📝 A sneak peek at the Syttende Mai Festival

🧅 Recycle Your Food Scraps

• Starting Tuesday, May 21, you can recycle your food scraps at the South Madison Farmers' Market. The market is located at the corner of South Park Street and West Wingra Drive and drop off will be available from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday evenings.
• ICYMI: You can also drop off food scraps at the East Side Farmers' Market at McPike Park.
• Accepted items include raw fruits and vegetables, coffee grounds, loose tea, grains, and eggshells. Do not try to recycle any meat, dairy, produce stickers, or “compostable” bags. [City of Madison, Sustain Dane]

💟 Neighbors Fundraise For Residents of Royals Arms Apartments

• Earlier this year, residents of the Royal Arms Apartments on Madison’s west side protested sharp rent increases imposed by the property’s new owner, Orosz’s Properties. Residents received lease agreements with rent increases between 20-40% with little time to consider their options. Despite protests, Orosz has refused to budge on rent prices, leaving some residents uncertain of their futures.
• Members of the apartment community have started a GoFundMe to help cover living and relocation costs for three elderly residents. The group hopes to raise one month’s rent for each resident for a total of $4,500. [Madison365, GoFundMe]

📣 Encampment Ends at UW-Milwaukee

• Protesters and administrators came to an agreement over the weekend to end the encampment at UW-Milwaukee, but not everyone is happy about the resolution. Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman said he was “disappointed by the course taken by UW-Milwaukee” and that he will “assess the decision making process that led to this result.”
• Under the agreement, UW-Milwaukee agreed to call for a ceasefire and condemn the violence in the Middle East. The school also agreed to facilitate a meeting between UW-Milwaukee students and the university foundation’s leadership. The university also agreed to evaluate its study abroad programs and develop a process for students to report discrimination. [UWM, WisPolitics, Universities of Wisconsin]

Welcome back to another week of Madison Chatter, where we talk about what’s on the Madison hivemind!

📸 Northern Lights Come To Madison

Did you get a glimpse of the Northern Lights over the weekend? Longtime Madison Minutes reader Dylan J. snapped this pic in Dane, just north of Waunakee over the weekend.

💸 Got Budget Thoughts?

The city wants YOU to engage with drafting its next budget. There’s a public meeting at Vel Phillips Memorial High School tonight where community members can engage with public officials to share ideas, ask questions, and get involved. Plus, be sure you’re subscribed to the City Cast Madison podcast because we’ll be talking about this very issue soon. Stay tuned!

🐟 Fish Fry, Oh My

Not too long ago we published a piece on where to find Madison’s best fish fry and some readers had thoughts.

Dawn F. says the Badger Tavern has “the BEST huge walleye, skinny fries & (cowboy taters on Fridays) in the city!” She also recommended Jordan's Big 10 Pub for their bluegill and lake perch.

🖊️ Calling All Young Poets

The city is searching for its next youth poet laureate. The Madison Youth Poet Laureate program honors young poets and provides opportunities for them to showcase their literary art on the regional and national stage. The application is open through June 7.

🤔 Got chatter? Send us an email! We love hearing from you.

An Insider's Guide to the Syttende Mai Festival

It’s officially festival season in Madison! But, out of all the festivals happening this year, only one will transport you to Norway in 30 minutes. It’s the annual Syttende Mai Festival, which has celebrated Norwegian Heritage in Stoughton for over 70 years! So, come for the cream puffs and Lefse, but stay for the Viking Games Strongman Competition.