🦆 Good samaritans rescue trapped ducklings

🚧 Another Summer of University Ave. Construction Headaches

• If you’re traveling on University Avenue, expect more construction this summer, this time downtown near where West Gorham Avenue turns into University Avenue. The right lane of University from Frances Street to Lake Street will be closed, as well as the left lane from Lake Street to Park Street.
• Farther west, Babcock Drive will also be closed off from University Avenue through July. This week, Henry and Walnut Streets can be used as a detour route, and beginning May 18, Charter Street will also serve as a detour.
• Meanwhile, pedestrian traffic on Broom Street near John Nolen Drive will be halted starting May 13, while work is done on the Broom Street railroad crossing as part of the John Nolen reconstruction project. That closure is expected to last 10 days. [WMTV, City of Madison]

🚨 Police Say They Followed Protocol in Grayson, Pearson Arrest

• Madison police said they adhered to department policies when they arrested a Madison School Board member and a nonprofit CEO in a high-profile incident last year.
• Board member Maia Pearson and Urban Triage founder and CEO Brandi Grayson were arrested Dec. 19 charged in February with misdemeanor disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Police said Grayson refused to move her vehicle out of the Majestic Theatre’s no-parking area, refused police orders and had to be forcibly removed from the vehicle.
• Madison’s Office of the Independent Police Monitor is also conducting a review of the incident.
• 🎧 The other side of the story: Grayson sharply disputed the police account of the incident on the City Cast Madison podcast, particularly the allegations against Pearson, who was a passenger in Grayson’s vehicle. [ 🔒WSJ, 🎧City Cast Madison]

🗞️ Cap Times Agrees To Recognize Employee Union

• Management at the Capital Times have agreed to voluntarily recognize a union formed by the newspaper’s eight eligible reporters. The staff has agreed not to seek an election from the National Labor Relations Board.
• “The Capital Times Co. has decided to voluntarily recognize the labor union being formed by Cap Times reporters and we hope to work toward an amicable outcome,” publisher Paul Fanlund said Thursday. (City Cast Madison newsletter editor Rob Thomas is a former Cap Times employee.)
• ✊ Union Yes! Cap Times reporters Erin Gretzinger and Will Briggs are on the City Cast Madison podcast today to talk to host Bianca Martin and executive producer Hayley Sperling about the new Cap Times News Guild. Bianca and Hayley also dish about the new Ikea coming to Madison and pass along some words of wisdom to new graduates. Oh, the podcasts you’ll hear! [Cap Times, 🎧 City Cast Madison]

There are many podcasts out there about writers and the writing life. But there’s likely only one where the host asks the writer who their favorite Green Bay Packer is.

That podcast is “Writing Forward,” hosted by Madison writer Jeff Oloizia, which launched the first episode of its 10-episode debut season last week. Each week, Oloizia, a former New York Times editor, talks to a Wisconsin author about their work, the act of writing, and the ups and downs of making it as a writer in the Midwest, far from the publishing hubs of New York and Los Angeles.

The debut episode, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcast players, features Madison essayist Barrett Swanson. The second episode, dropping Wednesday, features “Still Life” author Maggie Ginsberg, whose next novel “Daisy Chain” will be released in 2027.

Oloizia talked to City Cast Madison recently about “Writing Forward.”

Why did you decide to start a podcast?

When I decided once for all that I wanted to stay put here and I wasn’t going back to New York, I thought “What can I make that will challenge me and add something to the literary community here?” I thought about starting a magazine, which in 2026 is a pretty tall order. But things have gotten to a point with podcasting that it’s pretty practical to start it up yourself.

Why a podcast about Wisconsin writers?

As someone who aspires to publish books himself, I like to listen to people who are in the place that I want to be, talking about it. And I think it’s all the more powerful if they’re from the same place as I am.

Listening to the first episode, it really sounds like a conversation between two writers as opposed to an interview.

My hope is that it’s like overhearing two of your favorite writers in a bar. Which is not to say that I don’t want it to have structure and real purpose. Each of my guests I choose with some themes in mind. Sure, we’ll talk about somebody’s new book, but I really want to have a more holistic conversation about the writing life and their career.

How do you think the show reflects a Wisconsin vibe?

There are certain podcasts that I won’t name that I can’t get through because they’re too pretentious. I’m aware that there’s always that risk, but the kind of writing that I like, not to mention podcasts, definitely have some high and some low. I think that’s a very Wisconsin thing, too. Don’t take yourself too seriously. We’re all just here to have a good time. I want to get into it, but I also want my guests to have a good time.

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