THU AM News: Immigrant workers overrepresented in STEM fields, ag sector, report shows; WARF seeking partners to develop prostate cancer detection method

October 17, 2024

— Immigrant workers are overrepresented among STEM fields and agricultural sectors both in Wisconsin and across other states bordering the Great Lakes.

That’s one finding from a new report, “Building Community and Fueling Growth: The Role of Immigrants in Reviving the Great Lakes Region.” It was released this week by the American Immigration Council and Upwardly Global, a national organization that helps immigrants, refugees and asylees engage with the U.S. economy.

The report argues immigrants are “fueling economic growth” and supporting communities across Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and upstate New York. It includes a number of data points to illustrate the economic impact and contributions of immigrants across this region.

“Immigrants aren’t just fueling our economy — they are voters, homeowners, and entrepreneurs who keep our communities running … we see firsthand how their contributions go beyond the numbers; they’re stabilizing neighborhoods, opening new businesses, and shaping the political future of swing states in the Great Lakes region,” said Jina Krause-Vilmar, president and CEO of Upwardly Global.

As of 2022, 4.9% of Wisconsin’s population were immigrants, according to figures provided by the report’s authors. While they made up 5.9% of the state’s labor force, they represented 9.5% of STEM workers and 11.1% of agricultural workers in Wisconsin.

Across the region analyzed in the report, immigrants made up 7.8% of the population while making up 16.4% of the STEM workforce and 9% of all ag workers, the report shows. That last percentage rises to 21% when restricted to farm employees, such as field crop workers and livestock workers.

The report also highlights immigrants’ outsized impact on some of Wisconsin’s key industries such as food production and health care. Across the study region, immigrants held 42.5% of meat processing jobs and 30.8% of hand-packing jobs, authors found. And immigrants made up 27.8% of the region’s doctors, 20.6% of its surgeons and 17% of its dentists and personal care aides — all well above their share of the population.

Report authors note the region had 14 job postings in health care for every unemployed worker in 2022, as rising need for health care services is driven by an aging population. Between 2010 and 2022, the number of immigrants worked as registered nurses in the region rose 49.1%. Immigrants also made up 12.7% of home health aides and 16.7% of personal care aides across the study region in 2022.

“With more people living longer, and more choosing to age in place, the need for home health aides will continue to spike,” report authors wrote. “Immigrants are increasingly stepping in, again doing well above their share to ease shortages.”

See the report.

— WARF is seeking commercial partners to help develop a method for detecting prostate cancer, created by researchers at UW-Madison.

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, the university’s patenting and licensing organization, is touting the method as a top licensing prospect in its health care portfolio. An overview of the imaging-based technique highlights a “clear need” for ways to more easily and accurately diagnose and predict the course of prostate cancer.

Current clinical standards to screen for the disease use a “prostate specific antigen” or PSA test, but WARF notes this approach has an estimated 50% over-diagnosis rate due to picking up less significant cancers. Multiple samples are usually needed to make a diagnosis, and biopsies are often taken two or three times to rule out cancer, due to sampling errors.

To improve this process, a team led by Prof. David Jarrard in the university’s Department of Urology developed the new method. It involves obtaining a structurally “normal” prostate tissue sample and assessing specific aspects of the tissue that can indicate the presence of prostate cancer, according to the overview from WARF.

Researchers have tested it on tissue samples from more than 100 patients, and WARF says the method is “simple, rapid and quantitative.” It also uses standard equipment found in every hospital pathology laboratory, the overview shows.

“This simple imaging-based method can be used to assess the presence of cancer, or to rule out cancer, or may be used in combination with biomarkers to possibly improve the predictions,” authors wrote.

See more in WARF’s overview.

Top headlines from the Health Care Report…

— Kamala Harris continues to have an edge over Donald Trump among registered voters when it comes to health care-related issues, according to the latest national Marquette University Law School Poll.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

Sign up here.

— Corn and soybean harvesting proceeded well ahead of the average pace last week even as a “killing frost” hit parts of northern Wisconsin.

That’s according to the latest USDA crop progress report, which shows 26% of corn for grain was harvested — 10 days ahead of last year and nine days ahead of the five-year average. Corn for silage harvesting was 92% complete, which is one day ahead of last year and eight days ahead of the average.

Meanwhile, the soybean harvest was 83% complete, 23 days ahead of last year’s pace and three weeks ahead of the average.

The corn and soybean harvests progressed “at a rapid pace” due to mostly dry weather, the USDA reports. Harvesting also continued for cranberries, potatoes and vegetables as farmers spread manure, continued fall tillage and seeded winter wheat.

The winter wheat planting was 80% finished, five days ahead of last year and six days ahead of the average.

See the report.

— Shipping totals through the Port of Green Bay in September were up 28% over the year, officials announced.

Last month’s tonnage total was about 254,000 tons, compared to nearly 199,000 in September 2023, according to yesterday’s release. Still, the year-to-date total for 2024 is 3% lower than at this point last year, with about 1.27 million tons compared to 1.3 million tons.

A total of 26 vessels entered Green Bay’s port in September, boosting this year’s total to 128 vessels. That’s compared to 119 ships at this point of 2023.

“While we do expect to see fluctuations in commodities from year to year, we’re very pleased to have seen such strong movement this September,” said Dean Haen, Port of Green Bay Director. “We remain excited to see what the conclusion of our season has in store.”

The top cargo category for the month was limestone, followed by coal, cement, petroleum products, salt, liquid asphalt and wood pulp, the release shows.

See more shipping figures from the port here.

— Dielectric Materials, Inc. in Germantown will need to pay $90,000 in penalties linked to alleged violations of state waste management laws, Attorney General Josh Kaul announced.

Yesterday’s release from the state Department of Justice says the company’s Ozaukee County manufacturing facility previously generated “hazardous levels” of barium and lead, which poses a threat to the environment and humans.

Per the complaint referenced in the announcement, the company failed to make accurate hazardous waste determinations or correctly arrange for its transport, while operating a hazardous waste facility without a license.

The settlement was approved earlier this month by Ozaukee County Circuit Court, DOJ says.

“Hazardous waste must be managed properly in order to protect people’s health and our environment,” Kaul said in a statement. “Companies that are responsible for hazard waste must ensure that they are complying with the applicable laws.”

See more on the complaint and judgment here.

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