Category: Experts Guide

It’s been a wet summer in Wisconsin and wet summers are often filled with mosquitoes. But that isn’t how 2019 has played out so far, according to a Wisconsin scientist.

Lyric Bartholomay, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor who studies infectious disease agents such as mosquitoes and ticks, told WPR’s “The Morning Show” Thursday that the state has seen average numbers of mosquitoes so far this year.

Quoted: With the renewed rise of outlets that lean left or right, the country now has a “hybrid system,” said Michael Wagner, a journalism professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.”What’s good about that is some organizations are upfront about their points of view,” he said. “What’s bad about that is not everyone is, and it’s really hard to tell the difference.”

Noted: Patrick Iber is an assistant professor of Latin American history at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and author of Neither Peace nor Freedom: The Cultural Cold War in Latin America.

Quoted: “The biggest financial mistake prospective parents make is thinking they have to buy everything new. For large baby items associated with a particular life stage (e.g., bassinets, baby swings, exersaucers, etc.), parents can find good deals on secondary markets, such as online neighborhood buy-and-sell groups, consignment shops, or yard sales,” says Amber M. Epp, Associate Professor of Marketing, Wisconsin School of Business, University of Wisconsin-Madison. “The life of these products is much longer than the time period the baby will use it, so parents can buy many of these items in excellent used condition at a fraction of the price.”

Noted: Professor Barry Burden, director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is a guest.

Quoted: “There’s something to be said for that,” said James P. Leary, co-founder of the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “The vitriol is saved for the Illinoisans.

Quoted: Mark Seidenberg, a neuroscientist who specializes in the study of language and reading at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, calls those arguments offensive and indefensible, saying they “set up a false competition between children who have reading problems for different reasons.”

Quoted: Erin Barbato, the director of the Immigrant Justice Law Clinic at the University of Wisconsin Law School: “In Madison, we’re seeing a lot of people who are frightened and often confused about whether ICE is conducting a raid or whether local police are just doing their job. It’s become a prominent issue,” she said. “Even my clients that have lawful status or are in the process of obtaining lawful status are scared.”

Quoted: University of Wisconsin-Madison journalism professor Michael Wagner, who specializes in political communication, said it’s unclear whether the episode will matter to voters should he seek another political office.

“It’s pretty cut and dry that he lied and that usually doesn’t sit well with the voters,” said Wagner. But the impact in a polarized electorate is unknown, he added.

“We’ve seen lots of scandals at statehouses that were electrifying at a time that seem to fade away,” Wagner said. “In the Trump era, politicians can choose to try to ride it out and hope the news cycle changes.”

Howard Schweber, a law school and political science professor UW-Madison, and Robert Dreschel, a journalism professor at UW-Madison, weigh in.

Noted: A recent study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison of social media reaction to mass shootings points to one of the obstacles that proponents of gun control face in marshaling political support for new gun restrictions even after the most horrific of these events.

Dhavan Shah, the UW-Madison professor who oversaw the study, said in an interview Monday that with each new shooting now, it is his sense that expressions of sympathy are increasingly seen as inadequate.

“I do think there is more of an immediate recoiling at the notion of (just) ‘thoughts and prayers.’ … There is a sense of the emptiness of that,” said Shah, director of the school’s Mass Communication Research Center. “Whatever side it is, I don’t think there is a lot of people who don’t think this a problem at this point.”

Quoted: “You’d like to think you’ve got seven people sitting there and looking over the law and being fairly dispassionate about it. (Their decision) shouldn’t be predictable by someone who knows nothing about the law,” said Frank Tuerkheimer, an emeritus University of Wisconsin-Madison law professor who studies judicial ethics. “As we become more polarized why shouldn’t appointment of judges be polarized, too? I would be surprised if it were otherwise.”

Quoted: “You’d like to think you’ve got seven people sitting there and looking over the law and being fairly dispassionate about it. (Their decision) shouldn’t be predictable by someone who knows nothing about the law,” said Frank Tuerkheimer, an emeritus UW-Madison law professor who studies judicial ethics. “As we become more polarized, why shouldn’t appointment of judges be polarized, too? I would be surprised if it were otherwise.”

UW-Madison journalism professor Mike Wagner says the more President Trump tweets and gets retweeted, the more media coverage he generates.

Quoted: Barry Burden, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said a number of factors including Gallagher’s unconventional path to politics could be at play.

“Gallagher’s uncommon response among Republicans could reflect both his personal path into politics and the nature of his district,” Burden said. “Having only a limited history within Republican Party politics in the past several years probably makes him less compelled to keep close to party leaders in every instance.”

Noted: Polls already tend to overrepresent those with higher education levels, as they’re the individuals who are more likely to take surveys, University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Barry Burden said.

Quoted: Mark Stephenson, director of dairy policy analysis at University of Wisconsin–Madison, said producers earn a dollar selling milk, that dollar is spent on services such as veterinarians, or to buy groceries or tools at the local hardware store. When the milk price is down and those dollars earned are down, it does have an effect on the local economy, Stephenson said. “As we have financial distress on farms, it ripples through these rural communities,” he said.

University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor Timothy Smeeding co-wrote a report that found Wisconsin’s poverty rate has remained stagnant for nearly a decade, fluctuating between 10% and 11% from 2008 to 2017.

University of Wisconsin-Madison professor emeritus of law Walter Dickey believes truth-in-sentencing legislation has been a major driver of the rising prison population. Dickey was the DOC secretary from 1983 to 1987.

Though UW-Madison assistant professor of law Robert Yablon called the ruling a “pleasant surprise” for plaintiffs,” he said “more fighting” is ahead. “There remains a real possibility that the government will end up producing reasons that are, at least for the Supreme Court, satisfactory and that it will at the end of the day be able to ask the question.”

Gail Simpson, who has worked in this field for 25 years and is also a UW–Madison art professor, says public art helps refocus viewers’ attention.

To enhance the experience, Wisconsin viewers can follow four University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientists on Twitter for live updates and commentary.

NBC15 spoke to an expert and political science professor at UW-Madison, Barry Burden. Burden said, while it is extremely rare, it is not out of the question for Gov. Evers to veto the entire budget.

According to professor Susan Paskewitz, chair of the Entomology Department at University of Wisconsin-Madison, the lone star tick is not indigenous to Wisconsin. Rather, the bug will hitch a ride up north each year by attaching itself to a bird or another animal.

Quoted: Kenneth Streit, a University of Wisconsin Law School professor who specializes in juvenile justice policies and has represented juvenile offenders, said the department needs the criminal justice equivalent of a Marvel Comics superhero team.

“(DOC Secretary) Kevin Carr needs The Avengers with someone who can aggressively manage change at Irma, a second superhero who can assist counties to develop the best programs possible and Captain America who can come up with one or two small state units which not only safely houses youth, but makes them and their communities better,” he said.

Robert Yablon, an assistant professor of law at UW-Madison, said the main issues in the case are technical administrative law questions, like if a government agency is lawfully making decisions, in additional to constitutional questions.

While most of Wisconsin’s 60 species of mosquitoes thrive on lots of standing water to lay eggs, the low temperatures have acted like a deep freeze because the nasty buzzing insects get lethargic when it’s 60 degrees or colder, said P.J. Liesch, University of Wisconsin Extension entomologist.

“It looks like they decided to delist and then they compiled all the evidence that they thought supported that decision. It simply doesn’t support the decision,” said Adrian Treves, an environmental studies professor at the University of Wisconsin.

Aili Tripp, chairwoman of the UW-Madison Department of Gender and Women’s Studies, said the United States is “very far behind” most developed countries when it comes to women’s rights.

Noted: The study was conducted by the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Daniel Wright, an environmental engineering researcher at UW-Madison who works on climate issues, described Milwaukee as a “hotspot for thunderstorm activity.”

“If you look north or south or west of Milwaukee, there are far fewer thunderstorms than over the city itself. Then you have to start scratching your head and asking, ‘What’s going on here?’ ”

Noted: Amid low milk prices and other pressures, a record number of Wisconsin dairy farms have closed. Most are smaller operations, but an unknown number of large feedlots have been among them, said Paul Mitchell, a professor of agriculture and applied economics at UW-Madison.

Quoted: “Now we are saying we kind of have to start all over again,” said Michael Notaro, a climate scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “The original thinking was in error.”

Quoted: Meanwhile, all that nice weather is also about to bring bugs out of their slumber, said P.J. Liesch, director of the University of Wisconsin’s insect diagnostic lab in Madison. “With the warmer temperatures coming our way, I’m definitely expecting insect activity to pick up in the near future,” Liesch said in an email.

With most of their competition coming from online retailers, “brick and mortar is very focused on making the experience better and unique,” said Jerry O’Brien, executive director of the Kohl’s Center for Retailing Excellence at UW-Madison. “It’s been bubbling up for a long time.”