🏗️ City, developer clash over Paisan’s site

🏃 Here’s What Roads are Closing for IRONMAN Wisconsin

• Hundreds of athletes are already in Madison for IRONMAN Wisconsin this Saturday and Sunday. Several roads will be closed in and around downtown for Saturday’s 70.3-mile race and Sunday’s 140.6-mile race.
• The 200 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. is now the start and finish line for both races, and will be closed until 2 p.m. Sept. 8. The bike route will close the right line of northbound John Nolen Drive, Lakeside Drive, Olin-Turville Court, and the Rimrock Road ramps to and from the Beltline.
• The running route will go through the Capitol Square, the Southwest Commuter Path, and parts of UW-Madison campus, including Camp Randall. Downtown bus routes will also be affected.
• 🎧 Dig deeper: We talk about the IRONMAN impact on today’s Friday news roundup on the City Cast Madison podcast. It’s Infrastructure Week! Sort of. We dig into the mayor’s proposed capital budget, office vacancy rates in Madison, and the new computer sciences building on the UW-Madison campus. [City of Madison, 🎧 City Cast Madison]

⚽ Will Madison Finally Get a Sports Bar For Women?

• The former Red Rooster on Madison’s east side may soon become the first women-centered sports bar in the city.
• The project is personal for owner Rita Adair — the bar will be named Bernell’s after her late wife, Bernell Hooker, a former player, coach, and champion of women’s basketball who shared the dream of opening a women’s sports bar.
• Adair’s financial backer has backed out of the project, leaving her to raise the $420,000 in operating costs on her own. She is currently seeking donations, and believes there are enough female sports fans in Madison to get her over the finish line. [WKOW, 🔒 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

🏗️ City, Developer at Odds Over Former Paisan’s Site

• City officials and a Middleton developer are blaming each other over why, nearly two years after demolition started on the former location of Paisan’s on West Wilson Street, the site still hasn’t been fully demolished.
• Middleton developer Terrence Wall bought the property with the intention of razing the current structure to build a 15-story apartment building. At issue is a three-story underground garage at the site, which Wall says he waited to fully demolish until the city approved the building project.
• But the city’s Building Inspection Division says Wall violated city ordinances by failing to demolish the garage, and is suing Wall’s company. [ 🔒 WSJ]

Meet Gertie! This 10-year-old girl is just a big ball of affection, and loves to be showered with love and snuggles! How cute is Gertrude? Plus that Madison Minutes hat looks pretty sweet too.