Morning Update

The Super Bowl's best boy

An inspirational one-time Madisonian made a Super Bowl appearance Sunday.

In this newsletter

Scout helped highlight work at the UW School of Veterinary Medicine, and encouraged viewers to donate to the school’s cancer research efforts. Photo via UW-Madison

Good morning, Madison!

An inspirational one-time Madisonian made a Super Bowl appearance Sunday. (And I'm not talking about either of the former Badgers who played in the game.)

Scout the golden retriever was briefly featured in an ad during the big game.

In case you don't know his story, Scout came to Madison in 2019 for cancer treatment at the university’s vet school. He stole hearts in 2020 when his treatment journey was featured in a commercial during Super Bowl LIV.

Sadly, Scout passed away in March 2020, but his legacy continues to live on. His work helped raise more than $1 million to fund research and new technology for the school.

What a good boy.

— Hayley

🛍️ The Night Market cometh.

Mark your calendars for the return of Madison's Night Market. The season kicks off May 11 and the application for vendors will be available soon.
The other market dates are June 8, Aug. 10, Sept. 14, and Oct. 19.

🌮 From food cart to King Street.

The owners of Cultura Cali food cart are opening a restaurant in the former downtown Muramoto at 108 King St.
The new spot will be called Jalisco Cocina Mexicana and serve much of the same menu items as the popular food cart, including their well-loved tacos, burritos, and nachos. The owners hope to open the restaurant in March, according to the State Journal.

🚔 What MPD says about the state of crime in Madison.

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes delivered a State of Public Safety Address last week detailing crime data from 2022. Here are the highlights.
Trending down: The city saw a decrease in many violent crimes in 2022. Shots fired calls were down 39% and aggravated assaults involving guns were down 14% compared to 2021. There were six homicides in 2022, representing a 40% decrease from 2021.
Trending up: There was a spike in non-residential burglaries — a 43% increase compared to 2021.
Dive deeper: Madison police chief addresses downward trend in violent crime, rise in some burglaries (NBC15)

😷 More free Covid-19 tests!

Wisconsinites can now get two free Covid-19 test kits each month.
The tests come courtesy of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Each kit comes with five individual tests. Since the program's launch in September 2022, more than 1.6 million test kit orders have been placed. Safe to say, all the cool kids are doing it.

⛸️ Your lunchtime read: Skating on changing ice, in a shifting climate.

Via Tone Madison: "I promised my friend Sarah I would teach her how to skate this winter. We’d go to the lagoon at Tenney. She’d push one of those supports ’til she was confident on her feet alone. For three weekends now I’ve had to cancel our tentative plans for lessons. It’s late January, and the city rinks are barely open."

📬

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🎙️ Today on City Cast Madison

*Photo provided by Protasiewicz campaign*

Why this Milwaukee Judge Wants Your Vote

There’s an election next week, one the New York Times said carries bigger policy stakes than ANY other contest in America this year. And that’s for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The court currently has four conservative justices and three liberal justices, so the balance of power is riding on this race. Any number of issues including the right to abortion, control of the state’s political maps and how elections are conducted could be decided by this court.

There are four candidates in the running - and we’ve invited them all on the show.

Today, we’re speaking with Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz.

The primary election is Tuesday, February 21st. The top two candidates will advance to the general election on April 4th.To look up where you vote - or what you need to do to register- check out My Vote Wisconsin.

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