With three measles cases in three different Wisconsin communities since New Year’s Day, the state could be vulnerable to a larger outbreak, according to public health experts.

“We’ve gotten three cases in the state of Wisconsin so far in 2026, and there’s been many years in which we had zero,” said Dr. Joe McBride, a pediatric infectious disease physician at UW Health Kids and assistant professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. If the cases spread, “those are incredibly, incredibly difficult for us to slow down and to prevent.”

“There may be only three people with measles, but the cases are occurring in three different places,” said Ajay Sethi, director of the Master of Public Health Program at the UW medical school. “These are three separate public health responses, and that is significant given the potential for spread to others from just one person with measles.”

In January, state health officials reported a measles infection in a Waukesha resident. This month, measles infections have been identified in Dane County and in a person who traveled through Milwaukee County’s Mitchell International Airport to Walworth County. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services has also identified possible locations when other people might have been exposed in the Dane County and Mitchell Airport cases. All three were described as connected to travel. 

“It’s good, in that they don’t seem to be related, and we don’t see an outbreak,” McBride said. “But it’s also bad because that means there’s a lot of measles,” he added. “It’s kind of a tinderbox, and we have large cohorts of our population who are not immune.”

The year 2025 saw a resurgence of measles nationwide, approaching 2,000 cases, Stateline reported in December, with outbreaks in Texas, Arizona, South Carolina, Utah and New Mexico.

Sethi said an August 2025 cluster of cases in Oconto County started with a case in St. Croix County in someone who was visiting from out of state. Across Wisconsin in 2025, “Ultimately 36 people got measles, and two of them needed hospitalization,” he said.

‘Incredibly infectious’ illness

Although most widely known for its trademark rash, the measles virus “is a respiratory virus, just like really any other cough and cold virus that we think about,” said McBride. “However, it’s incredibly, incredibly infectious.”

The virus is airborne, McBride said, and can hang in the air for up to two hours. In one landmark case, at the 1991 Special Olympics at the Minneapolis Metrodome, a participant on the field had measles, McBride said, “and people who were susceptible to the infection got the infection who were sitting in the upper deck.”

Vaccination is the primary tool to stop measles, and in Wisconsin as well as in much of the U.S. vaccination rates are below the 95% that public health practitioners say allows for widespread “herd immunity.”

The measles vaccine is usually given in combination with mumps and rubella vaccines, first at the age of 1 with a booster by the time a child is 5.  

Some people aren’t eligible for the vaccine, either because they’re younger than 6 months old or because they have a compromised immune system due to another illness.

“It’s a live vaccine, and live vaccines have the potential of causing infections in people who are immune-compromised, like bone marrow transplant recipients or a patient with AIDS” or people on medications that suppress the immune system, McBride said.

That makes it even more important for people who are eligible to get the vaccine, public health experts say.

A national map produced by ABC News in collaboration with Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York shows that none of the counties in Wisconsin has as many as 90% of  5-year-olds fully vaccinated for measles.

The lowest rates of measles vaccinations for that age group are in Portage and Columbia counties, with fewer than 60%. A cluster of counties around Oshkosh have vaccination rates in the low 60s; another cluster around Eau Claire in the mid-60s, and Milwaukee, Racine and Waukesha counties have vaccination rates in the high 60s. In the rest of the state, vaccination rates for children 5 or younger are in the range of 70% to more than 80%.

“The decision to get vaccinated is still very nuanced,” Sethi said — influenced by a variety of factors. Those include complacency, which may lead people to dismiss the need for a vaccine, he said. Other factors include how convenient it may be to get the shot, confidence in the vaccine’s effectiveness and a sense of community responsibility.

HHS shift, CDC silence

One source of shakier confidence has been a shift at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the agencies’ stance on vaccines under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who had a history of anti-vaccine campaigning for years before his appointment.

Kennedy has made some appeals for people to get the measles vaccine, and in an appearance on CNN Sunday, Dr. Mehmet Oz, director of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, urged viewers, “Take the vaccine, please.”

But researchers at Johns Hopkins University in a report published in December documented that amid the 2025 measles surge, CDC social media accounts “have gone quiet, creating a ‘void’ in online health communication. In this vacuum, measles messaging has been dominated by news media rather than expert health authorities, resulting in polarized and potentially inaccurate information.” 

By the year 2000, measles vaccination had become so widespread that the U.S. was identified as having eliminated the disease. Canada, which also had that status, lost it in 2025, and the U.S. appears to be on the verge of losing it as well, Sethi said.

Yet the measles vaccine is both extraordinarily effective and essentially the only weapon against the virus.

“There isn’t any kind of other medicine that can abort it,” McBride said. “It is completely dependent on either preventing it or having natural infection and supporting the individual through it.”

The infection itself can be extremely serious, however, he said. In addition to fevers, cough and the rash, which is painful, secondary complications can do much more bodily damage. Those can include bacterial infections, pneumonia, vision and neurological damage and cardiovascular system harm as well.

In about one of every 1,000 cases, a delayed neurological condition can arise 10 years after a person is infected “that is completely fatal,” McBride added. Among the hundreds of cases across the U.S. now, “there certainly is somebody who’s walking around today who will be dead of measles in 10 years, who doesn’t know it. And that’s incredibly scary.”

People born before 1957 are more likely to have natural immunity from having been exposed to measles in childhood. “After 1957 we can’t really make that claim for people,” McBride said. “And so our immunity is dependent on vaccine status.”

People living in Wisconsin can look up their immunization status on the Wisconsin Immunization Registry, McBride said. Some people’s records might be incomplete, either because they received a vaccine in another state or because they got a vaccine before 1999, when the registry was launched. Earlier vaccines were logged on paper by health providers, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

Interest in the MMR vaccine appears to be rising. News reports and public health announcements drawing attention to recent measles cases and the importance of the vaccine “certainly raises new awareness and attention to it,” he said.

More patients are asking about the shot and more doctors and nurses are asking whether there needs to be any changes to the current vaccine schedules recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics or the state health department.

McBride said the current cases in Wisconsin don’t point to any change in those recommendations, however. For health care providers, “The most helpful interventions would be to evaluate your patients and make sure they are up to date with the measles vaccine.”

About 40 people came out for a fat bike ride in Hayward, Wisconsin in memory of Alex Pretti. | Photo by Frank Zufall/Wisconsin Examiner

Over 40 riders gathered Saturday afternoon, Jan. 31, in Hayward for a “fat bike” recreational ride in the snow in memory of and solidarity with fellow biking enthusiast Alex Pretti, 37, who was shot and killed by U.S. Border Patrol agents during a federal immigration crackdown in Minneapolis on Jan. 24.

The Hayward event was just one of several in Wisconsin and hundreds held across the United States to honor Pretti, an intensive care nurse at the Veterans Administration (VA) hospital in Minneapolis.

Organizer Ian Finch, a biking enthusiast and owner of the Whistlepunk Coffee Shop in Stone Lake, used to live near the Angry Catfish Bicycle shop in Minneapolis, the same bike shop Pretti used. Finch said the event was inspired by the Minneapolis shop to draw the biking community together in honor of Pretti.

“This is what biking is very good at doing, bringing people together of all different types, and right now that seems like the best thing we can do for each other, to be together and to find common ground,” said Finch.

He also said biking was a good activity to get people out, move, and process their pent-up energy.

David Schlabowske of Seeley, a former Milwaukee resident and past president of Wisconsin Bike Fed, a bicycle advocacy group, attended because it was also his way to protest how “immigration enforcement is being handled across the country and specifically in Minneapolis.”

Schlabowske said he had friends  who were members of Pretti’s Riverwest 24 team, a 24-hour community race in the Riverwest neighborhood of Milwaukee. One of the bikers was a close friend of Pretti’s since college and, Schlabowske said, he is still reeling from the tragic shooting.

“He’s just hunkered down at a friend’s farm in northern Minnesota because he is still kind of too gutted,” Schlabowske said of Pretti’s friend. “Normally, he’s a big bike-advocate guy. He would go on rides, but it’s too personal.”

Schlabowske said Pretti’s friend, who wants to stay out of the media spotlight, encouraged him to do the ride in Hayward because Pretti used to bike in the area on the 100 miles of mountain and fat bike trails.

“He said, ‘Alex would have loved your doing a fat bike ride in the winter for him,’” said Schlabowski.

Many of the riders were also concerned about the violence they’ve seen on social media and television.

“It’s awful what’s happening to our country,” said Del Bakkum, a retired dentist from Spooner. Bakkum said he is concerned over the “transgression” of constitutional rights by the government and the killing by federal agents of both Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis.

”I’m here also to ride into solidarity against the overreach of government that’s happening with ICE agents taking literally, taking people off of the streets, out of their homes, and creating chaos in our country,” said Susan Bauer of Hayward. “I never thought I would ever see this kind of action of our own government, hurting and murdering our own people.”

Bauer, a nurse, said she knows of another nurse working in Hayward who was mentored by Pretti as a student.

“I’m standing in solidarity with Alex because of his actions, and because he’s a nurse and because he worked for the VA and he supported our own vets,” she said, “and he was, you know, using his own constitutional right to have an firearm (Pretti was carrying a permitted concealed pistol when federal agents tackled him, but he did not brandish it), and that’s the main reason the Second Amendment was created, was to prevent overreach of government, to let citizens protect themselves against their own government.”

Ann Pollock resides in the Hayward area in the winter to take advantage of winter sports, cross-country skiing, fat-tire biking, and then lives in the summer in Madison. She came to the ride to protest the government’s actions and honor Pretti.  

Pollock said she knows of a family in the Twin Cities where the father, who has legal immigration status, was placed in a detention center for a week until, after a hearing where he proved his legal status, he was finally released.

“Why was he in detention all that time when he had his papers?” she asked. “It’s just wrong what the government is doing.”

 Pollock attended the ride to show solidarity with other riders and to demonstrate that there are progressives in Wisconsin’s deep-red 7th Congressional District.

Linda Shydlowski of Cable said she had been in Minneapolis on Friday, Jan. 23 to march with her daughter in a crowd of  40,000 protesters, and while she was in the Twin Cities she dropped  off food to Latino community members too afraid to come out of their houses for fear of being detained.

“We saw ICE circling around a drop-off facility in the Latino community, causing fear, and then to wake up the next morning, and you know Alex is shot. Devastating. Horrific,” she said.

Later, Shydlowski visited the memorial site constructed where Pretti had been killed.

“It was powerful to see so many people coming together in community, grieving together, those that personally knew him, those that didn’t know him at all, but we’re there in common ground, and that is for peace, for dignity of human life, and to care for each other,” she said.

While she was at the memorial, she said, she saw a man who spent over an hour on his knees crying.

She was also inspired to see two Somali women at the same site, a mother and daughter, passing out tea and a Hispanic woman offering food.

“It’s hard to know, really, what a group ride really accomplishes in light of everything going on,” said Shydlowski about the Jan. 31 bike event. “It’s such a small thing. But I think it’s powerful for people to come together and bear witness to what’s happened and ride with some hope, too, for things to get better.”

This report has been updated to correct the last name of Ian Finch.

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The annual school bus inspection training that goes above and beyond state and federal Department of Transportation requirements brings back OEM training and looks to add post-crash inspection criteria in addition to hands-on detection of defects.

Developed by school bus maintenance and inspection expert Marshall Casey for the South Carolina Department of Education, the in-depth training at STN EXPO East starts with classroom instruction on Friday, March 27. The eight-hour training will also include a written exam on the National School Bus Training manual.

On Saturday, participants attend a morning maintenance software session sponsored by Transfinder. They will then be transported to a local school district in Charlotte, North Carolina for the hands-on training which includes an overview of high-voltage school bus electrification followed by instruction on finding real defects on real school buses. Class attendees will learn how to avoid costly repairs with early detection, which also leads to less vehicle downtime and a more efficient school bus maintenance schedule in the garage.

This year, inspection training participants will also participate in a competition. They will be split into three groups to identify defects hidden on three school buses. The fastest group with the most identified defects wins prizes provided by the South Carolina Department of Education. 

Afterward, representatives of Blue Bird, IC Bus, RIDE and Thomas Built Buses will provide one-hour overview training on aspects of inspecting various components on their school buses. Topics include inspection of a propane-autogas system, inspection of a wheelchair lift, an introduction to CEEA+architecture covering system layout, XMC inputs and outputs, CAN communication, power and ground distribution and more. 

Meanwhile, the inspection training is designed based on best practices from the South Carolina Department of Education, which operates the only state-owned and operated fleet in the country. The department’s maintenance team, which serves as the hands-on inspection and classroom instructors at STN EXPO East, was recognized as one of the nation’s top 10 Garage Stars last August by School Transportation News. Participants of the training will be learning directly from some of these recognized student transportation professionals.

School bus inspection training class size is limited to 50 participants to ensure the instructors will be able to provide a thorough training experience for everyone registered. Separate registration and fee are required to attend.

Save $100 on conference registration by registering before Feb. 14. Find the full conference agenda, list of unique trainings and experiences, exhibitor lists, and hotel information at stnexpo.com/east.

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The post UPDATED: National School Bus Inspection Training Returns to STN EXPO East appeared first on School Transportation News.

As diesel school buses reach the end of their lifeline, many school districts are exploring battery-electric options as a cleaner, healthier, and more cost-effective alternative. While there may be initial concerns around workforce readiness, safety, and driver experience, the transition to electric school buses brings a host of benefits – and we’re here to help guide you through it.

Will I need to find new trained and skilled personnel to operate and maintain these new electric buses?

A successful shift to electric school buses does depend on a knowledgeable workforce, but that doesn’t mean starting from scratch. At RIDE, we offer a tiered training program that covers everything from basic maintenance to advanced technical diagnostics, designed to support your team every step of the way.

We understand that each school district has unique needs, which is why we customize our support to fit your specific requirements – whether through the RIDE customer service team or our network of authorized maintenance dealers. Our team is always just a phone call away, ready to guide you through the transition with personalized assistance every step of the way.

How do electric school buses improve rider safety?

Safety, especially battery safety, is our top priority. RIDE school buses are purpose-built and equipped with lithium-iron phosphate battery technology offering a reliable and secure solution for student transportation.

RIDE batteries undergo extensive testing including crushing, heat and puncture resistance, and come with a 12-year warranty. Through innovative technologies, rigorous testing, and comprehensive training programs, RIDE goes above and beyond to ensure battery safety – offering a level of assurance that sets us apart from our competitors in the market.

In addition to battery safety, RIDE electric school buses have successfully passed some of the most rigorous structural tests in the industry, including a side intrusion test and the Colorado Racking and Kentucky Pull Test, ensuring maximum structural integrity and safety.

Furthermore, RIDE buses are equipped with all key industry-standard safety components. Our engineering team works closely with suppliers to continuously enhance product safety from the rider’s perspective.

Will electric school buses affect driver performance?

Electric school buses are designed to enhance, not hinder, driver performance. Many drivers report a smoother and more responsive driving experience compared to diesel buses. With instant torque and regenerative braking, electric buses provide greater control and easier handling, particularly in stop-and-go traffic or on hilly routes.

The quiet operation of electric school buses heightens the driver’s ability to monitor the school bus and its passengers. The overall reduced noise level allows for clearer communication between the driver, students, and any adults on the bus, especially during emergencies or stops. The sustainable design also helps reduce harmful emissions, improving air quality for students – especially those with asthma or respiratory issues.

In addition, the quiet operation of electric buses helps reduce driver fatigue and allows for better focus. Without the constant rumble of a diesel engine, drivers can more easily hear and communicate with students, leading to a calmer and safer ride.

The shift to battery-electric school buses represents more than just a change in technology – it’s a commitment to cleaner air, healthier communities, and a more sustainable future for our students. While the transition may come with questions, solutions are already in place to support every step of the journey. Let’s take the next step forward, together.

Learn more at ride.co. Read Jason Yan’s Q&A from the July issue of School Transportation News and co-CEO Patrick Duan’s Q&A from the June issue.

The views expressed are those of the content sponsor and do not reflect those of School Transportation News.

The post Moving Forward Together Toward a Battery-Electric Future appeared first on School Transportation News.

PASADENA, Calif. — At RIDE, every mile matters, especially when it comes to the safety of our children. As we celebrate School Bus Safety Week Oct. 20–24, we’re proud to highlight how RIDE 100% battery-electric school buses are redefining safety and sustainability through advanced innovation.

“Safety isn’t just a feature — it’s our foundation,” Patrick Duan, Co-CEO RIDE Mobility said. “Our Blade Battery, built on lithium iron phosphate (LFP) technology, sets the industry standard as the safest and most reliable battery system available today.”

Designed to withstand extreme conditions and prevent thermal runaway, the award-winning and innovative Blade Battery ensures every school bus ride is as secure as it is smooth. Through rigorous testing, the Blade Battery delivers unmatched protection for children. Parents get the assurance and peace of mind they need, knowing their children are safe on their way to and home from school.

Beyond safety, RIDE’s all-electric, zero-emission buses eliminate tailpipe pollution, creating a quieter, cleaner cabin environment and contributing to a healthier community, directly benefiting the long-term respiratory health of our communities.

Based in Pasadena, California, RIDE is committed to protecting students and giving peace of mind to parents, drivers, and communities across the country. Visit ride.co to learn how RIDE is shaping the future of clean, safe student transportation.

About RIDE:
Headquartered in Pasadena, Calif., with a 550,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Lancaster, Calif., RIDE, founded in 2023, is the US spinoff of BYD. RIDE builds award-winning battery electric school buses, transit buses, motorcoaches and trucks for the U.S. market. RIDE is a union employer with a unique community benefits agreement that offers opportunities to those who have faced previous barriers to employment. A global force in clean energy and transportation, BYD is the world’s leading battery and EV manufacturer. Visit our website RIDE.CO to learn more.

The post RIDE Celebrates School Bus Safety Week appeared first on School Transportation News.

RENO, Nev. —  Transfinder took home best hardware, software and safety technology awards for the second consecutive year and RIDE won best green technology for the third year in a row, as judged by STN EXPO West attendees during the trade show held July 14 and 15.

The 153 attendees who cast votes in the fourth annual STN EXPO Innovation Choice Awards represented a rise in participation from last year’s 125 votes. Exhibitor and guest votes were not counted. Eligible voters represented school districts, state or federal organizations, Head Start agencies, and school bus contractors.

To be eligible for an entry, participating trade show vendors had to introduce a new, market-ready product between January 2024 and July 2025. STN EXPO attendees voted by scanning a QR code at participating company booths.

The Schenectady, New York, company received 114 votes for Best Safety Technology, 123 votes for Best Hardware and 121 votes for Best Software. It was the fourth year in a row that Transfinder won the Best Software category, the third consecutive year winning Best Hardware, and the second year it took all three categories.

Transfinder entered the three products in all three categories.

Stopfinder Digital Card ID turns a student’s Android or IOS cellphone into their ID card. “This advancement eliminates the need for substituting RFID cards and/or replacing lost costs. This technology augments Transfinder’s parent app Stopfinder, providing parents peace of mind that their child made the bus and tracking the bus’s location,” Transfinder stated in its nomination.

Meanwhile, Transfinder Enterprise includes everything from route visibility to attendance routing, posts to student lookup. Transfinder’s Wayfinder ETA dashboard and real-time capability can now be shared with school building personnel and other stakeholders in Viewfinder. This capability enhances communication. Additionally, using the driver app, Wayfinder, the most efficient route based on student riders can be generated.

“For example, a late bus can have different students riding different days depending on the activities they participate in,” Transfinder stated. “When students scan their ID cards as they get on the late bus, for example, the safest and most efficient route is created for the driver.”

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Related: Innovation Awards Returns to STN EXPO, Vote on Site
Related: (STN Podcast E265) Onsite at STN EXPO West: Innovations & Partnerships for School Transportation Success
Related: Transfinder Scores Hat Trick with STN EXPO Innovation Choice Awards

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Users can post on any record type, such as student, trip or vehicle to facilitate a conversation around that record. The information is then accessible across all Transfinder solutions.

Transfinder said its map incidents solution tackles a growing concern of students crossing by adding a functionality in Routefinder PLUS to “view where students not just cross the street to get on the bus but what streets they cross on their way to the bus. With PLUS, users can embed trip and street data and logic into their maps and trips, making it easier for routers to design safer trips.”

Transfinder noted, adding the data is then viewed on Wayfinder.

Meanwhile, BYD electric school bus spinoff RIDE was unopposed last month in the green technology category. The manufacturer was attendees’ choice for the third consecutive year, this time for its blade battery (below). The manufacturer won the same category last year for its Type C “Creator” and in 2023 for its Type A “Achiever.” The lithium iron phosphate blade battery features a direct cell-to-pack design, utilizing thin “blade-like” cells that eliminate the need for conventional modules.

The post Transfinder, RIDE Win Big with STN EXPO Innovation Awards appeared first on School Transportation News.