📝 Why the DMV is moving

⚖️ Evers v. Wisconsin State Legislature

• Gov. Tony Evers has sued the Wisconsin State Legislature over its refusal to release funding for K-12 student literacy programs. This isn’t the first lawsuit Evers has levied over lawmakers for withholding funds. Republicans, who control the state’s budget committee, have refused to release nearly $200 million in already-approved investments, including $125 million to fight PFAS contaminants and $15 million to respond to hospital closures in Western Wisconsin.
• In his complaint, Evers argues Republicans have continued “to obstruct the basic functions of government in this state.” [Wisconsin Examiner, Gov. Evers]

🚗 The West Side DMV Is Moving

• The Madison West DMV Service Center at 8417 Excelsior Drive is moving to 2344 South Park St. Once the move is complete, the new location will be called the “Madison Southwest DMV.” The Wisconsin Department of Transportation said the move is part of an effort to help serve Madison’s growing population.
• The current location’s last day is June 13 and the new facility will open June 17.
• These days, much of what gets done at the DMV can also be accomplished online. [WKOW, DOT]

⛪ Your Lunchtime Read: A Black church and white church formed an alliance. It crumbled.

• “Christ the Solid Rock Baptist Church, a predominantly Black church in Madison, is looking for a new home after an alliance it formed with the mostly white Lake Edge United Church of Christ fell apart. [...]The Rev. Everett Mitchell, who has led Christ the Solid Rock since 2011, said that with no other explanation given he's come to his own conclusion about why Lake Edge withdrew from a settled agreement.”
• Related: Madison’s churches are selling, and their congregations are shrinking. [Cap Times, City Cast Madison 🎧]

⬆️ Last Week’s Answer

When the clock strikes 9 p.m. and the party's still going, but you’ve run out of beer, there’s only one place in town that can save you — Vic Pierce Liquor.

The unassuming North Sherman Avenue shop is the only spot around Madison that can sell beer (and malt beverages) past 9 p.m. Why? It’s a strange mix of laws and geography, but the short story is that when Vic Pierce first opened, it was technically located in the town of Burke, whose liquor laws allowed for later sales. Maple Bluff has since annexed that part of Burke, but the shop’s operating hours were grandfathered in with the change.

🥳 Big shoutout to all 16 people who answered last week’s question because you all got it right! Special kudos to Mike K. who got the right answer in less than five minutes. Cheers to y’all 🍻

⬇️ This Week’s Clues

Where can you find this encouraging mural? Here are some hints.

• You’ll want to bring your wallet to this spot because odds are, you’re here to shop or dine!
• Beyond retail, this place also hosts a farmers market twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
• This place used to be home to one of Madison’s only movie theaters.

Unrolling Wisconsin's legal weed scene

Illinois, Michigan, and recently Minnesota have all legalized recreational cannabis. Efforts to do so in Wisconsin have gone nowhere in the Legislature. Even so, Madison is seeing an increasing number of stores selling CBD, Delta-8 THC, and other legal cannabinoids — some of which produce the same euphoric high as the recreational weed that’s illegal in our state.

Alan Robinson, cannabis activist and co-founder of Herbal Aspects, joins the City Cast Madison podcast to help us understand this confusing state of affairs.