about 867,185 patients, hired more than 1,200 employees and reported an operating revenue of more than $6.3 billion over fiscal year 2025, which ran from July 1, 2024, through June 30, UW Health announced Wednesday.

UW-Madison is offering an AI tool to help students practice civil discourse

Wisconsin State Journal

UW-Madison has announced a swath of new programming intended to improve civil discourse across campus among students and faculty with differing viewpoints.

Starting in the spring, the “Wisconsin Exchange: Pluralism in Practice” initiative will bring in prominent speakers to talk about free speech and the value of having a diversity of opinions in a community, UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said last week.

Madison Jamaicans anxiously await word as Hurricane Melissa devastates the island

NBC 15

People in Madison are working to help Jamaicans prepare as a Category 5 hurricane is hitting the islandon Tuesday.

Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica as a Category 5 storm. It’s currently tied for the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the Atlantic. At least seven people have died from the hurricane.

Co-owners of Fya Syde Kitchen in Madison say they have been trying to stay in contact with their family, who are still in Jamaica, to make sure they know just how devastating this storm is.

UW Housing to limit, charge $100 for overnight guests during Halloweekend

The Daily Cardinal

The University of Wisconsin-Madison housing announced students who wish to have guests in dorms over the weekend will be required to register them and pay $100, a new Halloween weekend policy for guests.

Housing said the decision was motivated by safety issues around Halloweekend in past years. “Our goal is to maintain your safety and that of our community, and years of experience have indicated that Halloween weekend requires extra steps,” said Beth Miller, an assistant director of resident life in an email sent to all residents.

UW-Madison center enlists community pharmacies to prevent overdoses

The Capital Times

Local pharmacies across the state are playing a bigger role in preventing people from dying from opioid overdoses, largely because of the work of a Madison-based program that started one year ago. The Wisconsin Opioid Overdose Response Center estimates it has brought more than 185,000 residents into contact with a variety of expanded services since launching last year.

Where can e-scooters be driven in Madison?

Wisconsin state Journal

Thinking about joining the growing number of people zipping around Madison on electric scooters? Know this: They are generally allowed anywhere you can ride a bicycle, though there are exceptions. Madison and UW-Madison police say there’s been a noticeable uptick in e-scooter use over the last one to two years, even as no business renting out commuter scooters has yet opened in the city.

 

Second fire in 2 weeks on UW-Madison campus suppressed by sprinklers

Wisconsin State Journal

Madison Fire Department responded to a second call in as many weeks from the UW-Madison campus after a dryer caught fire in the Gordon Commons at 770 West Dayton Street on Tuesday morning. The building’s automatic sprinkler system kept the fire from spreading until firefighters arrived around 4:50 a.m. to extinguish the remaining flames still burning inside the dryer.

UW-Madison faculty debate campus ideological diversity at conservative student group’s panel

The Daily Cardinal

A conservative student group at the University of Wisconsin-Madison hosted a panel discussion on campus Oct. 15 highlighting growing tensions on college campuses over free speech, representation and political balance in the classroom.

Wisconsin Young Americans for Freedom’s panel, featuring current and former UW-Madison professors and state Rep. Dave Murphy, R-Greenville, examined how universities can preserve open debate while addressing concerns about a shrinking range of political views, especially in the aftermath of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk’s assasination at a college in Utah.

Here’s where 2,000 sunburst chairs go when they leave UW-Madison’s terrace

Wisconsin State Journal

The time to pack away 2,000 sunburst chairs for the winter has come, and Wisconsin Union project engineer Joel Gerrits has the plan all laid out, broken down into five-minute increments.

“Here, if you look at the bottom,” Gerrits said, pointing to a printout he created. “That’s almost 3,000 pieces of furniture. It does take a long time to unload, and then stack, put them away, so it’s not like we just go there and dump them.”

Diversity, UW-Madison and the Universities of Wisconsin

Wisconsin State Journal

UW-Madison has shuttered the equity and well-being department in its human resources office, which worked to retain LGBTQ+ and employees of color.

The university established the Office of Equity, Inclusion and Employee Well-Being in spring 2021 to offer consultation and promote inclusive policies and environments, with a focus on support for traditionally marginalized communities.

 

Health care conference highlights cancer caregivers

ABC 27

A conference at the Monona Terrace in Madison focused on how to support caregivers for cancer patients.

Speakers at the annual Fall Cancer Conference touched on how families are impacted by cancer.

Kristin Litzelman, an associate professor at the UW-Madison School of Human Ecology, said family members of cancer patients may not recognize themselves as caregivers, so they may not realize they have access to resources to support them.

Inside UW’s most haunted building: Science Hall’s ‘Fright Night’ returns

The Daily Cardinal

University of Wisconsin-Madison students explored Science Hall’s rumored hauntings in an interactive haunted house experience Wednesday hosted by the Nelson Institute Ambassadors in collaboration with Japanese Student Association (JSA) and Intermission Theater.

Starting in 2013, the annual Fright Night gives Science Hall a frightening makeover, decorating the building with cobwebs, skeletons, candles and spiders while giving visitors a spooky self-guided tour of the building to celebrate Halloween and the building’s history.

Halloween starship delivery bots, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and more spooky Halloween campus events

The Daily Cardinal

The University of Wisconsin-Madison will host many free Halloween events around campus leading up to Oct. 31.

Starship delivery bots are already celebrating. Customized spooky robot themes are available now until Oct. 31, with personas of Count Snackula, Witchy Wheels, FrankenFeast, Hungry Haunter and Pumpkinbot available to choose. Robots will deliver speaking in-character.

Obituary: Charles “Dan” Cornwell

Wisconsin State Journal

Charles Daniel (“Dan”) Cornwell was born in Williamsport, PA, on Dec. 27, 1924, son of John Gibson Cornwell, Jr., and Anna Moul Cornwell, the latter of Hanover, PA. Dan joined the Chemistry faculty of UW-Madison in 1952. His best-known research was a study of the iodine and chlorine resonances in the nuclear quadrupole resonance spectrum of crystalline alkali chloroiodides.

Detox center’s closure is a ‘looming disaster’, 4 police chiefs say

Wisconsin State Journal

Dane County’s detoxification center has been a resource for police officers and sheriff’s deputies for nearly four decades. But at the end of 2025, without renewed talks between county officials and the company that runs it, that tool to handle the region’s intoxicated will be gone.

On Oct. 17, four police chiefs representing the Madison, Sun Prairie, Middleton and UW-Madison departments sent a letter to Dane County Executive Melissa Agard imploring her and county government to work out a deal to keep Tellurian Behavioral Health’s detox center open.

Madison Magazine writer honored in Best American anthologies

Channel 3000

Originally published in the January 2024 print issue of Madison Magazine, Oloizia’s “All the Lonely People” is noted in “The Best American Essays 2025” among works selected by guest editor Jia Tolentino of The New Yorker. The reported essay explores potential solutions to the loneliness epidemic declared by U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy in May 2023. Oloizia experiments with tempering his own moderate loneliness through cuddle therapy, behavioral economics and a University of Wisconsin–Madison course on human flourishing.

UW Madison announces new Wisconsin Exchange initiative to promote civil dialogue on campus

The Badger Herald

UW-Madison presented a new initiative titled “Wisconsin Exchange: Pluralism in Practice,” aiming to encourage civil dialogue and connect students, staff and faculty in a polarized world, according to UW News.

Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin said in a statement that learning happens best when those from different backgrounds come together and the Wisconsin Exchange will recognize that by building off existing programs and offering opportunities for open conversations, according to the Wisconsin Exchange website.

Wisconsin hockey superfan known for leading crowd in cheers dies

Wisconsin State Journal

There was only one name to know when it came to leading cheers at University of Wisconsin hockey games: Phil.

Phil Dzick, who spent decades organizing Badgers fans counting goals and asking for more at the Dane County Coliseum, the Kohl Center and LaBahn Arena, died Wednesday, a Wisconsin spokesperson said. He was 81.

Navy veteran celebrates becoming UW Health’s 1,000th lung transplant

Channel 3000

Last year, a U.S. Navy veteran received a lung transplant at UW Health, giving him another chance at life.

David Peabody, a former anti submarine warfare technician, began his journey when he was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 2010. Years of declining health brought the Louisville native to Madison, where he was referred to UW Health and the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, one of only three VA hospitals performing lung transplants nationwide. Madison is home to the largest VA lung transplant program in the country.

Alex Warren concert helps launch ‘Future Friends’ mental health initiative

The Daily Cardinal

Pop artist Alex Warren brought his Cheaper Than Therapy Tour to Madison Thursday night for the nationwide launch of Future Friends on college campuses. Future Friends, a new initiative merging live music, mental wellness programming and community action on college campuses, was created by Harris and Sabrina Schwartzberg, founders of Two Bridge and Corey McGuire.

The event opened with remarks from Schwartzberg, who thanked University Health Services for their support and emphasized the importance of mental health on college campuses.

UW-Madison launches privately funded ‘pluralism’ initiative to promote open conversation

The Daily Cardinal

The University of Wisconsin-Madison launched “The Wisconsin Exchange: Pluralism in Practice,” a campus-wide initiative aimed at promoting open dialogue and creating a campus atmosphere where “different points of view are both expected and respected.”

The initiative will streamline the university’s preexisting programs with new opportunities, emphasizing the value of diverse viewpoints and civil dialogue.