🚨 Training grenade found in UW Arboretum

🏗️ Legal Battle Shuts Down Apartment Construction…Again

• The legal saga surrounding the construction of a far west side apartment building has taken another turn. One day after a Dane County judge sided with the city in a dispute with nearby residents, another judge paused construction over a different legal battle.
• Residents next to the development site on Old Sauk Road have filed three lawsuits against the project. In one of her last rulings before being sworn in as a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, Judge Susan Crawford ruled in favor of the city last week.
• But on Friday, Judge Nia Trammell suspended construction in response to the latest lawsuit from the residents, which argues that the developers’ stormwater plan threatens their property. [ 🔒 WSJ]

📗 UW Researchers Develop ‘Green Book’ For Black Madisonians

• Researchers at a UW-Madison lab inside the Department of African American Studies are working on a multi-year project to determine what Black life in Madison is like, and where there are Black-affirming spaces.
• The work by the SoulFolk Collective has been likened to the “Negro Motorist Green Book,” which detailed what communities and businesses were safe for Black travelers during segregation. The SoulFolk project includes an interactive map of places welcoming to Black residents, such as the new Black Business Hub, and interviews about those spaces. [Cap Times, SoulFolk]

🚨 Training Grenade Found on Boardwalk in UW Arboretum

• UW-Madison police were called to the east side of the UW Arboretum Monday morning after a passerby reported seeing a “grenade-like” object on the Arboretum’s boardwalk.
• Police cleared the area and issued an alert for residents to keep clear. The device was determined to be a “training grenade,” which can make noise and exhibit smoke but has no explosive power. The device appeared to be old and was disposed of safely, university officials said. [WKOW]

There’s just something different about a restaurant located inside a strip mall. Like a strip mall restaurant, there’s just no way to get too high-falutin’ when your patio looks out onto the parking lot, or when it’s located next door to the place where you get your taxes done.

Earlier this year, the owners of Lola’s Hi/Lo Lounge on the north side and the Muskellounge & Sporting Club on the east side got into a good-natured online beef about which is Madison’s preeminent strip mall bar. On the City Cast Madison podcast today, Lola’s co-owner Matt Gerding and Musky co-owner Chad Vogel make their cases to host Bianca Martin, and talk about how they’ll settle their dispute at a Strip Mall Carnival this weekend to raise money for the Clean Lakes Alliance.

Here are some other strip mall bars in Madison worth raising a glass to. Check out all of them on Overlook Maps!

Le Tigre Lounge

The king of the jungle for Madison strip mall bars is not a lion, but a tiger. For over 60 years, the kitschy charmer on Midvale Boulevard. has poured traditional cocktails amid tiger-themed decor. I’d say it’s the best damn bar in town, but that might get me kicked out – the old-school white-shirt-and-tie bartenders at Le Tigre don’t allow swearing.

Muskellounge & Sporting Club

For every tiger at Le Tigre, there seems to be a fish at the Musky. Located in a strip mall on Monona Drive, the Musky has the feel of a Northwoods bar that anglers would stop into after a day of fishing. But the spacious bar has much broader appeal, with a friendly staff, some fun games to play and, above all, well-made classic cocktails.

Lola’s Hi/Lo Lounge

Patterned after Japanese listening bars, this Sherman Avenue favorite mixes an eclectic DJ rotation and vinyl listening parties with top-notch cocktails and a full menu of pizzas, dumplings, and desserts. The Passion Star Martini is simply unmissable.

Meet Burt! He’s an adult cat who was very friendly and affectionate with the Good Samaritan who found him wandering around outside his workplace last month. He loves attention, is very chatty and loves receiving pets. He’s been charming DCHS staff and volunteers, but wants a new family who will shower him with affection and attention.