Today's weather: 🌧️ Cloudy and rainy. High: 53° Low: 38°

Good morning, Madison!

It's finally here. Election day.

We've been talking about it for weeks by now, but do you have a plan to vote today?

Before you head out into the world and do your civic duty, let's recap a quick list of election day do's and don'ts.

✅ Do...

  • Check your polling place. Have you moved since the last election? Or perhaps a certain global pandemic has kept you from voting in person these past couple of years. Make sure you're headed to the right place by checking your polling location here.
  • Confirm your registration. If you're not registered, you can complete the process at your polling place, just be sure to have the proper materials.
  • Bring a photo ID. Wisconsin law requires voters to present a photo ID for their vote to be counted. Here's a list of acceptable forms of ID.

❌ Don't...

— Hayley

🚨 Authorities have confirmed the identity of the city's first homicide victim of 2022.

  • The Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed 32-year-old Dwayne Collins Jr. as the victim of last week's deadly downtown shooting.
  • Collins was born and raised in Madison and attended Memorial High School. As WKOW reports, his mother described him as the life of every party.
  • MPD has arrested two suspects in relation to the shooting and continues to investigate the incident.

🖥️ City meetings are slowly moving back to an in-person format.

  • After nearly two years of online meetings, city and county groups are working to get back in the groove of meeting in person. So far, the process is a slow one. As the State Journal reports, "just seven of 56 city committee meetings scheduled for April are listed as in-person with the rest online."
  • Both the city and county are also looking into hybrid meeting options, which would be held mostly in person but allow for some online participation.

📆 Mark your calendars for the groundbreaking of the new Black Business Hub.

🧑‍🔬 UW's College of Engineering hired a former Foxconn executive.

🚮 Drop-off sites are now on summer hours.

  • The Streets Division drop-off sites at 402 South Point Road and 4602 Sycamore Avenue are now open during the following hours:
    • Monday, Friday: 7:30 a.m. - 2:45 p.m.
    • Tuesday, Thursday: 7:30 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
    • Saturday: 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
    • Closed Sunday and Wednesday

💰 Urban Triage is set to receive $9 million for rental support services.

  • The local nonprofit was awarded $8,955,247 specifically to support Dane County residents who live outside of Madison. The funds help people pay rent, security deposits, and more.
  • In 2021, Urban Triage closed on a more than $12 million contract with Dane County Human Services to provide a "stigma-free program with a customer care center, in-person support, and on-line chats" for county residents outside of the city, Madison365 reports. The organization has reportedly served more than 1,500 families through its rental support program.
“We’re excited and honored to continue the work of serving those most vulnerable. And humbled to announce that our processing time has been cut to four weeks.” — Brandi Grayson, Urban Triage founder and CEO

🏙️ Your lunchtime read: Spanish speakers came to Wisconsin before it was a state. Here’s how they’ve shaped the economy, labor laws, and found the American dream.

  • From Wisconsin Watch: "[T]he census paints a picture of a fast-growing Hispanic population that includes newcomers as well as families that have been here for generations. In fact, the first Hispanic people to come to the state arrived well before Wisconsin’s statehood."

🦠 Covid-19 Update

  • While cases remain far below the peak experienced earlier this year, case counts are currently trending up again. Hospitalizations have not yet seen an increase.

Wisconsin Vaccination Rate: 60.8%

Dane County Vaccination Rate: 78.5%

  • In it’s latest data update, Public Health Madison and Dane County says our county “may currently be experiencing the beginning of a BA.2 case surge,” but the agency is “optimistic it will be mild based on our high vaccination rates and because a large number of people in Dane County were infected with Omicron BA.1.”
  • The federal government recently authorized another booster shot for people over 50.

Resources

📅 Events: Tuesday, April 5