Wisconsin

FAFSA delays still causing stress for Wisconsin students and parents

Published

2 years ago

May 16, 2024

FAFSA delays still causing stress for Wisconsin students and parents

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – FAFSA applications reached a new low as high school seniors try to submit their forms through a new portal process.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, submissions for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) dropped down 33.9% from 2023.

High school counselors, college finance experts and elected officials all said the new application process is to blame for the low turnout.

”The problem is the form,” La Follette High School Academic Career Planning Coordinator Annie Hand Braga said. “There have been all of the things that were promised with this better FAFSA that students would be able to do, they just haven’t all materialized or they didn’t materialize when the form opened.”

Braga and La Follette High School Multilingual Counselor Vanessa Hlavacka work with students and their parents to help them go through the financial aid process. The two said some students would not be able to attend college without help from the federal government.

”When we were finally able to submit, it brought me to happy tears for this student just knowing what it means for him and his family,” Hlvacka said. “It’s life changing for so many people. Even without those kinds of scholarships in mind, just the opportunity to see what kind of financial support is out there from the government, makes college attainable for many of our students.”

FAFSA form 2024(Source: WWNY)

The U.S. Dept. of Ed. rolled out a new online application portal this year to make the process simpler. Under Secretary James Kvall acknowledged the new format did not go as planned.

“We have had some bumps get in there this year,” he said. ”It’s required us to replace up to 20 computer systems. Some of which are older than the parents that are filling out the form. So, it’s a major major IT project for us and it has been a challenging one.”

He said Congress voted to make legislative changes with FAFSA in 2020 and this was part of the result. When asked what his department is doing to improve things, he said they’ve made significant progression over the last few weeks. “We’ve made a lot of progress within the last few weeks,” he said. “The FAFSA is now up and running smoothly. We’ve had about 9 million people submit their FAFSA and we’re processing them in about one to three days.”

UW Madison Assistant Director of Federal Rewards Katy Weisenburger said her office is working to extend deadlines for students who, to know fault of their own, couldn’t make the FAFSA process work.

”I have seen a lot of students be very discouraged, yes, for sure…. I have had parents crying about not being able to get this done,” she said. “It’s a really awful situation. I would not be surprised if some students choose to not apply for financial aid or choose to not go to school because of this situation, which is really sad.”

Weisenburger said college hopefuls and their parents should continue to reach out to the FAFSA helpline and call their desired school’s financial aid offices to request deadlines.

UW Madison’s Financial Aid Office can be reached at 608-262-3060 for help.

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Related Topics:application College FAFSA Featured Financial aid high school seniors portal process

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Wisconsin

Predicting Wisconsin’s chances of retaining its starters

Published

10 hours ago

March 24, 2026

Press Room

Predicting Wisconsin’s chances of retaining its starters

Coming off a uniquely discouraging loss to High Point in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 64, Greg Gard and the Wisconsin Badgers don’t have time to lick their wounds, as the transfer portal madness will be upon us before you can say “Still No Sweet 16 Since 2017.”

With this in mind, here are my very early best guesses for the chances of the Badgers retaining their guys. Part 2, which will cover rotational players, will drop soon.

Let’s dive right in here with the Badgers’ trickiest retention target. I want to be up front with the fact that I have zero insider information on this, but I’ve talked to enough folks who cover the program to have a distinct vibe that he’s quite possibly gone. Illinois, Michigan, and Michigan State have been the most frequently linked suitors for a player who grew up in Detroit and whose father played for the Illini.

Coming off a season with many highs, but a few obvious regressions, especially on defense—along with admitted “struggles” off the court—it’s natural to wonder if Blackwell might be looking for a fresh start (and bigger paycheck).

The fact that there will be more money on the table elsewhere (I don’t think it will be the NBA) doesn’t help the Badgers’ chances. But my vibe is that Gard, the coach who believed in Blackwell when none from other Big Ten programs did, will give Blackwell a very fair offer with a raise and let the chips fall where they may.

High-scoring wings with middling defense are easier to find in the portal than top-quality point guards or bigs with the diverse skills of the player in my next evaluation. Chances of Retention 50%.

Given his premium skill set and room for growth, there’s a good argument that Winter should be the Badgers No. 1 priority for retention. It’s also a fact that he likely has more to prove before an NBA squad will use a pick on him, although I suspect workouts and testing would only help his cause.

Winter has always struck me as Minnesota Nice and profiles as a quintessential Badger. But I felt similarly about Chucky Hepburn before he surprisingly bolted for Louisville before his senior year, so nothing can be taken for granted.

Winter declining to commit to a fourth season in Madison 20 minutes after losing to High Point has been overblown. He was distraught and coming to grips with a cruel and premature end to what was looking like a special March run.

So, I will cut him some slack here. My vibe is that we’ll see Winter back with the Badgers in ‘26-27. Chances of Retention: 70%.

Rapp’s progression on both offense and defense as the season progressed was incredibly encouraging, and his commitment to another year in Madison immediately after Wisconsin’s loss to High Point was music to fans ears.

For the same reasons why we shouldn’t put too much of our hopes and dreams into what Winter said or didn’t say postgame on Thursday, I’d caution you to take Rapp’s Badgers pledge as written in pencil.

While I think he’ll be back, there will be suitors for Rapp’s skill set, and he will be getting a sizable raise. Gard will need to work a bit to lock him down. Chances of Retention: 80%.

Like Rapp, the sturdy Lithuanian big who appears older than his actual age made impressive strides as the season went along, ending up as a solid 5/5 guy with a few notable high points, including torching an elite Michigan squad from deep on the way to college basketball’s most impressive victory of the season.

But his defense has a lot of room for growth, and his offense can also improve, so my guess is that both aspects of his game will be nurtured in Madison, where he was a valuable starter as a true freshman, a rarity.

While he’ll surely have a market in the portal given his age and inside/outside talents, it won’t be nearly as robust as for other Badgers. Being from Europe makes it a bit murkier, but I feel uniquely confident he’ll be back in Madison. Chances of Retention: 85%.

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Wisconsin

Like Wisconsin-OSU hockey, these are state’s best postseason rivalries

Published

22 hours ago

March 23, 2026

Press Room

Like Wisconsin-OSU hockey, these are state’s best postseason rivalries

It’s hard to match what the University of Wisconsin and Ohio State women’s hockey teams have accomplished – meeting four consecutive years for the NCAA championship. With a 3-2 win Sunday, March 22, the Badgers are back-to-back champs and winners in three of the four battles, all separated by one goal.

Similar to USA-Canada in the Olympic finals – a meeting this year that featured players from both UW and OSU – the programs simply seem destined to meet with the season on the line.

These are the other best postseason rivalries in Wisconsin sports:

UW-Whitewater vs. Mount Union football

This is perhaps the most obvious Wisconsin sports postseason rivalry, the battle for the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl and the NCAA Division III football championship.

UW-Whitewater first met Mount Union in 2005 for all the marbles, and then the program met a staggering seven consecutive seasons, with Whitewater winning four times (2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011).

They met again in 2013 and 2014, with Whitewater winning both. But, Mount Union still has 13 titles in program history, while Whitewater has six.

Since 1996, the two powerhouse NFL franchises have met 10 times in the postseason, and though the Packers had the early success, with wins in four of the first five playoff meetings, San Francisco has won the last five games, all since 2013.

For Packers fans, that includes many memorable highs and lows, including an NFC championship win in early 1998 en route to a second straight Super Bowl and a franchise-affirming road win in the divisional round in early 1996, even with Dallas awaiting to eliminate the Packers in the NFC title game one week later.

The more recent games included a heartbreaking divisional loss in Santa Clara after the 2023 season, a snow-aided special-teams debacle after the 2021 season and a double dose of Colin Kaepernick after the 2012 and 2013 seasons.

Marquette men’s basketball vs. Kentucky

If we merge Wisconsin and Marquette together, we get a rich tapestry of battles with Kentucky in the men’s NCAA Tournament, though Marquette has the greater volume.

For Wisconsin, the battles include a stellar high (beating undefeated Kentucky in 2015) and an agonizing loss (in the 2014 Final Four), not to mention a 2003 loss in the Sweet 16.

Marquette, of course, has its own recent thrill against UK, smashing the top-ranked Wildcats in the Elite Eight of the 2003 tournament behind Dwyane Wade’s triple-double. An upset win in the Sweet 16 of the 1994 tournament can’t be forgotten, either, with point guard Tony Miller and his nine assists helping MU stage a 75-63 victory.

MU also met Kentucky in 2008 (a 74-66 win in the first round), with the other entrants in the rivalry dating to the 1970s and earlier.

Kentucky won in 1975 (second round), 1972 (Sweet 16), 1968 (Sweet 16) and 1959 (regional third-place game) but Marquette won in 1971 (regional third-place game), 1969 (Sweet 16) and 1955 (Sweet 16).

Technically, the Bucks have faced Philadelphia (nine times) more than Boston (eight times) in the postseason, but the Celtics provide some recent history and some tense battles over the years that weren’t always restricted to the floor.

Milwaukee got the best of Boston in 2019 during the Eastern Conference semis – the series when Paul Pierce said he thought the series was over after Boston’s Game 1 victory; Milwaukee won the next four – but Boston also defeated the Bucks in 2022 in seven games without an injured Khris Middleton, and the Celtics got Milwaukee in a seven-game opening-round series in 2018, with Giannis Antetokounmpo and his team on the cusp of an ascent.

There’s plenty of history to go with those recent meetings, too, not the least of which was the 1974 NBA Finals, when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson played their last game together at the Arena in a heartbreaking seventh-game loss to the Celts.

Boston twice eliminated the Bucks in the Eastern Conference finals (1986 and 1984), in addition to a seven-game series win over the Bucks in the 1987 Eastern semis, a series that featured a fight between Boston’s Kevin McHale and a Milwaukee fan in Game 3, part of a litany of wild events in that series.

Milwaukee did get a sweep over the 1983 Celtics in the Eastern semis, but it’s just 2-6 all time against Boston.

Arrowhead vs. Homestead football

There are a number of combinations in the high school football (or basketball) sphere that could apply here. For example, Catholic Memorial has met Notre Dame in Green Bay for the state football title three times. So have fellow state powerhouses St. Mary’s Springs and Stratford. Edgar met Black Hawk in 2018, then met the Black Hawk/Warren co-op in 2019 and 2023.

But Arrowhead and Homestead met three years in a row for the Division 1 state title from 2006 through 2008, with legendary coaches Dave Keel and Tom Taraska at the helm. Homestead won the first meeting between the Milwaukee-area behemoths, 35-0, and Arrowhead answered with a 31-7 win the following year. That set up the 2008 rubber match, a 13-11 win for Homestead.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin Lottery Pick 3, Pick 4 results for March 22, 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 23, 2026

Press Room

Wisconsin Lottery Pick 3, Pick 4 results for March 22, 2026

The Wisconsin Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at March 22, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Pick 3 numbers from March 22 drawing

Midday: 1-7-8

Evening: 4-2-4

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from March 22 drawing

Midday: 8-9-6-0

Evening: 1-8-7-4

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning All or Nothing numbers from March 22 drawing

Midday: 02-03-04-08-09-16-17-18-19-21-22

Evening: 01-02-04-10-11-12-14-18-19-21-22

Check All or Nothing payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Badger 5 numbers from March 22 drawing

01-10-20-21-28

Check Badger 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning SuperCash numbers from March 22 drawing

09-16-20-25-29-39, Doubler: N

Check SuperCash payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

Prizes up to $599: Can be claimed at any Wisconsin Lottery retailer.
Prizes from $600 to $199,999: Can be claimed in person at a Lottery Office. By mail, send the signed ticket and a completed claim form available on the Wisconsin Lottery claim page to: Prizes, PO Box 777 Madison, WI 53774.
Prizes of $200,000 or more: Must be claimed in person at the Madison Lottery office. Call the Lottery office prior to your visit: 608-261-4916.

Can Wisconsin lottery winners remain anonymous?

No, according to the Wisconsin Lottery. Due to the state’s open records laws, the lottery must, upon request, release the name and city of the winner. Other information about the winner is released only with the winner’s consent.

When are the Wisconsin Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
Super Cash: 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 3 (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 3 (Evening): 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 4 (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 4 (Evening): 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
All or Nothing (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
All or Nothing (Evening): 9 p.m. CT daily.
Megabucks: 9:00 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
Badger 5: 9:00 p.m. CT daily.

That lucky feeling: Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.

Feeling lucky? WI man wins $768 million Powerball jackpot **

WI Lottery history: Top 10 Powerball and Mega Million jackpots

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Wisconsin editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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