Morning update: Wednesday, Sept. 1

Good morning, Madison!

It's September. How did we get here? Does time mean anything anymore? Do we care? I digress.

Last week, Sam went on a fun lil' reporting trip to The Boneyard and made some furry friends along the way. It may or may not be exactly what it sounds like. Scroll down for pictures and the full story (along with the rest of today's news)!

— Hayley

⛺ City Council OKs Reindahl Park encampment relocation.

• Some context: The encampment at Reindahl Park was initially set up as a temporary solution at the onset of the pandemic for those experiencing homelessness. After a series of attempts to shut it down, the number of people living in the park has continued to grow — an estimated 67 people currently reside in the park — and conditions have been deemed "unsafe."
• Last night, the council unanimously approved a plan from Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and six council members to use city-owned space on the Southeast Side as a new temporary campsite for people experiencing homelessness.
• The resolution declares the area is under a state of emergency because of the threat of COVID-19 spread and other unsafe conditions.
• The new site, located at 3202 Dairy Drive will serve up to 30 people and include "temporary shelter structures and contracting with a social service provider to operate the campground," the State Journal reports. Funding for the $2 million project comes from federal coronavirus relief money.
• While the measure is a welcomed one, homeless advocates say the new location is an unideal spot — located in an industrial part of the city, it's a far walk to the nearest grocery store, bus stop, or resource center.

💉 The wife of a COVID-stricken state senator is urging vaccination.

• DePere Republican Sen. Andre Jacque was one of the loudest critics of COVID-19 vaccines. Now that he's on a ventilator after contracting the virus, his wife Renée is asking people to get the shot.
• "While vaccination is a personal choice, I ask that those individuals who are eligible and able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine please consider placing their trust in the medical professionals who recommend it."

🗳️ Is she running? Not officially....yet.

• Former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch released a set of policy proposals from her nonprofit group that looks suspiciously like a campaign platform.
• The republican who served eight years with former Gov. Scott Walker has also filed the proper paperwork to register a gubernatorial campaign committee, though a spokesman for Kleefisch told the Cap Times that she's still just considering her options for 2022.

🖥️ Madison Metropolitan School District received a surprising amount of applications for its virtual school program.

• Roughly 750 families applied for the 4k-5 grade program — a number that is nearly five times what the district had initially planned for.
• According to reporting from the Cap Times, Madison Teachers Inc. is working with the district to staff the program.

⚽ Your lunchtime read: 'Soccer is the international language.' Pickup games resume on UW campus, bringing together an international community.

• For Madison365, Shezad Baloch takes a look at the unique community undeterred by language barriers and brought together by the love for the game.

🐕 Madison's first combination dog park and bar is open starting today.

• Sure, you can take your dog to a lot of bars. But The Boneyard is designed for maximum fun for both dogs and people.
• Inside, there's a full bar. Outside, there's an area with tables and a designated off-leash area where pups can do zoomies uninhibited. There's a fee for each dog that you bring. And yep, you're going to have to sign a waiver.
• Address: 1018 Walsh Rd. Madison, WI 53714.

🏨 What's next for HotelRed? Probably apartments.

• Prominent local developer Steve Brown Apartments wants to turn the shuttered boutique hotel into 50 apartments with retail space, the State Journal reports.
• The developer is looking to make "modest renovations" to the concrete and red glass building. “We intend to reactivate this notable property as efficiently as possible and with the least amount of disruption to the surrounding community," Dan Seely, the company’s director of development and special projects told the State Journal.
• Developers hope to begin renovation this winter and complete the project by spring 2022.

💨 Take a deep breath, air pollution in the SASY neighborhood is down.

• A new report shows the air pollution in the Schenk-Atwood-Starkweather-Yahara neighborhood dropped from 2019 to 2020.
• According to WORT, 10 air quality monitors were placed throughout the neighborhood in 2018, primarily due to "ongoing concerns over air pollution from the Madison-Kipp Corporation."
• Madison-Kipp has been part of the neighborhood for decades but faced backlash and distrust from the community when the corporation failed to tell residents that it accidentally released potentially toxic gas into the neighborhood in 1995. (Yikes.)
• Partially related: Fire at Kipp Corporation causes $245K in damage (via Channel 3000)