City Cast Madison

Spring in Madison is a great time to find delicious food right in your backyard. And foraging for delectable local morsels means hunting much more than mushrooms. There’s ramps, watercress, dozens of edible weeds… all around you. But how do you know where to look? And what’s edible… and tasty? Dylan Brogan sits down with Andy Gricevich, owner of What Got Gathered, for some local foraging pro tips.You can find Andy at the Westside Community Market, Monona Farmers Market and the Madison Eastside Farmers Market. Check out his website for details on the wild food walks.🌿 Join us every Thursday as we explore Madison's food culture, from the brewers and bakers to the chefs and cheesemakers.Also on the show:🧶 Spring Fest at Warner Park 🎨 Gallery Night all over MadisonWanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads at citycast.fm/advertise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Phosphorous runoff has been plaguing Madison's lakes and streams for years. This fertilizer causes algae to bloom, making our beloved waterways stinky and hazardous. Now facing tougher state and federal regulations, the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District has to clean up more phosphorous than ever. And just how they propose to do that is up for debate. The sewer district says filtering out more phosphorous would be costly, and wouldn’t address other pollutants like mercury, chloride and PFAS. They’d rather change where the water flows. Instead of sending treated water to the Badger Mill Creek in Verona, they’d reroute it to the Badfish Creek southeast of Madison, where there’s a plan in place to manage it. But concerns that the Badger Mill Creek would suffer persist. Come along for a deep dive into what it takes to clean up southern Wisconsin’s water. Dylan Brogan speaks to Martye Griffin, Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District’s Director of Ecosystem Services.Learn more: 📖 Read the Sewer district's plan for phosphorous🎧 Listen to Verona Mayor Luke Diaz outline concerns about Badger Mill Creek .✍🏾 You can submit public comments through Monday, May 8. Here’s how. 🗣️ The public hearing is May 11: Attend via Zoom. Register to speak in person. 🚰 The Sewer Commissioners vote on May 25.Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads at citycast.fm/advertise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meteorologist Bob Lindmeier has been a household name in the Madison area for decades. Most people know him as the WKOW weatherman. And after 43 years, he’s seen a lot of weather. He’s also seen how it’s changed in the Madison area over the years. More extreme rainfall. Catastrophic flooding. But despite witnessing our changing climate firsthand, he hasn’t given up hope. Dylan Brogan caught up with Bob to learn why.Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads at citycast.fm/advertise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Like many things, too much of a good thing can be very, very bad for you. And the case of Madison-area lakes and rivers, too much phosphorous fertilizer has been a very bad thing: it causes stinky and hazardous algal blooms and fish kills. It’s one reason why many of our beaches get so stinky that public health has to post advisories not to swim in them. The Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District must decide how to clean up phosphorous in its waste water. Prompted by state and federal regs, they can invest in technology to clean up more of it — or dump the treated wastewater into the Badfish Creek, which can better absorb the phosphorous. The sewer district says redirecting the water is the cheaper and easier solution.But the problem? That water currently feeds Badger Mill Creek in the heart of Verona. And Verona Mayor Luke Diaz says the Sewer District’s plan puts their prized trout stream at risk.Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads at citycast.fm/advertise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What a week it was in Madison. The Northern Lights were visible on Sunday night. The Madison City Council lifts a ban on nunchucks. Politicos debate taxes at the State Capitol while Madisonians get miffed about this year’s property assessments. Senator Ron Johnson looks for the silver lining in the grim news of climate change. And a local political controversy stirs about whether State Assembly members can hold other full-time jobs. Plus, Dylan goes to the mat for parking ramps. Dylan Brogan and Molly Stentz are here to round up the news that… was. Read more:  📸 See gorgeous photos of the northern lights (Barry Adams & Kenton Fowler) Track the northern lights (WSJ) Controversy over whether Rep. Sheila Stubbs can serve in Assembly and run Dane County Human Services (Channel 3000) Last call to appeal your property tax assessment (City of Madison) U.S. Senator Ron Johnson says Wisconsin will benefit from climate change (Heartland Signal) Free the nunchucks (WORT FM) Dylan wants you to care about parking ramps (Change.org) Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads at citycast.fm/advertise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Summer is so short in Wisconsin, when it’s finally nice enough to casually lounge outdoors again, we burst onto the scene with a fury. And that time is coming, friends. Cap Times photographer Ruthie Hauge started cataloging all of Madison’s great outdoor gathering spaces during the pandemic. And she never stopped. Now the Cap Times guide’s got more than 350 patios for dining, drinking, bringing your dog, taking in the views, paddling to, or just gathering with friends.Lindsay Christians, food editor at the Cap Times, gives us the scoop on some of the hidden treasures across our fair city (and beyond)!To check out their patio map, see go.captimes.com/patios.⛱️ 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 Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads at citycast.fm/advertise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Madison Public Library has a wealth of resources beyond books. Your little orange card can help you grow a garden or get across town. You can digitize those old family photos or make cheap photocopies.Tana Elias, the library’s digital services and marketing, lets us in on a few things you probably didn’t know your little card can do. Also mentioned on the show: 🌳 Free State Park Day Passes (in Cambridge, DeForest, Stoughton and Verona libraries)📣 RCC Sexual Violence Resource Center 50th Anniversary Rally at the CapitolWanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads at citycast.fm/advertise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Artist Erika Koivunen is no stranger to tragedy. Just eighteen months after losing her husband, Aaron Howard, a massive fire torched her entire S. Park Street workshop. Acme Ironworks, the shop that she and her husband shared as metalworkers, burned to the ground after a thunderstorm. The fire caused millions in damages and destroyed several businesses on the block. You’ve probably seen Erika’s work all over Madison: the thirty-foot tall metal tree that greets you on Willy Street, the metal flowers in front of Madison Sourdough, the benches at B.B. Clarke beach, the huge bird sculptures on S. Patterson Street.Now after decades of making art for the Madison community, Erika’s learning to let the community support her. Friends have started a GoFundMe campaign. But how do you pick up and carry on when your world changes overnight?🫶🏽 Support south side businesses recovering from the fire:Acme Ironworks Bike Right/Unbroken Chains CyclesFuegos Towing and Transmisión Latino Jarka’s Art Studio ⚙️ Learn about Erika’s friend, mentor and inspiration: Dr. Evermor’s Art Park.Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads at citycast.fm/advertise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“History is written by the victors.” That’s often attributed to Winston Churchill. But what about the other sides of the story? The stories we don’t learn about in school: how some students and staff were denied housing due to their race and why some UW leaders held dangerous, racist ideas about genetic superiority. And what about the stories of students who fought to make campus more accessible and better for all? The UW Public History Project is here to tell them. Kacie Lucchini Butcher is the project’s director. The project’s work evokes another famous quote, this one closer to home, from former UW President Charles Kendall Adams: “Whatever may be the limitations which trammel inquiry elsewhere, we believe that the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.” Learn more:🎓 Sifting & Reckoning: UW–Madison’s History of Exclusion and ResistanceWanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads at citycast.fm/advertise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy Earth Week, everyone. Dane County is now the first county in the state to have government facilities 100% powered by renewable energy. The airport, the courthouse, the Alliant Energy Center… their energy use is now completely offset by local renewable energy production. The Yahara Solar farm is online. In other news, the State Assembly would like to ban anyone from banning gasoline engines. Not that anyone was doing that. But, you know, California.And Madison teachers are fighting for cost-of-living raises.The whole City Cast Madison team’s here to rustle up the news. Bianca Martin, Dylan Brogan and Molly Stentz bring you the highs and lows of the week. Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads at citycast.fm/advertise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices