Our plans

Hi everybody,

Hayley mentioned earlier this week that we’ve now been publishing Madison Minutes for a whole year. Woo!

It’s been fun, but also pretty scary. There is no media company backing this newsletter. There are no outside investors. It’s just you, me, and Hayley keeping this thing going.

With that in mind, here are our plans for year two, summarized in – of course – bullet point form:

🥇 Do better. Our primary focus is – and will continue to be – this morning newsletter. We have a long list of things we could do better, and we always welcome your suggestions, too!

🔨 Do more. We want to publish more original journalism and resource guides.

🖥️ Build the user experience you deserve. We’re working with a widely-respected web design agency to build a new website, and we’re upgrading our newsletter software and events calendar setup, too.

🖊️ Actually hire Hayley. While we’ve been able to arrange a modest monthly stipend for Hayley, she’s been working other jobs to support herself. There have been plenty of nights that she leaves her restaurant-industry job after midnight and is still up before the sun to finish the newsletter. Since she’s working on this project basically full-time, she needs to start collecting a salary here.

If you think we’re headed in the right direction, would you consider financially supporting us today?

I'll be honest, you don't really get anything for being a supporter right now. But you do get to make sure the newsletter keeps going. That's something, right?

-- Sam

🏥 A new system aimed at reducing Black infant mortality.

• ConnectRx Wisconsin, from the Dane County Health Council and the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness, aims to reduce Black infant mortality rates.
• New parents will be connected to health care, financial, housing, employment, and transportation resources, the Cap Times reports.
• The announcement comes during Black Maternal Health Week, which was started to bring attention to the alarming racial disparities in pregnancy complications in the U.S.

🚨 Police have arrested a suspect in connection with a pair of armed robberies.

• A McDonald's and a drugstore in the UW campus area were robbed on the same night last week, prompting officials to send out alerts asking people to avoid the area.
• No injuries were reported in either robbery.

🚲 Free Bcycle rides this weekend!

• Riders can get free Bycle rides today through Sunday in celebration of Earth Day.
• Some fine print: rides over 60 minutes will accrue the regular Bcycle fees.

🐔 The bird flu continues to cause concern for Wisconsin poultry farmers.

• The H5N1 bird flu has “been found among wild birds, in backyard chicken flocks and at multiple poultry operations across Wisconsin in spring 2022,” PBS Wisconsin reports.
• The CDC says the virus is rarely spread to humans and "poses low risk to the public."

🗳️ Your lunchtime read: How did drop boxes become a hot-button election issue in Wisconsin?

• From the Cap Times: "With the state Supreme Court’s decision about the legality of drop boxes expected by the end of June, thousands of voters could be permanently looking for another way to return their ballots come fall, and the boxes could become decorative for good."