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Category: Experts Guide

Republicans are banking on a welfare referendum to get voters to the polls for April’s Supreme Court race. Will it work?

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Quoted: Referendums are increasingly being used by both political parties, particularly with non-partisan spring elections, which sneak up on people after the holidays and don’t typically generate great voter turnout, said Barry Burden, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“These elections just don’t generate the same level of media coverage or public discussion so these gimmicks are one way to get the attention of the voter,” Burden said. “The effect on overall turnout probably won’t be great, but in Wisconsin, most people assume elections are going to be close, so even a change in the balance of things by a percentage point or two could tip the race and tip the balance of the Supreme Court itself.”

Wisconsin no longer leads the nation in farm bankruptcies

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: At the 2023 Wisconsin Agricultural Outlook Forum this week, Paul Mitchell, director of the Renk Agribusiness Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said part of the decline is likely from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s move to stop past-due debt collections and farm foreclosures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Most Wisconsin businesses think a recession is coming, but it’s still too soon to tell

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: Steven Deller, professor of agricultural and applied economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said U.S. and global economic activity is expected to decline in 2023. Deller cited the Wall Street Journal’s Monthly Survey of Economic Forecasters, which averages 68 economic forecasts from individuals, organizations and universities, in a recent presentation.

“There’s pretty much consensus that we’re going to go into a slowdown, and that, if we go into a recession, it is going to be a very mild recession,” he said. “There’s actually a significant number of economists that are actually saying, ‘No, we’re not going to go into a recession. We’re going to go into a serious slowdown.'”

Fact check: Did liberal high court candidate Janet Protasiewicz violate the judicial code of conduct?

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Wisconsin State Journal

The statements Protasiewicz made about maps and abortion do not appear to violate the ban on making pledges on issues likely to come before the court, said UW-Madison Law School associate professor Robert Yablon.

“This rule prohibits judicial candidates from promising to rule in particular ways on particular legal questions, but it does not bar them from sharing their values and opinions,” he said.

Carbon emissions in Madison suburbs exceed national average

Posted on
The Capital Times

And while density and access to public transit are major factors, so is wealth, according to Morgan Edwards, an assistant professor of public affairs at the University of Wisconsin. Her research focuses on the role of technology in addressing the threat of climate change. “It’s not surprising that, all else equal, emissions are higher in more affluent and less densely populated areas, but these averages can also mask a lot of variability,” Edwards said. “Two households in the same neighborhood could have very different emissions.”

Scientists study crowdsourced trail camera photos of Wisconsin wildlife

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Wisconsin Public Radio

Snapshot Wisconsin has collected more than 2 million images caught on motion-sensor trail cameras. Researchers have looked at many of the photos and found further evidence of animals changing their behavior due to the presence of humans and loss of habitat.

Interview with associate professor Benjamin Zuckerberg, and Jonathan Pauli, a professor of wildlife ecology, both in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology.

Senate advances changes to Wisconsin’s cash bail system

Posted on
The Capital Times

Allowing a judge to impose bail for reasons beyond ensuring a defendant would appear at their next court hearing would likely result in more poor people being incarcerated, the two legal experts, Jessa Nicholson Goetz, a criminal defense attorney with Nicholson Goetz & Otis in Madison, and University of Wisconsin Law School professor Cecelia Klingele, said.

Air pollution worse and more dangerous to urban dwellers with asthma, new study finds

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Quoted: Dr. Daniel Jackson, a professor of pediatrics and medicine in the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, helped conduct the study and he noted “pollution exposures” were the culprits in 30% of the asthmatic children tested.

“Ultimately, we’ve known for a long time that children in urban environments are more likely to have asthma attacks,” he said. “Clearly, the exposures there are quite different. (When) compared to other places in the country, there’s far more pollution associated with diesel and auto traffic.”

Legislation by Sen. Tammy Baldwin requires more transparency around foreign owners of US farmland

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: Andrew Stevens, assistant professor of agricultural and applied economics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, said this percentage has been fairly consistent over time and includes forestland, pasture and cropland.

“The analyses that have been done with the data that are currently available really show that foreign ownership of agricultural land in the United States is a pretty miniscule issue, if it’s an issue at all,” he said. “There are no systematic differences across communities with more or less foreign ownership. Land prices don’t seem to systematically differ.”

 

‘They cleared the windscreen’: Prince Harry opens up about psychedelic use as research continues at UW-Madison

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CBS 58

Quoted: For roughly a decade, professionals at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have been researching the impacts certain psychedelics, including psilocybin, can have on the human brain.

“There are some really encouraging trends that have been noted and encouraging study results that have been published across the country,” said Dr. Chantelle Thomas, a researcher at UW’s Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. “A lot of people are not aware that this research has been happening for quite some time at the UW.”

‘New era of treating Alzheimer’s’: Wisconsin doctors, researchers celebrate FDA approval of new drug

Posted on
CBS 58

Quoted: Dr. Cynthia Carlsson, Professor of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said Leqembi targets deposits of proteins in the brain called amyloid. Amyloid is believed to contribute to the symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease.

“What was impressive about this study is that it improved the amyloid levels in the brain, lowered those. It improved their cognition, improved their function, improved their quality of life, all of these things we really care about, as well as, what the brain looks like,” Carlsson said.

Carlsson told CBS 58 the drug is primarily given to people with mild Alzheimer’s symptoms intravenously every two weeks.

She said side effects can include increased risk of micro bleeds and swelling in the brain.

“The results from the clarity study showed pretty vigorous responses across all of these outcome measures, which we hadn’t seen for a therapy like this before,” Carlsson said.

‘It landed in the checking account’: Wisconsin farm economist, lender say 2022 was a good year for ag

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Wisconsin Public Radio

Even after a year of record high inflation, economic forecasts show 2022 was a good year to be farming.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service estimated that national net farm income will reach $160.5 billion for the year. That’s 13.8 percent higher than in 2021 and roughly 50 percent higher than the 20-year average, according to ag economist Paul Mitchell.

Mitchell, who leads the Renk Agribusiness Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said part of the prosperity comes from COVID-19 aid from the federal government, which helped kick-start demand after an initial downturn at the start of the pandemic.

“We’ve had unprecedented levels of commodity support for agriculture for a couple years and then really good prices,” he said.

Q&A: Author and UW prof Beth Nguyen finds a new perspective

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Growing up as a Vietnamese refugee in a predominantly white community, Beth Nguyen began grappling with her identity at an early age.

At 8 months old, she and her family fled Vietnam by ship after the fall of Saigon, eventually immigrating to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Nguyen detailed that journey, her coming of age and her longing to fit in as an American in her award-winning debut memoir “Stealing Buddha’s Dinner,” published in 2007.

Now an English and Asian American studies professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Nguyen teaches others how to shape their own thoughts and experiences into meaningful stories. “Find that perspective,” she encourages them. “Meld into it. Use it.”

UW-Madison engineers use carbon nanotubes to better protect against brain injuries

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Wisconsin Public Radio

University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers have developed a new shock-absorbing foam made from carbon nanotubes aimed at reducing traumatic brain injuries in U.S. soldiers. The material has been shown to absorb shock 18 times better than existing military helmet liners and could also offer athletes better protection against concussions.

In order to tackle big issues like brain injuries on the battlefront, UW-Madison associate professor of engineering and physics Ramathasan Thevamaran thinks small — as in micrometers. He and fellow engineers at the university have developed a way to make flexible carbon tubes, around a thousand times smaller than a human hair, into a new type of ultra-shock-absorbing foam.

UW-Madison researcher says drone-delivered defibrillators can save lives

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Wisconsin Public Radio

When a heart stops, survival rates fall with every passing minute. A University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher thinks minutes and lives can be saved in rural areas with fleets of autonomous drones equipped with defibrillators.

And saving lives is in UW-Madison assistant professor and researcher Justin Boutilier’s blood. When he was growing up in Canada, his mother was a nurse and his father was a paramedic and firefighter.

Madison Children’s Museum to lead climate change project

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

“Caretakers of Wonder” will be grounded in expert research from UW-Madison, including work by Richard Davidson, founder and director of the Center for Healthy Minds, and Jonathan Patz, professor of environmental studies and medicine and public health at the Global Health Institute and the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. David Sobel, professor emeritus at Antioch University New England, is also a key player.

Do you really need 8 cups of water a day? UW study weighs in

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

It depends on what food and other beverages you consume, along with factors such as your age, sex, size, physical activity and climate, a study involving UW-Madison researchers says.

The study analyzed 5,600 people in 26 counties, looking at their water turnover, or the amount they took in and lost each day. Subjects drank water labeled with hydrogen and oxygen isotopes, a method first used in people at UW-Madison in the 1980s, allowing scientists to track water replacement and calories burned.

Fact check: The science behind why a snowball seems to ‘burn,’ when held by a lighter

Posted on
USA Today

Quoted: Said Daniel Weix, a chemistry professor at the University of Wisconsin: “Butane lighters don’t burn very cleanly. Like a candle, they will deposit soot onto things.”

And the ice can melt without generating visible droplets.

“The ice can go directly to the vapor phase and so the person holding the flame does not see it,” he said. “Another explanation is that the melting part that becomes water is drawn into the porous snowball – much like the syrup that is poured onto a snow cone that one enjoys in the summer – so you don’t see it.”

10 UW-Madison profs share their favorite books of 2022

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With the fall semester drawn to a close and a new year on the horizon, University of Wisconsin-Madison professors in departments ranging from math to English are reflecting on their favorite reads of the year.

They shared with the Cap Times the best books of 2022 — a diverse array of topics and genres, including social justice, animal studies and Slavic science fiction.

Wisconsinites feel the effects of national veterinarian shortage

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: Mark Markel, dean of the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, said many vets are no longer willing to work the brutal hours they did in the past.

“If veterinarians used to work 70 hours a week or 80 hours a week, and now they’re working 40, we’ve got a workforce shortage by almost half — even if we’re seeing the same number of patients,” he said.

UW Madison Joins National Harm Reduction Research Network

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WORT FM

In 2021, over 107,000 people lost their lives to opioid addiction across the country. Public officials across the country have been working to address the issue for years, but a new nation-wide harm reduction research network is looking to find new ways to address the problem.

Today, UW Madison announced that they are joining a new nationwide network to research and evaluate harm reduction services.

Dr. Ryan Westergaard is a professor of medicine at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, and is leading UW Madison’s research wing of the initiative.

In praise of the monthly water bill

Posted on
The Hill

The cost of delivering safe, clean tap water to every household and business in a community is massive. In fact, it may be among the most expensive of all human undertakings. That is why only the wealthiest countries have achieved it at high rates and why 2 billion people on our planet still lack it.

Co-authored by Manny Teodoro, an associate professor of public affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Booster rates fall short of health officials’ goals before holidays

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: Dr. Ajay Sethi, a professor of Population Health Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said BQ.1 can be treated with Paxlovid, an antiviral drug. But in some cases, people with severe cases of COVID-19 may need to receive monoclonal antibodies, or injectable medical treatments at a hospital.

Sethi emphasized that masking remains one of the safest ways to protect yourself and the community against the virus.

“As people gather for the holidays, you know, getting a rapid test and verifying whether you could be infected is a good idea. And if you have any symptoms, stay home,” he said.

Judge rules against Kari Lake in bid to overturn Arizona election results

Posted on
Washington Post

Noted: Olsen relied heavily on the testimony of Rich Baris, a conservative author and pollster who goes by the name “The People’s Pundit” on Twitter. Baris told the court that interviews he had conducted with 813 residents in Maricopa County proved that the printer problems were to blame for Lake’s loss. A defense witness, Kenneth Mayer, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, called the theory “pure speculation.”

In Memphis, the Phonics Movement Comes to High School

Posted on
New York Times

Quoted: Mark Seidenberg, a cognitive scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who has studied reading, described the program as “the legacy of balanced literacy” because it offers teachers many options, some more effective than others.

“There are things in there that would allow teachers to teach many different ways — and that is the problem,” he said.

Scientists: Atmospheric carbon might turn lakes more acidic

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

But it’s unknown how big such problems will get, said Emily Stanley, a University of Wisconsin freshwater ecology professor.

“I honestly don’t see this as a thing that we as lake scientists should be freaking out about,” Stanley said. “There are so many other challenges facing lakes that are larger and more immediate,” such as invasive species and harmful algae.

What older Americans need to know before undergoing major surgery

Posted on
CNN.com

Quoted: Ask your surgeon, “How is this surgery going to make things better for me?” said Dr. Margaret “Gretchen” Schwarze, an associate professor of surgery at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Will it extend your life by removing a fast-growing tumor? Will your quality of life improve by making it easier to walk? Will it prevent you from becoming disabled, akin to a hip replacement?

Schwarze, a vascular surgeon, often cares for patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms, an enlargement in a major blood vessel that can be life-threatening if it bursts.

Here’s how she describes a “best case” surgical scenario for that condition: “Surgery will be about four to five hours. When it’s over, you’ll be in the ICU with a breathing tube overnight for a day or two. Then, you’ll be in the hospital for another week or so. Afterwards, you’ll probably have to go to rehab to get your strength back, but I think you can get back home in three to four weeks, and it’ll probably take you two to three months to feel like you did before surgery.”

Among other things people might ask their surgeon, according to a patient brochure Schwarze’s team has created: What will my daily life look like right after surgery? Three months later? One year later? Will I need help, and for how long? Will tubes or drains be inserted?

UW-Madison researchers seek to understand how forever chemicals move through soil

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Wisconsin State Journal

Scientists at UW-Madison are working to better understand how toxic “forever chemicals” move through the ground, which could help communities like Madison find and clean up the manufactured compounds before they contaminate drinking water.

Christy Remucal, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at UW-Madison who specializes in PFAS but was not part of Gnesda’s study, said the research is a critical first step to being able to focus cleanup efforts.

UW Health expert offers advice for keeping children safe while driving in winter weather

Posted on
CBS 58

As holiday weekend travel gets underway, an expert at UW Health in Madison is sharing some steps to keep children safe on the roads.

If you want to warm up your car before heading out for the day, try to move the car outside of the garage to avoid the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. Then, ensure that the vehicle’s tailpipe is not blocked with snow or ice.

Vehicles should also be inspected to ensure any child’s car set or booster seat is installed correctly, while remembering that bulky clothing or winter coats will impact the fit of a safety harness on a child.

Rishelle Eithun, a UW Health pediatric injury prevention manager says, ” … but definitely making sure that when we’re traveling, they’re making sure they’re sitting up nice and tall, and they’re not falling to the window to take a nap, those are you know some of those risks we try to stay away from if we could.”

Black and Hispanic Students Far Less Likely to Receive Race-Matched Instruction

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Diverse Issues in Higher Education

Noted: The team of researchers, led by Dr. Taylor Odle, an assistant professor of educational policy studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, found even lower levels of matching in crucial first courses in subjects like reading and writing, as well as gateway classes like algebra. Only 4% of Black students matched in reading and writing courses and only 6% in non-STEM math courses.

Black and Hispanic students had the highest match rates in remedial and developmental courses: 34% for Hispanic students and 17% for Black students. However, Odle’s team found that the faculty in these matches were more likely to be temporary staff or adjuncts, rather than tenured or tenure-track. Although contingent faculty may be equally good teachers as tenured faculty, their positions might limit them as mentors for students of color.

Kathleen Gallagher: Could Wisconsin be the center of a regional medical physics hub? The stage is already set.

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Quoted: At the heart of Great Lakes medical physics research is the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Medical Physics. It was the first such department in the country and is the largest in terms of faculty members and graduate students, said Brian Pogue, department chair and a professor in the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health.

“We have close to 100 grad students working on medical imaging technologies,” Pogue said. “We have an army.”

Medical Physics’ faculty are among the university’s top royalty recipients and have developed world class technologies like the tomotherapy radiation technique, the ubiquitous pinnacle radiation treatment planning software, and lunar bone mineral densitometry to detect osteoporosis.

Shining a light on the growing problem of antisemitism in Wisconsin

Posted on
PBS Wisconsin

Quoted: University of Wisconsin-Madison sociology professor Chad Alan Goldberg said this type of rhetoric is partly driven by what’s termed “affective polarization,” which describes the partisan sorting via demographic characteristics a political party dislikes or distrusts.

“What you see is an increasing reluctance for people to call out antisemitism within their own political camp,” Goldberg said, “So they will be happy to call it out when it appears on the opposite side, but when it appears on their side, there’s a kind of defensive reaction.”

Biden poised to lean into election denial attacks even if reforms pass

Posted on
Washington Examiner

Quoted: Acknowledging the limitations of the Electoral Count Reform Act, included in the $1.7 trillion omnibus government funding deal struck to avoid a shutdown at the end of this week, University of Wisconsin-Madison Elections Research Center Director Barry Burden agreed it is an “important improvement.”

“It is unlikely that any change in law on its own will have much effect on misinformation about how elections are run in the U.S.,” the political science professor said. “However, the bipartisan initiative to put more guardrails on the electoral count process is a welcome reform that should control efforts to undermine future presidential elections.”

Wisconsin’s 52 Most Influential Black Leaders, Part 1

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Madison 365

Noted: Angela Fitzgerald Ward is the host of Wisconsin Life on PBS Wisconsin, as well as the limited series Why Race Matters. In addition to her work hosting the television series, Angela is the Associate Dean for the School of Academic Advancement at Madison College. Previously she worked as Director of Family, Youth & Community Engagement for the Madison Metropolitan School District. She is also pursuing her Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she is studying the intersection between education, organizing, and research as it relates to improving outcomes for historically marginalized groups.

Charged with homicide for the shooting death of his mother, a 10-year-old is being tried as an adult. Some legal experts say that’s too young.

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: Ion Meyn, an assistant professor of law at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, believes 10 is too young to face criminal culpability in the same way as an adult.

“The science is finding that in many respects, it’s irresponsible to decide that a child should be incarcerated for conduct,” Meyn said.

Wisconsin sees 2 major hospital mergers finalized back to back

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: University of Wisconsin-Madison Economist Alan Sorensen said mergers may give hospitals more leverage in negotiations with insurance companies.

He said insurance companies want to pay as low a price as they can negotiate, while health care providers want to get paid as much as they can negotiate.

“Those negotiations are enormously important for the bottom lines of these companies,” Sorensen said. “A lot of times what’s driving the mergers is that (hospital systems) feel like if they’re bigger, they’ll do better in those negotiations, they’ll have more bargaining power, they’ll be more indispensable to the insurance company.”

If health systems can negotiate for higher rates, he said, it could raise prices for patients.

“If the insurance companies have to pay higher prices to the hospitals, some of the increase is going to get passed through to the consumer in the form of higher insurance premiums,” Sorensen said.

Study finds Indigenous people face high financial burden of Alzheimer’s disease, related dementias

Posted on
Spectrum News

A new University of Wisconsin-Madison study finds that Indigenous people face high health and financial burdens from Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

Researchers said it costs $880 million to $1.9 billion annually in additional health care-related costs for dementia diagnoses among Indigenous people.

“Taken together, this work exemplifies the potential benefits of offering programs to prevent, accurately diagnose and treat Alzheimer’s and related dementias among Indigenous adults,” said Adrienne Johnson, assistant professor of medicine, UW School of Medicine and Public Health, and lead author of the study, in a press release.

Deaths on public roadway eyed in new WI farm-related fatalities report

Posted on
Wisconsin State Farmer

Quoted: “Farm fatality numbers remain alarmingly high, and because a farm is like any other dangerous industrial workplace, the types of hazards are many,” said John Shutske, Ph.D., professor and agricultural safety specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Many continue to be concerned with the high number of deaths on public roadways. Clearly, as farms get bigger and farmers need to spend more time on the road moving from farm to farm/field to field, we are going to see more and more risk on roadways.”

Dairy Management CEO received $2.68 million pay package in his last year on job

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Quoted: “It may be hard to set another record in 2023, but there is a possibility of increased exports,” Robert Cropp, professor emeritus at University of Wisconsin-Madison Cooperative Extension professor said in a recent column.

Each dollar of net farm income results in an additional 60 cents of economic activity as farmers spend money in their local communities, according to University of Wisconsin research.

The FCC has a new broadband map, and you can challenge the results

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Quoted: “I think it’s going to be a giant goat rodeo,” said Barry Orton, telecommunications professor emeritus from University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Even with its flaws, most agree the new mapping system is much better than the one it replaced.

“I’d say it’s five to 10 times more accurate. The previous one was absolutely worthless,” Orton said.

Wisconsin utilities prepare for attacks like the one in North Carolina that left thousands without power

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: Burying critical transmission lines is one method to make the grid less vulnerable, according to Vicki Bier, an energy expert and professor emerita in industrial engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“But, that again, is expensive and not something we want to do every place all across the country,” Bier said. “Maybe just a few places might justify that kind of investment.”

Bier said it would likely take insider-level knowledge of the power grid to have a high likelihood of success on a larger scale than the incident in North Carolina. Federal documents obtained by one media outlet indicate other attempts to disrupt Duke Energy substations that authorities say likely involved inside knowledge of critical substations. She noted one of the largest threats facing the grid is that it’s spread out.

“There are not a small number of critical electric facilities where after you’ve protected those, the risk is really small,” Bier said. “There’s a very wide range of facilities and all pose potential risk.”

Sen. Tammy Baldwin proposes federal travel funding for abortion seekers

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: Amy Williamson is the associate director at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Collaborative for Reproductive Equity, or CORE. She said even before Roe ended, it was difficult for many abortion seekers to raise the funds needed for the procedure, as well as any necessary childcare and time off work. The added requirement of traveling to another state makes it all the more difficult, she said.

“We know that some pregnant Wisconsinites are traveling hundreds of miles to other states at great expense and difficulty in their lives to access the care they need, or they remain pregnant when they do not want to be,” Williamson said.

Smith: Sandhill cranes provide one of Wisconsin’s greatest wildlife spectacles

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Quoted: “I’ve been privileged to see it hundreds of times, and I can tell you it never gets old,” said Stanley Temple, Beers-Bascom professor emeritus in conservation in the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and science advisor to the Aldo Leopold Foundation board. “It’s simply spectacular.”

‘This is not normal’: Wisconsin’s Assembly maps are more skewed than ever

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

UW-Madison political science professor Ken Mayer examined the geographic phenomenon and found the bunching of Democrats in cities accounted for a 2- to 3-point Republican advantage, nowhere near the current split.

“There will be people who deny it to you with a straight face, but there is no empirical doubt that this remains the most gerrymandered state in the country,” Mayer told Wisconsin Watch.

Period underwear is better for the environment, but does it work? Experts weigh in

Posted on
CNN

Brands behind conventional period products aren’t required by the US Food and Drug Administration to list every material included in their products, so knowing exactly what you’re putting in contact with your body is another great reason to use period underwear, said Sarah Frank, a doctoral student and lecturer in the departments of sociology and legal studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Because of Wisconsin’s abortion ban, one mother gave up trying for another child

Posted on
NPR

Quoted: Decisions about how many children to have, when to start trying, how close in age children should be spaced – are usually not made by individuals alone, explains Dr. Abigail Cutler, an obstetrician-gynecologist and professor at the University of Wisconsin’s medical school.

Those decisions are often made with other people, “partners within the context of families, romantic relationships, extended family or chosen family, friends, faith leaders,” she says. Now, after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, she says a new element must be added to that calculus: the state laws where people live, and whether they have access to comprehensive care during pregnancy.

 

Is the poverty line, created five decades ago, an effective measure of need? Experts say no.

Posted on
USA Today

Quoted: At a time that has seen record inflation and soaring housing costs, it’s even more important poverty is measured accurately and low-income families access benefits that can help them, said Timothy Smeeding, a leading expert on the poverty line and professor of public affairs and economics at University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“Just being over the poverty line isn’t enough to really help a kid reach the middle class or for a kid to grow well. You need lots of help,” Smeeding told USA TODAY.

Wisconsin’s Assembly maps are more skewed than ever. What happens now?

Posted on
Wisconsin Watch

Quoted: University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor Ken Mayer examined the geographic phenomenon and found the bunching of Democrats in cities accounted for a 2- to 3-point Republican advantage, nowhere near the current split.

“There will be people who deny it to you with a straight face, but there is no empirical doubt that this remains the most gerrymandered state in the country,” Mayer told Wisconsin Watch.

There is a hunger in Wisconsin for thoughtful conversation about pressing policy issues.

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

This fall, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s La Follette School of Public Affairs was excited to team up with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Wisconsin Public Radio on the Main Street Agenda project. It is part of our mission to bring people together to solve the problems affecting our communities, and our faculty have remarkable research and expertise to help inform those public policy discussions.

Written by Susan Webb Yackee is a professor of public affairs and director of the La Follette School of Public Affairs at UW-Madison.

Wisconsin’s Assembly maps are more skewed than ever. What happens now?

Posted on
The Capital Times

Noted: A majority of both Democrats and Republicans support nonpartisan redistricting, according to a recent poll conducted by UW-Madison communications professor Mike Wagner …

But even within communities there are voters with different views and interests. One way to keep more of them engaged could be new legislative configurations and voting systems that have been tried in some European countries, said Mark Copelovitch, a political science professor at the La Follette School of Public Affairs at UW-Madison who has studied alternative voting and redistricting models abroad.

 

State Rep. Brandtjen — who called for decertifying 2020 presidential election — is joining race for state senate

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: Republicans closely tied with Trump have been losing support in suburban areas, said Barry Burden, a political science professor and director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Elections Research Center. He said that goes for the 8th Sen. district as well.

“Now, I think the party has become somewhat concerned about Trump’s presence in the party, given how the Republicans did in this midterm election,” Burden said. “But there still is a lot of enthusiasm for him among the base, especially the activists who turn out in primaries and who give money to candidates.”

More broadly, Burden said election deniers running for statewide office in swing states this year were roundly defeated in November.

“But Brandtjen will be running in a district that is a little redder than the state as a whole. And so there might still be room for someone with her profile to be successful,” Burden said.