📝 Where to find Madison’s best curds

🌪️ Climate Change Prompts Change to Tornado Siren Strategy

• Following two unprecedented tornado touchdowns outside of Madison this month, the county is changing how it tests its tornado warning sirens. Previously, sirens were only tested from March through November. Now, they’ll be tested every month.
• Additionally, when severe weather rolls around, sirens will sound every seven minutes, rather than just once at the start of the warning. [Cap Times, Channel 3000]

🕊️ Dane County Calls for Ceasefire

• Last week, the Dane County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. In the resolution, the board “acknowledges that all human life is precious, and the targeting of civilians, no matter their religion or ethnicity, is a violation of international humanitarian law.” The resolution also called for the immediate release of all hostages and an end to hostilities toward civilians by all parties.
• The resolution passed with 27 votes. Sup. Jeff Weigand was the sole “no” vote and Sup. Dave Ripp abstained.
• Madison’s City Council unanimously passed a similar resolution in December.
• Related: Did you know Madison has a special connection to Gaza? [Dane County, Madison365, City Cast Madison 🎧]

🚌 Breaking Ground on BRT

• The city started construction this week on two State Street Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) stations. The project is expected to be completed April 26. During that time, bicycle traffic and sidewalks will remain open in both directions and Metro Transit bus routes will be detoured.
• Dig deeper: Last year, Metro underwent its biggest service change in decades, all in effort to make way for BRT. [City of Madison, Metro, City Cast Madison 🎧]

🎨 Meet the Library’s New Artist in Residence

• Grace Olson is the Central Library’s latest artist in residence. She’s an experimental, multi-media artist, writer, music maker, and childcare worker from Madison. You can find her work and be part of her hands-on workshops in the Bubbler Room on the ground floor of the Central Library through May.
• “During my residency, everyone will be invited to take part in creative projects that explore the ways we all find, make, experience, and practice family,” says Olson. [City of Madison]

UW-Madison’s Big Bet on AI

As one of the leading research universities in the country, UW-Madison marshalls more than a billion dollars in research money annually. And the way Provost Charles Isbell sees it, the university’s scale and its public service mission makes it the perfect place to be at the forefront of the country’s artificial intelligence (AI) revolution, where computer systems are emulating human cognition.