Sign up

Morning Update: Tuesday, Nov. 9

Morning Update: Tuesday, Nov. 9

Dane county's budget + fights at school + Take Me Home Tuesday

Madison Minutes is a free daily morning newsletter. Sign up here to get the scoop on news and events in our community.

Happy Tuesday, Madison.

On Monday, the Bucks became the first NBA champions to visit the White House in nearly five years.

President Joe Biden welcomed the championship-winning squad by praising them for their achievements on the court as well as their efforts to promote COVID-19 vaccinations and activism following the 2020 police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha.

“You took a stand for justice and peace in the wake of the Jacob Blake shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and you’ve gotten people engaged,” Biden said.

MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo escorted Biden to the podium before the ceremony and Biden touted Antetokounmpo's story as a triumph of hard work and dedication. Antetokounmpo was clearly proud of the recognition and voiced his support and dedication to his teammates.

“I’m proud of my teammates that we were able to stay in the locker room, talk about it, voice our opinion," he said. "I was able to take a stand for something I believe in.”

Cheers to the deers!

— Hayley

🏫 A fight at Madison East High School ended in police and pepper spray.

  • Multiple fights broke out at Madison's East High School yesterday. More than a dozen police responded and left eight students seeking medical treatment after cops used pepper spray in attempt to break up the fights. Five students were taken to the hospital for treatment but all are expected to be fine.
  • What happened? Around 11:30 a.m., a fight broke out in the school's Welcome Center, during which someone pulled a fire alarm and students went outside where additional fights broke out. Firefighters arrived on scene and eventually cleared the building for re-entry. School officials report most students went back to class at this time, but a small group stayed outside where the fighting continued. School staff and police tried to break things up but as the situation escalated, police used pepper spray to disperse the crowd. Ultimately, one student was cited for assaulting an officer, and another was cited for having an edged weapon.
  • Parents, students, and school officials alike have all raised safety concerns surrounding the recent bouts of violence at the school. At a press conference at the school Monday, MMSD superintendent Carlton Jenkins said the next step the district must take is to address these safety concerns. The high school has a student population of more than 1,700.
“The next step for us is how we move from this situation to assure that every student in MMSD can walk through our doors and feel safe. We’re going to continue to work to try to make sure that we’re putting the appropriate resources around our students to support them, staff need support as well, so we can have a safe learning environment that values each student, each staff, each community member that comes in touch with the school.” — MMSD superintendent Carlton Jenkins

💰 Dane County has a 2022 budget. County Executive Joe Parisi just has to sign it.

  • The numbers: The County Board approved the operating and capital budgets Monday night. The operating came in at $660,577,196, while the capital budget came in at $94,175,900. Taxes on the average home in the county will go up by $67.87, an increase of 4.4%.
  • What's included: $3.25 million to convert a hotel into housing for people experiencing homelessness, $1.5 million to fund a tiny house project, $200,000 to expand gun violence prevention, $500,000 for park accessibility project, $3.2 million for eight natural-gas-powered snowplows.
  • What's missing: Notably absent from the budget is additional funding for the massive Dane County Jail project. An amendment to add another $23 million in borrowing for the new jail failed to make it out of committee, the State Journal reports.

🗳️ State Rep. Sara Rodriguez announced a bid for lieutenant governor.

😻 Happy Take Me Home Tuesday! Meet Sadie.

  • This 14-year-old sweet girl is very friendly and enjoys pets. She’s looking for a relaxing retirement home where she can sunbathe and snuggle up with her new family. For more information on Sadie, check out the Instagram post below.

🚨 Madison Police are looking for a car involved in a hit-and-run with a bicyclist.

  • According to an incident report, the hit-and-run happened around 10:30 p.m. near Fish Hatchery Road and South Park Street. A 21-year-old bicyclist was hit by the vehicle and was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. Police are now looking for a dark sedan, possibly a Dodge Charger, with significant front-end damage. Tips can be made anonymously to Madison Area Crime Stoppers at (608) 266-6014, or at p3tips.com.

📚 The Madison School Board will vote on Memorial High's new name this month.

  • Some context: A committee of community members tasked with renaming James Madison Memorial High School voted 10-1 last month in favor of naming the school Vel Phillips Memorial High School.
  • The school board will have the final say on the name when they take up the matter at their Nov. 22 meeting, the State Journal reports.

👠 Your lunchtime read: Born to run (and strut): UW student makes art with endurance in mind.

  • From the Cap Times: "Van Note, a second year master’s student in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Interdisciplinary Theatre Studies program, has made a 26-year-long commitment to annually complete a marathon followed by a runway walk in heels on his exhausted legs. He does it all in the name of a performance art piece he calls “Endurance Queen,” which strives to make others ponder the point of perseverance in the face of difficulty."

🦠 Covid-19 Resources

Wisconsin Vaccination Rate: 55.1%

Dane County Vaccination Rate: 71.7%

Here's where to find a COVID-19 vaccine near you.

Need a COVID-19 test? PHMDC has you covered.

Are you eligible for a third dose of Pfizer or Moderna? Find out here.

NEW: Do you still need your flu shot? Start here.

📅  Events: Tuesday, Nov. 9

For more events happening around town, check out our dedicated events post here.

📝 Miss a day? Read past newsletters here.

📅 Want to share an event with us? Submit details here.

🗣️ Want your message to reach Madison? Learn about our advertising options.

📨 Need something else? Email us at contact@madisonminutes.com.

🤝 We could really use your support. Keep Madison Minutes going by becoming a supporting member today.

(Header image via Bohao Zhao)

Read next