“It’s an absolutely gorgeous church (with) great historic distinction,” said Barbara Copeland Buenger, a member of the church’s roof committee and a professor of art history emerita at UW-Madison. “To have something of such beauty and historical value is really magnificent given the modern character of the city.”
Category: Community
2 Madison School Board members criticize administration on weighted grading
The district announced Friday evening that it would not use weighted grading as part of its response to the Wisconsin Guarantee program. Approved by the state Legislature, the program guarantees admission to UW-Madison for students who rank in the top 5% of their class and guarantees admission to the 12 other four-year Universities of Wisconsin campuses for students who rank in the top 10%.
Madison move-in week: Essential tips for UW students and families
Move-in day at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is underway Monday and will continue through Wednesday.
Each student has a designated move-in date and time, which can be found in their “My UW Housing” account.
The keffiyeh and pro-Palestinian campus protests
On the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, the keffiyeh — a checkered scarf with deep cultural significance for Palestinians — has become a focal point in the debate over free speech and overall student activism.
UW-Madison loses federal grant to train psychologists in city schools
“Our hope is that some of them will choose to remain here in Madison and work in Madison schools, where they have had a shortage of school psychologists,” said Katie Eklund, a professor in UW-Madison’s School Psychology program who led the project.
UW-Madison researchers find automation apps can enable dating abuse
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that automation apps, like iPhone’s ‘shortcuts’, can be a vehicle potential abusers use to control their partner’s activities on their mobile device.
Rahul Chatterjee, an assistant professor of computer science at UW and founder of the Madison Tech Clinic, said Madison Tech Clinic helps individuals who have been virtually stalked or harassed by their partners.
Lifelong Learner: Lifelong learning helps seniors age joyfully
Embracing an attitude of lifelong learning can help seniors combat the effects of aging and find meaning in every day. In a study by Scientific American, seniors who regularly engaged in learning over three months performed similarly to adults 30 years younger on cognitive tests.
Whether it’s online learning, art classes or stargazing in Wisconsin state parks, educational opportunities can help make your golden years shine.
City officials prepare UW-Madison students for August Moving Days
The clock is winding down to August Moving Days in Madison.
Around this time each year, thousands of college students’ leases end in the Madison area, which means many are moving out while others are moving in.
Galin Scholars expands free college prep program in Madison
The Galin Scholars program is welcoming its third cohort of high school students this fall, continuing its expansion of free college prep in the greater Madison area.
The Madison-based nonprofit now supports 15 students from seven high schools. The first five students graduated from high school this summer and will begin college at Northwestern University, Lake Forest College and the University of Wisconsin-Madison this fall.
She was a teen mom and a longtime nurse. Next? Madison school teacher.
Edith Noriega never intended to become a teacher. But after working with students, Noriega transitioned to a bilingual resource specialist role at Schenk Elementary School on the city’s east side. She also enrolled last year in the school district’s new Grow Your Own program.
The program provides tuition, a $17,000 stipend and benefits for Madison Metropolitan School District staff to work toward an associate’s degree from Madison College. Participants are then guaranteed admission to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to work toward a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and teaching credentials.
US has slashed global vaccine funding – if philanthropy fills the gap, there could be some trade-offs
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rofessor of cultural anthropology and international studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.How Dane County, UW-Madison have prepared for potential measles outbreak
Jake Baggott, UW-Madison associate vice chancellor and executive director of University Health Services, said in a statement that UW-Madison as a campus has been actively preparing over the last year for a potential measles case.
University Health Services led and coordinated a walkthrough exercise with campus, local and state public health officials to simulate their preparedness during a measles outbreak, Baggott said
UW-Madison organization repurposes old dorm, apartment furniture for students in need
An organization at UW-Madison is giving gently used college furniture a second life.
“Badger Reclaim” was founded by two UW-Madison students, Amelia Wozniak and Kaleb Roessler.
They started Badger Reclaim during their sophomore year after they noticed the amount of college dorm and apartment items that get thrown on the streets of Madison during student move out.
How helping others helps ourselves: Ripples of power
This positive behavior can be taught. “It’s kind of like weight training,” says researcher Helen Weng from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “We found that people can actually build up their compassion ‘muscle’ and respond to others’ suffering with care and a desire to help.”
A ray of hope for public broadcasting
While at NPR, Jack Mitchell co-created the long-running afternoon news program “All Things Considered” and was its first producer and newscaster.
Mitchell’s retired now as emeritus professor at the UW School of Journalism and Mass Communication, where he taught after stepping down as WPR’s director in 1997. In the meantime, he’s authored several books, including my favorite, “Wisconsin on the Air: 100 years of public broadcasting in the state that invented it.”
Jack a few days after the Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced it was closing its doors after Congress took away its $1.1 billion annual funding (about $1.60 per person.)
Why a UW-Madison ‘treasure trove’ of health data could go away
Fifteen years ago, the Population Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison launched the County Health Rankings and Roadmaps. The resource provides a “treasure trove” of public data and offers a snapshot on the health of nearly every county in the nation, said Sheri Johnson, the institute’s director.
While more than 700,000 people use the resource each year, Johnson said, County Health Rankings and Roadmaps will soon lose its primary funder. The New Jersey-based Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is set to end its support after 2026.
UW exhibit asks ‘What If Everything Turns Out OK?’
The world is a terrible mess right now. Climate change, government upheaval, warfare have many of us on edge and filled with anxiety about the future. The University of Wisconsin-Madison Nancy M. Bruce Center for Design and Material Culture asked its Design and Innovation graduate students to contemplate the question, “what if everything turns out OK?”
Discovery of grenade at UW-Madison Arboretum deemed safe
The discovery of a training grenade closed the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum for a couple hours as authorities investigated.
The incident took place Aug. 4 at about 9:30 a.m. when a university police officer on routine patrol in the arboretum was flagged down by a passerby who reported they saw a grenade sitting on a railing on the boardwalk near Mills Street entrance, according to a news release from UWPD.
Middle-earth comes to UW-Madison
In a sunlight-dappled room in UW-Madison’s Science Hall, between historical maps from around the planet, rests a world unlike the others: the fantasy land of Middle-earth.
Curated by Mark Fonstad, the exhibit showcases the hand-drawn maps, writing tools and stories behind the atlas depicting the “Lord of the Rings” realm his mother Karen Wynn Fonstad created.
New UW-Madison lab creates ‘Green Book’ for city’s Black residents
Launched this spring, The SoulFolk Collective is the first research lab to be housed in UW-Madison’s Department of African American Studies. The group is made up of about a dozen undergraduate and graduate students and is led by Jessica Lee Stovall.
“As a Black studies professor,” Stovall said, “I’ve been really interested in the ways that we can create learning and research environments that are Black affirming, that center Black joy and Black liberation, Black organizing.”
Airlines add direct flights from Madison airport for Wisconsin football road games
University of Wisconsin football fans have new options to fly nonstop from Madison for two road games in 2025.
American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines have added direct flights from Dane County Regional Airport on the weekends of Badgers games at Alabama and Oregon.
Olbrich’s corpse flower begins its bloom
The flower was received as a donation from UW-Madison in 2002, and last bloomed in 2023.
UW Health pediatric gynecologist connects with patients through social media
Dr. Katie O’Brien, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has been leveraging social media to bridge the gap between doctor and patient, fostering a more familiar and approachable relationship.
As one of only two specialty-trained pediatric adolescent gynecologists in Wisconsin, Dr. O’Brien dedicates her career to diagnosing and treating common female pelvic conditions. She practices at the Teenage and Young Adult Clinic in Middleton and the UW Health Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic in Madison.
Rent Smart training helps tenants navigate Wisconsin’s housing crunch
In an increasingly tough housing market, a University of Wisconsin program seeks to give renters a leg up in their search for safe, affordable housing by educating them about the process and improving their standing with landlords.
Rent Smart, a free, six-module course developed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension, covers the essentials of renting — everything from what’s affordable, what to look for during an apartment inspection and what to ask a landlord while applying.
What’s your favorite farmers market?
A recent survey by UW-Madison shows that 80% of Americans say they go to a farmers market at least once a year.
UW Athletics coy about hosting more concerts at Camp Randall
Given how well this summer’s concerts at Camp Randall Stadium were received, music fans might not have to wait another 28 years to attend another.
“The overall success of these shows demonstrates that we are capable operationally of hosting more shows and there is definitely an appetite and demand for more in the future,” said Mitchell Pinta, deputy athletic director and chief revenue officer for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s athletics department.
UW-Madison professor grades the state’s nearly 600 water utilities
University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor of Public Affairs Manual Teodoro has issued report cards for nearly every water utility around the state as part of his Wisconsin Waterworks Excellence Project.
“The idea here with the report card is to signal to the public where utilities are doing well, and where they are doing poorly in a way that is easily accessible,” said Teodoro.
Can A.I. help revitalize Indigenous languages?
Like the Skobot, most new A.I. technologies developed by Native scientists are designed for a specific language community. Jacqueline Brixey, a computer scientist formerly at the University of Southern California and now joining the University of Wisconsin, created a chatbot called “Masheli” that can communicate in Choctaw. Drawing from a collection of animal stories, the chatbot can listen and respond to users in both English and the target language, helping conversational skills.
Madison lacks cultural nuance in mental health care. Latino leaders have an answer.
The program began in 2019 as part of a certificate partnership between the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education and Centro Hispano, funded through a five-year grant by the Wisconsin Partnership Program.
What UW-Madison can learn about food pantries from a Big Ten rival
This year, Rutgers University-New Brunswick launched a center offering students a food pantry, a free textbook rental program, a clothing closet, a lounge and more. The pantry is designed to feel like a mini Trader Joe’s with baskets and rows of shelves filled with fresh produce, frozen meat and non-perishable goods.
How to support Madison’s student food pantries
Students at Madison’s largest college campuses are increasingly turning to school food pantries to feed themselves and their families.
As the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Madison College work to meet students’ needs, here’s how community members can support local efforts.
Wisconsin’s Camp Randall Stadium in Madison ranks among the top 25 college-football venues by USA TODAY
“Don’t leave your seat at the end of the third quarter,” they wrote. “That’s when Wisconsin fans ‘Jump Around’ to the 1992 House of Pain classic of the same name, often causing Camp Randall to shake and vibrate. The tradition started in 1998, took a very brief, highly controversial hiatus in 2003 and became a rallying cry during the Badgers’ development into a Big Ten powerhouse under former coaches Barry Alvarez and Bret Bielema.”
Aquatic invasive species endanger Wisconsin waterways. Controlling them takes center stage Aug. 9
The goal of AIS Snapshot Day is to help the public learn to identify, report and control harmful species in state waters, said Emily Heald, rivers educator with the University of Wisconsin Madison Division of Extension.
The events are free and hosted by local experts on or near lakes, ponds, rivers and wetlands.
UW-Madison, Madison College see growing need for student food pantries
As college students locally and nationally struggle to feed themselves due to rising costs and other challenges, schools have tried to find ways to address the growing needs. UW-Madison and Madison College recently expanded their pantries and offerings, and UW-Madison hired a full-time employee just to concentrate on students’ basic needs.
UW Extension’s FoodWIse nutrition education program shutting down after federal funds eliminated
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension is ending its 30-year-old FoodWIse nutrition education program and laying off more than 90 people after losing a federal grant.
Wisconsin science camps for kids with autism face uncertain future after federal funding cuts
Michael Notaro, director of UW–Madison’s Center for Climatic Research launched STEM camps in Beloit, Wisconsin Dells and at Madison’s Henry Vilas Zoo with a simple mission: make science accessible to all children with neurodivergences – but the camps are at risk.
“The main goals of the camps is to support the kind of interest and pursuit of science, degrees and careers, to foster and support neurodiversity and to celebrate it,” Notaro said.
UW-Madison Extension to wind down FoodWIse programming after federal funding cuts
UW-Madison Extension will wind down its FoodWIse programming following federal funding cuts, administrators announced Friday.
The move comes after the passage of President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, which eliminated funding for the National Education and Obesity Prevention Grant Program (SNAP-Ed). The funding cuts go into effect on Sept. 30.
Henry Vilas Zoo host STEM camp for neurodivergent kids
The camp is organized in collaboration with Dr. Michael Notaro, director of the Center for Climatic Research at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. With prior funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Notaro and his team have led similar camps in Beloit, Madison, and Wisconsin Dells.
However, future programming is uncertain. Federal support for the camps ended earlier this year when NSF grants were discontinued. While funding remains in place for this summer’s sessions, organizers are seeking alternative sources to continue beyond 2025.
UW Health app provides urgent care wait times, clinic navigations
If you are not feeling well and need an urgent care appointment, UW Health has an app letting you know the wait times at each clinic.
90+ FoodWIse educators laid off as UW Extension program loses federal funding
FoodWIse, a statewide program providing nutrition education to low-income families and community organizations, announced on Friday that its federal funding is being eliminated.
Madison STEM camp for neurodivergent kids could see final year after funding loss
Dr. Michael Notaro, director of the Center for Climatic Research at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, launched the program several years ago.
“I think that’s inspired by my son Hayden,” Notaro said. “He’s autistic and a wonderful boy. My wife is also autistic. And based on my desire to support and foster neurodiversity, we created three STEM camps.”
OUR VIEW: Keep ginormous shows like Coldplay, Morgan Wallen coming to Camp Randall
After three successful shows in the last month at Camp Randall — the first in 28 years — Madison is back on the map for the biggest musical acts. The city, its boosters and the university should do everything it can to keep it that way.
Wisconsin Books to Prisoners, DOC take another step on used book access
Hardtke said the department recognizes the importance of education and books as part of rehabilitation and maintains libraries at all institutions, offers books on electronic tablets and has educational partnerships with the University of Wisconsin System and the state’s technical colleges.
Wisconsin nutrition education program, jobs in jeopardy after Congress cuts funding
Most of the money goes to the University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension, which offers programming in 70 of the state’s 72 counties. While UW Extension is exploring ways to sustain some SNAP-Ed capacity through alternative funding sources, it has already begun winding down operations. Layoff notices went out to 92 SNAP-Ed educators, UW Extension director Karl Martin said.
How a Madison doctor is trying to help others find affordable housing
Henderson brushed off the experience, hoping it was a fluke. But after matching into residency at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, she overheard a medical student lamenting about their housing struggles and something clicked.
“The lightbulb went off in my head,” Henderson said. “I realized I think this is a nationwide issue and then really started to look into it from there.”
Coldplay dazzles Madison with one of first music concerts in Camp Randall since 1997
Coldplay performed their first-ever Madison concert on Saturday with a sold-out show at Camp Randall Stadium.
The concert was one of the first Camp Randall has seen since The Rolling Stones in 1997 and was the band’s first performance in Wisconsin since 2009.
Coldplay’s Chris Martin gives shoutout to woman he met on the street in Downtown Madison
Two Madison Area Technical College students had just left the Kollege Klub bar near the UW-Madison campus early Saturday when one of them thought she recognized Coldplay’s lead singer.
Coldplay’s sold-out Madison show at Camp Randall Stadium Saturday had about 58,000 attendees, according to a UW-Madison official. It was the latest stop in the band’s Music of the Spheres world tour, which began in 2022 and spans 225 nights in 80 cities across 43 countries.
Only two people arrested, and no others caught red-handed, at Coldplay concert in Madison
All in all, Coldplay at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison July 19 went off without a hitch — and without a viral moment.
There were only two arrests and no other ejections at the concert, according to Marc Lovicott, the executive director of communication for the University of Wisconsin-Madison Police Department.
Cigarette smokers can earn $380 for participating in UW-Madison study
Smokers can earn $380 if they are willing to kick cigarettes for four weeks and participate in a University of Wisconsin-Madison study.
The UW Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention is assessing whether nicotine pouches, like Zyn, can replace smoking.
Local communities with state buildings get boost from Wisconsin budget
Wisconsin’s new budget boosts some of the funding available to local communities, including those that are home to state buildings.
State buildings are exempt from property taxes, but Wisconsin does compensate the cities, villages and townships where those facilities are located. The increased funding will affect hundreds of communities that house state facilities ranging from prisons to universities to office buildings.
How to design an actually good flash flood alert system
And when it comes to warning people about flash floods in particular, experts still stress the need to get warnings to people via every means possible.
That’s why a “Swiss cheese” approach to warning people can be most effective in overcoming that last mile, Chris Vagasky, a meteorologist and manager of the Wisconsin Environmental Mesonet at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, explains. (And it’s similar to an ideology used to prevent the spread of disease.)
“You know you got slices of Swiss cheese and they’ve got holes in them. Nothing is ever perfect. But if you layer enough pieces of cheese, it reduces the risk because something might go through one hole, but then it gets blocked,” Vagasky says. “We always want people to have multiple ways of receiving warnings.”
‘Queer people were living, loving, suffering, surviving – but invisible’: west Africa’s groundbreaking gay novel 20 years on
Ainehi Edoro, associate professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and founder of the literary blog Brittle Paper, says the novel marked a turning point. “For a long time, queer characters in African literature were either invisible or treated as symbols of crisis, like their presence was a sign that something had gone wrong,” she says. “So when Dibia wrote a novel that centred a gay Nigerian man as a full human being, that mattered. He pushed back against an entire archive of erasure.”
Leaders prep for Coldplay concert at Camp Randall
Camp Randall will welcome 58,000 people Saturday night for Coldplay’s first show in Wisconsin in 16 years.
That will be about 8,000 more people in the crowd than at each of Morgan Wallen’s shows last month, according to officials.
The sold-out Coldplay show coming Saturday to Camp Randall Stadium, like the two shows by country music superstar Morgan Wallen at the stadium three weeks earlier, is a game-changer for the city, said the president of Downtown Madison Inc.
Coldplay is coming to Madison’s Camp Randall Stadium this weekend. Here’s what to know about the concert.
Coldplay made Wisconsin history in October when it became the first concert announced at Madison’s Camp Randall Stadium in nearly 28 years.
Now, eight months later, the show is finally here — even though country superstar Morgan Wallen made sure the Chris Martin-led British band wasn’t the first to actually perform there. Wallen had two concerts, on June 28 and 29.
Measles cases surge past 1,300; experts blame erosion of trust in science
Dr. Jonathan Temte, associate dean for public health and community engagement at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, said that the resurgence is partly due to the erosion of public confidence in science and public health systems, fueled by misinformation.
“It really is made more difficult when you don’t have an intact public health system, when you don’t have a population that believes in evidence-based science and is wracked with concerns about conspiracy, and you have people who basically profiteer off misinformation,” Temte said.
The legacy of Robert La Follette’s progressive vision
In 1873, just before becoming a student at the University of Wisconsin, La Follette heard Edward Ryan, soon to become the state’s Chief Justice, give a commencement speech. Ryan bluntly defined the central questions of the coming era: “Which shall rule—wealth or man; which shall lead—money or intellect; who shall fill public stations—educated and patriotic freemen, or the feudal serfs of corporate capital?” This question would animate La Follette’s career as he tried to live up to UW president John Bascom’s insistence that students accept the obligations of citizenship and their duty to serve the state.
9 ways Madison residents will feel the new state budget
Andrew Reschovsky, an emeritus professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, estimates Madison schools will receive about $9.6 million more in special education aid over the next two years. But he said without increases to general aid or equalization aid — other major forms of state funding for schools — Madison must rely more heavily on local taxes for funding.
“Even though special education aid has been increased, it’s still a relatively small part of total state aid,” he said. “At the state level, state aid all together is less than half of total money needed, or total revenues, to support K-12 education.”
Y’all, we need to talk about ‘y’all’
“It feels like home when I hear it,” says Kelly Elizabeth Wright, an assistant professor of language sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who grew up in Tennessee. “It’s from where I was raised. But it makes me feel included and welcome. And I think that’s part of why people are embracing it, because it has this capacity to make others feel included and welcome.”
Orion Initiative seeks to fix rural Wisconsin healthcare
A new collaborative grant-making effort administered through the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, dubbed the Orion Initiative, seeks to reverse these trends for rural Wisconsin. Orion Initiative Chief Executive Officer Dr. Amy Kind and U.W. Medicine Associate Professor of Rheumatology Christie Bartels spoke with Monday Buzz host Brian Standing about the project.