FRI AM News: WisBusiness: the Podcast with Lina Song, Doogooda; State reports first measles death in 36 years

November 6, 2026

— This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with returning guest Lina Song, founder of Doogooda.

The startup company, which has a decision-making platform for healthcare organizations, is now fully established in Madison after originally getting its footing in South Korea. It aims to help hospitals, health systems and other groups navigate changes in healthcare services.

Song provides an update on the company’s efforts over the last six months, including participating in Harvard Innovation Lab’s Launch Lab X cohort. The Boston program selects ventures from Harvard alumni for the hybrid experience, which involves virtual portions taking place over the coming months.

“We’re building in Madison while we get the support from Harvard, so that’s great,” Song said.

Meanwhile, the company recently completed a qualification to apply for the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps entrepreneurial training program. And it recently started publishing its research results, in a shift from its previous approach.

“Instead of only doing private analysis, we’re also putting the public research out where anyone can use it,” she said.

The conversation also explores a research project Song has joined with scientists at the UW-Madison School of Industrial and Systems Engineering. The effort is targeting improvements for her platform’s core function, supporting decision-making under conditions of uncertainty.

Doogooda is currently working with the UW researchers on a proposal for a related grant, which Song says will benefit both the company and the university.

She also touches on conversations she’s been having with local venture capital investors as the company seeks further investment support.

“I feel like I was able to connect with almost all of the Wisconsin VCs basically, like investing in the seed route at least,” Song said. “So we’re forming good relationships with the VCs and working on the rounds.”

Listen to the podcast here and see the full list of WisBusiness podcasts.

Check out an earlier conversation with Song.

— Health officials reported the state’s first measles death in 36 years after an infant in southwestern Wisconsin died from the disease.

The state Department of Health Services says the death is linked to the ongoing measles outbreak in the region, coming as the state’s measles count has now reached 431 so far this year.

Dr. Ryan Westergaard, chief medical officer for DHS, says that’s far more than Wisconsin typically sees in a given year — and “almost certainly” an undercount.

“The death we’re reporting today is a tragic reminder of what can happen when measles begins circulating again,” he said yesterday in a virtual briefing. “We do have the tools to stop measles transmission. The challenge now is making sure those tools reach the people and communities who need them.”

Among the hundreds of measles cases seen across 13 Wisconsin counties this year, all but three were among unvaccinated people. Nine cases have resulted in hospitalization.

Westergaard declined to provide information about the vaccination status of the infant who died, citing privacy concerns, but noted many infants are too young to be vaccinated against the highly infectious disease.

The virus spreads through the air, and can remain for up to two hours after an infected person has left the room. If someone who isn’t vaccinated is exposed, they’re very likely to become infected.

“In the era before vaccines, the percentage of people who would get infected with measles was approximately 100%, it’s so effectively transmitted,” Westergaard said. “And when that happens, the number of severe cases and hospitalizations and death was not rare, it was very common … a disease that can spread that quickly can go from a small problem to a big problem very quickly.”

Since the start of August, DHS says it has delivered 2,000 doses of the measles vaccine to local health departments in areas with confirmed cases. A total of 42,000 doses of the MMR vaccine have been administered in the state since then.

See the release.

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— State officials have awarded nearly $58 million in funding for broadband expansion in underserved areas of Wisconsin.

Gov. Tony Evers and the state Public Service Commission yesterday announced the funding from the State Broadband Expansion Grant Program. It’s meant to help provide connection for areas that aren’t being served by the federally funded Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment Program.

The announcement emphasizes the high demand for such grant funding, as the agency received 93 applications requesting more than $160 million after the grant round was announced in May.

PSC Chair Summer Strand says this is likely the last round of state broadband expansion grants unless the next state Legislature provides more funding for the program.

“We know how critical these investments are for homes and businesses throughout our state, and I encourage state lawmakers to provide funding to sustain this program and ensure every person and business in Wisconsin is connected to high-speed internet,” Strand said in a statement.

With the latest awards, the Evers administration says it has now helped more than 428,000 homes and businesses in the state access new or improved high-speed internet.

Once locations that are set to receive improved fiber and fixed wireless service through BEAD and other programs are addressed, at least 30,000 locations in the state will remain unserved, according to estimates from the Wisconsin Broadband Office.

See the release.

— The chair of the Public Service Commission took aim at legislative Republicans for leaving state regulators “hamstrung” amid the rapid buildout of new energy infrastructure.

Chair Summer Strand yesterday complained that the Legislature had “refused to consider” proposals to allow the commission to engage in long-term utility planning rather than evaluating proposals for new power plants and other energy infrastructure on a case-by-case basis.

She also criticized Republicans for rejecting proposals from the agency and Gov. Tony Evers to give the PSC more time to review the increasing number of applications to build power plants and transmission lines and to increase funding for intervenors who review those applications and other cases.

Strand said this lack of action had complicated regulators’ ability to balance reliability, affordability and environmental concerns against the rapid buildout of new energy to serve new demand like that from hyperscale data centers.

“On the heels of the historic election that occurred earlier this week, today is an especially opportune moment to emphasize that the time to mobilize, organize and advocate for substantive changes to the PSC legal framework begins now,” Strand said.

Sen. Julian Bradley, R-New Berlin, who chaired the Senate Utility, Technology and Tourism Committee and was elected minority leader yesterday, could not immediately provide comment; nor could Rep. David Steffen, R-Howard, chair of the Assembly Energy and Utilities Committee.

Strand also touted the commission’s efforts to protect ratepayers and “hold utilities accountable,” citing the terms commissioners set in April for data centers in We Energies’ coverage area to buy power and the PSC’s efforts to develop affordability programs with utilities and other stakeholders.

“I can say with confidence that the PSC is doing all we can to ensure the agency is at the table and not on the menu when important policy decisions are being made,” Strand said – invoking an oft-used phrase from Gov.-elect David Crowley.

Strand made her remarks at the outset of commissioners’ biennial review of proposed electric rate increases by We Energies, the state’s largest utility.

Environmental advocates and watchdog groups like the Citizens Utility Board had advocated for Wisconsin to adopt integrated resource planning, which would allow the PSC to forecast the state’s energy needs and pick what kinds of energy infrastructure will power the state.

The Union of Concerned Scientists argued in a July white paper that utilities like We Energies were exploiting the state’s lack of an IRP and other “regulatory loopholes” to build environmentally harmful and possibly unneeded new natural gas-fired power plants.

Evers included proposals to adopt integrated resource planning, give the PSC more time to review construction applications and increase intervenor compensation in his 2025-27 budget proposal, but neither measure made it into the biennial budget bill.

A handful of Democratic lawmakers in September said they planned to revive those proposals when the next Legislature convenes.

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