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Morning Update: Tuesday, August 24

Good Morning, Madison.

Just as a quick reminder, due to our new email platform:

❌ Don't reply to this email. We won't get your reply if you do. If you reply to the emails we send through Bulletin (our new email platform) they go to a strange black hole. I'm sure this will be fixed one day, but for now, do not reply directly to the email newsletters.

🟢 Do keep the conversation going by sending us feedback at contact@madisonminutes.com. We still want to hear from you! This is just a weird technical glitch. To get your message to us, start a new email (or forward this one with your note) to contact@madisonminutes.com.

Hope you have a good Tuesday!

- Sam

🎭 Audiences will be masked for the foreseeable future. But what about the performers?

  • It's easy to see why, logistically, that could be tricky for some artists and musicians. The Cap Times reports that local arts leaders are lobbying for an exception.

💵 Wisconsin residents who get vaccinated between August 20 and Labor Day (September 6) will be eligible to receive a $100 Visa gift card.

  • What if I got vaccinated earlier? Congratulations! Your prize is a greatly reduced risk of being hospitalized or dying from Covid-19. You will not receive a gift card, however.

🧾 State employees will now be required to share whether or not they've been vaccinated.

  • There's not a vaccine mandate for state employees at this time, but employees have to share their status by September 9th.

🏀 Six Wisconsinites will represent Team USA at the Tokyo Paralympics.

  • And for the first time, NBC will be airing the games during primetime, WPR reports.
  • "I'm so pumped that it's going to be televised in a way like Paralympics has never been televised in the States," athlete Joe Delagrave said.

🏫 Madison school board member Nicki Vander Meulen wants a board vote on whether to require vaccines for staff members.

  • Vander Meulen supports a vaccine mandate for staff.
  • "To attend a concert at Sylvee, get a drink at Woof’s, eat at Robinia Courtyard or see a show at the Overture Center I need to prove I am vaccinated,” she wrote.
  • The Cap Times notes that, up until this point, the school board has allowed administrators to make decisions on Covid-19 safety measures.  As of now, vaccination is not required for school staff.
  • Related: Dr. Anthony Fauci: Expect 'a flood' of COVID-19 vaccine mandates after full FDA approval (USA Today)

📆 Hey, what are you doing tonight? Here are some ideas, pulled from our events post.

  • Adventure Under the Sea: virtual, interactive tour of the award-winning Texas State Aquarium. Hosted by DreamBank. 11 a.m.-12 p.m. Free.
  • Find more things to do this week here.

📚 Your lunchtime read: Nearly 200 Wisconsin officers back on the job after being fired or forced out (Wisconsin Watch)

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