Morning Update

Bringing home the gold

Morning update: Tuesday, Aug. 23

In this newsletter

Happy Tuesday, Madison!

It's finally time for our mullet saga to come to a close. But thankfully, this story comes with a happy ending.

Menomonie's own Emmitt Bailey, aka Mullet Boy, was crowned the winner of the kids’ division of the USA Mullet Championships.

Bailey beat out 688 other young contestants, winning the competition with 9,896 votes.

Along with the championship title, Bailey will also receive a $2,500 cash prize, which he plans to spend on a go-kart. Good for you, Mullet Boy, good for you.

— Hayley

💉 It just got easier to schedule a monkeypox vaccine appointment.

Public Health Madison and Dane County (PHMDC) announced Monday it launched an online scheduling system for monkeypox vaccination appointments.
Need to know: You can schedule an appointment two weeks in advance. If there isn't an appointment available that fits your schedule, sign up for the cancelation waitlist. New appointments open up daily.
Are you eligible for the vaccine? Check here. If you have general questions about the disease, check out this helpful fact sheet from the Wisconsin DHS.
Related: Monkeypox & Covid-19 risk mitigation plans ahead of UW fall semester (Channel 3000)

Learn the signs and symptoms of #MonkeypoxVirus https://t.co/9uBoh1QkZf #monkeypox #Wisconsin pic.twitter.com/MbksygQUjt
— WIDeptHealthServices (@DHSWI) August 16, 2022

👮‍♀️ Where does the Dane County jail project stand?

Last week, the Dane County Board of Supervisors voted against three proposed plans for the long-stalled jail consolidation project, leaving its future murky at best.
But first, some context: The county has been working for years to consolidate its jail facilities and shut down the troubled 1950s-style jail at the City-County Building that has been deemed inhumane. Rising costs of materials and inflation, however, have pushed the project millions of dollars over budget and the left the county struggling to figure out a path forward.
The State Journal reports some supervisors have suggested pulling $10 million of the county's reserve fund to close the funding gap on the project. While that idea was met with immediate backlash from some board members, it's not out of the question.
The County's Black Caucus put together a proposal for a 725-bed, five-story jail that included calls for criminal justice reform and reducing racial disparities in the jail's population, 53% of which is Black, whereas only 6% of Dane County is Black. The proposal was three votes shy of success and did not have the support of the sheriff.

"They didn't think the 725-bed jail was sustainable, but it begs the question: What are you trying to sustain? Is it the racial disparities? Why are you trying to keep the status quo?" — Dane County Sup. April Kigeya, District 15

🥵 Heat indexes could reach 125 degrees on the isthmus by 2050.

A new study published last week by the nonprofit First Street Foundation predicts climate change will create an “extreme heat belt” that stretches across the middle of the country from Texas to Wisconsin bringing heat indexes of 125 degrees and higher.
The National Weather Service considers heat indexes of that level to be "extremely dangerous," and could lead to lethal consequences for millions of Americans.
What is the heat index? According to the National Weather Service, heat index, also known as the apparent temperature, is what the temperature feels like to the human body when relative humidity of shaded areas is combined with the air temperature.

🚙 Down: Traffic deaths. Up: Car thefts.

The first six months of 2022 saw fewer traffic fatalities and serious injuries compared to the same timeframe in 2021.
Traffic numbers: Crashes decreased by 5% and fatalities and serious injuries fell by 40% citywide. On East Washington Avenue specifically, however, crashes rose by 6% while fatalities and serious injuries decreased by 33%, the State Journal reports.
Violent crime in the city is also down but the number of stolen cars around town continues to climb. In 2020, police reported 195 stolen vehicles, that number rose to 210 in 2021 and to 273 this year. The increase is largely due to criminals finding vulnerabilities in Kias and Hyundais that make them easier to steal.
Related: Pedestrian deaths increased by 8 percent in Wisconsin in 2021 (WPR)

😿 DCHS is facing a critical staff shortage.

A combination of variables including veterinarian shortages and rising inflation costs have led to an increase in people surrendering pets.
Channel 3000 reports DCHS is reaching crisis levels of overpopulation and staff shortages.

📣 Your lunchtime read: Kenosha 2 years later: How a Wisconsin city became a political flashpoint.

Via Cap Times: "At the intersection of 22nd Avenue and 63rd Street in Kenosha, there’s an empty lot undergoing construction.

Go back in time two years, and that lot is the location of La Estrella Supermarket, a Latino grocery store, and Uptown Restaurant, which served breakfast food. On a hot summer night in August 2020, those businesses burned to the ground."