— A Madison-based nonprofit called Maydm plans to ramp up growth after being selected for a five-year, $500,000 grant award.
The organization aims to support girls and youth of color in 6th grade through high school as they pursue education in STEM fields, offering workshops, summer programs and paid internships.
Maydm recently announced it’s getting a $500,000 grant from the American Family Institute for Social and Corporate Impact, with the first $100,000 coming this year. These dollars will be used for staff and intern pay, funding the internship program itself, as well as related programming on resume development, interviewing, workplace behavior and team building, and financial literacy.
That’s according to Executive Director Christina Outlay, who says the support will also help the program expand beyond Madison and Dane County to Milwaukee and Rock County.
“Major multi-year funding like this enables us to support our youth for several years, from skill building to internship training and placement, through graduation,” she said in an email.
Interns this year earned $18 per hour, she noted, adding that rate is expected to increase each year. When smaller or nonprofit host companies can’t pay that much, Maydm makes up the difference while funds are available.
The program had 12 interns at six companies in 2021. This year, 24 interns were working at 10 companies — and Outlay wants to continue that trend in the coming year. She said the program aims to place 35 interns at more than 10 companies in 2024, with a “stretch goal” of 48 interns working at 15 companies.
Outlay said Maydme is seeking new corporate partners to continue expanding the internship program in the greater Madison area and “potentially into the Milwaukee area” for summer 2024.
“Through partnerships with other organizations and our own programs, we can provide talented, diverse young talent to work in science, technology, AND engineering internships,” she said. “We just need more companies to join our program and provide the opportunities.”
Previous intern hosts include Exact Sciences, Fetch Rewards, Madison Gas and Electric, Promega, Phoenix and others.
The group’s website features a number of student projects, including smartphone applications, websites, simple video games and more.
See more on the program: https://www.maydm.org/our-impact
— A new report from the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance found short-term limited duration health insurance plans in the state had a 31.3 percent claim denial rate in 2021.
That rate “far exceeds the average denial rate” of 11.7 percent for in-network claims by plans in the state’s Affordable Care Act marketplace, the state agency said in a release.
In a statement, Insurance Commissioner Nathan Houdek said the report “provides important insights” into enrollment rates, product design and marketing practices for these short-term plans, also known as STLDPs. The report was prepared for the state agency by consulting firm BerryDunn.
“Understanding the impact of these plans in the broader health insurance marketplace will help us better serve and protect Wisconsin consumers,” Houdek said.
These insurance plans are meant to provide temporary coverage until enrollees can secure comprehensive coverage, OCI notes. Because they aren’t subject to ACA requirements, carriers can limit coverage based on pre-existing conditions and otherwise limit their pool of insured people, the release shows.
According to the report, the number of Wisconsin members enrolled in STLDPs declined between 2019 and 2021 even as more carriers were enrolling residents in these plans. While the total number of these insurers rose from 10 to 12 over that period, the number of enrolled members declined from 13,731 in December 2019 to 10,310 in December 2021.
Report authors point to two main factors driving this change: greater federal subsidies for enrollment in ACA Marketplace plans and Medicaid linked to the COVID-19 public health emergency declared in 2020; and the government allotting “substantial” funding to promote ACA plans in 2021.
The report found consumers aged 55 to 65 years made up the largest segment of members in these plans, with greater enrollment seen in the state’s northeastern and southeastern regions.
Report authors warned STLDPs could divert some customers from more extensive coverage options in a changing environment, and said insurers’ marketing materials “need caution to avoid suggesting” the short-term plans can substitute for comprehensive coverage.
“The coming changes in federal and state Medicaid coverage provisions with the Medicaid unwinding will bring many consumers — often with lower or fluctuating incomes — to lose Medicaid and need other coverage,” they wrote. “Price sensitive consumers, lacking full information about available ACA subsidies, may gravitate toward enrolling in STLDPs, despite their limited coverage protections.”
See the OCI release: https://www.wispolitics.com/2023/wisconsin-oci-releases-new-study-analyzing-short-term-limited-duration-plans/
See the full report: https://oci.wi.gov/Documents/Consumers/STLDP%20Report%20Final%20May%202023.pdf
— While the percentage of Wisconsin farms with internet access has risen in recent years, the share of those that use smartphones in their operations is below the national level.
A recent USDA report shows 83 percent of farms in the state have internet access, which is 1 percent higher than in 2021. But 73 percent of Wisconsin farms use smartphones for their business — 9 percent below the overall U.S. percentage.
Still, 70 percent of Wisconsin farms own or use a desktop or laptop computer, which is 1 percent higher than the national figure.
In a statement on the report’s findings, Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation President Kevin Krentz noted rural broadband and cellular network services are essential for modern agriculture.
“The use of computers is much more important to farm management than it has ever been before,” he said. “From on-farm automations to the daily care of livestock and natural resources, these digital tools allow us as farmers to make important management decisions at the tip of a finger.”
The USDA report also shows cellular service is the most common way for Wisconsin farms to access the internet, with 65 percent. That’s followed by broadband such as DSL, cable or fiber optic connections with 56 percent. Satellite service is the third most common with 16 percent.
See the report: https://www.wispolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/WI-Farm-Computer-08-23.pdf
— Madison-based coworking space 100state has appointed JJ Pagac as its new executive director.
The organization recently announced Joseph Dahari has stepped down from the position after a two-year stint. Pagac previously oversaw 100state’s membership program.
“I’m excited to take on the role,” Pagac said. “I have a passion for this startup space, which I believe is Wisconsin’s longest running. I look forward to making 100state an even bigger part of the Madison entrepreneurship community.”
In the new role, Pagac says he plans to develop the community aspect of the coworking space, improve an arts program called 100arts and incorporate holistic wellness programming.
See more at Madison Startups: https://www.madisonstartups.com/100state-announces-new-executive-director/
#TOP STORIES#
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#TOPICS#
# AGRIBUSINESS
– Wisconsin DATCP to lead trade mission to Expo Prado 2023
http://wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=778&yr=2023
# CONSTRUCTION
– Building blocks: Stormwater and pedestrian safety improvements for County Highway EM in Twin Lakes
– Chippewa Falls Council spends $400K of ARPA dollars on pool, parks, repairs
# EDUCATION
– Grant awarded: Claire Palmer receives USDA-NIFA funding to study the root microbiome in sustainable cereal crop production
http://wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=776&yr=2023
# ENTERTAINMENT & THE ARTS
– Brandi Carlile feels the love at Madison’s Breese Stevens Field
# ENVIRONMENT
– Waterfowl populations dropped 7% and is 9% below 55-year mean
– What’s killing Appleton’s trees? It’s a small but formidable foe
# LABOR
– How has Wisconsin changed since the Inflation Reduction Act?
http://wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=775&yr=2023
# LEGAL
– Labor broker sentenced to 18 months in prison for tax evasion
# MANUFACTURING
– Master Lock reveals specific dates for layoffs, positions impacted
– First wave of layoffs at Milwaukee Master Lock facility will begin in November
# POLITICS
– Milwaukee gears up for Republican presidential primary debate
# REAL ESTATE
– Block Build crews work to improve Milwaukee’s Muskego Way neighborhood
# SMALL BUSINESS
– At Torn Edge Arts, this retired teacher will make you a silversmith
# SPORTS
– Milwaukee airport offers nonstop flight for this Badgers football game
# TRANSPORTATION
– Why fly MKE? Officials look to change air travel habit of picking Chicago over Milwaukee
# PRESS RELEASES
<i>See these and other press releases:
http://wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Content=82 </i>
Painters & Allied Trades: Thank the U.S. attorney for criminal prosecution of a known labor broker
Revitalize Milwaukee: Block Build MKE 2023 will transform Milwaukee’s Muskego Way Neighborhood
