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WORT Local News

WORT Local News presents alternative viewpoints in its news – both in the sources it uses and the stories it covers. Newscasts include local and state news, weather, and regular features. It aims to give underrepresented people a voice.

Madison Teachers Union Demands Changes to District Gender Policies

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Last month, Frank Allis Elementary School teacher Vica Steel shared an open letter with Our Lives magazine saying that the Madison Metro School District had asked school staff to no longer use the same bathrooms as students.  According to Steel, who is an out transgender woman, no other schools received this request and her cisgender […]

Friends of PBS Considers Revoking Members’ Voting Rights

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Friends of PBS Wisconsin, originally the Friends of Wisconsin Public Television, is a nonprofit organization that supports the Public Broadcasting Service for Wisconsin.  They raise money, advocate for the service to Wisconsin residents, and manage volunteers.  The nonprofit says it also exists to ascertain the needs of the communities served and otherwise support the state’s […]

Server Issue Mars Elections Website

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Beginning around 7 o’clock this morning, visitors to Wisconsin’s MyVote website were unable to use part of the site to find where to vote and what was on their ballot.  That’s according to Reid Magney, Public Information Officer for the Wisconsin Elections Commission, who says users could still look up where to vote if they […]

Sarah Wright on Unauthorized Pelvic Exams

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A bipartisan bill in the Wisconsin legislature would require hospitals to have a policy requiring written and verbal informed consent before a medical student can conduct pelvic exams on patients under anesthesia. The practice is sometimes done as a part of medical training, but 10 states have passed laws against unauthorized pelvic exams. Four of […]

Caregiver Shortage Still At “Crisis Level”

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Every two years since 2016, a coalition of four healthcare provider associations has released a report on the state of Wisconsin’s healthcare workforce.  In 2018, the report found that nearly one fifth of all caregiver positions in the state were vacant.  The 2020 installment, released earlier today, finds that the state’s workforce shortage has grown, […]

Wisconsin Educators Push For Phonics in Schools

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While Madison students struggle to read, an ideological battle rages between proponents of different teaching styles. Last month, the state took a strong new stance on phonics education in schools. Recently, the state’s Department of Public Instruction announced it would recommend more Wisconsin classrooms use explicit phonics instruction. It’s the most recent development in the […]

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