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Category: Community

New Wisconsin partnership aims to expand memory care for Latino community

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Wisconsin Public Radio

Wisconsin’s only bilingual memory clinic is partnering with the University of Wisconsin’s School of Medicine and Public Health for a new elective course aimed at boosting doctor training, prevention and treatment to help with dementia in Latino communities.

Dr. Maria Mora Pinzon, an assistant professor of medicine at UW, leads the research team collaborating with the Latino Geriatric Center Memory Clinic. On WPR’s “Wisconsin Today,” Mora Pinzon highlighted the center’s over 17 years of experience of working with older Latino adults who are suffering from dementia.

Is abortion now permanently legal in Wisconsin? What the Supreme Court ruling means.

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“We could see future cases that argue there is a constitutional right to abortion in Wisconsin and challenge other laws that we have in the state related to abortion,” said Bryna Godar, a staff attorney with the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School. “But those would be a bit more nuanced than challenging an outright ban.”

Madison musicians, artists collaborate at Next Wave

Posted on
The Cap Times

On the last weekend in June, artist and recent University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate Ava Albelo organized “Cog in the Machine” at Next Wave Studios, a multimedia production space on Madison’s east side.

Albelo said she funded the project with a grant from the UW-Madison Art Department. She hoped younger people would come to the show “and be interested in the artwork and ask questions and enjoy the music.”

Walter E. Dewey

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

He graduated from Wauwatosa East High School in 1979 and earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance, Investments and Banking from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1983. He earned his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 1989.

In the final weeks of Walter’s life, he and his family established a focused strategy to advance pancreatic immunology research at the UW Carbone Cancer Center. In lieu of flowers, the family invites memorial gifts to support this initiative.

Here’s a sample of the common readers colleges are assigning this year

Posted on
Forbes

Duke University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison are both assigning “James” by Percival Everett as their common reader. The novel is a fiercely satiric and darkly funny reimagining of Mark Twain’s American classic, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” told from Jim’s point of view. It won both the National Book Award for 2024 and the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

New UW-Madison class trains doctors on Latino cultural competency

Posted on
The Cap Times

The number of Latinos affected by dementia nationwide is expected to rise nine-fold over the next 30 years, according to Dr. Mora Pinzon, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

And to meet this growing need, UW-Madison’s medical school is launching a new course to better train future doctors in culturally competent care. With around 660 students total currently enrolled, the school plays a significant role in training doctors in the state.

For one night, international soccer game in Madison helped fans forget immigration anxiety

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Diego Adame just finished his freshman year at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He’s from Monterey, so he and his dad were excited to attend the match, both wearing Tigres jerseys and calling out to players they knew.

Recently, the Trump administration tried to revoke the student visas of at least 27 Wisconsin students. Adame said his visa remained valid and he tries not to worry about what could happen.

“I just put the work in with studying and that’s about it,” Adame said. “Just stay focused on the grades.”

 

If ‘big, beautiful bill’ passes, Wisconsin Planned Parenthood clinics could disappear

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

According to a June brief from the Collaborative for Reproductive Equity at UW-Madison’s School of Medicine and Public Health, if all federal funding to Planned Parenthood was cut, Wisconsin community health centers would need to increase their contraception case loads by 144%, local health departments by 144% and hospitals by 142% to absorb Planned Parenthood patients — which the collaborative called “unrealistic, if not impossible” given current capacity.

The UW system is losing rural students’ interest. This pilot program aims to reverse course

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Wisconsin State Journal

As part of a pilot program called Wisconsin Rural Scholars, high school students from seven small and rural high schools around the state spent a week at UW-Madison in mid-June aimed at introducing them to the college environment. The program is funded by a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant and was free for students to attend.

Here’s how a $200,000 USDA grant aims to boost central Wisconsin farmers’ markets

Posted on
Stevens Point Journal

The grant-funded research will also send University of Wisconsin students to farmers’ markets in Marathon, Portage, Wood, Waupaca and Adams counties this summer through summer 2027 to collect data on things like where are people visiting from, how much money do they intend to spend at the market and other area businesses, and what they love about farmers’ markets, Haack said.

 

Henry Vilas Zoo is finally naming its 20 flamingos. Why now?

Posted on
The Cap Times

Henry Vilas has a pair of brother badgers named after former University of Wisconsin-Madison basketball players Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker. The stars even visited the zoo to meet their namesakes.

“Ten years later, there are still many Madison people who visit them and recognize the names on the sign. And isn’t that cool — that it’s a badger, and they have Badger basketball names?” Peterson said.

Wisconsin’s 25 Most Influential Asian American Leaders for 2025, part 4

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Madison 365

Tariq Saqqaf is the City of Madison’s Racial Equity and Neighborhood Resource Team Coordinator, where he has been instrumental in revitalizing and leading the city’s Neighborhood Resource Teams (NRTs). Born in Trinidad & Tobago and raised across New Jersey, Madison, and Saudi Arabia, he earned a bachelor’s degree in zoology and began medical school at UW–Madison before transitioning to a career in social services.

Erika Gallagher is a teacher of English at Verona High School and the winner of the 2024-25 Wisconsin Council of Teachers of English Diversity and Inclusion Award. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UW-Madison.

 

LGBTQ community gathers at UW-Madison for picnic celebrating Pride Month

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WMTV - Channel 15

LGBTQ+ community members came together at a pride picnic at the UW-Madison Red Gym on Wednesday. June is recognized as Pride Month, and the picnic, hosted by the UW Madison Gender and Sexuality Campus Center, was a way for the community to celebrate.

“It’s just our way of celebrating Pride Month. Being together as a community, welcoming students, community members, faculty and staff to come together,” said Sanders Weinberg, program coordinator for the Gender and Sexuality Campus Center.

Camp Randall neighborhood bustling ahead of Morgan Wallen performances

Posted on
Channel 3000

A trio of trailers emblazoned with Morgan Wallen’s image arrived at Camp Randall Stadium Wednesday morning, bringing loads of sound, stage and lighting equipment for what will be the venue’s first concert in 28 years.

The Grammy-nominated country artist will perform two shows this weekend at the home of “Jump Around,” marking a historic return of live music to the stadium that last hosted a concert when The Rolling Stones performed in 1997.

Immigrants fear being ‘disappeared,’ Wisconsin attorney says

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

As an attorney leading a law clinic that helps immigrants facing deportation, Erin Barbato knows her clients often face the bleak prospect of being deported to countries where they are not safe.

Attorneys at the University of Wisconsin Law School’s Immigrant Justice Clinic, which Barbato is the director of, regularly travel to the Dodge County Detention Facility — the only facility in the state serving as immigration detention center — to offer people free consultations and information about their rights.

What to know about Morgan Wallen’s Madison concerts at Camp Randall Stadium

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Morgan Wallen is days away from creating more Wisconsin history. In 2023, the country music star became the first artist to headline a Wisconsin stadium for two consecutive nights when he kicked off the North American leg of his “One Night at a Time” tour at American Family Field.

Now, he’s going to be the first musical artist to headline a concert at Madison’s Camp Randall Stadium in the 21st century, with the stadium’s last concert coming in 1997.

Growing up transgender in Dane County, families welcome protections

Posted on
The Cap Times

When Dan began exploring his identity, he shared with his mother and the pair began seeking care at UW Health’s Gender Clinic.  

April is part of a support group for parents of transgender children. The family attends group therapy. Miley receives gender-affirming care at UW Health’s PATH Clinic for Pediatric Gender Identity and the family recently switched churches so that their spiritual community was more welcoming of Miley. 

Wisconsin’s 20 Most Influential Asian American Leaders for 2025, part 3

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Madison 365

State Representative Renuka Mayadev is a daughter of immigrants, a maternal child health advocate, and a mother. In January 2025, she made history as the first South Asian to serve in the Wisconsin State Legislature. Before taking office, she worked at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, focusing on maternal and child health.

Wisconsin’s 20 Most Influential Asian American Leaders for 2025, Part 2

Posted on
Madison 365

Ali Khan is a multimedia producer and digital strategist at PBS Wisconsin, where he creates stories for Wisconsin Life and Why Race Matters. As a student at University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he earned degrees in political science and digital cinema production, he passed divestment legislation within student government, organized with the Multicultural Student Center, and launched Home is Where WI Aren’t, a viral video campaign uplifting students of color at UW-Madison that gained national attention.

Ryan Estrella is a social worker with Joining Forces for Families and co-president of the board of directors at Just Dane. He was the chair of Fitchburg’s Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative from its founding in 2018 until 2022, and spent two more years as vice chair. He has participated on a number of City of Fitchburg hiring committees and outreach efforts. Mayor Julia Arata-Fratta honored him with the Resident Award in 2024. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Wisconsin’s 20 most influential Asian American Leaders for 2025, Part 1

Posted on
Madison 365

Since finishing her residency at Loyola University Chicago / Cook County Hospital in 2015, she has been an attending physician with the US Department of Veterans Affairs in Salt Lake City and a clinical assistant professor at UW-Madison, practicing with UW Health.

Edgar Lin is Wisconsin State Policy Advocate & Counsel at Protect Democracy, where he focuses on policy advocacy and litigation related to preventing election subversion. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Law School.

Capitol City Band will celebrate Juneteenth as it opens 57th season on Thursday

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Madison 365

Since 1981, Jim Latimer, a University of Wisconsin-Madison emeritus music professor, has been leading the Capitol City Band and conducting hundreds and hundreds of concerts. Ronald Reagan had just become president when Latimer first started conducting the band. “Is that right?” Latimer laughs. “I hadn’t thought of it in that context. But it has been a labor of love over these many years and I am so happy and proud to be involved with it.”

I found power, confidence and calm at a poker table full of men

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HuffPost

Poker puts into focus the same gender dynamics that can create anxiety for women in a patriarchal society, says Jessica Calarco, a sociologist, professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and author of ”Holding It Together: How Women Became America’s Safety Net.” “You’re expected to read the room, stay composed, and manage risk — much like women do every day in a world that asks them to carry everything without appearing to struggle,” she tells me.

Rising housing costs are forcing some Wisconsinites to delay medical care, new report says

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Rising housing costs have been forcing some Wisconsinites to delay medical care, which can lead to negative health outcomes for residents and communities.

That’s according to a new report from the University of Wisconsin-Extension as part of a project examining livability in rural communities led by Tessa Conroy, associate professor of agricultural and applied economics at UW-Madison.

Envoys from UW-Madison CALS engage with dairy, crop industries in Thailand

Posted on
Wisconsin State Farmer

When a Thai princess was looking to reinvigorate her country’s dairy industry, she quickly turned to the University of Wisconsin-Madison for help. The UW-College of Agricultural and Life Sciences answered her invitation with experts from the departments of animal and dairy sciences, and biological systems engineering. They, with financial support from Thailand, recently put their boots on the ground to start an exchange of ideas that will benefit both nations.

Scholarship gives women an opportunity to pursue careers in aviation

Posted on
Spectrum News

Remington, a University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate, was pursuing a career as a pilot when she was killed in a small plane crash near Janesville in 2021. She was only 26 years old.

Knowing their daughter was passionate about teaching and mentoring young pilots, Remington’s parents decided to create the scholarship in her name.

Trump cuts lead to layoffs at College Possible Wisconsin. It’s turning to AI to help fill gap

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The College Possible coaches working in Wisconsin were among more than 34,000 people affected by billionaire Elon Musk’s U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, which made sweeping cuts to AmeriCorps in late April. AmeriCorps is a federal agency with bipartisan support for deploying young people across the U.S. to work on community service projects.

Wisconsin commemorates 50th anniversary of Hmong resettlement

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Wisconsin Public Radio

Mai See Thao, a professor of anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” that these resolutions are “long overdue.”

“Recognizing Hmong-Lao veterans is really important because they have never received the kinds of recognition that they’ve needed, given the fact that they supported the U.S. as proxy soldiers,” she said.

Federal cuts threaten Wisconsin farm safety center for children, rural communities

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

“Without the continued research that’s made possible with federal funding, it would set us back,” said John Shutske, an agricultural safety and health specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “We’ve seen over the last several decades a pretty dramatic decrease overall in our farm fatality rate. And while I think [the number of deaths] would probably plateau, I don’t think we would be able to continue to make the kind of progress that we’ve had.”

Wisconsin education program helps older adults manage prescriptions

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Almost 15 years ago, professor Betty Chewning of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy was struck by an idea. Instead of focusing only on helping students learn how to speak with patients, what if she could help teach patients, as well?

Her idea became Med Wise Rx, an education program aimed at teaching older Wisconsinites to better communicate with pharmacists and safely manage multiple prescriptions.

Seat at the table: MENA students push for physical space on campus

Posted on
The Badger Herald

At the heart of UW’s campus stands the Gymnasium and Armory, or the Red Gym for short. Home to the Multicultural Student Center, it stands as a physical embodiment of UW’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Yet for students of Middle Eastern and North African descent, something crucial is missing — a dedicated space they can call their own.

There’s a cheese festival in Wisconsin with a next-level cheese ball

Posted on
Forbes

This year, the festival is pulling out all the stops. “To kick things off on Thursday, we’re hosting the inaugural Wisconsin Art of Cheese Open—a golf outing perfect for both cheese connoisseurs and golf lovers,” says Kerr. Also on the docket: a creamery tour and tasting at Crave Brothers Farmstead and a cheese-and-wine excursion that begins with a sensory evaluation course taught by experts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Dairy Research.

New UW-Madison exhibit explores caregiving complexities

Posted on
The Cap Times

Kristin Litzelman deals with data sets and research studies in her work studying caregiving as an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

But she wanted to contribute something artistic for “In Care Of: Postcard-Sized Portrayals of Caregiving in Wisconsin,” a new exhibit she helped put together at UW-Madison’s Nancy Nicholas Hall, 1300 Linden Drive.

The real monster: Hunger in America’s schools

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The Fulcrum

Written by Anthony Hernandez, a faculty member in the Department of Educational Policy Studies at the University of Wisconsin—Madison (UW-Madison), who received a research award from the National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation for his study on leadership in higher education. He has been recognized with four teaching awards at UW-Madison. He led the evaluation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) in Dane County, Wisconsin for two years.

‘I was one of these kids’: Carter Gilmore makes appearance at youth basketball camp

Posted on
WMTV - Channel 15

Exact Sciences and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dane County teamed up on Wednesday to host a basketball camp for club members.

Kids participated in basketball drills, which were led UW-Madison athletes. UW-Madison men’s basketball player Carter Gilmore was among those athletes who spent time with the kids by taking photos and signing autographs.