In his article in The Atlantic, grimly titled, “America is sliding toward illiteracy,” Idrees Kahloon uses data largely from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, to reflect on the recent degradation of American education. Kahloon uses this data to test theories as to why K-12 test scores have plummeted since 2007 after a brief but substantive window of improvement.
PBS Wisconsin’s University Place will record “An Overview of the Geology of Wisconsin,” a presentation by Sue Swanson, Ph.D., Director of the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey (WGNHS) and State Geologist.
Question: What is the prediction for the 2026 hurricane season?
Answer: Tropical cyclones are large, whirling storms that obtain their energy from warm ocean waters.
Roughly 20 million Americans live in manufactured houses, which are made in factories.
Though they’re often called mobile homes or trailers, that’s really a misnomer because their owners can’t easily relocate them. Typically, the people who own them rent the land underneath the houses from the owners of parks for manufactured home. Sometimes an owner will rent their home to someone else while paying to rent the land as well.
The Joint Committee on Finance approved the $10 million sale of the state’s former Human Services building to Landmark Development Tuesday, bringing Madison one step closer to getting Amtrak service.
A key part of the company’s plan is to bridge gaps between Madison and other Midwestern cities.
“Madison is ideally situated amongst the sort of arc of bigger cities within the Midwest. We really can play a key position economically, culturally, politically, by the location we have,” Jason Ilstrup, the president of Downtown Madison Inc., said.
Roughly 20 million Americans live in manufactured houses, which are homes made in factories.
Although they’re often called mobile homes or trailers, that’s really a misnomer because their owners can’t easily relocate them. Typically, the people who own them rent the land underneath the houses from the owners of manufactured home parks. Sometimes, an owner will rent their home to someone else while paying to rent the land as well.
Almost 20 years ago, a green, shiny beetle arrived in southern Wisconsin and started eating ash trees to death.
Originally from Asia and known as the emerald ash borer, the bug is smaller than a dime and quickly spread like wildfire, largely fueled by firewood and tree nursery transports.
Summer is here and with children already or about to be on summer break, many parents are looking for productive ways for their children to spend their break.
UW Health Dr. Shilagh Mirgain shares some budget friendly summer activities for children.
While students may be done with homework for the summer, that doesn’t mean they have to stop reading.
Dr. Mirgain suggests visiting a library for books and fun.
Dr. Gregory DeMuri, pediatric infectious disease doctor at UW Health Kids and professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, said Lyme disease can cause the rash, and then it can cause arthritis, heart problems and sometimes central nervous system issues.
Question: How important was the weather forecast on D-Day?
Answer: D-Day was the name given to the June 6, 1944, invasion of the beaches at Normandy in northern France by troops of the Allied Forces during World War II. The goal was to cross the narrow, often stormy, English Channel into Nazi-occupied France.
Here’s what guests on the May 29, 2026 episode said about broad voter support for a failed state surplus deal, prospects for job seekers, and a lawsuit over ICE holds by sheriffs.
Dairy producers across Wisconsin now have a new tool to help manage one of summer’s biggest challenges: heat stress. It costs the U.S. dairy industry significantly each year through reduced milk production, lower fertility, and added health expenses. At the same time, the cost of running the fans and ventilation systems that prevent those losses keeps rising, making smart decisions on the farm matter more than ever.
Instead, the former judges, representatives of Law Forward, the Wisconsin Association for Justice and directors of the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin-Madison suggest the Wisconsin Supreme Court should establish an advisory committee to study what process would work best in Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin Alumni Association hosted a webinar on May 19, “From War to AI: Forces Shaping Today’s Economy,” examining how conflict, global trade disruptions and artificial intelligence are influencing the United States and global economy.
The two are also concerned that the district could ignore some of the equity and teacher well-being issues raised in a report led by a group of students from UW-Madison’s La Follette School of Public Affairs, which found that teachers felt burnt out by monitoring phone use and want more district support, and that low-income Black and Latino students in the Madison School District face disproportionate levels of device-related discipline.
Requests to remove or restrict access to books in schools have hit record highs both across the country and in Wisconsin.
In May, Wisconsin upheld the Menomonee Falls School District’s finding that the 2024 removal of a children’s book that depicted multiple family structures, including ones with LGBTQ+ couples, did not count as discrimination.
The median home cost in Wisconsin’s two biggest metro areas is at least five times the median household income in those communities, among the highest in the Midwest.
Resistant and emerging pests are on the rise, leaving farmers scrambling for information on control options.
Corn earworm flexed its might last year in Wisconsin fields.
Maks Makarenkov couldn’t help but smile on car rides through the capital city. He saw homes with blue and yellow flags pinned in their windows or dangling from flagpoles.
“Seeing the Ukrainian flags here, it touches my heart,” Makarenkov said. “In this war, we feel the American support.”
Professional Dairy Producers will feature two educational sessions this week through its weekly The Dairy Signal program, offering dairy producers updated information on herd management and market conditions affecting the industry in 2026.
The Tuesday, May 26 episode will focus on improving reproductive performance on dairy farms. The session will examine current reproductive protocols, management strategies, and recent research findings designed to help producers strengthen herd efficiency and productivity.
Magnetic fields are found everywhere in the universe, from planets and stars to entire galaxies. These invisible forces influence major cosmic events and processes, including solar storms, the movement of high energy particles, and even galaxy formation. While small magnetic fields are often chaotic and turbulent, much larger magnetic structures appear surprisingly organized. For decades, scientists have struggled to explain how disorder in space could create such large-scale order.
Question: What is fire weather?
Answer: Wildfires need three essential elements: heat, oxygen and dry fuel. Fire weather refers to a mix of meteorological conditions that make it easy for wildfires to ignite and spread quickly. The main weather factors are low humidity, strong winds, warm temperatures and atmospheric instability.
As more than two billion people worldwide still lack access to safely managed drinking water, new research from the La Follette School of Public Affairs at UW–Madison investigates the effects of early-life exposure to citywide water filtration on longevity in the early 20th century.
A teenager knows something isn’t right. They want to talk to a therapist but don’t want their parents to know everything they say. In Wisconsin, whether the teen can control that decision depends on a set of laws, hinging on the age of the minor, that most teens and many parents do not fully understand.
No one could have predicted the massive spread of golden oyster mushrooms in the United States.
The golden oyster mushroom, or Pleurotus citrinopileatus, seems like an innocent and edible fungi, but it has become a rapidly spreading, invasive species throughout the central and northeastern United States.
In the last 15 years, it has been found in moist woodlands throughout Missouri, especially the upper part of the state and in Boone County.
Mention the “Dream Team” to a longtime sports fan, and they will assume you’re referring to the 1992 U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team, a powerhouse with a roster that included Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson.
University of Wisconsin-Madison professors, Jane Paulsen and Michael Newton discovered that two proteins decline in the human brain as Huntington disease develops, furthering improvements for treatments of the disease.
Huntington’s disease (HD) is a rare, genetic disease that causes neurons in the brain to degenerate over time, affecting a person’s movement, cognition and overall quality of life.
To understand psychedelics — those powerful and cryptic agents of the mind — scientists are exploring uncharted landscapes. “We don’t yet really know why psilocybin or other psychedelic drugs seem to have the effects that they do,” Professor Paul Hutson, director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Transdisciplinary Center for Research in Psychoactive Substances, told the Wisconsin Examiner.
Question: Who or what triggers the decision to sound a tornado siren?
Answer: The National Weather Service is responsible for issuing forecasts, watches and warnings for a variety of weather and water hazards. A “warning” is issued when hazardous weather poses an immediate threat to life or property.
Gas prices have jumped nearly 78 cents a gallon in Madison over the past month, and experts say the increase is driving up grocery costs.
Regular gas is running at $4.57 per gallon on average in Madison, according to AAA.
At Jenifer Street Market on Madison’s east side, co-owner David McKenzie says prices continue to climb, particularly when it comes to produce.
As more than two billion people worldwide still lack access to safely managed drinking water, new research from the La Follette School of Public Affairs investigates the effects of early-life exposure to citywide water filtration on longevity in the early 20th-century.
Patients hospitalized with nonsevere COVID-19 infections who received empiric antibiotics targeting community-acquired pneumonia may not experience clinically meaningful improvement in outcomes and could have a slightly increased risk of clinical deterioration or in-hospital mortality.
Jon Pevehouse, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who specializes in international relations, discussed the Iranian war, its effects and what its outcome might look like in the United States in an interview with The Daily Cardinal.
The U.S. began bombing Iran in February 2026. The campaign, Operation Epic Fury, was intended to upheave Iranian leadership, destroy their military and end Iran’s nuclear program, according to President Donald Trump.
A deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean has alarmed health officials worldwide, but Madison infectious disease specialists say the risk to Wisconsin residents is extremely low, as long as residents haven’t been exposed to a passenger of the cruise ship.
If there’s two things that Andrea “Andi” Bill likes, it’s problem solving and applying it to the human experience. It’s part of what led her to a career in Civil Engineering, but those same skills have also been invaluable in her second career as a trainer and owner of Sugar Creek Stables in Brooklyn, Wisconsin.
Question: Are we ahead of schedule with the spring greening?
Answer: We all just lived through a historic April here in Madison, and broadly across the region.
In Madison and Milwaukee, April 2026 was the wettest April since record keeping began in 1869 and 1871, respectively. Madison received 7.26 inches of rain during the month, more than half of that amount coming on just three days (1.34 inches on April 2, 1.53 inches on April 14 and 0.98 inch on April 17).
Health experts say Wisconsinites should not panic over recent international hantavirus headlines, despite concerns the outbreak could mirror the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Nasia Safdar, a professor of Infectious Disease at UW Madison, said the situation with the hantavirus outbreak is exceedingly rare.
For the first time in 40 years, UW-Madison is launching a new college.
The university has named Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau as the founding dean of the College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence, set to officially open on July 1.
As artificial intelligence continues to grow, so do its criticisms.
Already had a run-in with a tick this year?
You’re not alone.
Emergency room visits for tick bites hit their highest known level in southern Wisconsin and have been up across the state in recent weeks, according to data from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, which began tracking tick-related ER visits in 2022.
Most of the country has seen a similar trend, but it’s been especially pronounced in the Midwest, data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows.
Testing for avian flu among Wisconsin dairy cows is being reduced, thanks to recent changes at both state and federal levels.
But one animal health expert worries that reduced support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture could leave continued surveillance of the highly-contagious virus on shaky ground.
Questions about racially motivated voting restrictions gained new relevance last week when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a key component of the 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA) in Louisiana v. Callais (2026). The decision effectively ended the protections of the VRA’s Section 2, which sought to ensure that voters of color had fair representation in elections. This ruling now opens the door to the potential elimination of majority-minority districts in numerous states.
The first dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s new College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence says the institution will be a vital non-industry leader shaping the future of AI.
Leaders in science, business, and government gathered in Madison on Tuesday to discuss the future of fusion energy.
The Fusion Summit at the Discovery Center brought together researchers, lawmakers, and more than one hundred companies exploring how Wisconsin could become a national hub for this emerging technology.
An ancient practice may hold significant benefits for your mental and physical well-being.
UW Health distinguished psychologist Dr. Shilagh Mirgain highlighted the benefits of therapeutic journaling.
Harm reduction tools like fentanyl and xylazine test strips have years of evidence behind their use, according to Dr. Elizabeth Salisbury-Afshar, a professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health and an addiction medicine specialist.
What are the true limits of life, will we even recognize it when we see it? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice explore the beginnings of life on Earth and what they might tell us about life everywhere else with astrobiologist and bacteriologist, Betül Kaçar.
Wisconsin lost thousands of manufacturing jobs in 2025, driven in part by an aging workforce and hesitancy to expand hiring in an uncertain economy.
Between January 2025 and January 2026, the state’s manufacturing workforce shrank by about 9,500 jobs, falling from 461,100 workers to 451,600, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The manufacturing workforce nationally declined by about 91,000 jobs over the same period.
Backyard poultry have been linked to a multistate outbreak of salmonella, which includes at least five cases in Wisconsin.
Thirty-four cases of salmonella across 13 states have been linked to the outbreak, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A recent decision from a federal appeals court could impact Wisconsin residents looking to get the abortion pill mifepristone from providers in other states.
A Friday decision from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals restricted the mailing of the abortion pill mifepristone. On Monday, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito temporarily halted that ruling for one week.
The sale of unpasteurized milk remains illegal in the dairy state, but more than three dozen bills supporting raw milk have been introduced in states around the nation, according to the Associated Press.
That includes neighboring states to Wisconsin, such as Iowa, Illinois and Michigan, which have introduced laws this year.
University of Wisconsin-Madison professors in food and dairy sciences say that while farmers in Wisconsin take great care of their animals, raw milk can never be guaranteed completely safe.
Mid-May is the perfect time to start a pollinator garden in Wisconsin. But could someone just not mow their lawn for an entire month and reap similar benefits? That depends.
No Mow May is pitched as a way to let yards grow out and help pollinators. Manicured lawns provide little food or resting spots for bees, butterflies and other insects. These pollinators need vegetation to feed on and find a safe spot to nest.
Question: Is global warming impacting bird migration?
Answer: Global warming refers to the rise in global temperatures due to the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. One impact is that northern latitudes are experiencing warmer mean annual temperatures and experiencing earlier springs, milder winters and delayed falls.
In recent weeks, researchers have announced several breakthroughs in treatment for pancreatic cancer. Researchers in New York shared results of a small study with promising signs for mRNA vaccines, and scientists shared research on ways to target and block the KRAS protein.
“For the first time, we have a phase two trial that has told us that we can help patients live longer when we block this protein,” UW Health medical oncologist Dr. Jeremy Kratz told 27 News anchor Caroline Dade.
Pediatric oncologist and researcher Dr. Christian Capitini was named the new director of the UW Carbone Cancer Center.
Capitini said the new role is both a personal milestone and a statewide promise.
“This was the biggest honor of my career… to be able to serve everyone in the state through this leadership role is just an enormous privilege and opportunity,” Capitini said.
Many Madison drivers are paying more than $4 at the pump and say they are feeling the impact.
Average gas prices have increased more than a dollar since the U.S. and Israel first attacked Iran two months ago.
Jon Pevehouse, a political science professor at UW-Madison explained why prices are on the rise.
“In large part because Iran is a central producer, as are the countries around Iran, are central producers of oil, which of course goes into gas,” Pevehouse said.
Particularly with the growth of social media, reports of coyotes have become more common in and around Madison.
That may be due to coyotes getting more familiar with humans rather than a growing population or territorial expansion, said David Drake, leader of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Urban Canid Project.
PJ Liesch, director of the UW-Madison Insect Diagnostic Lab, said around 20% of juvenile ticks carry Lyme disease, and 40% of adult ticks can transmit the infection. Ticks are also more commonly being found in residential areas, he said.
UW-Madison researchers are celebrating a new executive order from President Donald Trump that expedites FDA approval for psychedelic treatments for conditions like depression and PTSD.
Paul Hutson from UW-Madison School of Pharmacy, who has studied psychedelics for mental health for years, says the new executive order will not only expedite FDA approvals but may help secure state funding for their research.
Severe storms swept through Wisconsin last week, bringing strong winds, heavy rainfall and massive hail that caused extensive damage to homes, businesses and cars, especially in the central and southern parts of the state
The visible light spectrum covers colors from violet to red. Each color corresponds to a different wavelength, with green sitting roughly in the middle. Blue and violet have shorter wavelengths. Light rays change direction when they hit particles — a process known as scattering. The sky looks blue because air molecules scatter shorter wavelengths more effectively.
