Happy Friday! The City Cast Madison team is here to round up the news of the week and by news, of course we’re talking about elections. Host Bianca Martin has the latest on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race (Spoiler: it’s an expensive one!). And executive producer Hayley Sperling digs into some of the responses we got from our City Council candidate questionnaire. Plus, Madison Minutes newsletter editor Rob Thomas gives the details on a new vision for the Regent Street area.Mentioned on the show:Official In-Person Absentee Voting Hours and Locations [City of Madison]The Mayor's (Ambitious) Plan For Addressing Madison's Housing Crisis [ 🎧City Cast Madison]Meet The Candidates in Madison’s Only Contested School Board Race [ 🎧City Cast Madison]New Vision Could Transform Regent Street [Channel 3000] Spring 2025 Isthmus voter guideCap Times City Council coverage  Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Subscribe to the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about the sponsors of this March 21st episode: Babbel - Get up to 60% off at Babbel.com/CITYCAST Special Olympics Wisconsin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Few frills, no gimmicks, just good food. That’s what you’ll find at Madison’s many strip mall eateries. But which ones are the best? Truthfully, it depends on who you ask. These spots are special and deeply personal. To get the scoop on Madison’s best strip mall restaurants, we turned to the lovely readers of our Madison Minutes newsletter to get their takes. To dig deeper into these recommendations, we spoke with none other than Cap Times food and culture editor Lindsay Christians, who also just published an article on the subject.Join us every Thursday as we explore Madison's food culture, from the brewers and bakers to the chefs and cheesemakers.Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Subscribe to the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about the sponsors of this March 20th episode: Babbel - Get up to 60% off at Babbel.com/CITYCAST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Madison is said to have more bikes than cars. And with 200 miles of bike trails in the area, there’s a lot for cyclists to explore. So as spring gets in gear, we turned to biking aficionado Grant Foster for his favorite Dane County trips. He’s got ideas for everyone from newbies to those ready to make a weekend out of it. Plus, he shares some tips for basic bike maintenance. Grant’s recommendations  If you’ve got 30 minutes or less: Downtown Loop along State Street and Capitol (2 miles) Lake Mendota shorefront to Picnic Point (3 miles) Wingra Lake Loop through the UW Arboretum (6 miles) Lower Yahara River Trail (6 miles)  If you’ve got an hour or two: Lake Monona Loop (12 miles) Cap City Loop: Lake Farm Park to Seminole Hwy, through the Arboretum and back to Lake Farm via Wingra and Cap City paths (16 miles) Day Trippin’ Badger State trail south to Paoli and back (17 miles round-trip)  Bike Camping Military Ridge trail west to Blue Mounds State Park and back (46 miles round-trip) From Lake Farm Park south to Lake Kegonsa State Park and back (20 miles round-trip) From Lake Farm Park east to Sandhill Station State Campground and back (60 miles round-trip) This show originally aired July 25, 2023.Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Instagram! You can get more Madison news delivered right to your inbox by subscribing to the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about the sponsors of this March 19th episode:Babbel - Get up to 60% off at Babbel.com/CITYCAST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everyone knows the satirical news outlet The Onion. But did you know that The Onion’s roots are in Madison? The online behemoth was started in 1988 by a group of UW-Madison students and their friends simply as a way to earn some extra cash. But little did they know it would grow to be something so much bigger than they could have ever imagined. To get the details on the origins of The Onion and why it still strikes a nerve with folks, we sat down with Christine Wenc, author of “Funny Because It's True: How The Onion Created Modern American News Satire” and one of the original Onion staffers.Catch Christine in conversation with Steve Paulson, executive producer of To the Best of Our Knowledge, March 18 at the Art Lit Lab.Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Instagram! You can get more Madison news delivered right to your inbox by subscribing to the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about the sponsors of this March 18th episode:Babbel - Get up to 60% off at Babbel.com/CITYCAST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In-person absentee voting starts tomorrow and we are officially in full election mode. We’ve covered the statewide races and talked City Council, so today we’re digging into the only contested school board race on the ballot, between Bret Wagner and Martha Siravo. Host Bianca Martin chats with both candidates to get their thoughts on the issues facing Madison’s schools.Learn more about Bret’s campaign here, and Martha’s campaign here. Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Instagram! You can get more Madison news delivered right to your inbox by subscribing to the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about the sponsors of this March 17th episode:Babbel - Get up to 60% off at Babbel.com/CITYCAST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been a rough week for the City Clerk’s office. With investigations underway and its leader put on leave, City Cast Madison host Bianca Martin outlines the events that got us here. Speaking of investigations, executive producer Hayley Sperling gives the latest on a federal inquiry into alleged antisemitism at UW-Madison and other universities across the country. But it’s not all bad news this week — our snowplows have names! Plus, newsletter editor Rob Thomas has the details on all the St. Paddy’s Day fun happening this weekend in Madison. Sláinte!Mentioned on the show:Witzel-Behl placed on leave three weeks before spring election [Isthmus]UW-Madison update on Title VI complaint [UW-Madison]Federal Funding Cuts Could Be “Disastrous” for UW [ 🎧 City Cast Madison]Announcing the 2025 Plow Names! [City of Madison]Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Subscribe to the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about the sponsors of this March 14th episode:Doyenne Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brandy Old Fashioned? Check. Friday fish fry? Of course. Enduring nostalgia? Yes, please. These are just a few of the things that make Wisconsin supper clubs special. But supper clubs are so much more than strong drinks and indulgent food. They represent part of Wisconsin’s identity. To get the dish on what elevates a spot from simply being a restaurant to being a full supper club, we caught up with Madison Magazine Editor-in-Chief, Andrea Behling, who recently published the definitive Wisconsin supper club criteria list.Join us every Thursday as we explore Madison's food culture, from the brewers and bakers to the chefs and cheesemakers.Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Subscribe to the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about the sponsors of this March 13th episode:Doyenne Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The bagpipes will be back on the Capitol Square this weekend for the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade. With the official holiday mere days away, how are you celebrating? If you’re Fitchburg alder Gabriella Gerhardt, you’re adding to your world-record-setting four-leaf clover collection.Four-leaf clovers, technically a genetic mutation of the common three-leaf variety, are considered lucky due to their rarity. Gerhardt already holds the Guinness Book of World Record honors for “Most four-leaf clovers collected in one hour” and “Most four-leaf clovers collected in eight hours.” She’s got a whole room in her house devoted to them.We’re revisiting our conversation with her today to get her secrets on finding these treasures.This show originally aired March 14, 2023.Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Instagram! You can get more Madison news delivered right to your inbox by subscribing to the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about the sponsors of this March 12th episode:Doyenne Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Election Day is April 1. In case you missed it, every single Madison City Council seat is up for grabs. But what does the City Council do anyways? And how can you stay engaged with the people making the decisions that impact your daily life? We caught up with outgoing District 2 Ald. Juliana Bennett to get the scoop.Want to know about the statewide elections on your ballot? Check out our conversation with Cap Times reporter Andrew Bahl.Find your alder here. And don’t forget to vote! You can find your polling place and more here. Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Instagram! You can get more Madison news delivered right to your inbox by subscribing to the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about the sponsors of this March 11th episode:Doyenne Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In case you somehow missed it, the spring election is right around the corner! Early voting starts March 18. There’s plenty to be excited about, from the hotly contested state Supreme Court race to the proposed constitutional amendment on voter ID. To get a better understanding of the statewide choices all Wisconsinites will see on their ballots, we spoke with Cap Times state government reporter Andrew Bahl.Mentioned on the showCap Times election coverageMyVote WisconsinWanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Instagram! You can get more Madison news delivered right to your inbox by subscribing to the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about the sponsors of this March 10th episode:Doyenne Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices