Senator Baldwin’s proposed Federal travel funding for abortion seekers faces a hostile new Congress
Democratic U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin introduced a bill in December that would provide federal funding grants to pay for travel-related expenses for people seeking abortions. But despite their support for the effort, abortion rights advocates say it is unlikely to get...
Reggie Jackson: What my stroke taught me about health and relationships
I had a stroke one day during the second week of November. Fortunately, my wife noticed the symptoms and forced me to go to the ER. I spent two days in ICU and one additional day in a regular unit. The stroke was “mild” and taught me a valuable lesson. The situation...
Recent mergers of major hospitals in Wisconsin will impact about 8.5M patients in state and beyond
Millions of Wisconsin residents will be affected by two separate mergers of nonprofit hospital systems that were finalized in December. Gundersen Health System and Bellin Health completed a merger on December 1. The next day, Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health...
Governor Evers begins second term as GOP lawmakers refuse to confirm 180 appointees from his first term
Governor Tony Evers started his second term on January 3, but scores of holdovers from the Democratic governor’s first term are stuck in a kind of legislative limbo. Nearly 180 people appointed by Evers to lead state agencies, boards and commissions had yet to...
Rising COVID-19 related hospitalizations point to increased health risks for seniors through winter
Coronavirus-related hospital admissions are climbing again in the United States, with older adults a growing share of U.S. deaths and less than half of nursing home residents up to date on COVID-19 vaccinations. These alarming signs portend a difficult winter for...
Reducing Transmission: Masks remain a tried-and-true way to stay healthy as viral infections skyrocket
By Emily Toth Martin, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, University of Michigan; and Marisa Eisenberg, Associate Professor of Complex Systems, Epidemiology and Mathematics, University of Michigan The cold and flu season of 2022 began with a vengeance. Viruses that...
The Diary of Anya Verkhovskaya: Going to war in Ukraine without ever leaving her office in Milwaukee
Today I went to war without ever leaving my office in Milwaukee. Every morning at 3:00 a.m., which is 11:00 a.m. in Ukraine, I leave my warm, comfortable bed, drink my coffee, and then I stand up tall and strong to the bully. I stand up to Putin. I am a proud U.S....
Fighting War Fatigue: Volunteer network continues saving lives in Ukraine as public donations dry up
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine shocked the world over ten months ago, Anya Verkhovskaya’s phone began to fill with messages from friends and former colleagues in Ukraine asking for help. In the space of just a few months, the informal network transformed into an...
Lola Vaganova: A journey from Izium to Milwaukee in the footsteps of an ancestor who also fled a war
Lola Vaganova’s Ukrainian great grandmother was 20 years-old when WWII started. She became an “Ostarbeiter,” a Nazi German designation for foreign slave workers in Germany. Vaganova’s first stop as a displaced refugee from Izium was Oppeln, Germany, now known as Opole, Poland. A terrible history had again repeated itself.
World leaders thanked for their support of Ukraine in billboard series by the “Brave Society” of Irpin
In the first 10 months of the war, about about 100 world-famous dignitaries visited Milwaukee’s Sister City of Irpin. For those foreign guests, Irpin became a symbol of hope, and the cost of freedom was represented by the city’s destruction. The Ukrainian...
Pauli Murray: The “Jane Crow” Feminist and Episcopal saint on the front line for racial justice
By Sarah Azaransky, Associate Professor of Social Ethics, Union Theological Seminary An annual feast day is held for Episcopal saint Pauli Murray, the first Black woman to be ordained by the denomination: an affirmation of her many contributions not only to the...
Year In Review 2022: Influences over a lifetime from Thich Nhat Hanh to Gilligan’s Island
2022 began with Russia’s brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The traumatic war crimes against the Ukrainian people the escalating humanitarian crisis has strained the global economy and every level of civilized society. While taking place a continent...
