🍸 Best happy hour deals in Madison

🚍 Bus Rapid Transit Launch Date Announced

• We finally have a date! Metro Transit’s East-West bus rapid transit line will launch Sept. 22.
• Sixty-foot all-electric buses with dual-side boarding options will serve Metro’s Rapid Route A, and local Routes B and F.
• The MetroForward initiative began in 2019 and utilized nearly $140 million in federal funds.
  • Related: Got Bus Rapid Transit questions? We’ve got answers! [City of Madison, City Cast Madison 🎧]

🗺️ Can Dems Regain Control of the Legislature?

• State Democrats certainly think so, believing the new legislative maps will help them flip the state houses this November.
• Democratic leaders shared their most important races, a.k.a. their “starting lineup” at a press conference Friday. Two of those Senate races are around Madison in Dodgeville and Baraboo.
  • Related: Need a refresher on Wisconsin’s new voting maps? Start here. [Fox 11, Madison Minutes]

😢 Essen Haus to Close this Month

• The German restaurant that has become a mainstay of Downtown Madison is closing Aug. 31, along with its companion bar, Come Back In.
• Essen Haus will be torn down to make way for an eight-story, 178-unit apartment building and a 100-room hotel. The hotel project plans to rebuild the Come Back In’s facade. [Wisconsin State Journal]

💙 Meet Blue! This nine-month-old boy is sweet, goofy, and playful. Blue is housetrained, enjoys walks, and especially loves being showered with love! This gorgeous heeler mix is friendly with cats and other pups. Blue would thrive best in a home without small children.

Blue was transferred to the Dane County Humane Society in February from an overcrowded shelter in Arkansas, so come on Madison Minutes fam, let’s give this baby the forever home he deserves! Blue is a member of the Lonely Hearts Club, and through Sunday, Aug. 25, Blue’s adoption fees are significantly reduced as part of the Clear the Shelters adoption campaign 🩵