So...was that snow?

Happy Friday, Team!

Did anyone else look out their window yesterday and feel a mild panic upon seeing snow falling to the ground?!

There's some good news — it wasn't really snow. It was graupel.

WTF is graupel? Great question, I had the same thought myself.

According to the National Weather Service, graupel forms when snowflakes from high in the sky collect supercooled raindrops on their surfaces as they reach the ground. It's also called hominy snow, snow pellets, or soft hail.

Breathe easy, Madison. Winter is coming, but we've still got some fall to get through.

— Hayley

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🍎 MMSD is still short more than 100 teachers.

• We're more than one month into the school year and the Madison Metropolitan School District still has about 124 teaching vacancies. The district is struggling to find substitutes, too.
• School officials told Cap Times the district is working on "a robust hiring plan, recruitment plan" but the fill rate for subs is just below 50%.
• Want to help? Here's more information on becoming a substitute.

🧠 There's another Genius in town.

• Monica Kim has become the fifth UW-Madison professor to receive the coveted MacArthur Fellowship, which comes with an unrestricted "genius grant" of $800,000.
• Kim is a historian who studies the "dynamics between U.S. empire, race and decolonization by tracking the changes in warfare over the course of the 20th century." She came to UW-Madison in 2020 and specializes in the history of the Korean War.
• In addition to Kim, three other people with (looser) UW-Madison ties were awarded "genius grants."

🏘 The Dairy Drive tiny homes are sticking around.

• The City Council voted this week to extend services at the Dairy Drive Tiny Home community through 2023.
• The tiny house site was set up last year to provide temporary shelters for people experiencing homelessness. The project was initially funded with federal Covid-19 relief funds, so its longevity was never promised.
• So far, the community has been a success, WORT reports. Roughly 50 people have come through the campground since it opened and 20 of them have moved on to permanent housing.

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🏨 A west side hotel could soon become apartments.

• A California development company wants to turn the Radisson Hotel at 517 Grand Canyon Dr. into studio and one-bedroom apartments.
• The State Journal reports if the city approves a zoning change from "commercial corridor to commercial corridor-transactional," work could begin in February and be completed by June.
• City Council President Keith Furman, who represents the site, told the news outlet he's excited about the project and expects to see increased development in the area.

🏆 The class of 2026 is already breaking records at UW-Madison.

• This year's freshman class is not only the largest in UW-Madison's history, it's also one of the most diverse.
• The numbers: According to the university, the class of 2026 totals 8,628 students, a 1.9% increase over last year’s class. Applications were up 11.9% from the prior year. Students of color make up 31.2% of the class, up from 25.2% last year.

🥳 Your lunchtime read: UW Odyssey Project turns 20: Grads recount how it's changed their lives.

• From the Wisconsin State Journal: "For two decades, the UW Odyssey Project’s curriculum has been teaching literature and the humanities. But teaching students to value themselves and their dreams has been equally important.
  
  The project is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, as nearly 600 students have graduated from the program since 2003. [...]
  
  Around 30 people are accepted into the Odyssey Project each year and are registered as a special class of part-time UW-Madison students. It includes a six-credit course in the humanities, split over two semesters, for people who are low-income or facing other barriers to education. Approximately 95% of students are people of color."

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📅 Events: The weekend

Multiple days

• Wisconsin Book Festival, multiple locations, through Sunday
• Wisconsin Science Festival, multiple locations, through Sunday
• Sublime Violin & Journeys at Overture Center for the Arts, Friday through Sunday

Today

• Amina Figarova Group at Cafe Coda
• 80s Rewind - Stranger Things Edition at Crucible
• Atlas Improv Presents: The Cut at Atlas Improv Co.
• The FLAVOR THAT KILLS + NOVAGOLDE at Dark Horse Artbar
• Foraging Friday  at Elver Park
• King Princess at The Sylvee
• Madison Night Market/Science on the Square Fusion
• MOTH MADISON GRANDSLAM CHAMPIONSHIP at The Barrymore Theatre
• ROCKTOBER with WORT-FM at Harmony Bar and Grill
• Rod Tuffcurls and The Bench Press at Majestic Theatre
• Sublime Violin & Journeys at Overture Center for the Arts
• WALL-E (2008) at Union South

Saturday

• 4th Point with Up & Up at BarleyPop Live
• Bark & Wine: Wildlife Edition at Dane County Humane Society
• Kip Moore at The Sylvee
• Bubbler in the Neighborhood at Monroe Street Library
• The Colors of Fall Arboretum Garden Tour at UW Arboretum
• Garden Babies: Halloween Season at Madison Children's Museum
• Gary Gulman at Comedy on State
• Grown Up Show at Harmony Bar & Grill
• Hop Haus Beer Run at Hop Haus Brewing Company
• Mad Science at Overture Center
• Madison Jazz Jam at Cafe CODA
• Monstersongs at Crucible
• Masquerade: Horror Show at Crucible
• ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY PARTY! at Dark Horse Artbar
• Passing the Mic Public Showcase at Memorial Union
• Said the Sky at Liquid Madison
• Back to the Future (1985) screening at Union South

Sunday

• 6th Annual Puptoberfest at Wisconsin Brewing
• Arlo McKinley at High Noon Saloon
• Artist and Scientist Discussion at Arts + Literature Laboratory
• BettySoo at Kiki's House of Righteous Music
• Fea at Mickey's Tavern
• HEARTBREAK HORRORSHOW! Stories and More of Disasters in Dating at The Rigby
• Joel Ross Good Vibes at Wisconsin Union Theater
• Kendall Street Company + Tenth Mountain Division at The Bur Oak
• Nature Hike at UW Arboretum
• Pop Up with Best In Madison Artist Xizhou Xie! at Hilldale
• Sunday Cinematheque at the Chazen: The Pit and the Pendulum at Chazen Museum of Art
• WUD Games Weekly Game Night at the Sett

🐶 Friday Floof

Thank god it's Friday, am I right? Meet Lentil and Earl. These two are babies and besties that came to their new home in a uniquely Madison way. "We went to Buraka for dinner in March and saw a sign that said '2 free kittens to a good home' and the rest is history," owner Becky M. said.  "Lentil got her name from the lentils you get as a starter at Buraka." Anyone else hungry?

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Leaf it be

Morning update: Thursday, Oct. 13

Madison MinutesHayley Sperling