MADISON – The Department of Workforce Development (DWD) today released information related to the total number of unemployment calls received, applications filed, claims processed, and monies distributed in Wisconsin as of the week ending May 23, 2020. Unemployment Insurance is a joint state-federal program that provides benefits to eligible workers. Each state administers a separate UI program, but all states must follow the same guidelines established by federal law. Any answer given on a claim raising a question regarding a person’s eligibility must be fully investigated before benefits may be paid. Regular Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits: If you’re out of work

[Madison, WI] — Today, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald wrapped up individual phone calls with Rick Schlesinger of the Milwaukee Brewers, Peter Feigin of the Milwaukee Bucks, and Mark Murphy of the Green Bay Packers for updates on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their individual teams and what assistance from Wisconsin would be helpful moving forward. “I’m continuing to seek input from groups like Wisconsin’s professional sports teams on how the state can be helpful in their return to play,” said Senator Fitzgerald. “I’ve said previously that there are major issues coming at us fast in the near future when it

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Today, Opportunity Wisconsin interviewed Dawn Patel, owner of Brilliant Stranger in Egg Harbor, about reopening the Badger State and the challenges of navigating the federal government’s economic support during this global pandemic. It’s been 89 days since President Trump said we’d soon have zero cases in the U.S. We now have over 1.7 million cases and nearly 100,000 deaths – more deaths than any other country in the world. President Trump’s chaotic response made this crisis worse, and his failure to act early on has also left 40 million unemployed. It didn’t have to be this

Madison, WI – on Tuesday, May 26th, 2020, Dr. Sheila Briggs announced her candidacy for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Briggs began her career as a kindergarten teacher in Madison, where she later served as a principal and school administrator. In 2011, she was appointed to serve as Assistant State Superintendent by then State Superintendent Tony Evers.  She was reappointed to the position by State Superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor in 2019.  Briggs leads the Division for Academic Excellence. Briggs’ announcement comes just a few months after Stanford Taylor announced she would not be seeking a new term in office. This

MILWAUKEE (May 26, 2020) — The Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) announced today that it will resume fare collection and front door boarding on all buses and on paratransit vehicles providing Transit Plus rides starting at 4:00 a.m. on June 1, 2020. MCTS is recommending that riders who are medically able wear a face mask or face covering over their nose and mouth while on board. To help maintain social distancing, MCTS will continue to limit riders to 10 per bus. Please be respectful to bus drivers and other passengers by remembering the following: Health officials say wearing masks or other

Wisconsin National Guard specimen collection teams resumed statewide operations today supporting local health departments and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services effort to increase the state’s COVID-19 testing capacity. The teams, comprised of more than 600 Citizen Soldiers and Airmen in total, established mobile testing sites at locations ranging from correctional facilities and health clinics, to private businesses, and community-based testing sites. After collecting the specimens at each site, Wisconsin National Guard troops send the test kits to a lab for analysis, and individual citizens receive their results via a phone call from their local health department or a state

The Local 212/MATC Believe in Students FAST Fund thanks Governor Evers for establishing the Rental Assistance Program. “The FAST Fund has been swamped with requests from MATC students for rental assistance,” said Dr. Michael Rosen, Director of the FAST Fund. “Most have been out of work since mid- March and many have children. Without steady income, many students and their kids are desperate. This program is a life saver. Without it, Milwaukee and other Wisconsin communities would experience a tsunami of evictions and homelessness when the eviction moratorium is lifted.” The Rental Assistance Program is a $25 million initiative that

MADISON – When most people think of ceramics, they might envision their favorite mug or a flowerpot. But modern technology is full of advanced ceramics, from silicon solar panels to ceramic superconductors and biomedical implants. Many of those advanced polycrystalline ceramics are combinations of crystalline grains which, at the microscopic level, resemble a stone fence held together with limestone mortar. Like that fence, the strength of the ceramic is determined by the strength of the mortar – which in ceramics is the grain boundary, or the areas where the different grains meet. Previously, most researchers believed the chemistry of these

Last week, Public Health Madison & Dane County released Forward Dane, a phased reopening plan for Dane County during the COVID-19 pandemic. The entire plan rests on active monitoring on a series of nine data-based metrics, which are displayed in a table with green, yellow, red indicators of progress. Some of these metrics include: Percent Positive Tests: Below a threshold of 5% for positive tests as a percent of total tests averaged across most recent 14 day period. Tests Conducted: Testing supplies and staff facilitate adequate testing for disease control and surveillance with goal of over 800 tests per day

A physical therapist nurse on staff at Fox Lake Correctional Institution (FLCI) has tested positive for COVID-19.  At 8 am count this morning several residents who had been in contact with her were moved to the segregation unit for quarantine. Their roommates were not moved from general population.  MILWAUKEE, WIS. – May 26, 2020 – Prisoners at Fox Lake Correctional Institution remain defenseless in the face of the staff’s failure to follow through with the safety measures and testing, while their own limited rights are being jeopardized. According to the reports coming from FLCI, a memorandum received on May 24

MADISON, Wis.—University of Wisconsin System President Ray Cross has named Connie Foster as the interim chancellor of UW-River Falls. Foster is a higher education and leadership consultant who spent 23 years as a faculty member, administrator, and interim chancellor at UW-River Falls. “Connie has a national reputation as a university expert due to her variety of experience at UW-River Falls,” Cross said. “She is the right person to lead UW-River Falls given the challenges ahead.” Since 2009, Foster has owned Connie Foster Facilitation and Consulting, which she began after retiring from UW-River Falls. Certified by the Institute for Cultural Affairs,