Runners from all parts of the state gathered at the UW-Madison Library Mall for the annual Run Madtown half marathon and 10k run. Runners took off at 7 a.m. and ran through several parts of the city, including the State Capitol, Arboretum and Camp Randall.
When Charity Alfred stepped off the elevator onto the third floor of Witte Residence Hall for the first time, she wasn’t just entering a dorm.
She was entering Essence, a community which she would come to describe as “its own little neighborhood,” carved out of an isolating predominantly white campus.
A teenager knows something isn’t right. They want to talk to a therapist but don’t want their parents to know everything they say. In Wisconsin, whether the teen can control that decision depends on a set of laws, hinging on the age of the minor, that most teens and many parents do not fully understand.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
Run Madtown’s Charity Chaser Runner beneficiary will be the Badger Challenge during a 5K race this month.
The Badger Challenge is a fundraising initiative supporting cancer research at UW-Madison.
A designated runner representing the Badger Challenge will start the Run Madtown Twilight 5K on May 23. Once the final participant crosses the start line, they will try to pass as many athletes as possible before reaching the finish line. For every 5K athlete passed, Run Madtown will donate $1 to the Badger Challenge.
Harm reduction tools like fentanyl and xylazine test strips have years of evidence behind their use, according to Dr. Elizabeth Salisbury-Afshar, a professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health and an addiction medicine specialist.
The Madison school district unveiled its proposal for a new cell phone policy at a School Board meeting Monday, recommending an all-day ban for students in grades K-8 while allowing more leniency for high school students to use their phones during passing time and lunch periods.
At the meeting, some School Board members expressed trepidations about a full-day ban for K-8 students, while others questioned different aspects of the proposed policy.
The Universities of Wisconsin has launched a national search to identify UW-Madison’s next chancellor.
Acting UW system head Chris Patton and UW Board of Regents President Amy Bogost appointed a group of 23 faculty, staff, students and people from the Madison area to identify UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin’s successor.
The center can also serve as a place of mentorship and for networking for staff and students at UW-Madison, MATC and Edgewood University. It’s a welcoming idea for Christy Clark-Pujara, the chair of the Department of African American Studies at UW-Madison.
Many Madison drivers are paying more than $4 at the pump and say they are feeling the impact.
Average gas prices have increased more than a dollar since the U.S. and Israel first attacked Iran two months ago.
Jon Pevehouse, a political science professor at UW-Madison explained why prices are on the rise.
“In large part because Iran is a central producer, as are the countries around Iran, are central producers of oil, which of course goes into gas,” Pevehouse said.
Particularly with the growth of social media, reports of coyotes have become more common in and around Madison.
That may be due to coyotes getting more familiar with humans rather than a growing population or territorial expansion, said David Drake, leader of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Urban Canid Project.
Law enforcement agencies in Dane County have been using AI-enhanced cameras to help investigate crimes over the past few years, but the Sheriff’s Office must now shift its strategy following a County Board vote.
The board removed $80,000 in funding from the sheriff’s budget for Flock Safety cameras, following concerns over the Atlanta-based company and how local law enforcement use surveillance software. The sheriff had contracted with Flock years ago for two dozen automatic license plate readers, which are scattered around the county.
Saturday is setting up to be one of the most crowded days of the year in downtown Madison, and several streets will be closed because of different events.
The annual Mifflin Street Block Party will take over the area just outside the UW-Madison campus. The event is unpermitted, but Madison police will close some streets to keep things safe.
Also on the panel was Parnia Serjooei, a University of Wisconsin-Madison student with plans to apply to medical school this May. She is the vice president of the UW Persian Students Society and has visited Iran.
Several Downtown and UW-Madison campus-area streets will be closed for a time on Saturday to make way for the annual UW Athletics fundraiser known as the Crazylegs Classic.
More than 9,000 people are expected to participate in the event’s 8K wheelchair race, 8K run or 2-mile walk, with the wheelchair race starting at 9:50 a.m., the run at 10 a.m. and the walk at 10:20 a.m.
The police are assigned and the balconies inspected. All that’s left — as much as city leaders might wish otherwise — is for the drinking to begin.
With the Mifflin Street Block Party scheduled for Saturday, Madison officials on Wednesday laid out a series of warnings and plans pertaining to the annual and unsanctioned bacchanalia that traditionally occurs near the end of the UW-Madison spring semester.
UW Madison hosting Family Gardening Day in May.
Spirited school pride, interactive games and opportunities to double donations are all part of this year’s Day of the Badger, a two-day fundraising effort supporting the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Sponsored by the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association, the annual event brings together alumni, students and supporters through both virtual and in-person activities aimed at raising critical funds for campus programs and initiatives.
Organizers say more than 150 areas across campus are participating this year, including schools, colleges, departments and other causes. Donors can choose where to direct their contributions through the event’s website.
The University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center welcomed the public this weekend for its annual open house, giving visitors a closer look at cancer research and prevention efforts.
The event featured lab tours, interactive exhibits and family-friendly activities, including appearances by Bucky Badger.
This spring, Kennedy Elementary School music teacher Christian Bonner became one of six educators in the state to win a $1,000 grant to study original art by Wisconsin artists.
Bonner is also a clarinet player pursuing his second master’s degree from UW-Madison to get his principal’s license. He said exploring unique music relevant to his young students is key to getting them excited about it.
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is inviting the community to explore science up close this weekend during its annual UW Science Expeditions.
The free, campus-wide open house runs Friday through Sunday, April 10–12, across UW–Madison. Organizers say the event is designed to connect the public with scientists, students and research spaces through hands-on experiences.
UW Science Expeditions features dozens of venues and activities spanning disciplines from astronomy to zoology. Visitors can take part in interactive exploration stations, attend live science shows and tour labs, museums and greenhouses across campus.
Throughout the weekend, participants can visit locations such as Washburn Observatory, campus greenhouses, and research centers, while meeting scientists and learning about ongoing work at the university.
On the Near West Side, newcomer Ellen Zhang cruised to victory in District 8, defeating fellow UW-Madison student Bobby Gronert 1,677 votes to 401. Zhang had been endorsed by Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and outgoing council member MGR Govindarajan.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is opening its doors for Science Expeditions, an annual campus-wide science open house held April 10-12.
The community is invited to try hands-on activities at different stations, tour research spaces, view Science Spectacular Shows, and attend lectures.
This is the 24th year of the event, and it is free and open to all.
Dane County’s low unemployment rate, and its role as driver of Wisconsin’s economy, is tied in part to Madison-based Exact Sciences, according to a University of Wisconsin report.
“The Economic Impact of Exact Sciences on Dane County and Wisconsin” was published by UW-Madison’s Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy before Exact Sciences was acquired on March 23 by Abbott for $23 billion.
Civil rights activist Ruby Bridges will be on the University of Wisconsin campus for “A Fireside Chat With Ruby Bridges,” according to the Wisconsin Union Directorate. The event will take place at Memorial Union in the Shannon Hall April 8 at 7 p.m. as part of the Wisconsin Union Directorate Lecture Series.
The “Fireside Chat” consists of a 60-minute moderated Q&A and a 30-minute audience Q&A, according to the Wisconsin Union. Prospective attendees can submit questions for Bridges through the Wisconsin Union website.
Differing views about Flock cameras in Madison, on UW-Madison’s campus and at the state Capitol have come to a head atop five of the city’s traffic signal poles.
Madison officials discovered in recent months that five license plate surveillance Flock Safety cameras — one on UW-Madison’s campus and four on Capitol Square — are mounted on city-owned property and may be in violation of city rules.
The Wisconsin Union will return its iconic sunburst chairs to the Memorial Union Terrace on April 15.
A Terrace chair return party will follow on April 17, starting at 3 p.m. The event will feature free Terrace-themed watercolor painting from 5-8 p.m., music from DJ Margaux from 3-5 p.m. and lawn games, according to a press release.
Dr. Lauren W. Yowelunh McLester-Davis is a Research Fellow in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and on the advisory council for the Native American Center for Health Professions.
Dr. Jeneile Luebke is an assistant professor in the School of Nursing at UW-Madison and an enrolled member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians. Her research focuses on gender-based violence in the lives of Indigenous women, using community-engaged and Indigenous-specific research methodologies.
Tara Tindall, an enrolled member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, is the Native American teacher leader for the Madison Metropolitan School District, where she oversees the Native American Education Program and the federal Title VI program serving Native students from pre-K through 12th grade.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in history from UW-Stevens Point and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from UW-Madison.
AI technology is developing so fast, experts say advances are becoming hard to measure.
Recognizing this, the Universities of Wisconsin has launched a free series of videos for people who need a starting point.
The AI Skills Access Passport (ASAP) was developed in partnership with UW Credit Union. The series is designed for the general public.
Start the countdown. The iconic sunburst chairs will soon return to the Memorial Union Terrace.
The Wisconsin Union announced Tuesday that the chairs will be placed on the Terrace on April 15. The Union will host a Terrace chair return party on April 17 at 3 p.m.
UW-Madison is closing its astronomy outreach center, UW Space Place, this spring after nearly 36 years, citing budget cuts.
Over the last three decades, the astronomy department has run Space Place as a hub for guest lectures on space and astronomy research, as well as for programming for Madison-area schools and families that teaches about UW-Madison and Wisconsin’s impact in the field.
“Space Place was the primary way of satisfying that sort of demand for the community for decades,” said Jim Lattis, UW Space Place’s longtime former director, who retired last May after more than 30 years and who has continued to volunteer there post-retirement. “So that’s going to go away. The astronomy department is going to do their best, but there’s no longer anybody who is specifically dedicated to doing astronomy outreach in those forms.”
Students at UW-Madison’s student radio station WSUM are celebrating a recent winning streak of awards, including a top honor of best college station in the nation from the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS).
A physical medicine and rehabilitation resident at UW Health is reimagining crayons by creating adaptive crayons for people with developmental disabilities, stemming from her past experiences.
Amber McKenna was in her first residency program back in 2022 at Louisiana State University Health Shreveport when she came up with the idea to use molds to melt wax and make fun-shaped crayons. Her friend suggested she take them to work and hand them out to kids at the hospital where she was doing a pediatrics residency.
The importance of relationships cannot be overstated, said Robert McGrath, a University of Wisconsin-Madison psychologist who gives public talks on how to live with vitality and resilience. He pointed to one of the longest-running studies on well-being, where Harvard University scientists followed the same group of men since 1938. The study revealed a simple yet profound conclusion: Good relationships lead to health and happiness.
Share experiences with others, even if it’s a solitary activity, McGrath recommended. He teaches a meditation class, for example, which is not exactly made for sparking conversation. But he sees strangers connect before and after class.
“Any form of connection is going to boost one’s mood,” he said. “Make that effort. Get out and connect.”
The Cap Times will host middle and high school students this July for the 2026 Youth Press Corps, a summer journalism camp coordinated by the Greater Madison Writing Project at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The Cap Times recently spoke with Gronert and Zhang — both sophomores at the University of Wisconsin-Madison — about their campaigns and hopes for the district, which includes much of the UW-Madison campus and an off-campus area north of Regent Street.
The candidates said housing affordability, transit access and public safety are top priorities. They talked about rising food insecurity, as well as how the university is responding to concerns about the impact of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids.
Richard Leffler never heard of The University League before meeting his wife, Joan, and for years, he attended events only as her guest. When she became president, he watched her lead the nonprofit through the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home to keep programs afloat.
“She worked all day on that computer. She got her own Zoom subscription. Anything she did, she did 100%,” Leffler said.
Since its founding in 1901, the organization has grown from a small social group of faculty wives into a nonprofit that awards scholarships to University of Wisconsin-Madison students and sustains a vibrant community of members. It awarded over $166,000 in scholarships last year.
West Bend has been working with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Applied Population Lab, which found the district’s enrollment changes are primarily driven by demographic trends, particularly declining birth rates not made up for by new arrivals. The report also notes that kindergarten classes have not replaced the number of graduating seniors in recent years.
After taking community and tribal input, the Manoomin Team aimed to address mixed concerns regarding the state of the restored wild rice — some members of the community feared the rice because of the water it was living in, while others thought that if manoomin was present and growing, it must be healthy, according to Ojibway.
The Hua Lab at UW, led by associate professor within the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology Jessica Hua, has been a key partner in testing samples for heavy metals and PFAS.
“What we know so far … is that wild rice plants, the way that they grow, the way they make seed, is pretty protective of people’s health,” Erickson said. “I think we feel pretty good about people eating rice in the estuary and we can share that with people.”
The University League is celebrating 125 years of providing student scholarships to UW-Madison students, while also promoting volunteer, educational and social activities for its members.
The league has 31 endowed scholarships, along with a general scholarship fund.
Angelina Vang said she knew she wanted to go to college since her freshman year.
She has choices – she’s been accepted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Loyola University and DePaul University. She’s looking to study medicine and become an emergency physician.
The office has also supported Yang, who plans to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“A lot of the students here are first generation,” Yang said. “Having that support really builds our self-esteem and making sure that we know what we want to do in the future and how we can go to college or enter the workforce.”
“The World According to Allee Willis” will be screened as part of the Wisconsin Film Festival on April 10 at the Chazen Museum of Art. Fenton, an award-winning creative visualist and writer (she’s won three Emmys and a Grammy) and Willis’ longtime partner, will lead a discussion after the screening.
Willis grew up in Detroit in the 1950s during the height of Motown and was heavily inspired by the music coming out of the city. She studied journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison before moving to Los Angeles.
Amy Zelenski, associate professor and director of Education Innovation and Scholarship at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, teaches an elective class in improvisational theater.
She recently visited WPR’s “The Larry Meiller Show” to discuss the relationship between improv and improving health care.
“I started my career working with medical residents, and I realized that they could say the words, but they were struggling with the connection piece,” Zelenski recalled.
On Feb. 21, the station took home one of the highest awards in college journalism: the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System named WSUM the best college station in the nation.
Kelsey Brannan, the director of student radio at WSUM — one of the station’s two full-time employees — said WSUM’s students provide listeners with authentic shows and music that aren’t replicated on other stations or streaming services.
“You’re hearing students bring in music that you’re not hearing anywhere else,” Brannan said. “They’re telling news stories from their perspective that you’re not getting from the national news or even local outlets — it’s a really unique perspective. You’re hearing sportscasters who are students who are calling the games that their peers are participating in. There’s something really special about that.”
In December, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to bar hospitals from providing “sex-rejecting” services for youth under 18.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says that children may experience “irreversible damage” when exposed to puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgical operations at a young age — for example, infertility, impaired sexual function, diminished bone density and other irreversible physiological effects.
As a result, UW Health and Children’s Wisconsin halted what the health organization calls gender-affirming care in January. If hospitals didn’t abide by federal rules, they would lose funding for Medicare and Medicaid.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter, with help from the Madison Anarchist League chapter and several local bands, organized a fundraiser for Sudan at the Mousetrap on Feb. 28.
Ada Deer was an esteemed Native American leader from Wisconsin and the first woman to lead the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
She grew up in the Menominee tribe and graduated from UW-Madison with a degree in social work, later establishing the American Indian and Indigenous Studies program.
The Open Seat food pantry, located in the UW Student Activity Center, provides food and hygiene products to students experiencing food insecurity. Open to all UW–Madison students without income verification, the pantry aims to remove barriers to basic needs so students can focus on academics instead of worrying about their next meal.
Now, the eight part-time student employees who operate the pantry are calling on Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Lori Reesor to fund a full-time, permanent staff position dedicated solely to pantry operations. Student organizers say the current model — in which students manage every aspect of a large-scale food distribution program — is no longer sustainable.
When University of Wisconsin-Madison juniors Amelia Wozniak and Kaleb Roessler worked for a moving company last spring, they were shocked by the amount of housing items that were thrown away in good condition. That observation led them to create Badger Reclaim, an organization dedicated to helping other UW-Madison students by recycling and distributing gently used items to those in need.
Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin called the win “exciting” and highlighted the importance of the partnership in saving lives.
“The Badgers contributed more than 15,400 donations over the course of the competition,” Mnookin said. “That included our students, alumni, community members, anybody who went and donated.”
“Colorectal cancer is the number two most common cancer in the United States,” Dr. Noelle LoConte, M.D., said. “It is decreasing, but not fast enough.”
The 25th Bowlin’ for Colons event was held Sunday, with participants raising money for colon cancer research at the UW Carbone Cancer Center.
Bowlers laced up their shoes at one of nine south central Wisconsin bowling alleys for the fundraiser. Colon cancer is the third most diagnosed cancer.
The Blk Pwr Coalition and non-profit organization Leaders Igniting Transformation reflected on the Black Panther Party’s historical activism and current political challenges at an event Wednesday at the Multicultural Student Center.
The University of Wisconsin’s Blk Pwr Coalition held an event in collaboration with the Leaders Igniting Transformation club Wednesday to talk about the history of the Black Power Movement.
The Badger Challenge is launching a new event to raise funds for cancer research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The 2026 Badger Challenge Ball will bring together survivors, supporters, researchers, and community partners for a formal dinner, reception, and auction at The Edgewater. Set against the lakefront backdrop, the evening aims to celebrate hope while directly supporting life-changing cancer research.
Award-winning writer, healing justice practitioner and yogi Yolo Akili Robinson hosted Black Love as A Practice: A WorkShop to Help us Embody The Love We Desire Wednesday night, an event planned by the Black History Month Planning Committee (BHMPC) and the Black Cultural Center (BCC) where students rethought Black love not just as a feeling, but as a practice and a behavior.
Beyond Lake Mendota, Ho-Chunk ancestors left their mark on the landscape through a massive collection of effigy mounds used for gathering, ritual and burial, with at least 4,000 remaining throughout Wisconsin. Today tourists can visit the roughly 200 mounds in Madison, and take the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s First Nations Cultural Landscape Tour – a walking tour that explores upwards of 12,000 years of human history (running between 1 March and 30 November).
“I think the tours are so important for campus,” said Omar Poler, an Indigenous education coordinator in the Office of the Provost and a member of the Sokaogon Chippewa Community. “They’ve changed the way that UW-Madison sees and understands its own place,” Poler notes, adding that this is especially true of the tour guides.
