Slow internet, sidelined medical workers, viral fraudsters, ag troubles, ice watching
Of note: This week we highlight our latest stories about life during the coronavirus pandemic — all in collaboration with other newsrooms. With The Badger Project, we examined how Wisconsin’s underinvestment in rural broadband slows work, schooling and access to health care information. With Wisconsin Public Radio, we explained why state regulations are preventing some health care workers from lending their skills. We also contributed to a FairWarning report that exposes fraud and theft linked to the pandemic.
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‘Everyone has to have it’: Broadband gap leaves rural Wisconsin behind during coronavirus crisis
The Badger Project/Wisconsin Watch — March 24, 2020
Wisconsin’s dearth of high-speed internet in rural areas makes virtual schooling, remote health care and working from home even more difficult.
Wisconsin physician assistants want to ‘step up’ to fight coronavirus. State regulations may be getting in the way.
Wisconsin Public Radio/Wisconsin Watch — March 25, 2020
Wisconsin’s physician assistants are calling on Gov. Tony Evers to change regulations that they say are keeping some workers sidelined during a public health crisis.
Here come the frauds: From bogus vaccine kits to ‘Silver Solution,’ coronavirus cons begin
FairWarning/Wisconsin Watch
As Americans struggle to cope with the spread of COVID-19, they will also need to brace themselves for “disaster fraud” — those cons that rely on post-catastrophe chaos to separate people from their money.
For Midwestern farmers, the workforce and supply chain are top issues in ‘flash recession’
Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting — March 20, 2020
It’s not clear if the downturn will last once the world gets moving again. Still, for farmers who are planning months out, the uncertainty raises a lot of questions.
Ice watcher: climatologist carries on 165-year tradition on Madison lakes
Wisconsin State Journal — March 19, 2020
Every winter and spring since the 1850s, observers have staked out Madison’s lakes to determine when they freeze and thaw, adding to a vast data trove that offers a window into history.
The nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (wisconsinwatch.org) collaborates with Wisconsin Public Radio, PBS Wisconsin, other news media and the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by the Center do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.