⛈️ Severe weather hits Madison, with more to come

🌪️ Are You Prepared For Severe Weather?

• After intense storms blew through Dane County Monday and Tuesday, now is a great time to make sure that you're ready for severe weather in Madison. Tuesday's storm brought golf ball-size hail to Madison and left a trail of damage behind it.
• Since tornadoes can hit with little notice, experts recommend building an emergency preparedness kit, including a backup generator or batteries. Create an emergency plan and practice it with your family. (And don't forget about your pets!)
• Dig deeper: Check out our full guide on preparing for tornado season and listen to our recent podcast episode with Dane County Emergency Management’s emergency communications and outreach manager Andrew Beckett for more tips on staying safe in weather emergencies.
  

🏗️ Brutalist Apartment Building Faces the Wrecking Ball

• Master Hall, a 1960s apartment building at 415 W. Gilman Street, can be torn down to make way for a large apartment development, the city’s Plan Commission voted unanimously Monday night.
• Likened to a Jenga tower for its boxy design, the Brutalist-style architecture of the building is worth preserving according to the Madison Trust for Historic Preservation. But that wasn’t enough to keep it from the wrecking ball. The building and three others on Gilman have been targeted for demolition to make room for a 16-story student apartment development known as the Standard.
• But the developer said Master Hall’s uniqueness is its own downfall. Its unusual design makes necessary interior renovations impossible if the building were preserved. [🔒WSJ]

🗳️ Canvassers Clashed Over 23 Late-Arriving Absentee Ballots

• Wisconsin GOP officials told Dane County not to count 23 absentee ballots that arrived late to their polling places for the April 7 election. The Dane County Board of Canvassers went ahead and counted them, which could lead to a potential legal challenge.
• At stake were 23 ballots that were received at the City Clerk’s Office on April 6, but did not arrive by courier to their respective polling locations until after 8 p.m. April 7. The board voted 2-1 last week to count them, but legal observers said the state statutes on such late-arriving ballots are ambiguous, risking different outcomes by officials in different parts of Wisconsin.
• Nationally, the issue of whether late-arriving ballots should be counted has reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which seems poised to overturn a Mississippi law that could affect voting in 14 states. [VoteBeat, State of Wisconsin, SCOTUSBlog]

💰 Madison Developer Pays Muralist, Sells Bakers Place

• Madison developer Neutral has sold its 206-unit Bakers Place property on South Paterson Street and paid several of its overdue bills, including $57,000 owed to a Milwaukee artist who created two murals for the property.
• Overall, more than $15 million in liens had been filed against LLCs affiliated with Neutral. Neutral sold Bakers Place for $37.2 million to another LLC based in Chicago last month, and has paid off some of the liens, according to court records. [Isthmus]

Madison has changed a lot since the first issue of Isthmus hit the streets on April 9, 1976. From the city’s exploding growth to turmoil in the streets to game-changing new developments, Madison’s beloved alt-weekly has covered it all.

To celebrate its 50-year milestone, the newspaper is throwing a “Isthmus 50 Fest” show this Saturday at Atwood Music Hall featuring Madison favorites like Ben Sidran, Mama Digdown’s Brass Band, and more.

On the City Cast Madison podcast today, host Bianca Martin talks to Isthmus publisher Jason Joyce and editor/president Judith Davidoff about a half-century of Isthmus in Madison and how the newspaper is celebrating.

For their April anniversary issue, Isthmus editors dug deep into the newspaper archives to find “50 Moments in 50 Years,” headlines that captured key moments in Madison’s history. Here are a few of our favorites that they found.

‘Shake and Bake,’ July 2, 1976

Isthmus’ countercultural bent was evident in this snarky dispatch about the day that State Street was transformed into a pedestrian mall. The debate over what to do about State Street still rages today.

‘A New King,’ May 8, 1981

On the far side of the Capitol Square, another transformation was taking place. The notorious Main King Tap, a hallmark of King Street’s reputation as “Madison’s Red Light District,” closes, paving the way for the classier First Settlement District to come decades later.

‘Race Matters,’ Aug. 20, 1993

The long-standing issue of two Madisons – one for white people and one for Black people – was highlighted in this poll, which found that more than half of Black Madisonians strongly disagreed with the idea that they have the same opportunities as their white neighbors. Less than one-fifth of white neighbors strongly disagreed with that statement.

‘The Pied Piper,’ Oct. 25, 1996

L’Etoile is also celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and is a nationally-known pioneer in the farm-to-table movement. This profile of founder Odessa Piper captures the moment that she was emerging as a culinary force to be reckoned with.

‘Wright and Wrong,’ July 11, 1997

After decades of public contention, Monona Terrace Convention Center opens on the shore of Lake Monona. This cover story says designer Frank Lloyd Wright would have “loved and hated” the result.

⬆️ Last Week’s Photo

It’s at Indie Coffee on Regent Street!

🎉 Congratulations to Tim M., Marti D., and Shana C. for being the first three people to guess right!

⬇️ This Week’s Photo

Where is this giant mural located? A few clues:

• It’s on Madison’s east side
• It’s at the home of an organization whose name might remind you of a butterfly.
• If you went to our last member event, you probably went right by it! (See, it pays to be a member!)