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Category: Community

Cap Times’ Evjue Foundation announces $1.6M in Madison-area grants

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The Capital Times

These are among $1,571,500 in community and University of Wisconsin grants announced today by the Foundation’s board of directors. Of the total, 56 area nonprofits shared in $1,249,000 while $322,500 went to 26 efforts at UW-Madison. One of those was a $12,500 grant, the first of five installments, for the scholarship endowment at the UW School of Journalism and Mass Communication established by Washington Post editor David Maraniss in honor of his late father and editor of The Capital Times, Elliott Maraniss.

This doctor teaches medical students how to care for underserved populations at this south side community health clinic

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

It’s a gray and rainy Tuesday morning, and Dr. Michelle Buelow is with her patient Johnny at the Parkway Clinic of the Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers.

Despite the weather, Johnny, whom Buelow has been taking care of since 2018, is all smiles.

It’s just one of the reasons Buelow, a family medicine physician at the clinic, loves her work.

She was recently awarded the Max Fox Preceptor Award from the University of Wisconsin-Madison for her work. The award is given to a preceptor “whose effective service as a mentor and teacher has guided UW medical students,” according to a news release from the university.

American families need to earn $35.80 an hour just to make ends meet. Few earn that.

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CBS News

Noted: An hourly wage of $35.80 equates to about $74,400 in annual income. The average hourly wage stood at $31.73 in March, or about $66,000 annually, according to the latest government data. That means many families are falling behind in their ability to afford the basics, said Marjory Givens, co-director at the County Health Rankings, which is a program of the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

Iowa counties ranked in terms of health by University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute

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The Courier

Newly released rankings on the health of people in each county in the United States has Black Hawk and Bremer counties on opposite ends of the spectrum.

The rankings, put together by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute using new data, are meant to help people “understand what influences how long and how well we live.”

Behind-the-scenes look at Great Lakes shipwrecks-focused video game

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PBS Wisconsin

Noted: The game was produced by PBS Wisconsin Education, Wisconsin Sea Grant, and Field Day Learning Games — an educational game developer within the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Wisconsin Center for Education Research and Wisconsin educators. It complements the PBS Wisconsin Shipwrecks! documentary and virtual reality experience exploring wrecks on the bottom of Wisconsin’s Great Lakes.

Black Oxygen: Grieving in a pandemic is difficult with DeVon Wilson

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Madison 365

DeVon Wilson, Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the School of Letters and Science at UW-Madison, experienced deep loss and grief near the beginning of the pandemic with the passing of one of his best friends. He says, “grieving during a pandemic is difficult … I learned that I couldn’t do it alone.” In this episode of Black Oxygen, DeVon discusses his journey to Wisconsin, the difference in community needs between Beloit and Madison, and his experience of navigating grief after losing a dear friend. Near the end of the episode, DeVon shares, “grief is an indicator of the positive impact folks had on your life.”

Minority Health Month with UW All Of Us

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TMJ4

April is Minority Health Month. In recognition of the month, the University of Wisconsin Madison’s Center for Community Engagement and Health Partnerships is getting as much information as possible out about health to communities. The Center houses two major programs, the UW All of Us Milwaukee site and the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute Regional Milwaukee Office. Dr. Bashir Easter, associate director for UW All of Us Milwaukee and Dr. Nia Norris, associate director of the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute and administrative manager with UW All of Us
Milwaukee join us to talk about their efforts they believe are crucial to keeping the community healthy.

Community health partners launch ConnectRx Wisconsin, a care coordination system centered on Black women

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Madison 365

Quoted: “It is an honor and a privilege to be here today to celebrate a revolutionary change, a revolutionary paradigm shift,” said Dr. Tiffany Green, assistant professor of population health sciences and obstetrics and gynecology at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, and co-chair of the Black Maternal & Child Health Alliance of Dane County. “It is a program and this is a process that’s going to center the lives of Dane County’s Black women and birthing people in solving our persistent and frankly shameful disparities in birth outcomes.”

 

At Madison Chamber’s IceBreaker, speakers emphasize building an inclusive economy

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Wisconsin State Journal

For the first time since 2019, the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce held its IceBreaker lunch in person Wednesday at the Kohl Center. About 775 people attended, many part of Madison’s ever-expanding business community. The roster of speech-givers included Maggie Anderson, CEO of advocacy nonprofit The Empowerment Experiment Foundation, and UW-Madison researcher Alondra Fernandez.

In honor of Milwaukee Day, here are 14 people making a difference in our city

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Noted: Xela Garcia helps young Milwaukee Latinos see themselves in art and education.

Garcia grew up on Milwaukee’s south side and has served as executive director of the Walker’s Point Center for the Arts for five years.

At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she minored in Chicano/Latina studies and American Indian studies and saw herself reflected in the class readings.

“It brought me back to that feeling of empowerment, of feeling seen,” she said. “This was something that was me.”

Wisconsin sees sharp increase in Type 2 diabetes among children, according to UW Health Kids data

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Wisconsin Public Radio

Wisconsin doctors are seeing a steady increase in the number of children diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes — a disease that primarily affects adults — which may be linked to COVID-19.

Data released last week by UW Health Kids shows a nearly 200 percent increase in the number of cases of Type 2 diabetes over the past four years.

While this is a trend medical experts have noticed for years, Dr. Elizabeth Mann, a pediatric endocrinologist and director of the Type 2 Diabetes Program at UW Health Kids, said it’s taken a worrisome turn recently.

‘We’re just trying to live’: Trans youth, families in Wisconsin struggle in contentious political environment

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Wisconsin Public Radio

Noted: Anne Marsh serves in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Medicine and Public Health. Her 8-year-old son Ryan is transgender.

“Our son has grown up in a household where from the day he shared with us who he is, he has faced nothing but unconditional love and welcoming and celebration of who he is,” Anne said. “How do you teach a child that the world is going to perceive them differently and treat them differently? It’s a hard conversation to have with a young child as a parent.”

3 areas of improvement for One City Schools: Staffing, transparency, communication

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Wisconsin State Journal

UW-Madison researchers in partnership with the Wisconsin Evaluation Collaborative interviewed teachers, staff, including leadership staff, and families between January 2021 and September; observed preschool and elementary classrooms; sent surveys to staff, teachers and families; and analyzed documents from One City Schools including reports, newsletters and administrative documents to compile the first phase of the report.

Meet the Science moms working to save the planet for future generations

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Yahoo.com/Parents

Moms may just be one of our most potent weapons against the climate crisis. Dr. Rios-Berrios joined forces with several climate scientists and parents in Science Moms, a nonpartisan group launched by the Potential Energy Coalition in 2021.

“One of the things I love about the Science Moms program is that the website and outreach make it easy for moms to get involved. It takes this complicated topic and breaks it into bite-size pieces,” says Science Mom’s Tracey Holloway, Ph.D., a professor in the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and mom to two.

Black households never recovered from the Great Recession, a UW-Madison report on racial wealth gaps suggests

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A new report is highlighting how much the Great Recession widened racial wealth gaps, particularly on the basis of income and homeownership.

“Racial Disparities in Household Wealth Following the Great Recession,” authored by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor Fenaba R. Addo and Duke University Professor William A. Darity Jr., found that Black and Latino households continue to lag behind white households in wealth and income statistics.

The report was published this month through the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Institute for Research on Poverty and used Survey on Consumer Finances data to come to its conclusions.

Mental Health First Aid training for WI Ag Community set for April 12

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Wisconsin State Farmer

There is no doubt that farming can be extremely rewarding, yet also stressful and demanding. Various risk factors including weather, economic uncertainty, as well as, ever-evolving supply and demand changes, can take a toll on farmer’s mental health.

In order to address some of these issues, the University of Wisconsin–Madison Division of Extension will be offering virtual and in-person educational programs to help the Wisconsin agricultural community identify and respond to a variety of behavioral health challenges.

UW programs this spring focus on democracy and the American Dream. Watch them at our websites.

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Journal Sentinel and USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin will livestream several democracy-focused programs this spring from the University of Wisconsin-Madison LaFollette School of Public Affairs.

The first, today at 5 p.m., features Harvard University Professor of Government Daniel Carpenter, who will discuss his book “Democracy by Petition,” which traces the explosion and expansion of petitioning across the North American continent.

Black Arts Matter Festival brings performing arts, slam poetry to UW-Madison

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The Capital Times

Noticing a lack of spaces for Black artists to showcase their talents in Madison, Shasparay, then a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, launched the Black Arts Matter Festival in 2019.  The festival began at the Madison Public Library, where Elizabeth Snodgrass attended as a spectator. When she later took a position as the Wisconsin Union Theater director, she saw an opportunity to bring Shasparay’s vision to the university’s performing arts center.

Vilas Zoo closing bird exhibits to protect against deadly avian flu

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Wisconsin State Journal

UW-Madison researchers with the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory discovered the case of avian flu. This strain of the virus has not been spreading to humans, but could lead to the euthanizing of millions of birds across the U.S., likely raising prices in the egg and poultry industry, according to the researchers. The lab is working to identify cases and control the spread.

Dane County saw 40% increase in fatal car crashes in 2021

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The Capital Times

“We’re seeing that pretty much everywhere. It started in the pandemic (and) the theory has been when traffic congestion dropped, that created more space on the road for people to drive fast,” said Chris McCahill with the State Smart Transportation Initiative. “That’s part of what we’re seeing.” McCahill is the managing director of the SSTI — a joint project of the University of Wisconsin and Smart Growth America that aims to promote transportation practices that advance environmental sustainability and equitable economic development.

Madison media company puts lens on equity in STEM fields through exhibit

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Wisconsin State Journal

Now, thanks in part to a $5 million UW-Madison grant meant to facilitate anti-racism in higher education, Represented Collective has launched a project called “Legendary” — a portion of the money is funding an interactive exhibit at nine Dane County libraries that spotlights the women who made STEM history, but weren’t celebrated for their accomplishments as much as their male counterparts.

As literacy curriculum decision approaches, School Board talks options

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The Capital Times

The work toward a new curriculum went hand-in-hand with the recent Early Literacy Task Force, a joint effort between MMSD and the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education to evaluate how students are taught to read as well as how future teachers learn to teach reading. The group produced a report earlier this year including recommendations for moving forward.

‘I don’t know what will happen’: After months at Fort McCoy, Afghan family resettled in separate states

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Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: “The government has to provide more resources, if we’re going to ensure that everybody has their basic needs met during this transition time, and it’s wonderful to see people in the community coming together,” said Erin Barbato, director of the Immigrant Justice Clinic at the University of Wisconsin Law School. “But that’s not going to solve the problem for everybody.”

The legal clinic is helping evacuees file for asylum and training attorneys to represent them in that process — positions that are in short supply. Barbato and other immigration experts fear some people will fall through bureaucratic cracks unless the federal government takes action to stabilize the system.

Renters struggle as Madison-area rents rise faster than usual

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The Capital Times

Also feeling the pinch are college students like Tyler Katzenberger, who signed a lease last October for the place he’ll move into this fall. The 20-year-old University of Wisconsin-Madison sophomore currently pays $450 per month to share a bedroom, and will pay $600 per month next year to have his own bedroom in a three-bedroom house shared with three roommates.

Tribal leader decries Wisconsin bills to bar lessons on systemic racism in State of the Tribes address

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Noted: Holsey made the remarks during the annual State of the Tribes address before the state Legislature on Tuesday afternoon, hours before state lawmakers passed a bill that would effectively bar University of Wisconsin System instructors from teaching systemic racism. Gov. Tony Evers is expected to veto the bill.

“We The Vision” celebrates the 50th anniversary of UW’s The Black Voice

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Madison 365

The Black Voice news publication was first created in 1971 with the mission to provide a safe space for Black and African diasporic students attending UW-Madison. “We The Vision,” which will be presented at Marquee Cinema in Union South on Tuesday, March 1, 6 p.m., is the tale of The Black Voice’s origins, influence and legacy told by many of the voices who have shaped its success. The documentary commemorates the 50th anniversary of the founding of The Black Voice, during the 2020-21 school year.

New ‘counter monument’ sculpture on State Street celebrates shared humanity

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Wisconsin State Journal

Downtown Madison is not new to the debate over historic monuments. But thanks to the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art and a UW-Madison art professor, State Street’s iconography is now home to a new kind of monument. The museum unveiled its newest installation Tuesday evening, “Blu³eprint,” a 12,000-pound limestone sculpture designed by Faisal Abdu’Allah. For Abdu’Allah, it is a deeply personal piece that aims to reimagine the role of identity in public art.

UW-Madison program helps high school students prep for college

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Spectrum News

The days of Gabrielle Acevedo walking into class at Rufus King High school are ticking away one-by-one. As a senior, there are roughly 100 days until she graduates. But, she knows what she wants to do after the gets her diploma. “Personally, I’ve always known what I wanted to do,” Acevedo said. “I’ve had the same dream since I was a little girl.” That dream is to go to the University of Wisconsin and eventually become a physician assistant or a doctor. She credits her readiness for college to the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Precollege Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Excellence, known as PEOPLE.

‘Home is here’: Northeast Wisconsin’s surge in diversity forged by opportunity, grit and inclusion

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Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: The rapid growth of the Hispanic population is part of a national trend that demographers cite as a natural increase, growth that’s driven by an established population rather than immigration, said David Egan-Robertson, demographer at the Applied Population Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

In other words, it’s the result of families like the Villas, Guzmans and Castros deciding to stay in the region and raise the next generation of northeast Wisconsin’s children.

Still, Egan-Robertson acknowledged that one reason for the rise in numbers for the Hispanic population and for other groups is increased participation in the 10-year survey, because of the U.S. Census Bureau’s improved system of gathering the information.

“In some ways, maybe the diverse population was there in 2010, but the way the Census Bureau captured it then, it really wasn’t giving the full scope of the race and population,” Egan-Robertson said. “In 2020 they got their act together and expanded the amount of data they captured.”

Fourth-graders from Green Bay schools ask professor about environment, renewable energy

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Wisconsin Public Radio

A class of fourth graders from Green Bay public schools recently submitted questions about renewable energy and the environment to WPR’s “The Morning Show.”

Greg Nemet, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s La Follette School of Public Affairs, joined the show to answer those questions.

UW Madison Cartography Lab’s “We Are Here: Local Mapmakers Explore the World That Connects Us” Exhibit

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WORT FM

We Are Here: Local Mapmakers Explore the World That Connects Us is an exhibit that was developed by the UW Madison Cartography Lab and currently showing at the Overture Center until January 16th. The exhibit features work from both current students and alumni from their current places of employment and aims to let people know that Madison is a hub and important place of cartography training.

Why is Wisconsin a great state for great sausage? (Hint: it’s more than just German heritage)

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Green Bay Press-Gazette

Noted: Jeff Sindelar, associate professor in the meat and science department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, agrees 100% with the European influence when it comes to Wisconsin’s sausage skills.

It started with people with strong meat-processing skill sets putting down roots here, but having people who wanted to purchase those foods provided a sustainable market throughout the generations.

Wisconsin was also well-positioned geographically to help carry on those traditions, Sindelar said. Being located between the large population centers of the Twin Cities and Chicago, the latter with its famous stockyards, brought railways to Wisconsin.

$1 million donation will support renovations at One City Schools’ future campus

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Wisconsin State Journal

The planned renovation of the facility brings One City Schools closer to its goal of offering a tuition-free public charter school, authorized by the University of Wisconsin System, for students in grades 5-12. One City Schools currently offers a tuition-based independent preschool that serves 2- and 3-year-olds as well as 4K students and a tuition-free public charter school for students in K-4.

36 Children’s Books About Diversity to Read to Your Kids

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Reader's Digest

Noted: A recent count by Cooperative Children’s Book Center School of Education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison found that “books about white children, talking bears, trucks, monsters, potatoes, etc. represent nearly three-quarters of children’s and young adult books published in 2019.” In other words, vegetables, animals, monsters, and aliens had more visibility in books than brown or black characters.

Wisconsin’s 48 Most Influential Black Leaders, Part 1

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Madison 365

Noted: Marisa Moseley is in her first season as the head women’s basketball coach at the University of Wisconsin. She came to Madison from Boston University, where she was head coach for two seasons. She led the Terriers to their first winning season in five years and was named Patriot League Coach of the Year. Moseley was an assistant coach for nine years under Coach Gino Auriemma at the University of Connecticut, a national women’s basketball powerhouse, following assistant coaching stints at Denver and Minnesota. She played for Boston University from 2000-2004.

Viroqua, Hillsboro public libraries awarded grants from the Center for East Asian Studies

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La Crosse Tribune

The Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is pleased to announce the winners of the “East Asia in Wisconsin Library Program” competition. Grants have been awarded to public libraries throughout Wisconsin, enriching their collections with new titles that will enable patrons to deepen their understanding of East Asia (which includes China, Japan, and Korea). Over $24,000 in funding will be distributed to 29 libraries, representing 12 of the state’s 14 library systems.