Good morning, Madison!

It's been a few days since I've had the chance to grace your inboxes and I'm so excited to be back. Big thanks to Sam who covered everything so smoothly while I was on vacation.

Today marks my first time sending our beloved Madison Minutes via our new platform Bulletin, so if anything looks a little wonky, please bear with me because I'm learning too.

Now, let's dive into the news.

— Hayley

🚌 A lack of bus drivers is forcing a change in school start times.

  • The Madison Metropolitan School District is adjusting start and end times for many schools due to the lack of drivers.
  • District spokesperson Tim LeMonds told reporters that the changes would only be temporary and the district hopes to be staffed up on drivers by the time second semester rolls around.
  • Channel 3000 has a full list of the new start and end times for Madison's elementary, middle, and high schools.

🚨 Don't get scammed: Madison Police are not raising funds for injured officers.

  • The Madison Police Department is warning residents of a fraudulent fundraising scam where a caller claimed to be collecting money for injured officers.
  • According to an incident report, a Wisconsin resident received the call from a number with a 608 area code. MPD has reiterated that they are not involved in any telephone-based fundraising efforts.

🇱🇺 From Milwaukee to Luxembourg.

📚 Virtual learning will continue for some Madison students.

  • MMSD's new virtual learning option for 6-12 graders received 452 applications. Of those, the district is offering 234 admissions, the Cap Times reports.
  • The district launched the Madison Promise program in part because some students found they did well in the virtual environment, and to address ongoing health and safety concerns over in-person schooling.
  • Earlier this year, the school board voted to allocate $840,000 in the budget to get the program started.

✈️ Fasten your seatbelts and prepare for takeoff.

  • The Dane County Regional Airport is on the road to post-pandemic recovery as more non-stop flights are returning for service.
  • The Cap Times reports that non-stop flights will soon be offered to Las Vegas and Miami, bringing the airport's total non-stop flight offering up to 15. Still short from its pre-COVID list of 24.

🎨 Madison's CultivARTE Collective is a space where Latin American art and culture can be appreciated and understood.

  • The group is holding its first Latinx Art Festival on Aug. 28 from 1 - 6 p.m. in the Sherman Avenue United Methodist Church parking lot, Tone Madison reports.
  • The festival is open to everyone, and admission is free. The goal with this, and the event's location, is to foster inclusivity and accessibility. The festival will showcase art in a variety of mediums with a focus on environmental themes.

⚽ Forward Madison ended its six-game unbeaten streak.

📅  Your events calendar for today:

One more thing...

❌ 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.

😺 Of course Ozzy and Billie have to make their Bulletin debut, too!