⚾ Madison mural knocks it out of the park

😮 Guv Names Capitol Square ‘Wonder of Wisconsin’: Gov. Tony Evers and Travel Wisconsin have named the Wisconsin Capitol and surrounding Capitol Square the “12th Wonder of Wisconsin,” joining Lambeau Field, Apostle Island National Lakeshore, and other sites of historic, natural, and cultural significance. [Office of the Governor]

🔎 The Mystery of the Hidden Stones is Solved! Last week, a Madison Redditor asked for help identifying the source of chunks of hand-carved stone he found underneath his property while putting up a retaining wall. After a crowdsourced investigation, they figured it out! Good work, Madison sleuths! [Reddit]

🏌️ Topgolf Madison Tees Off: The giant 180-foot netting that has been erected along the Beltline signifies the home of Wisconsin’s first Topgolf, which opened last week in Monona. The facility features 102 hitting bays for golfers to tee off from, along with a beer garden and a bar with a 22-foot-high screen. [🔒WSJ]

🍃 One More Brush Collection in 2026: All Madison residents will have at least one more brush collection this year, after which they can take their brush to one of the city’s drop-off sites. Use the city’s online tool to find the final pickup date for your address. [City of Madison]

✏️ Reddit Complaint of the Week: The crossword puzzles in Isthmus are getting too hard! [Reddit]

🧑‍🍳 New Latin American Restaurant to Open on Monroe Street: “begonia.” (no capital B, period at the end) will open Aug. 28 on Monroe Street. Offering “modern Latin cuisine,” the restaurant is a new concept for Sara Anderson and Christopher Lund, the owners of Kettle Black Kitchen, which occupied the same space.

• Also, Amisto, a Mexican restaurant from the owners of RED and Jacknife, is slated to open this fall in the former Estrellón space at 313 W. Johnson St.
• On the City Cast Madison podcast today, executive producer Hayley Sperling and producer Jade Iseri-Ramos talk about a historic Madison restaurant whose days may be numbered — the Wonder Bar. They also talk about the new Teejop Community Art Project with one of the artists, Melanie Tallmadge Sainz. [Cap Times, begonia., Instagram, 🎧 City Cast Madison]

Emily Balsley makes no secret of her love for the Milwaukee Brewers. She and her husband have season tickets, heading to American Family Insurance Field a dozen times a season to see the team play.

Last year, she designed a T-shirt to be given away at the Aug. 12, 2025 game, and even got to throw out the first pitch. Now, she’s turning that T-shirt design, called “Seventh Inning Stretch,” into a mural that’s being unveiled today at 2 p.m. at McKee Farms Park in Fitchburg.

Balsley, who was on the City Cast Madison podcast in 2024 talking about the Chappell Roan-themed haunted house she helped create in the neighborhood, is an in-demand Madison artist. She’s created several other murals around town, and was artist-in-residence in the Madison Public Library’s Bubbler.

As she put the finishing touches on the mural last week, she talked about bringing her Brewers love to life:

Is this the same design as the T-shirt?

It’s the same design, just reformatted. The Brewers originally approached me to do a mural, but then we couldn’t find a wall in the area. Then the T-shirt opportunity came up. So I thought, let’s design the T-shirt, but make sure that the design coordinates with the eventual mural.

What was your inspiration for the design? Who are these people?

They’re just fans that I see myself when I go to games. Just kind of vibing with the crowd. You always make friends with the people around you. All the little moments that happen in the crowd.

I like the idea of putting a lot of details in it. Every time you come back, you might notice something new.