Noted: Dr. David Drake starts his mornings when the campus is just lit by a few headlights and street lamps. He’s on the look out for coyotes, the animals you hope you don’t see in your backyard. He leads the UW-Canid Project. “At least with some of our preliminary data, the coyotes are concentrating a lot of their time and activity to green spaces within the urban landscape,” said Dr. Drake.
We just never get tired of this one. Every year the more than seventy-one hundred employees at state agencies in Dane County, the UW and UW Hospital participate in the local component of the State Employee Combined Campaign to support non-profit charities.
(Video) Camp Kesem is a college student run camp at UW Madison for kids whose parents have cancer. Camp counselor Joey Seliski visited News 3 This Morning to talk about it.
Noted: Other speakers included members of UW-Madison’s Blackout movement, a group formed last year to raise awareness of racial issues on campus.
Noted: UW-Madison Police: Last year, the number of officers who received crisis intervention training increased to 72 percent from 5 percent of the 60-officer agency, Chief Sue Riseling said.
Quoted: “It greatly reduces the use of force, if we know the reason someone isn’t complying is not because they’re being belligerent but because they’re ill,” said UW-Madison Police Chief Sue Riseling, who co-chaired the local task force. “That’s a huge psychological shift for an officer. We generally want to help those who are ill and control those who are belligerent.”
Kenneth Cole began his activism at UW-Madison last fall, when he organized a march in solidarity with students at the University of Missouri, whose protest over race issues on campus ousted two top administrators.
During the course of a professional friendship spanning more than two decades, UW-Madison neuroscientist Richard Davidson has had many opportunities, formally and informally, to discuss his research with the Dalai Lama.
There are several events planned in Madison to mark the anniversary of the Tony Robinson shooting, including a rally Friday afternoon (4 p.m. on Library Mall).
One of the organizers of the event is UW Blackout Movement, a student group formed in November in response to issues of racial tension on campus and in the community.
“There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot. These essays are the delights and dilemmas of one who cannot.” With those words from conservationist and author Aldo Leopold, the start of the Foreword to “A Sand County Almanac,” naturalist Kathy Miner will kick off the annual Madison Reads Leopold event Saturday at the UW-Madison Arboretum.
Quoted: “I’m excited to be able to share their voice, their vision, their creative abilities with a wider audience,” Jose Vergara, a volunteer instructor at Oakhill, said. “I really wanted to get this writing and art out because a good chunk of it is really impressive. And I feel it should have a wider audience. Not simply because it’s made by inmates but because it deserves to be seen–it’s worthwhile art.”
Vergara is a Ph.D. student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying Slavic languages and literature. He started teaching courses at Oakhill Correctional Institution in 2011 after receiving a grant from the UW-Madison Center for the Humanities.
Noted: The video features Dr. David Drake, who runs the Urban Canid Project at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. With the help of graduate student Marcus Mueller and community volunteers, Drake tracks the movement of coyotes throughout Madison.
Anyone can volunteer via Drake’s website, and tracking season runs through April. Drake has encourages citizens to report coyote and fox sightings via iNaturalist.
Noted: As strong supporters of the Madison Commons, we also love the partnership with the UW School of Journalism and the Commons, and the support of the Madison Community Foundation and MG&E.
Noted: Humanities courses taught by volunteers at Oakhill Correctional Institution in Oregon form the core of the project. The classes are taught mostly by UW-Madison graduate students and faculty members. And like the teachers, inmates choose whether to participate.
A milestone was reached for a UW-Madison outreach efforts.
Tuesday, the UW South Madison partnership celebrated its 1 year anniversary.
The partnership is a space in the Villager Mall on Park Street that connects the university with people who live on Madison’s south side.
Quoted: Mike Wagner, associate professor of journalism; Kathy Cramer, director of the Morgridge Center for Public Service and political science professor; Donald Downs, professor emeritus of political science, law and journalism; John Sharpless, history professor.
I’ve only been to a couple of Chicago City Council meetings in my journalistic career. I distinctly remember just one, a debate over whether elephants should be barred within city limits.
Last year, when Gov. Scott Walker’s administration tried to erase the “Wisconsin Idea”—a principle rooted in the progressive era of the early 1900s—howls of protest rose across the state.
Noted: “We invite over 35 local celebrities and UW athletes come and they help out and they act as our servers,” says Ellen Breunig with UCP.
Noted: Coyote meeting, chat: A public meeting on the Milwaukee County coyote trapping and tracking project will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Monday at Wil-O-Way Underwood, 10602 Underwood Parkway, Wauwatosa. Researchers from the UW-Madison Urban Canid Project will discuss coyote ecology, coyote-human conflict and behavior modification as well as ongoing monitoring and management efforts. Representatives of the Milwaukee County Parks Department and DNR also will be on hand.
Quoted: “We’re trying to make the campus more accessible as a destination for the best and brightest students in our state,” said Ilia Guzei, director of the X-ray crystallography lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the organizer of the contest.
Noted: According to a UW study, nearly 90% of Wisconsin’s immigrant dairy workers are from Mexico. Some of them have come here from other states, such as Arizona, that have passed laws cracking down on undocumented workers.
The parents of a slain University of Wisconsin-Madison student are renewing their plea that anyone with information about the 2008 homicide contact police.
Two local brothers who didn’t speak to each other for 50 years have been re-united through their shared love of Badger Basketball.
“It’s a lot of time that we can’t get back,” 86-year-old Dick Deering said about the troubling family squabble that’s just ending. “But we can try to make up for it!” Deering said as his brother, Bob, smiled.
The family of a University of Wisconsin-Madison student who was killed in 2008 said they have a DNA match related to the homicide investigation. Kevin and Jean Zimmermann, parents of 21-year-old Brittany Zimmermann, said in a statement to News 3 Tuesday that while they have a DNA match in their daughter’s case, they will not release the name because authorities are not filing charges against him.
Noted: A University of Wisconsin-Madison research project looking at the habits and health of urban coyotes and foxes has emerged as something of an ambassador for the animals. “What we’re really trying to do with this project, in addition to understanding how these animals are using the urban landscape and understanding how health or not healthy these animals are, is trying to engage the public and educate the public and increase the public’s tolerance of these animals so we can increase a peaceful coexistence,” said David Drake, the lead researcher for the UW Urban Canid Project, which studies the urban habits of both coyotes and their cuter, less-threatening cousins, the foxes.
Note: Dane County and City of Madison election officials want to know exactly how much longer [it will take]. That’s why they are working with the UW Political Science Department to time out every part of the process Tuesday. That data will then be entered into a computer model.
Madison voters might notice that they’re being timed when they visit the polls on Tuesday. County Clerk Scott McDonell said in a Facebook post that voters shouldn’t be alarmed. He said the city is working with the University of Wisconsin political science department to collect data on the effect of the voter identification law on lines at the polls.
Noted: Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell and Madison City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl are collaborating with the UW-Madison Political Science Department to time the vote at Tuesday’s nonpartisan primary so adjustments can be made prior to the April 5 presidential primary and spring election, the fall primary in August and the general election in November.
A few students at the University of Wisconsin at Madison have gathered this weekend to create bundles of warm clothing to be given out to homeless members of the community.
Oliver Lees, the president of the BundleUp project, said got the idea after getting stranded during a blizzard. Lees said he felt firsthand the affects of the harsh Wisconsin cold.
Noted: MM: How has the McPherson Eye Research Institute and its events enhanced the Madison community?
For those who have an interest in vision – in the broadest sense of the word – the McPherson ERI is a place where one can present or consider new ideas. The events that are presented range from cutting edge research to basic information about vision and eyes from the cellular to the cultural. By providing a greenhouse for research and ideas, the McPherson ERI helps to keep UW-Madison as a world leader in vision research. This, in turn, helps to foster growth and development in departments and labs throughout the UW, which brings in more resources that can benefit a number of other environments.
Members of a UW-Madison fraternity held what they hope becomes an annual event at the Edgewater Hotel Tuesday.
UW’s Sigma Pi chapter held its first annual Skate for a Cure.
The money raised will be donated to Never Quit, a pediatric cancer foundation started by Chicago Cubs pitcher Jon Lester.
English students at Southern Door High School are beginning to experience a Chinese literary classic in advance of this year’s Great World Texts In Wisconsin Conference. More than 1,200 students statewide including those at Southern Door High School have begun reading Journey to the West, Wu Cheng’en’s novel of sixteenth-century China.
(Video) Quoted: David Gamm, director of the McPherson Eye Research Institute and associate professor, ophthalmology and visual sciences.
Starting on Monday, Madison East High School will be the home of a new food pantry. The first of its kind in Madison. A group of volunteers came together and believed that a high school was the perfect place for a food pantry. The pantry will provide nutritional support to students and their families in need.
However, the volunteers needed help in keeping the food pantry stocked. This is where assistance from UW Hospital was critical. “The UW Hospital at the American Center,graciously offered to keep our pantry stocked through the end of the school year,” stated Joel Wish, one of the pantry’s volunteer coordinators.
Super Bowl 50 doesn’t kick off until Sunday night but people in Madison are getting a taste of Souper Bowl XX Saturday at West High School.
The fundraiser for the UW-Madison chapter of Habitat for Humanity of Dane County brings out tens of thousands of people every year. Donations, in exchange for soup, go towards a home for a family in need.
In 30 games this season the Badger women’s hockey team has only lost once. Nearly no one has been able to skate with the Badgers, except for the fans. Sunday at Vilas Park the Badgers held their annual open skate for the fans. Warmer temperatures made the ice more like slush, but the event still allowed fans to get pictures and autographs.
Noted: As “Read Your Heart Out Day” added more schools, they began to add more community readers. “Pastors joined The 100 Black Men and we had community representation from sororities and fraternities and high school students and athletes,” Belnavis said. “We just grew and grew and embraced the UW sports – some of our UW basketball players and football players came to join in.”
Noted: UW Madison police spokesperson Marc Lovicott said the website’s values go against everything the department and campus stands for. He says the department was made aware of the possible meetings this week, and in response, officers were in communication with other departments around the state.
Lovicott said there is no indication a meeting like this will take place in Madison, but he said the idea of “pro rape” events is disappointing.
“The fact that there’s an organized group that promotes this, I think that’s really disappointing and really disturbing,” Lovicott said. “What we can do as a community, though, is stand up against it and make sure people realize that this type of behavior, this mentality, just won’t be tolerated here.”
Noted: Also on Lake Mendota this weekend, UW-Madison’s Hoofers student organization hosts its annual Winter Carnival at Memorial Union, featuring broomball and pond hockey tournaments, turkey bowling, snowshoeing and a lakefront social.
Noted: UW-Madison’s outdoors group Wisconsin Hoofers has snowshoe rentals available through its location at Memorial Union, including for students, Union members and guest users. For guests, prices range from $15 for one overnight of use to $30 for a full week.
A new partnership with UW-Madison promises to deliver Monona officials a wealth of information on how to improve the city’s transportation infrastructure, housing and amenities.
Rose lives in a four-by-seven-foot trailer she built herself with salvaged materials, and she parks wherever she can. It’s a small space to share with an enormous red bloodhound, but Rose wouldn’t have it any other way.
Noted: As a graduate of the UW Odyssey Project, I have been able to see up close and personal what a game changer education can be. One day, we are going to see the families of those Odyssey graduates changing the game in Madison, as they and their children go on to college. Odyssey exposes us to literature, art, history and philosophy, which is empowering. It might take time, but I believe that we are going to see some serious outcomes as a result of Odyssey and Odyssey Junior.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Varsity Band will perform at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 22, at Iola-Scandinavia High School.
Some of Wisconsin’s brightest minds filled the UW Engineering Hall today. They were all there for the Wisconsin Regional Middle School Science Bowl.
Middle school students from across the state traveled to Madison for this. Organizers say the kids impress them every round.
A new effort to deal with urban coyotes is underway in Milwaukee County.
The county parks department is collaborating with University of Wisconsin-Madison wildlife ecologists to trap and tag coyotes beginning Monday. The coyote management project continues through the end of next month along Underwood Creek Parkway.
Noted: We will encourage our bedrock civic institutions; the UW, United Way, the Madison Community Foundation, Urban League of Greater Madison, Centro Hispano, 100state, Young, Gifted and Black, and more to collaborate and be held accountable for real, innovative, measurable problem solving.
Noted: A cardiologist from Oconomowoc and 50 undergraduate students from the University of Wisconsin and the University of Virginia affiliated with the Global Brigades program also accompanied the doctor.
Jonny Hunter: “To me, the most exciting thing in food is that plant breeders are starting to look at flavor instead of production agriculture. The work at Dawson Lab [Julie Dawson, assistant professor of horticulture] has the opportunity to transform how we use vegetables in our diet.”
What he’s doing: Head of the Underground Food Collective, Hunter is working with a University of Wisconsin–Madison horticulture program that teams up farmers, breeders, students and chefs to grow new and more flavorful vegetables.
Noted: After graduation from Washington High School, John Galanis earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison — money from his father helped him make ends meet — and he got his law degree from the University of Michigan.
Quoted: And, according to Andra Ghent, associate professor in the Department of Real Estate and Urban Land Economics at UW-Madison’s School of Business, baby boomers will be flooding the market in five to 10 years, creating even more demand.
Noted: Ervin is excited that all of the organization’s endeavors will soon be directed from an office in downtown Madison, under a new name: Blumont, Inc.
“It is a great place to live, so employees will want to come here. We have access to the University (of Wisconsin) and all the research capabilities that are offered here, and a very dynamic and technology driven private sector,” said Ervin.
Ervin knows he has a good base of homegrown talent here, primarily due to the high number of UW students who join the Peace Corps.
Quoted: “It’s an important topic to show that we are not abiding, supporting or even sympathizing with ISIS or ISIL,” said Madinah Community Center member and University of Wisconsin Microbiology Professor Adel Talaat.
Nearly 400 people attended the panel, many of them non Muslims.
“This is actually a good thing.. when you see a lot of non Muslims coming here,” Talaat said.
(Video) Lily’s Luau is known for its tropical food, music and attire, but it’s all for a great cause. The event raising money for epilepsy research on the University of Wisconsin campus is this weekend. Quoted: Antoine Madar, research assistant in neuroscience; Mathew (Matt) Jones, associate professor of neuroscience.
The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, and an ethical and moral leader to many more, is scheduled to visit Madison on March 9 to participate in a panel discussion at Overture Center’s Capitol Theater. … The Capitol Theater event, titled “The World We Make,” will be a gathering of world leaders in science, health care and the media, according to sponsor the Center for Healthy Minds at UW-Madison.
In addition to musical performances, the 2016 Heritage Awards — honoring work in social justice — were presented. This years winners were the YWCA Every Town girls camp and the internationally celebrated musician Richard Davis.
The spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior was alive and well on the UW-Madison campus Friday night.
The King Coalition hosted its 29th annual free community dinner at the Gordon Dining Center on campus.
Quoted: “The reason we formed was we noticed there was an absence of input from Black professionals and we wanted to help groom, recruit and retain Black professionals in this community,” says Dawn B. Crim, [Madison Network of Black Professionals] president for the 2016-18 term and associate dean for external relations in the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Crim says Madison can be a transient place. People come here for school, graduate and decide to stay and enter the workforce. But for some African Americans, they become the one Black professional there. “So we thought it made sense to try to build a network across the city so professionals feel supported and connected as well as informed on what’s happening in the community.”
Also: Madison Magnet has partnered with the University of Wisconsin–Madison to join its new graduate student resource fair.
Dick Lathrop, a UW-Madison expert on fresh water systems who served as one of the study’s principal investigators, comments.
