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City Cast Madison

Rob Thomas

While hyperscale data centers have become a big political issue in Wisconsin, there’s another technological project that is generating some attention in Dane County and beyond – 

a proposed high-powered transmission line called BECI

the Dane County Board passed a resolution

 calling for movement on the project to be slowed down to allow time for further review and public input. Here’s the backstory on BECI, and why it has residents and lawmakers so charged up. [Midcontinent Grid Solutions, Dane County]

a 765-kilovolt power line that would stretch roughly 190 miles across southern Wisconsin

. The area being considered for the line would include parts of Crawford, Richland, Sauk, Columbia, Dodge, Dane, Jefferson, Walworth and Rock counties.

The Y-shaped towers loom 175 feet tall, each requiring 180 feet of space on the ground. The $1.2 billion project is being spearheaded by the Midcontent Independent System Operator (MISO), which is the grid operator for the region, ranging 15 states and parts of Canada.

The company developing the project, Midcontinent Grid Solutions, says the project is necessary to connect southern Wisconsin to the MISO grid as energy use continues to grow and change, keeping energy service reliable even in the case of equipment failures or when parts of the grid are under strain. Some of that energy use comes from new data centers coming online.

While the route has yet to be determined, the BECI lines will not follow existing power lines routes, meaning that it will require new easements or contracts with property owners. [Cap Times]

MGS gathered public input in August and has identified some possible routes in the nine-county region. 

The company plans to hold additional public hearings through the fall

 and then submit their application to the Wisconsin Public Service Commission early next year.

From there, the project will undergo a lengthy review process, and it will be up to the commission to decide if and where the transmission line will be built. 

, the project could be completed by 2033. [Cap Times, MGS]

, worried that the giant towers will destroy the view of their rural land and impact the wildlife that live there. As one 91-year-old resident told the Cap Times, “instead of having a view of heaven, you got a view of hell.”

Residents have been attending their local government meetings

 (such as the Dane County Board) asking them to slow down the process, and 

both Democratic and Republican lawmakers in Washington, D.C.

 have come out in support of either slowing down the project or killing it altogether.

“People who received letters just weeks ago are now being asked to absorb the entirety of a 190-mile, 765-kV line, identify the parties involved, understand potential routes through their communities, and provide meaningful feedback, all on a compressed timeline that does not match the scale of the project's impact on their land, their livelihoods, and their communities," Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan wrote in a Sept. 16 letter to MGS.

Pocan’s longtime rival and sparring partner, Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, agreed in a Sept. 17 statement. "You can’t put a mailbox in the ground without going through the (Department of Natural Resources), yet Tony Evers would have Wisconsin believe that nothing can be done to protect the Driftless Region from massive transmission lines being forced through communities that do not want them.” [No765Line, Spectrum News, 🔒MJS]

The 190-mile BECI high-voltage transmission line aims to secure Wisconsin’s grid, but locals and the Dane County Board are demanding delays over data center ties and land rights.

Why the Proposed BECI Transmission Line Is Sparking Backlash in Wisconsin

What To Know About The Proposed BECI Transmission Line

What Madisonians have been wondering. We break down why things in Madison are the way they are and how they work.

Madison, Explained

Much of the discussion about the Nov. 3 election in Wisconsin has centered on the governor’s race, as well as congressional races and the Assembly and Senate races that will decide the balance of power in the state legislature.

But there’s something else on the ballot this November for voters to consider – 

three Republican-backed proposed amendments to the state constitution

, host Bianca Martin talks with creative producer Jade Iseri-Ramos and contributor Scott Resnick about the questions facing voters. They also talk about declining attendance at UW Badgers football games. And, with American Girl unveiling its first doll who lives in Madison, Daisy Davenport, put their heads together to design the ideal Madison doll! [Wisconsin Watch, 🎧 City Cast Madison]

Where Are the Badger Fans? Who Is Daisy Davenport? And What Referendums Are on the Ballot?

Here’s a deep dive into the three questions on the November ballot, and how they got there:

🗳️ How Does an Amendment Get On the Ballot?

lawmakers must sign off on identical language on an amendment during two consecutive two-year terms

For the Legislature, which has been controlled by Republicans since 2011, the constitutional amendment process has been a tactic to bring legislation directly to the voters and make an end run around Democratic Governor Tony Evers’ veto pen. Since Evers took office in 2017, 

the Legislature has put a dozen amendment questions (including the upcoming three) before voters

voters approved an amendment requiring a photo ID to vote

. [League of Women Voters, Wisconsin Watch, WisPolitics]

✍️ Question 1: The Governor’s Partial Veto

This question would “prohibit the governor, in exercising his or her partial veto authority, from creating or increasing or authorizing the creation or increase of any tax or fee?”

The proposed amendment stems from Evers using his veto pen to increase school funding

 by $325 per year for the next 400 years. The Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld Evers’ partial veto after a lawsuit questioned its constitutionality. [WPR]

⛪ Question 2: Gathering in Places of Worship

This question would “prohibit the state or a political subdivision of the state from ordering the closure of, or forbidding gatherings in, places of worship in response to a state of emergency, including a public health emergency?”

The proposed amendment is a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Evers’ “Safer at Home” order in March 2020 that limited religious gatherings to 10 or fewer people to prevent spread of the virus. 

 by the then conservative-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court. [WPR]

⛔ Question 3: Prohibiting DEI in Government

This question would “prohibit governmental entities in the state from discriminating against, or granting preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in public employment, public education, public contracting, or public administration?”

Supporters say that the amendment follows 

 that race could not be a factor in college admissions, and would make sure that opportunities in government and education would be open to all. 

Opponents say it would limit opportunities for disadvantaged groups

Not surprisingly, response to the GOP-backed questions by Wisconsin’s candidates for governor 

. Republican candidate Tom Tiffany said he supports all three questions, while Democratic candidate David Crowley opposes them (as does Evers). Crowley said that if he is elected governor, he would continue to use the partial veto. [Wisconsin Watch]

Wisconsin's Nov. 3 election features key governor and legislative races—plus three Republican-backed constitutional amendments. Learn what's on the ballot.

Wisconsin Voters To Decide These Three Constitutional Amendments

Know the Constitutional Amendments On Your Fall Ballot

Breese Stevens Field was built in 1926 as a baseball stadium

, it would have been hard to envision what the stadium on East Washington Avenue would become a century later.

In addition to being the home of two soccer teams and an Ultimate Frisbee team, Breese has become an outdoor multi-use facility, hosting festivals like Curd Fest and Distill America and, most significantly, becoming the city’s largest outdoor concert venue for touring musical acts like Brandi Carlile, Alabama Shakes, and Train this summer.

As Breese Stevens enters its second century, 

its owners have big changes in mind, especially to increase the number of concerts and events

. But some neighbors of the field aren’t happy about it. Here’s a look at the past, present, and future of Breese Stevens Field.

Built on a block of land formerly owned by the widow of the late Madison mayor Breese J. Stevens, 

the field officially opened on May 5, 1926

. Gov. John Blaine threw out the first pitch to Mayor A.G. Schmedemann.

In 1934, the field’s iconic stone walls were built by the federal Civil Works Administration, and lighting towers were installed as well. The field was mainly used for high school games and minor league baseball until 1982, when it was converted into a soccer facility. The complex was designated a Madison landmark and joined the National Registry of Historic Places in 1995. [City of Madison]

Breese Stevens became home to Madison’s new Ultimate frisbee team, 

 soccer team played its first game in 2019, and Madison’s first USL W pre–professional soccer team, 

, which also owns the Madison Mallards, owns both soccer teams and operates Breese Stevens Field.

FPC Live began booking concerts at Breese in 2015, with the Avett Brothers playing the inaugural show there. Since then, 

, including Phoebe Bridgers, Willie Nelson, Bon Iver, and Wilco. [Madison Radicals, Forward Madison, Rally Madison, Big Top Events, Breese Stevens Field]

Last week, Big Top Events and city officials 

presented an ambitious $8 million renovation plan for Breese Stevens Field

, much of which would make it more attractive and easy to use as a concert facility.

The improvements, which would be paid for entirely by Big Top Events, include

A new permanent concert stage, whereas now a temporary stage has to be assembled for each concert. On game nights the stage area could be used as seating.

An artists’ “green room” area and other concert support facilities.

A new concession area and permanent locker room.

Changes to the east end of the stadium for buses to park so they wouldn’t block Mifflin Street

By 2030, the improvements would allow Breese to host 20 concerts per year, rather than the four or five per summer that take place there now. [City of Madison, Cap Times]

On concert nights, residents living in nearby high-rise apartments can be seen hanging out on their balconies and roofs enjoying the music. 

But other Breese Stevens neighbors aren’t so thrilled

, and are worried about increased activity at the stadium.

While all events at Breese Stevens would continue the 10 p.m. curfew established by the city, some residents complained at the city presentation about noise levels from concerts. Others complained that along with the increased activity would come more traffic and more parking hassles on the streets surrounding the stadium. A few expressed concerns that the changes would primarily benefit Big Top Events, not the neighborhood or the city.

Big Top Events plans to formally present their plans for approval by the Madison City Council this fall, with construction set to start next year. [Cap Times]

As Breese Stevens enters its second century, its owners plan to increase the number of concerts and events. But some neighbors of the field aren’t happy about it. Here’s a look at the past, present and future of Breese Stevens Field.

The Past, Present and Future of Breese Stevens Field

Big Changes Planned For Madison’s Breese Stevens Field

Ever since I moved to Madison over a quarter-century ago, I heard legends and lore about 

out in Iowa County near Spring Green. I heard that it was huge, eccentric, and that it was fascinating and disturbing in equal measure. I heard that I would not be able to get the sound of circus music out of my head for days afterwards.

While the City Cast Madison team went to The House of the Rock back in 2023

, last week it was my turn to go for the first time. This is my best effort to describe what I saw there. It’s hilarious, it’s disturbing, it’s unforgettable. But the one thing that everybody told me is true. You have to see it to believe it.

House on the Rock is a sprawling estate built on Deer Shelter Rock, located about an hour west of Madison on Highway 23. Basically, 

, but then keep going on Highway 23 another six miles until you see the giant flowerpots flanking the entrance.

The breathtaking natural beauty of the location is balanced by the sheer eccentricity of what’s inside the house, which is dozens of rooms and passages crammed with all kinds of oddities.

 was a Madison man who developed a fascination with both construction and electronic gadgets. On a family trip to Deer Shelter Rock as a child, he imagined building his dream house on the site. He started building House on the Rock in the 1940s, and reportedly started charging curious onlookers 50 cents to visit, thinking it would drive them away. Instead, House on the Rock grew to become one of Wisconsin’s strangest and most popular tourist attractions.

You could spend a week at The House on the Rock and not see every little wind-up gimcrack, antique doll, or other curiosity. But here’s a few of the highlights you can’t miss. Buckle up, it’s about to get weird:

This architectural marvel is a narrow, disorienting glass-covered room that extends over 200 feet out over the valley. We weren’t allowed to head out all the way to the very tip, but given that the room moves up and down about six inches, that was more than enough.

This massive merry-go-round features 269 animals (including disturbing animal-human hybrids) whizzing around underneath 10,000 lights and 182 chandeliers as circus music plays loudly. There’s also a pair of “doll carousels” in another room that are even more unsettling.

The walls of this three-story structure are covered in nautical oddities, maritime maps and over 200 model ships. But the centerpiece is a massive and terrifying sculpture of a sharp-toothed leviathan locked in mortal combat with an octopus.

This eerie recreation of a 19th-century main street is full of little shops and curios. There are lots of little coin-operated mechanical dioramas sprinkled throughout, like the “Dying Drunkard” that features a man on his deathbed being besieged by his demons. Fun for the whole family!

Throughout the House on the Rock, but especially in Section 2, are coin-operated mechanical music machines that feature entire automated bands playing Ravel’s “Bolero,” “When The Saints Go Marching In,” and more. Some of them are big enough to take up an entire room, with dozens of instruments all calibrated to play together.

Descend downstairs through a “mouth of hell” into this phantasmagorical warehouse of Jordan’s collection, as ramps and walkways wind through the gears of a clock tower, a mannequin orchestra (currently undergoing repairs), three humongous theater organs, and so much more. Hanging in the center is a massive scarlet chandelier that a volunteer told us Jordan had planned to put his office 

If nothing else, The House on the Rock will make you feel better about the clutter in your basement.

Located about an hour west of Madison, The House on the Rock is one of Wisconsin's most infamous, and certainly oddest, tourist attractions. Take a tour inside, from the giant carousel to the vertigo-inducing "Infinity Room." 

Why You Have To See Wisconsin’s House on the Rock

The House on the Rock Is Even Weirder Than You Think

Summer is fading, but that doesn’t mean the ticks are going away. Public Health Madison & Dane County said that 

this past spring saw an uptick (no pun intended) in tick-related visits to urgent care

, which usually means a corresponding increase in the fall as well.

Here’s some details on what to know about the fall tick season

, how health officials are monitoring it, and how to protect yourself against the little guys. [PHMDC, 🔒WSJ]

Fall tick season usually peaks in October, driven by large adult ticks that are easy to spot rather than small larval creatures. Ticks start decreasing in late November, but if temperatures don’t drop below freezing, they could even stick around into December.

This year’s tick-related emergency visits peaked at 73 visits per out of 10,000 visits in late May, and 

health officials are predicting another jump in emergency visits in October

. As of Sept. 6, tick-related visits accounted for three out of every 10,000 visits. [PHMDC]

an online dashboard tracking all kinds of reportable disease data

health officials set out “tick check stations” in Dane County parks

 that include info on tick diseases, tweezers to remove ticks, a jar to put removed ticks in and a QR code linking to an online survey to report the tick activity.

The stations are currently located at Elver Park in Madison, Pheasant Branch Conservancy in Middleton, and Indian Lake Dog Park in Cross Plains, although they are sometimes moved to different locations to respond to increases in activity. 

The stations are scheduled to stay open until through the end of the month

, although they may stay operational later if tick activity warrants it. [PHMDC, WMTV, 🔒WSJ]

According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services

, if you’re going into the woods or tall grassy areas, wear long-sleeve shirts and long pants tucked into your socks. Light-colored clothing is helpful in being able to spot ticks. Apply an EPA-approved insect repellent.

To avoid contact with ticks, walk in the center of the trail, don’t brush up against plants on the trail edge, and avoid tall grass and leaf litter.

If you find a tick on your skin, don’t panic. Remove it immediately, clean the area with rubbing alcohol, and check the 

Centers for Disease Control’s Tick Bite Guide

 to see if you should consult with a health care professional. [WDHS, CDC]

Tick season isn't over yet. Learn what to expect from fall tick activity in Dane County and get expert tips on how to protect yourself and your family.

Dane County’s Tick Season Isn’t Over Yet

How To Guard Against Ticks in Wisconsin This Fall

For 160 years, the 65-acre Voit Farm was a fixture on Madison’s east side, an oasis of rural life in a fast-growing city. But the farm buildings were torn down in 2025 to make way for 

an ambitious redevelopment plan that could include hundreds of homes, new streets, green space, a shared-use path

Here’s a closer look at a development that will transform Madison’s east side:

When the Voit family built their farm in the 1860s, the area was still considered rural. The farm included 23 acres of land dedicated to growing crops as well as a silo, a barn, two houses, wetlands, a fishing pond, and a ready-mix concrete plant.

The Voit family owned the farm until 2021, when 

they sold the property for over $8 million

 to the Starkweather development company, which is a partnership between Stone House Development and Threshold Development. Since then, the companies have used tax increment financing from the city to develop housing on the property.

announced plans to buy three acres of the land from the developers for $4.3 million

 as part of its plan to create more affordable housing. [🔒WSJ, WPR]

In June, Stone House Development President Helen Bradbury told the city council that around 

30 acres of the property could be developed into up to 1,000 units of both market rate and affordable housing

, with the rest set aside for wetlands and green space. The development will also include new cross streets to facilitate access, a bike/pedestrian path, a dog park and more.

Facing rising population and home prices, Madison has set 

its goal of adding 15,000 new homes by 2030

, a quarter of those affordable in the long term. The city’s housing tracker says more than 4,300 net new homes have been built since January 2025, with another 4,500 currently under construction. [WPR, City of Madison]

Starkweather began construction in May, and the entire project is expected to last five to 10 years. 

Construction on the parcels purchased by the city could start in 2027

For 160 years, the 65-acre Voit Farm was a Madison fixture. Explore the ambitious new redevelopment plan bringing hundreds of homes, green space, and affordable housing to the city's east side.

Voit Farm Redevelopment: Transforming Madison’s East Side

How Voit Farm Will Transform Madison’s East Side

This week's news quiz dives into everything from a new downtown restaurant to a big shake-up at UW-Madison. Can you get every question right? 

Take Our Quiz on Recent Madison News! 

Test Your Madison News Knowledge!

With its boarded-over windows, weed-choked grounds and cracked parking lot, the Wonder Bar Steakhouse at 222 E. Olin Avenue has certainly seen better days. No wonder 

that a developer wants to tear down the bar, which has been closed for five years, and the also-shuttered Coliseum Bar & Grill

 next door and build a project that includes housing, commercial space and a bike trail.

But some neighbors say that if the building is demolished, so will its colorful history. They want to see it preserved somehow for future generations.

That preservation plan had a big setback recently when the city’s Landmarks Commission 

recommended denying the building landmark status

. However, the commission did say the site has historic value, which could add extra requirement permits to be secured before the building is demolished. [WMTV, WKOW]

Here’s a look at the Wonder Bar’s colorful history of mobsters and ghosts:

The Wonder Bar was opened in 1929 by Roger “The Terrible” Touhy

, an Irish-American mob boss in Chicago who was a rival of Al Capone. Some say Touhy was raking in over $1 million a year from bootlegging and gambling, and he opened the Wonder Bar as a place to launder his illicit gains out of state, and make more money smuggling booze into Wisconsin.

It was also an opportunity for Touhy’s bartender brother Eddie. The castle-like building was originally known as 

 and then Eddie’s Wonder Bar, and its clientele supposedly included famous mobsters of the day, including John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson. Although, as with so much surrounding the Wonder Bar, it’s hard to separate lore from reality. [ 🔒MJS, Cap Times]

The bar was often under surveillance by the FBI, and rumor has it that sections of the turret towers could be removed for mobsters to poke their tommyguns through in case of a raid. No shootouts were ever recorded.

There was also reportedly a tunnel that ran east towards Lake Monona that gangsters could use to smuggle booze and to escape if the “G-men” ever stormed the bar.

Eddie “disappeared” sometime in the 1950s, and rumor has it that 

his body was buried under the fireplace on the second floor

. Employees shared stories of hearing footsteps in the building in unoccupied areas, or finding objects moved from their original location. One manager said a friend of his went into the basement and felt like he was being choked. [American Ghost Walks]

While the Wonder Bar’s mob ties were cut in the 1950s, its history made the bar a favorite of local luminaries, 

who ordered martinis and gathered around the bar’s roaring fireplace

It was especially popular among UW Badger fans

Discover the history of Madison's Wonder Bar Steakhouse as neighbors fight to save the Prohibition-era mobster hangout from a developer's demolition plans. 

Madison, Explained

What To Know About The Proposed BECI Transmission Line

Know the Constitutional Amendments On Your Fall Ballot

Big Changes Planned For Madison’s Breese Stevens Field

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