It's a snowy Monday

Morning Update: Monday, March 7

In this newsletter

Good morning, Madison.

It's Monday, let's get cheesy.

Last week, the Monona Terrace hosted the 2022 World Championship Cheese Contest. Though a Gruyère from Switzerland took home best in show, Wisconsin cheesemakers proved they're still a force to be reckoned with when it comes to dairy.

Seven Wisconsin cheeses were among 20 finalists for top cheese. Ultimately, cheeses from Wisconsin won 45 Best in Class categories and cleaned up in the cheese curd category.

Not too bad for America's Dairyland!

— Hayley

✊ Remembering Tony Robinson seven years later.

Family and community members gathered at the Wilmar Community Center to celebrate the life of Tony Robinson on the seventh anniversary of the teen's death.
Robinson's family says the teen's death has opened the door to change within Madison's approach to policing, noting the 2020 audit of MPD that resulted in 177 recommended changes.
Some context: Robinson was 19 years old and unarmed when he was fatally shot by Madison Police Officer Matthew Kenny in a Willy Street apartment in 2015. Though Kenny has been absolved of any criminal wrongdoing in Robinson's death, the teen's family has not stopped fighting for the case to be re-opened and Kenny fired from the force. Robinson's death garnered national news attention and sparked protests around the city. In 2017, Robinson's family reached a $3.35 million settlement in a federal civil rights lawsuit over the matter.

“Tony’s death has brought meaningful and necessary change for all people in the city of Madison. It’s been seven long years fighting for changes, and we now see a clear path to justice.” — Sharon Irwin-Henry, Robinson's grandmother

🏫 A student has been arrested in connection with threats made to Memorial High School last week.

Madison police reportedly arrested a Memorial High School student last week in connection to a string of unsubstantiated threats to the school.
According to the police incident report, the student admitted to anonymously calling police twice to falsely report "he could see an outline of a gun" in another student's backpack.
Police found no weapons and ultimately the threats were dismissed as uncredible but the incident remains under investigation.

🛑 Keeping the Dane County jail project on track.

After much last-minute scrambling, the Dane County Board of Supervisors found a solution to keeping the years-long Dane County jail project moving. As Isthmus reports, the board voted 29-7 at its March 3 meeting to "approve borrowing an additional $16 million to construct a new six-story jail tower to replace the outdated and dangerous City County Building jail."

📚 Extended hours at the Monroe Street Library start today.

Starting today, the Monroe Street Library will be open five days a week. The library will be open 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, and from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Saturdays.

🚧 Construction threatens the future of the last co-op on UW campus.

The Zoe Bayliss Cooperative building is slated for demolition in 2023 to make way for the University of Wisconsin-Madison's new humanities building, Levy Hall.
The 67-year-old cooperative, provides affordable housing on-campus undergraduate, graduate, and international students. Residents of the co-op are pushing back against the university's decision to demolish the building, The Badger Herald reports. A petition to save the building has more than 200 signatures.
Co-op representatives have been working with University Housing officials to find a solution but say the conversations have seemed “half-hearted” and "unproductive," Cap Times reports.

🐟 PFAS advisory for Black Earth Creek.

The Department of Natural Resources and Department of Health Services announced PFAS-related consumption advisory for Dane County's Black Earth Creek.
According to the Wisconsin Examiner, high levels of PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate) were detected in the creek's Brown Trout. The state agencies now recommend against consuming fish from the creek.
Related: What Are PFAS And Why Are They A Problem? (WisContext)

🏘️ Your lunchtime read: Tiffany Malone deeply committed to diversifying the real estate industry.

From Madison365: "Tiffany Malone has always had a passion for real estate in her life. Although the real estate consultant for the Alvarado Real Estate Group, located on Madison’s near west side, grew up poor and was raised by a single mom who worked two jobs to make ends meet and never was able to own a house, Malone knew that one day she would become a homeowner — and help others facing obstacles own homes, too."