City Cast Madison

he Dane County Farmers’ Market is back on the Capitol Square this Saturday, April 13. City Cast Madison host Bianca Martin finds out what’s new at the market this season from DCFM manager Jamie Bugel. We also have some insider tips on how to navigate the crowds and how traffic’s changing around the Square.  Join us every Thursday as we explore Madison's food culture, from the brewers and bakers to...

Madison’s building boom continues. Construction cranes dot the skyline. Huge new apartment buildings are in progress on many of Madison’s largest thoroughfares: East Washington Ave, West Johnson, Regent Street. But downtown, making way for the new means out with the old, and that means demolition of old buildings. Recent city debates over proposed development in the 100 block of State Street, the...

If you’ve driven down East Washington Avenue in the past year, you’ve probably seen the building under construction: a large wall of glass flanks the front of the building, nestled under the swooping curves of arched roofs. This is the new home of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras. Since the 1960s, WYSO has trained and inspired thousands of young musicians across Madison, and they did so fro...

Madison’s getting a new live music venue. Kevin Willmott II is soon opening the Gamma Ray Bar in the former Barley Pop Live and The Frequency music venue space on West Main Street. You may know long-time local musician and live event host Kevin from his storytelling on the Moth Story Slam, his band Don’t Mess With Cupid or from his time working at the High Noon Saloon. Host Bianca Martin sits down...

The City Cast team is here to round up the news of the week. Bianca Martin, Hayley Sperling and Molly Stentz recap Tuesday’s election in Wisconsin, including the nearly 50,000 democratic voters who chose “uninstructed” and the 100,000 republican voters who picked anyone but Trump. And why did some Madisonians have to vote outside in the snow at Rennebohm Park and what is the city doing about it? W...

Hạ Long Bay, the popular Vietnamese restaurant on Willy Street, is known for lines out the door and a takeout business so strong their phone is literally often off the hook. And now, the eastside neighborhood staple is under a new generation of family ownership. Jacqueline and Stephanie Le, nieces of founder Jean Tran, have been busy updating the restaurant, while keeping the family traditions and...

Artist Marlon Hall would like to invite you to a dinner party. But he has one rule: you absolutely cannot talk about what you do for a living. He invites diverse groups of people to join together over a meal and connect as humans, in the spirit of community. He designs and creates physical doors made of native wood around which the dinner parties gather. He’s hosted dozens of these dinner parties...

Richard Davis was widely regarded as one of the world’s best bass players. He recorded with Sarah Vaughan, Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, and Miles Davis, just to name a few. And for much of his life, until he passed away last year at age 93, he lived, worked and played in Madison. Richard Davis taught bass at UW-Madison for nearly 40 years and created the Richar...

Spring has sprung and Madison is bursting with life! The City Cast Madison team is here to round up a few of our favorite things. Bianca Martin, Hayley Sperling and Molly Stentz share some of our picks for getting out and about in April.  🎸Get your Sh!tty Barn tickets for the summer on April 1st.  🗳️Don’t forget to vote April 2nd! 🐽Learn about the barons of our food system with Austin Frerick on...

The City Cast team is here to round up the news of the week. Bianca Martin, Hayley Sperling and Molly Stentz recap the movement to vote “uninstructed” in next Tuesday’s presidential preference election, the Wisconsin Supreme Court case that said Amazon drivers are workers, and the jury decision to acquit the Wisconsin Department of Justice agent who shot at Quadren Wilson. Mentioned on the show: W...

Jacob Guyette is no stranger to Madison’s restaurant scene, having worked as a chef at Graze, L’Etoile and other fine dining spots. So what made him want to open his own classic Wisconsin tavern, and focus on some of the finest cheeses around?  Bianca Martin finds out, with the owner of The Wedge, Schenk’s Corners’ newest bar. They’re in the old One Barrel Brewery space on Atwood. Wanna talk to us...

April 15, the deadline to file your income taxes, is fast approaching. Each year, more than 1,500 volunteers trained by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, offer their time to help others with their taxes.  These tax preparers help file individual income tax returns (Form 1040) for:  Low-to-moderate income individuals Individuals with disabilities Non-English speaking taxpayers Military personnel...

Next Tuesday, April 2, is election day. Spring elections mean local races – school board, county board, judges and other non-partisan races. There are also two constitutional amendments. Plus, you’ll vote on nominees to become official presidential candidates on ballots later this year.   The big news of this election is the turnover happening in county government. What will it all mean? Bianca Ma...

The City of Madison believes that geothermal energy is a technology that will help meet its climate goals. So much so, that they are investing in a huge heating and cooling upgrade to their “Triangle” public housing development. But what is geothermal technology anyway? City Cast’s Dylan Brogan sat down with Jon Evans, the Building Design Project Manager for Triangle project, to get the basics on...

It’s the Friday News Roundup! Host Bianca Martin and newsletter editor Hayley Sperling recap what’s behind the public outcry at this Tuesday’s city staff meeting on the city’s draft West Area Plan for housing growth. Plus, we round up what’s on Wisconsin’s 2024 spring election ballot and how to vote early. Mentioned on the show: Angry residents shout down city staff at meeting on draft west-side M...

It’s the end of an era for Morris Ramen. After seven years, the downtown Madison restaurant best known for its heaping bowls of handmade noodles and broth has shut its doors. Bianca Martin catches up with co-owner Francesca Hong about why they closed. 🍜 Join us every Thursday as we explore Madison's food culture, from the brewers and bakers to the chefs and cheesemakers. Also... 🫱🏿‍🫲🏻We're hi...

There’s a new peer support group for people who’ve served time in prison or jail and are now rebuilding their lives back in Madison society. It’s called Build Up and it’s run by Aaron Hicks and Frank Davis, through a partnership between The Nehemiah Center for Urban Leadership Development and UW-Madison.  Bianca Martin talks to Aaron about why life after prison can be harder than you might think —...

Parking tickets. We’ve all been there… rushing back to the meter just a few minutes too late or forgetting to move the car when the street sweepers come. And don’t get us started on Madison’s even-or-odd side snow-day shuffle.  One man holds the power to take the sting out of those tickets... and he’s actually more reasonable than you might think. Madison Municipal Court Judge Dan Koval is on a mi...

Madison Fire Department ambulances and community paramedics now carry a new drug to help people recover from opioid withdrawal.  The drug is called buprenorphine and it helps relieve symptoms almost immediately, says Dr. Megan Gussick, the medical director for the Madison Fire Department. They’re one of a handful of departments in the state — and possibly the country — to carry this drug. And with...

The City Cast team is here to round up the news of the week. Bianca Martin, Hayley Sperling and Molly Stentz recap the proposed huge new housing development for the 100 block of State Street near the Capitol, the federal money we’re hoping to get for our bus system, and places to check out the solar eclipse in April. (Yes, they will involve driving!) Mentioned on the show: 🏗️Developer shares conce...

For the first time in the show’s history, Top Chef will feature an entire season based on Wisconsin food. The reality TV show brings working chefs from around the country to compete in a series of high-stakes competitions, and this season was filmed in Madison and Milwaukee. It launches next week on March 20.  For Cap Times Food Editor Lindsay Christians, this is her Super Bowl. Bianca Martin talk...

Our early spring weather may be welcome news for those who hate the cold. But for our state’s freshwater walleye fish, it’s a threat. A new study out of UW-Madison shows that the earlier ice thaw on our lakes is hurting survival for walleye babies who are not adapting fast enough. Martha Barta, the lead author on the study, joins host Bianca Martin to share the results of her and her team’s resear...

Maybe you’ve heard of escape rooms, but have you heard of… rage rooms?  Tucked away in Sauk City, about a half-hour from Madison, is the Disorderly Conduct Rage Room. It’s a space you can rent and smash things to your heart’s content. Break up with someone? Sure, you can get your feelings out with some old dishes. Bad day at work? Take it out on the stapler.  Owner Amanda Chestnut saw a need to he...

Several years and many lawsuits later, Wisconsin has new political maps in place. This November, many voters in the Madison area will see new names on our ballots. We might have new choices for state representative or state senator, because the districts we live in are different. The Madison area saw some of the biggest changes anywhere in the state. And this shake-up could tip the balance of powe...

The City Cast team is here to round up the news of the week. Bianca Martin, Hayley Sperling, and Molly Stentz recap the Vice President’s visit to Madison, negotiations between the Madison Metropolitan School District and Madison Teachers Inc, and the unveiling of a new mural remembering Tony Robinson. Mentioned on the show: 👷🏾 Vice President’s Visit Kamala Harris announces executive order on uni...