University Research Park, with 250 acres at the intersection of Mineral Point Road and Whitney Way, is also in the process of urbanizing, with a plan a few years ago to build 400,000 square feet of new construction, housing, a hotel, lab, offices, a food hall, a climbing gym and parking. The project is called Element Collective.
Category: Community
We all need released prisoners to get early support, experts say
UW’s Odyssey Project plays a key role in helping returning prisoners and other disadvantaged learners overcome economic, social and educational barriers.
The Odyssey Project was founded in 2003 and has six programs spanning all age groups.
Metro Transit knows some buses are crowded. Help is coming
He said the system needs about 170 drivers each day when buses are running and UW-Madison and Madison schools are in session. Currently it has 288 on staff and as of last week had 21 vacancies. There also were 16 drivers in training — three of whom are expected to be on the road on Oct. 1, another three on Oct. 15 and another 10 on Nov. 12.
Why a State Street pedestrian mall is still a ways off despite Madison City Council vote
In a procedural vote, the City Council unanimously decided Tuesday night to direct city staff to start planning an experimental blocking off of the 400 to 600 blocks of State Street, which feed into the State Street Mall near UW’s campus, to nonemergency vehicle traffic.
State Street blocks to become pedestrian mall in 2024 experiment
The 700 and 800 blocks of State Street already function as a pedestrian and bicycle mall, commonly known as State Street Mall by the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, but feature several buildings that can be accessed from other streets.
New Madison Justice Team aims to help transition from jail, prison
Since then, the all-volunteer organization has grown to include more than 80 people with representatives from more than 30 local organizations, from the Black Men Coalition of Dane County, to the Christ Presbyterian Church, to the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Odyssey Project, which provides low-income and formerly incarcerated adults access to accredited English courses.
Madison Plan Commission gives OK to raze 3 Capitol Square buildings for new history museum
Prior to voting on items for the museum, the commission unanimously passed other items that would create more housing and make a big change to the UW-Madison campus.
Under a demolition permit passed by the commission, an auto repair shop at 1233 Regent St. would be razed to build a $13 million, five-story, lower-cost housing project proposed by the Wisconsin Housing Preservation Corp. The redevelopment would have 50 units and 1,500 square feet of commercial space.
Environmental groups recruit people of color into overwhelmingly white conservation world
(Arianna Barajas) took a leap of faith and enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and became a wildlife ecology major. This summer Barajas landed an internship designed for people of color at the International Crane Foundation’s headquarters in Baraboo, Wisconsin, and stepped into a new world.
Lunch at Culver’s fitting place to find common ground in polarizing political climate
The promotion of civil discourse is one of the most urgent actions the La Follette School can take going forward.
Co-authored by Susan Webb Yackee is a professor of public affairs and director of the La Follette School of Public Affairs at UW-Madison. Curt S. Culver is the non-executive chairman of MGIC Investment Corp. and its principal subsidiary, Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation (MGIC), the nation’s leading private mortgage insurer. He is a founding member of the La Follette School’s Board of Visitors.
A dozen cool things to do in Madison during the heat wave
There are plenty of museums in the area, and many of them like the Chazen Museum of Art in Madison are free. Or go see dinosaur bones at UW-Madison’s geology museum.
Three Dane County Board supervisors resign, leaving campus-area seat open
Madison City Council District 8 Ald. MGR Govindarajan said in an email statement to The Badger Herald that the District 13 County Board seat is important because it is typically held by a student.
Everybody poops. Wisconsin is a national leader in using it to monitor public health.
The CDC established the National Wastewater Surveillance System with Wisconsin and five others as founding members. Wisconsin demonstrated the value of having an academic, public health and state lab all working together on the effort, said Martin Shafer, a senior scientist at UW-Madison and the Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene.
“It was an amazing couple of years where close to 70 or 80 different jurisdictions (were getting started),” said Shafer, adding, “Everybody kind of did something a little bit different. So that spurred a lot of innovation.”
City of Madison announces Metro Transit Service adjustments
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway talked about some of the potential changes earlier in August, mentioning that some routes were running late. She also said there were complaints about a lack of direct service from the west side to the UW Hospital area.
How to make golf more approachable for people of all backgrounds
The sport of golf isn’t always approachable or accessible, especially for people of color. A group of friends and former Wisconsin Badgers athletes started an organization to expand the game of golf and reduce the assumptions and misconceptions involved.
With online listings hit or miss, Madison college students expected to throw away 1 million pounds of furniture
Downtown Madison can expect to see the worst of off-campus student moving over the weekend and into early next week. With virtually every off-campus student housing lease turning over between Aug. 14 and 15, streets near campus quickly become congested as students and their families park all along the streets for moving days, the curbsides become temporary landfills, and the city of Madison Streets Division attempts to mitigate it all starting with 4 a.m. shifts.
Amid housing crisis, Madison City Council member proposes broad housing task force
Ald. Amani Latimer Burris, 12th District, introduced a resolution at Tuesday’s council meeting to create a task force including members of multiple city committees, four council members and a representative from UW-Madison’s Division of University Housing.
“The affordable housing crisis is something we’ve got to attack,” Latimer Burris said. “We have a lot of committees. We spend a lot of time studying stuff. In the meantime, prices are getting out of hand. What’s the answer? I don’t know.”
Hold-outs no more? Madison police body camera test run to face final City Council vote
UW-Madison Professor Keith Findley, who co-chaired the Body-Worn Camera Feasibility Review Committee, said despite the pilot program’s differences, it largely reflects the committee’s recommendations.
“It’s taken so long to get to this point we can’t keep dragging our feet on this,” Findley told the Civilian Police Oversight Board on Monday. “I think Madison has fallen behind on the times.”
OUR VIEW: Women shoot, score, inspire, bring pro teams to Madison
Wisconsin sports fanatics are hearty and a little nuts. Moreover, UW-Madison is the only school in the country to draw more than 8,000 fans for three different women’s sports programs. That includes 16,833 people at the Kohl Center last fall for volleyball.
The annual downtown Madison move-out is quickly approaching. Here’s what you need to know.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Office of Sustainability recommends downtown residents pack smart, using things like suitcases or reusable containers to store and move belongings rather than buying new cardboard boxes. Clothing and other fabric items can serve as packing material for fragile items, and kitchen items should be packed last to avoid creating waste from additional takeout meals.
Federal grant to fund training aimed at deterring sexual assault in Downtown Madison
The initiative is headed by an advisory council consisting of officials from Public Health Madison and Dane County, members of UW-Madison Student Services, nonprofit leaders, business owners and city officials. It combines Safer Bars training with increased surveillance, better lighting in the city-owned Buckeye parking lot and other safety measures.
In a fast-evolving city, Madison considers changes to map that guides growth
“Smart Growth believes there are many areas in and near Downtown and near the UW-Madison campus where it would be appropriate to encourage greater housing density and taller buildings than was contemplated in the Comprehensive Plan and earlier neighborhood plans,” executive director Bill Connors said. “Those earlier plans were adopted before it was fully apparent that Madison has a persistent housing shortage, which is causing rents and house prices to skyrocket.”
UW-Madison Celebrates 175 Years
Tomorrow is University of Wisconsin-Madison’s demisemiseptcentennial anniversary as the University of Wisconsin System’s flagship campus celebrates its 175th anniversary. To honor the milestone, the university will be holding a free celebration with music, fireworks, and of course, free ice cream.
Madison’s mental health crisis team can’t keep up with its own success
University Health Services in fall 2020 started its own mental health response team called the co-responder program. The University Police Department contacts Health Services for calls related to mental health, and the team will send two counselors to join UW officers at the scene.
Sarah Nolan, director of UW Mental Health Services, said that program has made a big difference on campus but is challenged by limited hours of service: from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Lake Monona redesign, Madison apartment tower face open forums
Core Spaces said the Johnson & Broom project will include affordable student housing in the same style as another project Core is building on State Street called oLiv Madison.
The oLiv project will have 386 units with over 1,000 beds, and 10% of the beds will be set aside for discounted rates for students receiving financial aid, through an agreement between Core Spaces and the University of Wisconsin.
Students defend ‘iconic’ Vintage restaurant as luxury redevelopment looms
A boutique-style apartment complex planned for the current Vintage Spirits & Grill location has students and community members worried about Madison’s growing affordable housing crisis.
St. Mary’s Hospital launches program to give food to new moms who need it
UW Health started screening ER and hospitalized patients for food insecurity in 2017, and screens children at clinic visits, spokesperson Emily Greendonner said. Patients needing food get food packages at discharge.
One in 12 Wisconsin families can’t afford the food they need, according to data before the COVID-19 pandemic, said the Wisconsin Food Security Project at UW-Madison. Food insecurity can contribute to chronic disease and poor mental health, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
First phase of Madison’s $300 million Triangle’s remake could open in 2026
The master plan for “Taking Shape, Our Triangle” would take a phased approach to demolish five dated and worn low- and high-rise residential buildings and the grocery store for new construction in multiple structures ranging from three to 12 stories. It would extend the East Campus Mall through the site to Lake Monona.
Affordable housing crisis persists amid development of luxury complexes
The luxury apartment development was proposed by Chicago-based developer Core Spaces, which has worked to develop several properties around the city in the past. Under the proposal, affordable rental units would have been demolished to build a 12-story luxury apartment complex.
Madison tweaking Metro Transit system to address concerns, challenges
The main complaints about UW Hospital service are being addressed with fixes planned for August, Rusch said. “Some of the concerns people have are because they are still learning how the new system works, and it’s a bit different from what they’re accustomed to,” said Dar Ward, commuter solutions manager for UW-Madison Transportation Services. “It appears Metro Transit’s proposed service adjustments are directed at addressing the complaints.”
‘No choice:’ Madison council flips to yes on ‘luxury’ student housing
Chicago-based developer Core Spaces proposed the construction of a 12-story, 232-unit market-rate apartment building dubbed “Johnson and Bassett” at 221 N. Bassett St., 430-444 W. Dayton St. and 437-445 W. Johnson St., but the council voted 13-6 in June to reject zoning changes that would allow the project to be built. Several council members said they opposed the apartment development because it lacked affordable housing units.
Cap Times’ Evjue Foundation announces over $900,000 in grants
Among today’s major recipients is the UW’s longtime Odyssey Project, which received $35,400 for the college classes it offers in south Madison to adults who never had a chance to attend college and $50,000 to Access Community Health’s efforts to bring dental care to people without insurance coverage.
Madison City Council does 180: Controversial student housing project Downtown gets approval
The reversal of last month’s controversial decision by the council to deny rezoning an area just east of UW’s campus will pave the way for the 12-story development from Core Spaces of Chicago, who have put up other student housing projects in the city like HUB and The James.
Madison alders undo June vote, approve rezoning for student apartment building
During Monday’s meeting, alders heard from current UW-Madison undergraduate and graduate students, along with representatives from Core Spaces.
Vintage Spirits & Grill could be razed for more housing for UW-Madison students
The Carey Group, of Madison, is proposing to raze Vintage Spirits & Grill and its busy outdoor patio for the 12-story building offering 33 market-rate units and 110 beds, with 1,450 square feet of commercial space and no vehicle parking on a tiny one-tenth-acre site at 529 University Ave.
Denied 12-story student housing project in Madison could get another look by council
Core Spaces, of Chicago, which has built and is planning multiple student housing projects in the city, wants to raze 10 residential buildings for the six- to 12-story project with 232 market-rate housing units on the 400 block of West Dayton and Johnson streets and 200 block of North Bassett Street.
Madison project helps Black women build financial literacy, wealth
“As research extensively documents, racial disparities in wealth accumulation are systemic, of which historic public policies and private practices sustain,” said Melody Harvey, UW-Madison assistant professor of consumer science in the School of Human Ecology.
Black communities are likely to be what Harvey called “banking deserts,” meaning there are few, if any, mainstream financial institutions. They are also more likely to have concentrations of high-cost alternative financial services such as payday and auto title lenders, Harvey explained, asking “Where does one begin when even the most basic of financial services may not be readily available and accessible?”
Madison Common Council rejects housing development proposal, preserves affordable housing
Under the proposal, affordable rental units at 437-445 W. Johnson St., 430-444 W. Dayton St. and 215-221 N. Bassett St. would be demolished. District 8 Alder and University of Wisconsin student MGR Govindarajan voted against the proposal, due to the displacement of students it would cause.
Madison council rejects ‘luxury’ student housing, calls for lower rent
Core Spaces signed an agreement with the city of Madison and the University of Wisconsin to provide discounted rates for qualifying students who receive financial aid for UW, but rates have not been decided upon yet.
UW student and alder MGR Govindarajan to attend joint session as Indian Prime Minister Modi addresses Congress
MGR Govindarajan, a Madison’s District 8 alder who just finished up his junior year at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will be a special guest of Congressman Mark Pocan as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes an address to a joint session of Congress today.
Madison City Council refuses rezoning for big student housing project Downtown
The Madison City Council late Tuesday refused a rezoning for a 12-story student housing redevelopment, citing a lack of low-cost units, but the decision could threaten the project and is raising questions of legality and precedent.
UW Choral Union ends after 130-year run
AUW-Madison choir group founded in the late 19th century that brought together students, alumni and community members has been disbanded as the university seeks to shift resources to more student-centric offerings.
New Madison student housing tower gets initial city approval
Madison’s Plan Commission unanimously approved a proposal from Chicago-based Core Spaces to develop a 12-story student housing complex on West Johnson Street, despite concerns about a lack of affordable units.
UW System hires new chief diversity officer amid GOP pushback against campus DEI offices
A new chief diversity officer hired by the University of Wisconsin System will start just weeks after Assembly Speaker Robin Vos called for eliminating DEI staff at the state’s 13 universities.
In days, here comes one of Metro Transit’s biggest changes ever
UW-Madison students may see small differences in service, but because the campus already gets high levels of service the impacts will be limited, officials said.
Opinion | Program fosters community through diversity
Michael, a native speaker (which is what the group calls its English-speaking volunteers) mentions how inclusive the organization is to volunteers as well. Students at the University of Wisconsin, referred to as Badger speakers, often join these events to help in any way they can.
‘Wisconsin Pride’ film portrays the challenges and triumphs of state LGBTQ+ history
The documentary also will be broadcast at 7 p.m. June 20 on PBS Wisconsin, and will be featured in a free Madison screening at 7 p.m. June 17 at the Barrymore Theatre; register at barrymorelive.com.
Madison’s oldest community center sees rebirth with new space, housing
Neighborhood House was founded when a UW-Madison student proposed the creation of a community center to serve the city’s rapidly growing Italian, Jewish and African American communities. His senior thesis inspired city leaders to create Madison’s first settlement house, Neighborhood House.
Bus rapid transit construction underway, to be completed next summer
Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway has made bus rapid transit a pillar of her platform during her tenure in office. The city broke ground on the east-to-west route in December which will run along East Washington Avenue through the city’s center and the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus and end at West Towne Mall.
Wisconsin researchers develop first hearing test for Hmong community
About four years ago, Maichou Lor was living in New York completing a postdoctoral fellowship, when family members back home in Wisconsin kept telling her that her dad’s hearing was getting worse.
“He wasn’t responding to conversations even though he had a hearing aid,” said Lor, now an assistant professor of nursing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “I brought him in to see his doctor through the ENT clinic here at UW-Health.”
UW-Madison students bring food lockers to River Food Pantry
Two recent University of Wisconsin-Madison graduates, Akshay Kalra and Samantha Angelina, helped lead the project through a grant from the Morgridge Center for Public Service’s Wisconsin Idea Fellowship program.
UW vet school ends contract with Henry Vilas Zoo; new allegations from former employee highlight issues with the relationship
UW told the zoo in December it would not be renewing its contract scheduled to end in June because the increasing demand on its veterinarians had grown beyond what the school could commit to. In a statement, it also noted that zoos that had grown to the size of Henry Vilas typically hire their own in-house veterinarian.
Madison preparing for big leap in air quality monitoring
“This would make Madison the most monitored community in Wisconsin with regard to particulate matter,” said Tim Bertram, a professor of chemistry at UW-Madison and a member of the project’s leadership team.
UW Madison’s move out and graduation makes for a busy downtown
“A lot of graduates earlier, everyone was coming here before they went off to the Kohl Center or their other graduation locations,” Jadon Sommer, Front of House Manager and Events Coordinator for the Nitty Gritty said. “We do have a lot of people coming in after. We have probably around 100 people in the books at least coming in for reservations.”
Four things to know about some of the most overlooked educators in Wisconsin: child care workers
Family child care providers make an average of $7.46 an hour, while center-based teachers make an average of $12.99. Both make less than the average Wisconsinite with a high school diploma, according to research by Alejandra Ros Pilarz, an assistant professor at the Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
She found poor wages and lack of career advancement opportunities are top reasons why 18% of family child care providers and 28% of ECE teachers plan to leave the field within a few years.
‘We can’t stand still:’ UW-Madison dedicates its first permanent Ho-Chunk monument
In the spirit of progress, Winneshiek addressed the crowd gathering around a new set of sculptures at UW-Madison signifying the Ho-Chunk Nation’s historic presence on campus, as well as its future in the area.
Wisconsin EcoLatinos director wants clean energy economy for Latinos
The organization’s partners include UW-Madison.
Madison’s new Native Art Market aims to support Indigenous artists
The Native Art Market, by contrast, has provided support in the form of stipends (an assist from UW-Madison) and free or reduced housing for participants.
Madison COVID-19 memorial, created by UW students and staff, now accepting submissions
The memorial, created by students and faculty at UW-Madison, seeks to honor those lost to COVID-19. Memorials will be published on the Madison Mourns website.
Professional volleyball league picks Madison for team, and community investment
Madison was a prime target right from the start for the league, said Katlyn Gao, co-founder and CEO of LOVB (pronounced “Love”). She cited the fervent support for the University of Wisconsin volleyball team and the area’s growing club volleyball involvement as key factors in the city’s appeal.
UW–Madison highlights their impact on communities across the state
Vice Chancellor for University Relations Charles Hoslet said that the university has positively impacted every part of the state since it was founded in 1848. “From the beginning, UW–Madison has been a vital contributor to the state’s industry and economy, and has helped raise people’s standard of living,” Hoslet said.