🦼 Man drives wheelchair 127 miles to Madison

🧑‍✈️ Airlines Offering Direct Flights To Badger Away Games

• To the UW football fans who want to cheer for the Badgers on the road, the airlines hear you. American Airlines, Delta Airlines, and United Airlines are adding direct flights from Madison to Alabama and Oregon – but only on the weekends that the Badgers are playing away games there.
• The extra flights all leave Friday and come back Sunday. [ 🔒 WSJ]

🦼 One Man’s 127 Mile Protest

• Carl Schulze went on a 127-mile road trip from Neenah to downtown Madison – by wheelchair. Schulze, who has used a motorized wheelchair for nearly 20 years, made the journey to draw attention to the scarcity of home health care workers, made worse by low pay and recent cuts to Medicaid.
• He chronicled his journey on social media, and made it to Madison Thursday in time for a protest for disability rights at the Capitol on Friday. [Channel 3000, X]

💸 State Says County’s Surprise Bill Violated the Law

• Hundreds of Dane County homeowners received a bill for a service they never requested, and a state investigation found violations in the process.
• Homeowners received a bill in the spring without explanation from the Dane County Drainage Board for “farm drainage.” A WMTV investigation found that the bill refers to a project to clear the drains in Drainage District 27. Though the area is mostly residential now, the districts were put into place in the early 1900s to manage water on farmland at the time.
• State agriculture officials said that while the board did put a public notice in the Wisconsin State Journal about the project, it did not advertise and hold public hearings as required by law. [WMTV]

The end of the summer will be the end of an era for getting out on Madison’s lake in style. Betty Lou Cruises has been taking Madisonians out on the water of Lake Mendota on a motoryacht with food and drink for nearly three decades.

With the brothers who own Mariner’s Inn deciding to retire, they’re also ending the cruises as of Aug. 31. On the City Cast Madison podcast today, host Bianca Martin talks to owner and founder Jack von Rutenberg about the decision to retire the boats, and some favorite memories of being out of the water.

But there are still plenty of other ways to enjoy Madison’s lakes. Here’s a few options for boat rentals of all sizes and shapes. Make sure to check out our map of the places detailed in this article on Overlook Maps!

Brittingham Boats

Rent from a variety of kayaks and paddleboards and see the downtown area from a whole new perspective on Lake Monona. If you’re hungry, you can paddle out to Brittingham’s floating barge in the middle of Monona Bay for “Burgers on the Bay,” including both meat and veggie options and live music!

MSCR Pontoons

Madison School & Community Recreation has three pontoon boats ready for rental in the Tenney Park Boat House. They offer narrated guided trips to learn more about the lakes, special kid-oriented trips, and you can even rent a pontoon to go out on the lake to watch a special event.

Wisconsin Hoofers

Since 1939, the Hoofer Sailing Club has promoted sailing on Lake Mendota, launching sailboats, windsurfing, dinghies, even winter kiting. Hoofers members can take lessons on not only sailing but boat operation and maintenance. If you want to become a regular out on the lake, a membership is a must.