Plus, everybody wants to be a UW Badger ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌
Wednesday, September 9 

Your Daily Guide

Good morning, Madison! No doubt about it – the news on the climate change front has been grim lately. On the City Cast Madison podcast today, Wisconsin State Climatologist Steve Vavrus talks to host Bianca Martin about what shape the planet is in, and what Wisconsin can expect weather-wise after a hot and humid summer 🥵

PODCAST

State Climatologist on Wisconsin's Wild Weather & Climate Change

What Madison's Talking About

UW Madison's Bascom Hall, a brick building with white columns.

Nearly 74,000 students applied to UW-Madison last school year. (Rosina Peixoto / Wikimedia Commons)

🎒 Everybody Wants To Be a UW Badger: Applications to enroll at UW-Madison have steadily increased year after year, and the number of freshman applicants has more than doubled from 32,000 in 2016 to nearly 74,000 last school year. Part of the reason behind the growth is that it’s now easier for students to apply to multiple schools through the Common App, and the university’s national standing continues to rise. [Cap Times]

🗳️ UW Prof Launches Write-in Campaign Against Hesselbein: UW-Madison political scientist Nathan Kalmoe has launched a write-in campaign against Democratic Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein from the left. The Senate leader did not face a challenger in the August primary, and Kalmoe said her politics are out of step with the liberal 27th District, which covers parts of Verona, Middleton, Cross Plains, and beyond. [Daily Cardinal]

💊 St. Vinnie’s Expands Free Pharmacy: The St. Vincent de Paul Charitable Pharmacy on Fish Hatchery Road is expanding its hours to provide free prescriptions to eligible residents. The pharmacy, which in 2025 offered over $1 million in medication to 354 patients, will be open daily Monday through Fridays. Editor’s note: St. Vincent de Paul is a sponsor of City Cast Madison. [St. Vincent de Paul]

🍦 Ice Cream Truck Makes a Sweet Comeback: Three months after a fire destroyed her original ice cream truck, Susie Benson is back on the road with her Susie’s Sweets and Frozen Treats business. With the help of insurance money and an $8,000 GoFundMe campaign, Benson was able to replace the truck. [WKOW]

🇵🇰 Sultan Chef Releases New Cookbook: Madison restaurant owner Sultan Ahmed is publishing a new cookbook called “Zameen.” The recipes in the book, which will be published Sept. 20, reflect the philosophy of Ahmed’s Willy Street restaurant Sultan, which features modern interpretations of Pakistani dishes.

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Today’s Must-Know

A brown cow looks out from a holding pen.

Both the tariffs issued by the United States against Canada, and the counter-tariffs issued this week by Canada, have the potential to hurt Wisconsin dairy farmers. (Austin Santaniello / UnSplash)

How the U.S.-Canada Trade War Could Hurt Wisconsin Farmers

Canada implemented $20 billion in retaliatory tariffs on the United States Tuesday, responding to President Donald Trump levying $20 billion in tariffs on Canadian goods after trade talks between the two countries fell apart in August. (A tariff is a tax that a government places on goods coming into the country, and while importers pay the tariff, the extra cost is often passed on to consumers.)

Experts say that Wisconsin farmers – and, as a result, Wisconsin consumers – will be hurt by the tariffs from both sides. Here’s a breakdown on how the tariffs will affect Wisconsin farmers, and how you might feel the impact. [WPR]

🥛 Milk and Cheese

Wisconsin dairy farmers are especially worried about tariffs on milk and cheese that Canada placed this week. Canada is the second-largest customer for United States agriculture next to Mexico, having purchased $28 billion in agricultural goods last year.

Canada has placed a tariff of 50% on a variety of milk and cream products, and 25% on cheese and curds. Wisconsin dairy farmers say the tit-for-tat tariffs could hurt exports of milk products produced in the Midwest, of which there’s already an oversupply. The cost of milk is currently at record highs in U.S. grocery stores despite the oversupply, due to increased production and distribution costs. [USDA, Yahoo! Finance, eDairyNews, Chicago Tribune]

🐄 Other trouble spots for Wisconsin farmers

Where Is It?

A stained glass image of a tree.

Do you know where this stained glass art is located? (Photo by Jen V.)

⬆️ Last Week’s Photo

This stained glass, known as “Tree of Light,” is located on the Carpenter-Ridgway Bike Path!

🎉 This was a toughie! Only Jen G. guessed it right!

⬇️ This Week’s Photo

A mural on a building of a cow. The cow has patches of different shapes and colors - orange, turquoise.

Get moo-ving and tell me where this cow mural is located! (Photo by Barbara P.)

Where is this mural? A few clues:

  • It’s on Madison’s north side
  • It’s one of many animal murals (including a bear, a deer and a bunny) decorating a new apartment development
  • Do you know what factory used to be on the same site? Hot dog!
🤔 Where Is It?

This week’s photo was submitted by a City Cast Madison reader, Barbara P.! If you see something in Madison that you think would make a great Where Is It, take a photo and email it to me at madison@citycast.fm!

What To Do

Wednesday, Sep. 9

Thursday, Sep. 10

More Madison Events

📰 Extra! Extra! Have you been seeing monarch butterflies around lately? The beautiful critters gotta go to Mexico for the fall migration, and have been stopping in southern Wisconsin on the way. The Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance has been tagging the monarchs to track them on their 1,700-mile journey and help learn more about their migration patterns. See you in the spring, fellas! 🦋

– Rob Thomas

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