🪧 12 days of protest on Willy Street

Early Tuesday morning, authorities cleared out the memorial and encampment that took over the intersection of South Baldwin and Williamson streets in the wake of the July 22 police shooting of Corey Ruiz.

On the City Cast Madison podcast today, host Bianca Martin discusses her experiences at the memorial site on Tuesday afternoon with executive producer Hayley Sperling. Later in the show, District 6 Ald. Davy Mayer, who represents the neighborhood and has been in close contact with both protesters and residents throughout, talks about his perspective on the memorial and the lingering effects the 12-day saga will have on his neighborhood. [WPR, 🎧 City Cast Madison]

Here’s what happened on Tuesday morning, how things got to this point, and what comes next.

A Swift End

Eyewitnesses said city crews with forklifts, buses, and garbage trucks arrived at the encampment at 4:30 a.m. and asked people occupying the site to leave.

When some refused, police in riot gear moved in, and multiple people were arrested for allegedly trying to impede the teardown, while others were cited and released. Bystanders' videos showed protesters throwing objects at city workers and police, and police deploying pepper spray.

City crews and police officers took down tents and removed items from the site, carting them away in city trucks. Many items were moved to nearby Demetral Park, including the raised fist statue donated from George Floyd Square in Minneapolis.

City sweepers moved in at 8 a.m. to clean the intersection, and a small memorial was set up on the sidewalk on South Baldwin Street. By 9 a.m., traffic was flowing through the intersection for the first time in nearly two weeks.

Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said 50 or so unhoused people who were living at the site were given the option of being taken to a hotel and a “significant majority” chose to do so.

“Let's focus our energy on the hard work of sustainable change,” Rhodes-Conway said in a video message released after the encampment was taken down. “Holding government accountable for progress should not mean harming the community we all share.”

The intersection remained open for about five hours until it closed at 1:30 p.m. Police said people were in the roadway and engaged verbally and physically with officers. Police released aerial footage of one altercation between officers and interim independent police monitor Aeiramique Glass. [Cap Times, Instagram, City of Madison, News 3]

🎓 UW Students Scramble Under New Loan Rules: On July 1, the Trump administration enacted new borrowing restrictions and repayment programs that will affect how millions of students borrow and pay back federal loans. Critics worry the changes will cause more students to default on their loans, which in turn could hurt financial aid for colleges and universities.

• Over 5,000 Wisconsin borrowers in the SAVE program, a Biden-era loan forgiveness plan that was struck down in March by a federal judge, have 90 days to enroll in a new plan. [Cap Times, UW Madison]

✈️ F-35s Are Back in the Night Skies: The Wisconsin Air National Guard is conducting evening training sessions on Wednesday and Thursday nights until 11 p.m. [WMTV]

🍺 Commission Says Wonder Bar Isn’t A Landmark: The Madison Landmarks Commission says the Prohibition-era bar near the Alliant Energy Center doesn’t qualify as a historic landmark, despite its colorful history as a former mob hangout. A developer is proposing to tear down the shuttered bar to build a 190-unit mixed used development. [WKOW, American Ghost Walks]

🏗️ Broom Street Closing This Week: The section of North Broom Street between West Johnson and West Gorham streets will be closed Friday through Sunday for construction crews to dismantle a tower crane. [City of Madison]

🍻 Don’t Have Tix For Great Taste of the Midwest Saturday? There are so many pre-event festivities going on at local restaurants and bars that you may not even miss it. [Great Taste of the Midwest]

⬆️ Last Week’s Photo

This rotating beacon, which dates back to the 1930s, is located at Dane County Regional Airport!

🎉 Congratulations to Tricia M., Jan R., and Nancy W. for being the first three people to guess correctly!

⬇️ This Week’s Photo

Where is the mural located? A few clues:

• It’s in Fitchburg
• It’s at a place named after the kind of fish featured in the mural
• If you’re not sure, you might want to take the “nuclear” option!