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FAFSA delays still causing stress for Wisconsin students and parents

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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.”

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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.”

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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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Stepmom from hell accused of starving 35-pound teen daughter enters plea — could spend the rest of her life behind bars

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Stepmom from hell accused of starving 35-pound teen daughter enters plea — could spend the rest of her life behind bars


The Wisconsin stepmother from hell accused of abusing her 35-pound 14-year-old daughter by depriving her of food and water has entered a no-contest plea in the twisted case.

Melissa Goodman, 52, now faces up to 46 years in prison if she’s handed the maximum sentence for charges of chronic neglect causing great bodily harm, chronic neglect causing emotional damage and false imprisonment.

She’s set to be sentenced on July 1.

Goodman, along with husband Walter Goodman, have been accused of starving her autistic stepdaughter. Outagamie County Jail

Goodman, along with husband Walter Goodman, has been accused of starving her autistic stepdaughter.

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Goodman’s daughter Savanna Goodman and her girlfriend Kayla Stemler were also charged over the alleged abuse, People reported.

The family is accused of locking the teen in a bedroom without a mattress, restricting her to only her room for years and depriving her of food and water, according to Wisconsin prosecutors.

The mobile home they lived in became a house of horrors for the teenager, who was mistaken for a 6-year-old when she was found by cops in August 2025 and rushed to the hospital.

Walter Goodman, the victim’s father, called 911 to report that his daughter was lethargic and ill.

Responding officers found her weighing just 35 pounds; she was hospitalized with multi-organ dysfunction, including respiratory failure and pancreatitis.

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Melissa Goodman
Walter Goodman, the victim’s father, called 911 to report that his daughter was lethargic and ill. WBAY TV-2 | Green Bay, WI/YouTube

From 2020 until August 2025, the victim, whose name is not disclosed because she is a minor, was allegedly isolated in a trailer on Hattie Lane, in Oneida, Wisconsin.

Extended family members were told she was away on vacation or with other relatives to explain her absence.



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‘Song Sung Blue’ subject Claire Sardina playing Wisconsin State Fair

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‘Song Sung Blue’ subject Claire Sardina playing Wisconsin State Fair


When “Song Sung Blue” – the biopic about Milwaukee Neil Diamond tribute act Lightning & Thunder – had a premiere at the Oriental Theatre in Milwaukee last December, star Hugh Jackman gave Claire Sardina (played in the film by Kate Hudson) an engraved bench honoring Lighting & Thunder to be installed at Wisconsin State Fair Park.

In August, Sardina will get to have a seat on that bench – and sing again on a State Fair stage.

Sardina will perform with tribute act So Good: The Neil Diamond Experience Aug. 9 at the Bank Five Nine Amphitheater, the largest stage at the fair featuring free concerts with admission.

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For Sardina, it will be a return to a place central to Lighting & Thunder. The band performed in the Milwaukee area from 1989 until Mike Sardina, aka Lightning, passed away in 2006. The State Fair was one of their favorite places to play, and the couple got married there in 1994.

The couple’s wild story – from a performance at a Pearl Jam Summerfest concert to major health issues – was the subject of the documentary “Song Sung Blue” that inspired the biopic, and earned Hudson an Oscar nomination for portraying Claire Sardina.

Fair officials May 8 revealed the full headliner lineup for the stage, which includes:

  • Aug. 6: Sixteen Candles
  • Aug. 7 and 8: Here Come The Mummies
  • Aug. 10 and 11: Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone
  • Aug. 12: Hairbangers Ball
  • Aug. 13: Too Hype Crew
  • Aug. 14: The Gufs
  • Aug. 15: Let’s Sing Taylor – An Unofficial Live Tribute Show
  • Aug. 16: Pat McCurdy

All Bank Five Nine Amphitheater concerts are included with fair admission.

The lineup is also nearly complete for the Bank Five Nine Main Stage, with just a show on Aug. 11 to be announced.

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Tickets are on sale for these shows at wistatefair.com and include same-day fair admission:

  • Aug. 6: Hairball
  • Aug. 7: Nelly
  • Aug. 8: Bailey Zimmerman with Chandler Walters
  • Aug. 9: Wynonna Judd and Melissa Etheridge
  • Aug. 10: For King + Country with Rachel Lampa
  • Aug. 12: John Mulaney
  • Aug. 13: The All-American Rejects with Joyce Manor
  • Aug. 14: Lindsey Stirling with PVRIS
  • Aug. 15: AJR with Em Beihold
  • Aug. 16: The Beach Boys



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Wisconsin universities and schools impacted by Canvas data breach

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Wisconsin universities and schools impacted by Canvas data breach


WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAW/GRAY NEWS) – A ransomware group has claimed to have breached the learning management system Canvas, possibly exposing the personal information of students, teachers and staff across the country.

According to a statement from the Universities of Wisconsin website, they were notified of a nationwide security breach experienced by Instructure, the provider of Canvas. Universities of Wisconsin schools use the cloud-based management system.

UW-Stevens Point tells NewsChannel 7 they have not confirmed UWSP was involved in the breach, but did send communication that Canvas was down and students should not perform any asked actions if prompted, as it may not be legitimate while Canvas is down.

Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, posted on May 1 about a cybersecurity incident that had been reported and was under investigation.

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The next day, Chief Information Security Officer Steve Proud wrote that the information involved in the attack included names, student ID numbers, messages between users and email addresses.

“At this time, we have found no evidence that passwords, dates of birth, government identifiers, or financial information were involved. If that changes, we will notify any impacted institutions,” he wrote.

The Wausau School District sent a letter to parents Wednesday regarding the cybersecurity incident. They said there is no evidence that passwords, single-sign-on credentials, financial information or social security numbers were impacted. They stressed that type of information is not stored in Canvas.

Wausau School District email to parents regarding Canvas data breach(WSAW)

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