🍁 Your insider’s guide to November in Madison

🧑‍🍳 Top Chef To Give UW Winter Commencement

• Dan Jacobs, the Milwaukee chef who was one of three finalists on “Top Chef Wisconsin,” will be the keynote speaker for the UW-Madison Winter Commencement at the Kohl Center on Dec. 15.
• Jacobs, who is the head chef and co-owner of EsterEv and Dandan restaurants, will talk about how competing on the show required “tenacity, grit and perseverance.” He said he’s learned to develop those qualities in his career as a person with Kennedy’s Disease, a genetic neuromuscular ailment often mistaken for ALS. [UW-Madison]

🐩 Dane County Board Weighs Increasing Dog License Fees

• Public health officials recommend that Dane County increase its fees for dog licenses, especially for owners who haven’t spayed or neutered their pets.
• If approved, the county portion of the fee would grow from $11 to $16 for altered canines and $26 for unaltered canines. That would raise $170,000 for the county’s Animal Services program, and put the county in line with a state law that requires different levels of fees for altered and unaltered dogs. [Cap Times]

🗳️ Investigation Urged For Scam Texts Sent To Young Wisconsin Voters

• Voting advocacy groups are asking the state and federal Departments of Justice to investigate who sent misleading texts about voting laws sent to young Wisconsin voters.
• The texts threatened voters to not vote in a state where they are not eligible, and suggested violators could face 3.5 years in jail and $10,000 in fines. In fact, out-of-state college students are allowed to vote either from their permanent home address or their college address in Wisconsin.
• Related: Are you ready to vote? Check your registration and find your polling place here. [Daily Cardinal, MyVote Wisconsin]

Happy November! The unseasonably warm weather we had for a few days in October made it feel not quite like autumn, but we are definitely in fall mode now! This November guide should help you get the most out of the month in Madison, including new theater world premieres, ways to help out your neighbors in the community, and one Dynamite movie screening.

The Play’s the Thing

A comedic whodunit set in a Wisconsin supper club? That’s the irresistible premise of “Murder Girl,” the new play by Heidi Armbruster that is having its world premiere at Forward Theater Company. “Murder Girl” will play in the Overture Center’s Playhouse from Nov. 7 to Nov. 24.

Meanwhile, Capital City Theatre is presenting its musical adaptation of one of my favorite movies, Frank Capra’s “It’s A Wonderful Life,” at Madison College’s Mitby Theater from Nov. 22 to Dec. 1. Attaboy, Clarence.

And Overture Center is bringing the touring production of the musical “& Juliet” to Overture Hall from Nov. 26 to Dec. 1. A girl-power retelling of “Romeo & Juliet” that also features millennial pop anthems? Here for it.

Do Some Good

There’s never a bad time to volunteer into the community, but Thanksgiving is always a good reminder that we have neighbors in need. There are some useful and even creative ways to help out this November.

The Goodman Community Center is sending out 4,000 Thanksgiving baskets to families in need. It’s an enormous undertaking that can use plenty of help. They’re looking for either financial donations or donations of frozen turkeys, canned vegetables and more.

Plenty of food pantries around Madison could also use donations and volunteers this season, including Second Harvest Foodbank, The River Food Pantry, and Community Action Coalition of South Central Wisconsin.

One especially fun way to help out and get a little exercise is “Cranksgiving.” It’s sort of like a Thanksgiving scavenger hunt, where volunteers get a list of ingredients and the places to get them, and then bike around town gathering them.

It’s Halloween! Along with the fun-sized candy and the costumes, it’s a time to revisit that favorite horror movie or discover a new one. I am tackling the Netflix series “Midnight Mass” for the first time, which is like the 800-page Stephen King novel that Stephen King forgot to write.

I put the call out to Madison Minutes readers to share their favorite Halloween watches, and you responded! Lock the doors and enjoy these spooky faves tonight!

“At our household, we like to watch different films every year, but three of our favorites to watch this time of year are ‘The Shining’, ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’, and ‘The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari’.” (Hillary H.)

“All of the ‘Halloween’ series.” (Chanel)

“As an avid physical media collector (779 films and counting), I’ve got an entire Spooktober lineup nigh every year. The lineup changes from year to year, but a few staples that I make a point of watching every October have got to be “Halloween,” “The Exorcist,” and “An American Werewolf in London” (This one must happen on the full moon of October (obviously) whenever that may fall on a given year).” (Andy H.)

“‘The Exorcist’.” (Marcia C.)

“I have definitely made it a point to re-watch the original ‘Halloween’ (1978) every year. I love the atmosphere of the suburban neighborhood in fall and it's just such a classic!

“Two other movies I often find myself re-watching around Halloween are ‘The Ring’ (the 2002 American remake) and ‘The Conjuring’ (2013) as those are two of my favorite scary movies of all time. I watched ‘The Ring’ a lot as a tween/teenager and used it as a ‘gateway’ movie to get my friends into horror (which worked multiple times!) ‘The Conjuring’ just has a ‘new twist on an old classic’ type of feel and was such an exciting movie when it came out. I love the atmosphere of this one as well and the scares are still effective to this day!” (Alicia S.)

“‘An American Werewolf in London.’” (Alan S.)

“Please put ‘It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” somewhere on the list. It's so charming.” (Lindsay C.)