By Scott Gordon/WisContext

One impact of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico may continue to plague hospitals in the mainland United States for quite some time. The island United States commonwealth hosts a significant concentration of manufacturing facilities that make medical supplies and pharmaceuticals, lured to the Caribbean island over the years by tax breaks.

The American healthcare system as a whole particularly depends on IV bags made in Puerto Rico by a Deerfield company called Baxter International. Without this important product, procedures from restoring fluids to administering painkillers suddenly become more complicated, creating a logistical strain that can spiderweb across an entire hospital’s operations.

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Posted on December 11, 2017

By J.J. Tindall

New Fucking Frying Pan
Nobody tells me
Who I am.
Problematic in relationships
(Been a few years
Since the end of my last
Long-term commitment).
I want a fried egg?
I go to a diner
And order one or
I fry it myself.

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Posted on December 4, 2017

By Barbara Ingham/WisContext

Ideas and recipes for baking breads and cakes in glass jars and “canning” for gifting or eating later can be found on the Internet and have been printed in various magazines. This bread or cake is not really home-canned – it is baked in an open glass canning jar and subsequently covered with a canning lid, which seals due to heat. But there is no actual canning process used in these recipes.
According to a fact sheet published by the National Center for Home Food Preservation, breads and cakes cannot be safely canned. These baked goods present the risk of food poisoning from the bacterial toxin responsible for botulism.

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Posted on November 28, 2017

By J.J. Tindall

The Ballad of Johnny Sunshine
If Johnny Sunshine gets the glory,
give grace to John Rain.
One type of grace is raw luck.
Another, the spry, elegant motion
of a youthful finch, vibrant towhee
of modest house sparrow
restive in the last dangling
autumn leaves. John Rain is silent thought;
Johnny Sunshine earnest prayer:

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Posted on November 27, 2017

By Barbara Ingham/WisContext

It’s called by a variety of names around the United States: stuffing, filling and dressing. No matter the name, though, it is a favorite for Thanksgiving and through the holiday season. This side dish typically goes by the first.
The ingredients used in stuffing are often regional. While it usually has a bread mixture base, other ingredients such as grains, pasta, fruits, vegetables, shellfish, sausage, giblets and nuts are also used. Stuffing can be spooned into the cavity of whole poultry or a pocket cut into a solid piece of meat, or spread on a flat piece of meat and then rolled.
However, because stuffing is an excellent medium for bacterial growth, it’s important to handle the ingredients and final dish safely, and cook it to a safe minimum internal temperature as measured with a food thermometer.

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Posted on November 22, 2017

By The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Ducks love national wildlife refuges. Refuges provide the perfect place for migrating waterfowl to rest and feed as they head south for the winter. Right now, one of the best places to spot record breaking numbers of waterfowl is Two Rivers National Wildlife Refuge in Missouri and Illinois.
Two Rivers is an important stopover for hundreds of thousands of ducks and geese each fall. Right now more than 350,000 birds are utilizing refuge habitat. Established in 1958 to protect and enhance habitat for migratory birds, Two Rivers is located between the Mississippi River and Illinois Rivers and encompasses 9,225 acres of riverine and floodplain habitat scattered around the confluence of the rivers.

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Posted on November 21, 2017

By Jenny Seifert, Eric Booth and Chris Kucharik/University of Wisconsin

Pizza, phosphorous and algae in Wisconsin’s lakes.

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Posted on November 16, 2017

With Styx Soundtrack

Worn to prevent snow blindness.

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Posted on November 15, 2017

By Sabeel Ahmed

The Islamic Center of Wheaton is organizing an Open Mosque Day on Saturday, November 18th, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the mosque located at 900 E. Geneva Road.
“The goal of this Open Mosque event is to invite our neighbors of all faiths, as it is a pressing need to have continuous programs such as these in as many communities as we can to help in the outreach messages of peace and understanding of each other. This is a way to help fight the rise of Islamophobia” said Sheikh Omer Haqqani, director of outreach at the Islamic Center of Wheaton. “This jointly held event with Dr. Sabeel Ahmed of GainPeace is a way to help people come visit the Mosque, and ask questions that concern them the most.”

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Posted on November 11, 2017

By J.J. Tindall

The Moon Must Be Heaven, Desolate
The moon must be heaven, desolate,
and every star a lost soul.
We have been to the moon
and found nothing, nothing
but stardust. We drove, played golf,
planted flags, with not a single ghost
sighted. Perhaps the ghosts
of heaven are invisible to us.
Perfectly feasible.

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Posted on November 9, 2017