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Will Cushman
Will's Recent Stories
Many Police Officers In Wisconsin Live Outside The Cities Where They Serve
The killing of George Floyd, a Black resident of Minneapolis, reignited ongoing protests against police brutality — a movement fueled in part by a widening breach between law enforcement and the local communities they are charged with serving.
Friday June 9, 2023
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: Hazy case data clouds a summer rise of BA.5 omicron
An emergent subvariant is pushing new COVID-19 infections higher around the state, but changing testing practices are leading to a likely significant infection undercount and less clarity about the pandemic's status.
Wednesday July 20, 2022
Growing demand, higher costs challenge Wisconsin’s booming dairy goat industry
The market for goat cheese and other specialized dairy products continues to build, but producers large and small around the state are confronting spikes in the price of feed.
Tuesday July 19, 2022
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: Pediatric vaccination expands, omicron settles in
In its third summer, elevated transmission and ongoing public health efforts to provide vaccines to as many people as possible – including newly eligible young children – has become a persistent pandemic pattern.
Wednesday June 29, 2022
Baby formula shortage highlights benefits of human milk banking
Here & Now extra: While most human milk donations in Wisconsin go toward nourishing newborns in NICUs, a nonprofit milk bank is working to expand availability to more families in need.
Wednesday June 22, 2022
PKU patients around Wisconsin are grappling with the formula shortage too
People with metabolic disorders who require formula to ensure adequate nutrition are among those dealing with a months long shortage — the Waisman Center at UW-Madison is seeking to help source alternatives, even as such options can be stressful.
Thursday June 16, 2022
A growing Wisconsin brewery faces high demand, tight supply
The pandemic and international conflict have wreaked havoc with supply chains around the world – Octopi Brewing is adjusting to these increasingly uncertain business conditions, trying to keep raw materials flowing and machinery running as interest in its canned beverages grows.
Wednesday May 25, 2022
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: Antiviral use low as another omicron wave builds
Health officials urge more people to seek out therapeutics after COVID-19 infection, particularly as multiple subvariants lead to the highest reports of new cases and hospitalizations in several months.
Thursday May 19, 2022
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: Hospitalizations creep up, interrupting a pandemic lull
Multiple Omicron subvariants are fueling a new rise in transmission around the state, ending a multi-month downswing – at the same time, health officials are promoting the growing availability of antiviral medications that reduce the risk of serious disease.
Thursday May 5, 2022
Wisconsin’s tourism jobs see rebounding interest by international workers in 2022
Hospitality businesses around the state struggled through the pandemic, first with a drop in demand and subsequently with filling open positions, but hopes are high in the Wisconsin Dells area that the number of students getting J-1 work visas will address seasonal labor needs.
Thursday April 28, 2022
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: Most public transportation goes mask-optional amid rising case counts
Local officials in the state’s largest metro areas have responded differently to the abrupt end of a federal pandemic rule requiring masks on buses, commercial flights, and other public transportation.
Friday April 22, 2022
Fast Facts: Wisconsin’s rising housing costs
The price of a place to live is on the rise in Wisconsin, in terms of both real estate and rent, as changing demographics help drive high demand amid a limited housing supply, with each factor intensified in the wake of the pandemic.
Friday April 15, 2022
What the 2022 bird flu outbreak means for Wisconsin poultry
Poultry producers and government regulators in Wisconsin are closely monitoring the spread of the H5N1 avian influenza virus among chickens, turkeys and wild birds around the state, putting biosecurity measures in place and depopulating infected flocks.
Thursday April 14, 2022
What more at-home COVID-19 tests mean for Wisconsin’s pandemic surveillance
A new coronavirus subvariant is spreading, a combination of vaccination and past infections have provided some level of broad immunity, and public health officials are keeping tabs on multiple data sources — case counts, hospitalizations and wastewater — to gauge the threat of emerging outbreaks.
Thursday April 7, 2022
Milwaukee elects first Black mayor, as Cavalier Johnson sails to landslide victory
The city's Acting Mayor won nearly three-quarters of the votes cast in the first race since 2004 without an elected incumbent, following a campaign that focused on rising violent crime, addressing employment disparities and other issues.
Wednesday April 6, 2022
How many Ukrainian refugees have resettled in Wisconsin over the past decade?
As the U.S. commits to accepting 100,000 people from Ukraine who are fleeing invasion by Russia, local resettlement agencies don't expect to see many make their way to the state given policies that favor reuniting families and familiar communities.
Thursday March 31, 2022
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: Omicron subvariant could test ‘return to normal’
While hospitalizations around the state have fallen to their lowest levels in eight months, wastewater samples suggest transmission of COVID-19 is picking up steam again as full responsibility for mitigation measures is at the individual level.
Tuesday March 22, 2022
From Sturgeon Bay to sanctioned: The shipbuilding story of the ‘Lady M’ superyacht
A 213-foot luxury vessel constructed by Palmer Johnson Yachts and completed at shipyards in Door County in 2013 was seized by the Italian government in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine — its industrial legacy can still summon strong feelings in Wisconsin.
Tuesday March 15, 2022
Speeding cleanup of pollution at ‘Areas of Concern’ on Wisconsin’s waterways
One target of the 2021 federal infrastructure package is a decades-long effort to remediate industrial contamination in five locations in the state where rivers and estuaries flow into the Great Lakes — conservationists are hopeful the funding will accelerate this restoration process.
Tuesday March 8, 2022
Wisconsin climate change research confirms impacts of warming winter nights
The UW-Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and the Department of Natural Resources have issued a scientific report examining how global warming has affected the state over the past decade, with measurable effects differing by season and time of day.
Tuesday March 1, 2022
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: The response to the pandemic enters a new phase
Disease metrics are falling to their lowest levels since the end of summer 2021, and as the final mask mandates in the state come to an end, public health officials are preparing to rely on recommendations and surveillance to keep infections to a minimum.
Friday February 25, 2022
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: Omicron plunge persists, local mask rules expiring
New COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations around the state continue to plummet barely a month after hitting pandemic peaks, spurring officials to proceed with ending most remaining public health restrictions.
Friday February 18, 2022
The future of Wisconsin’s wolf management is unclear following federal ruling
With a court decision placing the gray wolf under Endangered Species Act protection once again, more uncertainty has been added to the state's path forward for managing the animal as a new report reflects deep divisions in a DNR advisory committee.
Thursday February 17, 2022
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: Disease metrics drop, long-term impacts loom
The number of new cases, hospitalizations and deaths caused by COVID-19 around the state continues to plummet from their omicron wave peaks, while researchers are learning more about how infection can heighten health risks related to heart conditions and pregnancy.
Friday February 11, 2022
How widespread is the coronavirus among Wisconsin’s deer?
Scientists are finding that white-tailed deer around the nation are carriers of SARS-CoV-2, and are seeking to learn whether the species could serve as a wildlife reservoir for the virus.
Tuesday February 8, 2022
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: Welcome to year three of the pandemic
Two years after the first COVID-19 infection in the state was confirmed, the number of new cases, hospitalizations and deaths are dropping from peaks caused by the omicron variant of the coronavirus, even as public health officials remain wary about the potential for more variants.
Friday February 4, 2022
Noon Wednesday: Covid cases, hospitalizations plunge again
COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Wisconsin are plummeting as fast as they grew when the omicron variant struck the state, while deaths due to the virus continue to linger. How likely is it this reprieve will continue? "Here & Now" reporter Will Cushman discusses the state's shifting pandemic numbers, testing, an emerging omicron subvariant and the status of a vaccine for children under 5.
Wednesday February 2, 2022
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: Omicron starts retreating, leaving rising deaths in its wake
New pushes for COVID-19 testing and treatment continue to roll out as the rapid and intense omicron surge declines from peak levels in many parts of the state, though fatalities caused by the disease continue at the highest rate in more than a year.
Friday January 28, 2022
Wastewater surveillance for COVID-19 virus poised to detect future Wisconsin outbreaks
A statewide network that tracks coronavirus in sewage has served as a "leading indicator" of infections during the omicron wave of the pandemic, and while testing remains the primary method of surveillance, health agencies are working to continue refining this population-level tool.
Tuesday January 25, 2022
Keeping track of COVID-19’s omicron barrage
PBS Wisconsin reporter Will Cushman discusses the record number of new COVID-19 cases reported during the omicron wave and how the state health department is working to keep pace with the numbers.
Friday January 21, 2022
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: Omicron ascent persists as health efforts turn to kids
The number of new COVID-19 cases is hitting record levels while deaths are at their highest in over a year as the variant surge continues building, with state officials focusing on promoting vaccinations, tests and masks among children to curb transmission and keep schools open.
Friday January 21, 2022
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: Omicron eruption pushes hospitals to their limits
Local groups and the state are mobilizing to provide emergency relief to struggling care facilities and individuals as the latest variant spreads like wildfire, pushing the 7-day average above the ten-thousand mark for the first time.
Friday January 14, 2022
Major promise, big questions flow from a PFAS cleanup study in Madison
A Canadian company has launched a bioremediation effort around the Dane County airport and National Guard air base that deploys soil microbes to consume the vexing chemicals — within weeks, early results showed positive outcomes, but the science behind this work remains unclear.
Thursday January 13, 2022
While most fully vaccinated and boosted people infected with the new variant have mild infections, Omicron’s extreme transmissibility and the continued impact of Delta are further straining hospital staff as the number of ICU patients reaches a pandemic high.
Monday January 3, 2022
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: A pandemic roller coaster in 2021
The severity of COVID-19's impacts around the state ebbed and flowed over the course of the year as the task of vaccinating as many people as possible converged with the threat of emerging variants that have fueled new waves of disease.
Wednesday December 22, 2021
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: The year is ending as it started — at near-peak pandemic levels
The Delta variant of COVID-19 is responsible for the still-growing wave of cases and hospitalizations around the state, which are at their highest levels in a year, but public health officials are bracing for the more transmissible (but possibly less severe) Omicron variant to take over.
Friday December 17, 2021
International covid vaccine recipients in Wisconsin get guidance on boosters
After months of confusion and frustration for people who received COVID-19 vaccines that aren't approved for use in the U.S., including thousands of students at UW-Madison, federal guidelines outline what booster doses they should seek and when.
Tuesday December 14, 2021
A months-long surge in COVID-19 patients is making for minimal hospital capacity across the state, prompting Gov. Tony Evers to request help from FEMA, while pandemic conditions in southeast Wisconsin underscore the protective power of vaccines.
Friday December 10, 2021
Noon Wednesday: A chronic covid condition
Over the course of 2021, the fight to contain COVID-19 has lurched from expanding vaccine availability to the emergence of variants that raise new concerns about the risks of the pandemic. PBS Wisconsin reporter Will Cushman discusses the latest developments in Wisconsin's covid condition and recaps what the state experienced through the year.
Wednesday December 8, 2021
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: Omicron looms as Delta continues crushing hospitals
A year after the state's worst surge of the pandemic to-date started subsiding, the Delta variant of the coronavirus keeps fueling rapid growth in new cases and hospitalizations, even as the potentially highly transmissible Omicron variant threatens to emerge.
Friday December 3, 2021
What’s causing a gender gap in Wisconsin’s covid vaccinations?
More women are getting COVID-19 vaccinations than men around the state, and factors like age, job, politics and attitude toward health care each play a role in this persistent phenomenon.
Tuesday November 30, 2021
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: The pandemic hits its worst levels since 2020
The number of new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations across Wisconsin is growing rapidly as the holiday season begins for a second consecutive year, and health officials continue urging people who aren't vaccinated to do so to protect their loved ones and stave off more crisis conditions in hospitals.
Thursday November 18, 2021
The cost, complexity and very local scope of Eau Claire’s PFAS response
After testing found "forever chemicals" in multiple municipal drinking water wells used by Eau Claire, the city has taken steps to mitigate this contamination, but it's an expensive and time-consuming problem faced by communities around Wisconsin.
Tuesday November 16, 2021
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: Amid Aaron Rodgers drama, the pandemic surges again
Public health officials and advocates are concerned about how opposition to COVID-19 vaccination by the star quarterback for the Green Bay Packers will affect efforts to expand the uptake of their use, particularly among parents of newly eligible young children, even as new cases and hospitalizations start growing rapidly once again around the state.
Thursday November 11, 2021
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: Vaccinations Begin for Younger Kids
State health officials hope rolling out the first pediatric COVID-19 vaccine will provide another boost to ending the pandemic as the Delta wave threatens to start growing again.
Friday November 5, 2021
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: Youth Vaccines Approach as the Delta Wave Lingers
Cases and hospitalizations around the state are gradually declining from the most recent pandemic surge, and a slackening rate of vaccinations is expected to pick up again as mandates are implemented and the first pediatric vaccine is approved.
Thursday October 28, 2021
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: The Delta Outbreak Declines Slowly, More Booster Shots Are Recommended
The state's numbers of new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are starting to drop slowly from their early autumn highs, with more protection from the disease imminent as the FDA and CDC recommend more options for fully vaccinated people to get an additional dose and mix-and-match vaccine types.
Friday October 22, 2021
What Wisconsinites Can Do to Lower Heating Bills as Fuel Prices Spike
Households across the state have multiple options for reducing the cost of keeping their homes warm in winter, including direct assistance and incentives for weatherization and efficiency upgrades, depending on income levels.
Thursday October 21, 2021
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: Hospitals Require Vaccines for Staff, More Evidence Shots Work Well
A new round of state data show hospitalizations and deaths are far higher among people who haven't had COVID-19 vaccinations than those who have, one reason health care systems are requiring their staff to get vaccinated.
Friday October 15, 2021
Why Wisconsin’s Covid Breakthrough Numbers Show the Power of Vaccination
When the state health department compiles figures about people vaccinated for COVID-19 who become infected with the virus, the role of age is paramount in understanding differing impacts across the state's entire population.
Tuesday October 12, 2021
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: Delta Maintains Its Grip as Hospitalizations Remain High
While a wave caused by a coronavirus variant is waning in other parts of the U.S., new cases and hospitalizations are hanging at higher levels in the state as the total death toll passes 8,000.
Friday October 8, 2021
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: Hospitals Increasingly Strained as Delta Cases Multiply
More Wisconsinites are receiving intensive care for COVID-19 than at any point since December 2020, while health officials hope newly approved Pfizer vaccine booster shots will cut breakthrough illnesses.
Friday September 24, 2021
Why More Wisconsin Venues Require Covid Vaccinations to Withstand the Delta Wave
In response to artist requests, in the hope of bolstering safety and in the interest of keeping their doors open, larger performance spaces in Milwaukee, Madison and Eau Claire are requiring their audiences to offer proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a recent negative test in order to attend shows.
Monday September 20, 2021
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: 18 Months Later, the Pandemic Drags On
Schools once again wrestle with masking rules, public health departments return to crisis modes for contact tracing and efforts continue to push vaccination rates higher through incentives and mandates as the Delta variant of COVID-19 advances across the state.
Friday September 17, 2021
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: Vaccine Mandates and a Booster Debate
Hospitalizations related to COVID-19 have hit their highest levels in the state since the start of 2021 with even more demand for intensive care, with national and local vaccination requirements growing in response to the pandemic's Delta wave.
Friday September 10, 2021
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: The Delta Variant Prompts Fears of Pandemic Deja Vu
Health care professionals and officials are bracing for COVID-19 patient numbers to continue rising in the state’s largest wave of infections in nearly a year as students return to classes.
Friday September 3, 2021
How Wisconsin’s Wolf Hunt Quotas May Prompt Federal Review
Whether or not wolves remain off the federal endangered species list or receive renewed protections is based on their numbers in the upper Midwest, and DNR policies are set to cut deep into the state's population of the species.
Monday August 30, 2021
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: State Sees Highest Number of ICU Patients Since 2020
Vaccinations are also rising, albeit slowly, as the Pfizer shot receives full FDA approval and political fights over masking and vaccines drag on.
Friday August 27, 2021
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: The Delta Surge Disrupts a Third School Year
With the continuing spread of a more dangerous coronavirus variant among the unvaccinated and rise in breakthrough cases, schools around the state are determining what course to take as classrooms take center stage in the political fight over public health policies.
Friday August 20, 2021
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: Hospitalizations Skyrocket with Delta
A nationwide surge of infections driven by an extremely contagious coronavirus variant is prompting hospitals around the state to care for a new wave of patients, nearly all of whom aren't vaccinated.
Friday August 13, 2021
Noon Wednesday: The Pandemic’s Fifth Wave
Reporter Will Cushman discusses how communities across Wisconsin are coping with another surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations as the Delta variant spreads with about half of the state's population remaining unvaccinated.
Wednesday August 11, 2021
What’s Next for Wisconsin’s Most Vaccinated Locales as Delta Variant Spreads
Health officials in Dane and Door counties are trying to push local vaccinations even higher as employers are left to set their own vaccine and mask rules in the face of another highly contagious coronavirus wave.
Monday August 9, 2021
New COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are rising quickly in Wisconsin as recently gathered data about the Delta variant prompts anxiety among public health officials while school districts and universities consider safety measures.
Friday July 30, 2021
Overdose Deaths in Wisconsin Soared in 2020 as Pandemic Intensified Opioid Crisis
While fatalities caused by overdoses of opioids and other drugs have been growing for years in the state, numbers surged in 2020 as the coronavirus struck and disrupted social services, prompting emergency response agencies to pursue more harm reduction strategies.
Thursday July 29, 2021
State health officials pushed vaccines for eligible kids before school starts and expressed concern about the massive crowds that gathered to celebrate the Milwaukee Bucks' championship amid rapid spread of the Delta variant.
Friday July 23, 2021
The Swelling Scientific Fallout From Wisconsin’s Wolf Hunt
Five months after hunters blew past the DNR's harvest quota, a population study by UW-Madison researchers highlights an additional estimated impact of poaching the species after it lost federal protections.
Monday July 12, 2021
Wisconsin’s Covid Condition: The Delta Variant Looms for Unvaccinated People
A more contagious coronavirus strain is rapidly spreading in the U.S., primarily among people who haven't gotten a COVID-19 vaccine, which still includes nearly half of Wisconsinites.
Friday July 9, 2021
Where Traffic Deaths Surged In Wisconsin During the Pandemic
State transportation data from 2020 shows that even while traffic volume fell, crash fatalities spiked as more drivers engaged in speeding and reckless driving, particularly in Milwaukee.
Thursday June 17, 2021
The Peculiar Divergence In COVID Vaccinations Around Milwaukee’s Republican Hinterland
A link between partisan politics and coronavirus vaccinations at the national level has become increasingly recognized, but a slew of additional factors are playing a role in Wisconsin's largest metro area.
Thursday June 10, 2021
Wisconsin Health Officials Launch New COVID Vaccination Push As Backlash Churns
Here & Now Extra: Breaking through pandemic-era divisions and extreme rhetoric by Republican lawmakers poses an ongoing challenge for efforts to vaccinate as many Wisconsinites as possible.
Tuesday June 8, 2021
Wisconsin’s COVID Condition: Pandemic Metrics Plunge, The Last Local Rules Expire
The number of new cases and hospitalizations around the state are dropping to their lowest levels since COVID-19 first emerged, as people once again start gathering in large numbers with an end to public health restrictions.
Friday June 4, 2021
Noon Wednesday: Are We There Yet?
Mask requirements, capacity limits and other COVID-19 constraints are officially lifted as positive cases are reaching their lowest levels in a year. Here & Now reporter Will Cushman discusses the status of COVID-19 in Wisconsin and reaching a new normal.
Wednesday June 2, 2021
How Much Higher Are COVID-19 Rates Among Unvaccinated Wisconsinites?
Examining new cases and vaccination levels in all 72 counties around the state reveals how the coronavirus continues to circulate and infect residents who haven't gotten a shot.
Friday May 28, 2021
Wisconsin’s COVID Condition: Youth Vaccinations, New Mask Recommendations
Approval of the Pfizer vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds comes as school boards around the state debate whether to maintain pandemic protocols, while the CDC says fully vaccinated people can stop masking in most settings.
Friday May 14, 2021
Foxconn Plans to Make ‘Digital Infrastructure Hardware’ in Wisconsin — What’s That?
Here & Now Extra: Under its revised tax incentives contract with the state, the global electronics giant proposes to manufacture products essential to conducting business and living life in "the cloud."
Monday May 10, 2021
Wisconsin’s COVID Condition: A New Vaccination Strategy, Border County Cases
The state health department is shifting its vaccine distribution system to an on-demand basis as enthusiasm for shots ebbs and new infections remain stubbornly high in some areas.
Friday May 7, 2021
Coronavirus Vaccinations, Four Months In
“Here & Now” reporter Will Cushman explains the status of coronavirus vaccinations as COVID-19 cases have spiked in neighboring states and demand for shots start to level off.
Friday April 30, 2021
Wisconsin’s COVID Condition: Diverging Geographies of Vaccinations and Variants
In St. Croix County, a jump in cases among teenagers and a plateauing of demand for the coronavirus vaccine illustrates how the second year of the pandemic is shifting in different places around the state.
Friday April 30, 2021
Refugee Agencies in Wisconsin Anxious for Action to Expand Resettlement
With their clients and families stuck in limbo, advocates for refugees are calling on Biden to follow through on promises to raise the federal cap on new arrivals.
Tuesday April 27, 2021
How Much Smaller is the New Contract Between Wisconsin and Foxconn?
The state's economic development agency has announced a new tax incentive package with the Taiwan-based tech giant that is an order of magnitude smaller than the original signed in 2017.
Wednesday April 21, 2021
The pause is forcing some vaccinators to adjust planned clinics this week, though health officials say it won't greatly impact the state's vaccine progress as variants drive ongoing surges in neighboring states.
Friday April 16, 2021
The state's weekly average of new confirmed coronavirus infections is at its highest level in two months, with new cases rising most among kids — health officials urge continued precautions but are encouraged by the growing pace of vaccinations.
Friday April 9, 2021
Wisconsin’s COVID Condition: Cases Plateau, Vaccinations Pass 1 Million and No More Mask Mandate
As the one-year anniversary of the start of the COVID-19 pandemic passes, Wisconsin is seeing stubbornly high case numbers, advancing vaccinations and variants and an end to the statewide mask mandate.
Friday April 2, 2021
Jumping Worms Are Eating — And Altering — Wisconsin’s Forest and Garden Soils
Scientists are studying how a subsurface invasive species is changing local ecosystems and are reaching out to gardeners to share methods for stopping their spread.
Thursday April 1, 2021
Wisconsin Supreme Court Confirms Time Limit on Governor’s Emergency Powers
The 4-3 conservative majority on the state's high court ruled the initial emergency order issued by Gov. Tony Evers in response to COVID-19 applied to the pandemic as a whole, and subsequent declarations were unlawful, overturning the statewide mask mandate.
Wednesday March 31, 2021
Where Is Wisconsin’s COVID-19 Vaccine Delivery Lagging — And Why?
With universal eligibility starting April 5, the pace of coronavirus shots is speeding up everywhere in the state, but rates have been stubbornly lower in Clark, Rusk and Taylor counties.
Tuesday March 30, 2021
‘Extreme Disappointment’: Ojibwe Treaty Rights Group Decries Wolf Hunt Process
Planning for the February 2021 wolf hunt was rushed following a court order, and the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission charges the Wisconsin DNR with neglecting tribal obligations.
Thursday March 18, 2021
New COVID Vaccination Eligibility Covers At Least Two-Thirds of Wisconsin Adults
Starting March 29, Wisconsinites 16 and older matching any 20 criteria, including being overweight or obese, or having a variety of chronic diseases, will qualify for getting a coronavirus vaccine.
Thursday March 11, 2021
Why Wisconsin’s COVID Data Is Getting Cleaned Up and What That Means
With confirmed infections dropping, the state Department of Health Services is finding more time to resolve data inconsistencies, making it trickier to track new coronavirus cases and deaths.
Wednesday March 10, 2021
Why the Impact of Wisconsin’s February Wolf Hunt Is So Uncertain
Holding the hunt after alpha wolves have paired up is a recipe for unpredictability.
Tuesday February 23, 2021
Protected: Federal Policy, Pandemic Intensify a Slowdown of Refugee Resettlement in Wisconsin
Resettlement agencies in the state are preparing for an expected bump in arrivals under a new administration.
Thursday February 18, 2021
Second Case of More Transmissible Coronavirus Variant Identified in Wisconsin
A Patient in Waukesha County Was Found To Be Infected with The B.1.1.7 Strain as Officials Work To Expand Surveillance of Genetic Variants
Tuesday February 9, 2021
WisContext: A Year into the Pandemic, What’s Driving Varied Coronavirus Rates Across Wisconsin?
A Patient in Waukesha County Was Found To Be Infected with The B.1.1.7 Strain as Officials Work To Expand Surveillance of Genetic Variants
Monday February 8, 2021
A Year Into The Pandemic, What’s Driving Varied Coronavirus Rates Across Wisconsin?
What factors might be driving the comparatively lower case and death rates in Dane and St. Croix counties, located hundreds of miles from each other? What stories do these factors tell about COVID-19's impacts?
Thursday February 4, 2021
Wisconsin will expand vaccinations to those over 65 next week, but the larger pool begs the question of whether Wisconsin will receive enough vaccine to inoculate that population. Reporter Will Cushman breaks down what the hurdles will be for the state.
Friday January 22, 2021
Wisconsin’s Spring, Summer And Fall COVID-19 Surges
To better understand the shifting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Wisconsin over time, a series of data visualizations depicts the number of confirmed cases reported in each county from early March 2020, when the coronavirus started spreading in the state, to the end of November.
Friday December 4, 2020
WisContext: COVID-19 Misinformation and the Paranoid Style in Wisconsin’s Pandemic Politics
How False Claims About Public Health Data Are Frustrating Efforts To Fight The Coronavirus
Friday October 23, 2020
COVID-19 Misinformation And The Paranoid Style In Wisconsin’s Pandemic Politics
Wisconsin faces a public health nightmare: Officials must simultaneously wage war on COVID-19 pandemic and a parallel "infodemic" of false, misleading and dangerous claims that downplay the seriousness of the disease.
Thursday October 22, 2020
Wisconsin’s Urgent, Imperfect, Transparent, Confusing, Essential COVID-19 Data
Wisconsin's public health agencies each day release a deluge of data about where and how quickly COVID-19 is spreading. The river of information helps communities gauge everything from where to expect new outbreaks to which hospitals are likely to see a flood of patients.
Thursday October 1, 2020
Why Wisconsin’s State And Local Coronavirus Updates Differ Day To Day
There are a couple key reasons for why the daily state and local health department updates about COVID-19 reports often appear different.
Thursday September 17, 2020
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