🧪 Exact Sciences’ $21 billion buyout

🚧 John Nolen Construction Enters Second Phase

• All traffic on John Nolen Drive will shift into the northbound lanes, with one open lane in each direction, as the massive reconstruction project for the causeway enters its second phase on Monday, Nov. 24.
• Phase 2, expected to last through August 2026, involves reconstructing the southbound lanes and rebuilding three bridges on John Nolen Drive. The Capital City State Trail will be open during this phase, but will close for a year when Stage 3 begins and traffic shifts to the southbound lanes. [City of Madison]

🧪 Exact Sciences Bought by Abbott Labs for $21B

• In a move that Abbott Laboratories’s CEO called “the largest transaction in health care in the last two years,” the Illinois-based health care company will acquire Madison-based biotech company Exact Sciences for $21 billion.
• Exact Sciences is best known for its Cologuard colorectal cancer screenings, and has over 7,000 employees, half of which are in Wisconsin. Abbott CEO Robert Ford said that his company has looked to expand into the cancer screening field and thinks Exact Sciences would be an ideal partner.
• The sale would take place in spring 2026, and Exact Sciences shareholders still need to approve the deal. Exact Sciences is expected to maintain its presence in Madison if and when the deal is approved. [WPR]

🏫 UW Regents Approve Workload Requirements Amid Pushback

• Despite negative feedback from Universities of Wisconsin employees, the UW Board of Regents unanimously approved new requirements on how much faculty must teach and how certain credits are transferred between UW campuses.
• The new requirements were conditions placed on $256 million in additional funding approved by the state Legislature last summer. Starting in the 2026-27 school year, full-time instructional staff and faculty at UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee must teach at least one course per semester and 12 credit hours through the school year.
• So how do professors feel? To be blunt, they’re “mad as hell.” [Cap Times, 🎧City Cast Madison]

Meet Kora and Kiwi! They play, they cuddle, they bark! Kiwi (on the right) is the brains of the operation, taking his role as house sheriff very seriously and making sure everybody eats their own food.

Kora, on the other hand, is the cuddliest pup you’ll ever meet, and makes sure there’s never a bare lap in the house. Add in their cat brother, Bo, and they bring joy to everyone they meet.