Morning Update

More than just a little lucky

A Fitchburg woman has officially set a new Guinness World Record for having the world's largest four-leaf clover collection.

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Photo by kiki Wang / Unsplash

Happy Monday, Madison!

Here's a bit of just-for-fun news to kick off your week. A Fitchburg woman has officially set a new Guinness World Record for having the world's largest four-leaf clover collection.

Gabriella Gerhardt started her collection back in 2010 and got the title over the weekend when officials certified her collection of nearly 120,000 four-leaf clovers.

Gerhardt is no stranger to setting clover records. She also holds the title of most four-leaf clovers collected by an individual in 8 hours and the most four-leaf clovers collected in 1 hour.

Talk about dedication (and maybe a little luck)!

— Hayley

🛍️ The Madison Public Market cleared a critical final hurdle.

CUNA Mutual Group recently announced a $1.5 million donation to the Madison Public Market, pushing it past a key funding threshold needed to make the project a reality.
Next steps: A city-county board must still approve the funding. Construction is expected to start later this year with a tentative open date in 2025.
Some context: The public market has been in the works for about 15 years. The market is set to take over the two-story, 45,000-square-foot, city-owned building at 200 N. First St., which is currently used as a temporary men's homeless shelter.

✨ Shantay you stay.

East High School held its inaugural student-led drag show Friday night. The event was originally planned for January but became the target of several right-wing media outlets, prompting safety concerns.
The Friday event featured seven performers and drew roughly 175 people, according to the State Journal.
"When we celebrate through drag, it is an art form that is specific to the queer community that is also a sign of our resilience and the fact that we are still alive today and giving homage to those who came before us," East English teacher Mars Subola told the outlet.

First image: Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway. Second image: Gloria Reyes.

🗳️ Don't forget about the debate tonight.

Mayoral candidates Satya Rhodes-Conway and Gloria Reyes will participate in a debate tonight at Central Library from 6-7:30 p.m. The event is free with registration.
About the candidates: Incumbent Rhodes-Conway was elected mayor in 2019. She is the city's second female and first out LGBTQ+ person to serve in the role. Reyes is a former Madison Police officer and deputy mayor to Paul Soglin. Reyes has also served on the school board and currently runs a consulting business.
Related: Dane County Sees High Voter Turnout As Reyes, Rhodes-Conway Move Forward (WORT)

🏫 A memorial service for Rebecca Blank.

Services to honor former UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank will be held Saturday, March 4 at the First Congregational United Church of Christ.
There will also be a reception at Union South following the service, and the community is invited to attend both events. A livestream will be available for the service.
Blank's family asked the community to wear Wisconsin Red in her honor.

💔 Your lunchtime read: Death on a Dairy Farm

Via ProPublica: "When an 8-year-old Nicaraguan boy was run over on a Wisconsin dairy farm, authorities blamed his father and closed the case. Meanwhile, the community of immigrant workers knows a completely different story."
Content warning: This story contains a description of a child’s fatal injuries.

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🎙️ Today on City Cast Madison

Why Madison’s Flag Gets an A+ Rating

It isn’t every day your city’s flag gets voted one of the best in the country. But that’s what happened when the North American Vexillological Association got together to rate the designs of a whopping 312 flags.

Ted Kaye, the nation’s foremost authority on flag design and author of the NAVA booklet “‘Good’ Flag, ‘Bad’ Flag,” talks with host Bianca Martin about what makes a well-designed flag, why Madison’s flag is so strong (but our state flag … not so much), and how we would go about designing a City Cast Madison flag.

Listen now