🏥 UW Health halts transgender care for minors

🏥 UW Health Ends Transgender Care For Minors

• Under pressure from the Trump administration, UW Health says it will stop providing gender-affirming health care to minors. Under rules proposed Dec. 18 by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., hospitals would lose Medicaid and Medicare payments for all medical services if it offered gender-affirming care to those 17 and under.
• Hospitals would be forced to close without that federal funding. Wisconsin has joined 18 other states suing the federal government over the proposed rules.
• 🎧 The HHS rules mirror an executive order signed last year by President Donald Trump. On the City Cast Madison podcast, Wisconsin Watch investigative reporter Phoebe Petrovic dug into the implications of such a ban. [WPR, 🎧 City Cast Madison]

🚗 Beltline Expansion Plan Hits Some Bumps in the Road

• Members of Madison’s Transportation Committee, along with some members of the public, pushed back against plans by the state Department of Transportation to expand the Beltline.
• To deal with a growing population and more traffic, state officials have proposed a range of options, including adding an extra travel lane or flex lane. But local representatives at last week’s committee meeting worried about environmental impacts, as well as businesses and residents that would be displaced for an expansion. [Cap Times, WisDOT]

🗳️ What Gov. Evers Wants to Get Done In His Final Year

• During a press conference this week, Gov. Tony Evers said his legislative agenda for 2026 will center around affordability and addressing rising costs.
• He called on the GOP-controlled Legislature to release some of the $4 billion left in the general fund to aid Wisconsin farmers, offset increasing costs of federal food assistance, and replace lost federal funding for crime victims. While Evers will serve until a successor is sworn in next January, the Legislature ends its session in March, creating a sense of urgency.
• 👀 Watch Evers talk about his plans for his final year in his interview with City Cast Madison host Bianca Martin. [WPR, City Cast Madison]

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is January 19, and Wisconsin is home to the oldest official state ceremony commemorating the slain civil rights leader and his legacy.

In addition to the annual ceremony in the Wisconsin Capitol, Madison is hosting a variety of events to not only remember Dr. King, but to put his social activism and dream of equality into practice. Here are a few of them:

MLK Free Community Dinner (Jan. 16)

Food brings people together, and the festivities in Madison always begin with a free community dinner at Gordon Dining & Event Center, featuring chicken, mac ‘n’ cheese, sweet potato pie and more.

MLK Community Choir Rehearsal (Jan. 17)

The Community Choir will light up the Madison Dane County MLK Day Observance (see below) under the direction of Leotha and Tamera Stanley at Mt. Zion Baptist Church. Community members of all musical backgrounds are welcome.

“I Have a Dream” Scholarship Ball (Jan. 17)

Women in Focus is hosting this event at Monona Terrace, including a full buffet and casino games, to celebrate past WIF scholarship recipients and raise money for future recipients.

MLK Outstanding Young Person Breakfast (Jan. 17)

Get a great breakfast and honor the excellence of 300 middle and high school students of color at this event at Edgewood High School sponsored by the Urban League of Greater Madison.

⬆️ Last Week’s Photo

It’s located at Bayview Community Center!

🎉 This was a tough one! Congratulations to Brian D. MC R., Gretta M. and K. Axe for being the only people to guess right!

⬇️ This Week’s Photo

Do you know where this sign is located? A few clues:

• It’s on State Street
• It’s in the window of a longtime Madison business that has just closed for good
• For fans of tuk-pa soup and veggie momos, this loss is a real heartbreaker!