Morning Update

Welcome back to the world

Morning Update: Tuesday, May 31

In this newsletter

🌨️ Today's weather: Partly cloudy, potential rain. High: 78° Low: 55°

Happy Mon—er—Tuesday, Madison!

I hope everyone got a chance to relax over the holiday weekend.

My brain is still warming up so let's ease into this week slowly and get into some news.

— Hayley

✈️ No, you're not crazy. There are more planes flying over downtown.

If you've found yourself looking up and noticing more planes overhead downtown, you're not alone. WORT Radio's Chali Pittman noticed an excess of planes on her commute last week and, like good journalists do, decided to investigate. Dane County Airport confirmed to her that there has been a temporary shift in flight patterns due to construction on one of the airport's main runways.
The airport is now using “reliever” runways, which run northwest to southeast and northeast to southwest. The main runway goes north to south.

🗒️ The city is reviewing applications to fill the vacant District 11 City Council seat.

Seven people sent in applications to fill City Council's vacant District 11 seat. The Common Council Executive Committee is set to hold a meeting tomorrow evening to interview the applicants and make a recommendation to the full council.
City Council will appoint the interim alder at its June 7 meeting. Whoever takes over the seat will hold it until April 18, 2023. You can review the applications yourself here.

🚧 Developments to watch: Wonder Bar and East Towne.

Wonder Bar: The city's Urban Design Commission will review plans for a revised development proposal at the site of the old Wonder Bar and Coliseum Bar on Olin Ave. Wednesday. The proposal is for a 12-story concrete building with commercial space, apartments, and parking, Cap Times reports. If approved, the proposal will head to the Plan Commission.
East Towne: Local developer Forward Management has proposed a massive housing project with 463 apartments in four buildings near East Towne Mall, the State Journal reports. The project, dubbed Signature Pointe Apartments, still has a ways to go in terms of city approvals but earned "a favorable first impression" from District 17 Ald. Gary Halverson who represents the site. Developers hope to start construction in the fall with completion in 2024.

🍂 PSA: There's no more yard waste pickup until fall.

If you have yard waste to get rid of, you'll have to drop it off yourself. The city announced curbside collection for the spring and summer is officially over and will start up again in the fall.
You can still take yard waste to one of the city's drop-off sites. You can check the hours and locations of those sites here.

⚾ It's officially Mallards season.

The Madison Mallards kicked off their 2022 season with a Memorial Day win over the Lakeshore Chinooks.
The team managed a 3-2 victory thanks to strong pitching performances, WKOW reports. The two teams will meet again tonight to wrap up their two-game set.

🎖️ Re-dedicating the Colonel Heg statue.

If you'll recall, the statue, which sits on the King Street corner of the Capitol Square, was torn down during protests in June 2020. The statue was officially re-dedicated Sunday.
The State Journal reports more than 100 people came out to the re-dedication ceremony where descendants of the civil war colonel spoke about their memorialized family member. Heg was the highest-ranking Wisconsin officer killed in combat during the Civil War and an abolitionist.

📚 Your lunchtime read: Kwewag Indigenous Culture Church creates a space to preserve Indigenous culture and educate others.

From Madison365: "The mission of the Kwewag Indigenous Culture Church (KICC) is to 'teach the world a new (yet very old) way to live, in harmony with our planet and each other, guided by our ancestors, spiritual connection to everything, and the descendants who carry these long-cherished secrets.'

'I work through spirit,' Dawn Moneyhan, the president, manager, and chief clergy of the KICC, tells Madison365. 'Or I should say, spirit works through me.'"