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WSUM News Team compiles recent news in under 5 minutes every Monday through Thursday. Originally aired on the 91.7 FM stream, each newscast is re-posted in audio form.
INTRO GOOD (DAY) EVENING MADISON! YOU’RE LISTENING TO THE 5/6 O’CLOCK NEWS UPDATE ON WSUM 91.7 FM MADISON STUDENT RADIO. I’M TALULA HAYES.
IN THE NEWS TODAY,
IN CAMPUS NEWS,
A UW-Madison engineering building gets a donation of $25 million dollars from two alumni on Tuesday. John and Tashia Morgridge gifted this money to the project. The pair graduated from UW-Madison in 1955. John is the former president, CEO and chairman of the board for Cisco Systems. Tashia is a special education and literacy intervention speaker. The pair has previously donated 140 million dollars to support the School of Computer, Data and Information Sciences, which is now named Morgridge Hall. Other gifts are contributing to this project as well, with 75 million dollars from Phillips Distributing Corporation operators Marv and Jeff Levy. Its development is also being funded by an investment firm influencer, Bjorn Borgen, who gave an additional 25 million dollars. The building is 395,000 square feet and is a lab space for the College of Engineering. This space will allow the program to hire more faculty, researchers, graduate and undergraduate students to engage with the College. The project was initially okayed in 2024. The initial funding for this project came from the freezing of DEI programs at the university in 2023 by Republicans in the State Legislature.
IN LOCAL NEWS,
A new update on the long-awaited all men’s shelter in Madison shows the project continuing to move forward following recent fundraising advancement. Local committee, Shelter Friends of Dane County has reached more than one million dollars for the new shelter. This comes just two weeks after the shelter was announced to open later than expected. Now, progress can move faster with the money raised and the community can look forward to the shelter opening soon. The shelter will be located on Bartillion Drive in Madison and will initially open as an overnight facility with hopes of running as a 24/7 shelter soon after. The space will provide services for men experiencing homelessness, including case management, housing navigation, and employment assistance. Kristin Rucinski, a spokesperson for the committee said the fundraising milestone was “an incredible moment for our community’s response system” and that it reflects strong community support and donor contributions. Shelter friends fundraising efforts will continue, with a long-term goal of raising $20 million dollars to open and sustain 24/7 services.
ALSO IN LOCAL NEWS,
Dane County supervisors stopped funding for Flock license plate cameras. The supervisors cited their concerns for privacy regarding data sharing. County supervisors voted 32-1 to cut 80,000 dollars that the sheriff’s office was using on cameras. Thousands of police departments across the country share information through the Flock database, including license plate pictures. These pictures are taken automatically, whether it’s a person committing a crime or not. Police do not need a warrant to search the Flock database. In a board meeting, community members brought up how this acts as a violation to people’s 4th amendment rights. Officials expect the cameras to be entirely gone after May 31, which is when their contract with Flock expires. Currently, the sheriff’s office holds 24 Flock cameras. In some Wisconsin communities, officers have been accused of irresponsible tracking, like following exes or romantic partners. While some sheriffs claim the cameras aided in crimes including homicides and car thefts, the board believes the risks outweigh the benefits.
IN STATE NEWS,
Washington Elementary school in Janesville closes its doors for the rest of the year due to extreme flooding. In videos shared to the district’s facebook page, enough water rushed in to submerge cafeteria tables, and damaged several spaces including the kitchen, art room, lunchroom, mechanical systems and some classrooms. While students were at home this week, it was determined that the extensive required repairs and clean-up would not be finished by summer break, closing the school for the foreseeable future. In the meantime, the 400-some students will be sent to alternate locations,Adams elementary or Madison Elementary, depending on their grade level. Teachers will also be moved to these new locations, instructing their classes as normal. Transportation to the new sites will also be provided. The extreme flooding also caused closures for other school districts, including schools in Outagamie and Waupaca county, though most are planned to continue in-person classes by Wednesday.
For WSUM News, I’m Elise Hendrickson
IN INTERNATIONAL NEWS,
Trump said he does not want to extend the ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday following the seizure of an oil tanker. He further claims that the U.S. military is “raring to go” if negotiations are unsuccessful. Iran has countered that if the U.S. military strikes again, they will “respond more firmly than before”. The U.S. military boarded an Iranian oil tanker in international waters. It was near Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean and had around 2 million barrels of crude oil, most likely traveling to Singapore. Trump claims Iran has violated the ceasefire, though he did not elaborate further on what Iran violated. Iran has not commented on the boarding of their ship, with no final decision made regarding the ceasefire on their end either. Iran has essentially blocked off the Strait of Hormuz controlling the Gulf to only its own ships. Iran said it will not negotiate with the U.S. until the blockade on their ports is removed. It is unclear whether the U.S. military’s actions will further complicate the ceasefire talks.
OUTRO: THANK YOU FOR TUNING IN! FROM THE WSUM NEWS BOOTH, I’M TALULA HAYES. HAVE A GREAT EVENING MADISON!