Morning Update

The burger of your dreams (or nightmares) is back

Morning update: Wednesday, Oct. 5

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Happy Wednesday, y'all,

It started as a joke, then turned into a one-day-mega event, and now, it's back.

Culver's announced it will bring its (in)famous CurderBurger back to stores next week. And this time, it's sticking around for more than just the day.

In case you somehow missed it last year, I'll catch you up. The Sauk-City-based fast food chain first introduced the idea of "one big Wisconsin cheese curd under a lightly buttered, toasted bun" as an April Fool's joke in 2019. But, being Wisconsin, people weren't satisfied with just a joke, they wanted the real thing.

In October 2021, the fast food chain decided to answer the peoples' prayers and bring the monstrous CurderBurger to life for one day only. What happened next was simply chaos.

Lines wrapped around parking lots (seriously, you'd think people were waiting to sniff a corpse flower!), Culver's locations in Madison sold out of the special menu item by lunchtime, and a few entrepreneurial-minded folks tried to make a buck selling "still warm!" burgers.

"[I]t was unlike anything that I had ever personally experienced in my 30 years in this industry," Culver’s director of menu development Quinn Adkins recently told the Cap Times.

This time around, the chain will offer the burger from Oct. 12 through the end of the month. Each Culver's will get a limited supply so while you shouldn't have to make an 8 a.m. trek to the drive-thru to get one, don't sleep on it either.

Did you manage to snag a coveted CurderBurger last year? Was it worth the hype? Will we ever be free from its cheesy grasp? Time will tell.

— Hayley

Madison Minutes thanks our advertising partners. Become one.

🍂 Don't put your brush out on the curb.

The city is done collecting it for 2022. If you need to get rid of any brush, the Streets Division drop-off sites will accept it from Madison residents year round (bring proof of residency if you plan on using this service).
Of note: Brush is not the same as yard waste. Brush collection is ending because the same crews will soon be out picking up yard waste and leaves. As the city puts it, brush is material that can be chipped into mulch, and yard waste gets composted.

⚖️ Nothing special about this special session.

Gov. Tony Evers called the Legislature into a special session to pave a way for Wisconsinites to repeal the state's 1849 criminal abortion ban by creating a statewide binding referendum process.
The Legislature convened Tuesday, but — and as we've become accustomed to seeing with these special sessions — took no action. GOP lawmakers adjourned the session without discussion and without a vote, despite the vocal objections of some Democratic state representatives.
The bigger picture: This isn't the first time Evers has called a special session to no avail. He's used the tactic in the past to highlight several issues, including gun control and Medicaid expansion.

🚧 The Plan Commission just approved a major downtown housing development.

The Plan Commission on Monday unanimously approved a proposal for 121 E. Wilson St. that will bring housing, food, and a public promenade leading to the Lake Monona waterfront.
The new building will be 14 stories with 337 residential units, all of which will be priced at market rate (so no affordable housing), Cap Times reports.
City Council will have the final say on the development at their Oct. 11 meeting.

🥡 Knoche's butcher shop found a buyer.

ICYMI: The longtime local butcher shop put its store up for sale in September. After 84 years in business, the third-generation owners are ready to retire.
The owners of the Middleton-based Chinese restaurant Taigu have purchased the shop at 5372 Old Middleton Rd. As the State Journal reports, Taigu's owner isn't sure when the new spot will open or what they plan to do with the restaurant's current location at 7610 Elmwood Ave.
Konche's last day in business will be Oct. 15.

🥐 Bloom Bake Shop is growing.

The Monroe Street bakery is taking over the empty space next door, formerly occupied by Crescendo Espresso Bar. Isthmus reports the cafe will remain a physically a separate store and customers will still be able to buy items to-go at the bakery.
Bloom's owners say they hope construction on the new space will begin later this month with plans for a late winter (or early spring) opening.
If you'll recall: Crescendo closed its location at 1859 Monroe St. in July so the owners could focus their attention on the Hilldale location.

🥒 Your lunchtime read: Technology, logistics make food-scrap composting in Wisconsin a challenge.

Via Wisconsin Watch: "Until recently, the University of Wisconsin-Madison had a successful program to compost discarded food.

Starting in 2009, the university collected food scraps at campus cafeterias to send to the West Madison Agricultural Research Station for composting. In 2018, the university began bringing scraps to an anaerobic biodigester, now owned by Clean Fuel Partners LLC. There, the waste was converted into methane for fuel.

But the company changed its focus, leading it to drop its partnership with UW-Madison in 2021."

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