Your Daily Guide

🚌 Traffic Engineering Division Gets a Tune-up: To better reflect its broader mission, the city’s Traffic Engineering Division has been renamed the Mobility & Infrastructure Division. Officials say the new name reflects a focus on supporting Madison residents as they travel by foot, bus, or car. [City of Madison]

💰 Mayor’s Budget Defers Big Cuts For a Year: While the city was expected to face an $11 million budget deficit in 2027, Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway’s proposed $477.5 million operating budget includes only $1 million in cuts. That’s because the city is spending $9 million less on Metro Transit, thanks to $1.6 million in cost reductions and $7.4 million in federal grants.

• Overall, the budget increases spending by 5.5%. The owner of the average home, now valued at $500,300, would pay roughly $90 more in taxes. [City of Madison, 🔒WSJ]

⛔ Alder Proposes Terminating Police Monitor: On Oct. 20, the Madison City Council will consider a resolution from District 2 Ald. Will Ochowicz to end the contract of interim independent police monitor Aeiramique Glass before her term ends in March.

• Tensions between Glass’ office and police and city officials have escalated since the July 22 fatal police shooting of Corey Ruiz. Glass and city attorney Michael Haas have been at odds recently over whether her office needs to adhere to city policies, such as for the hiring of outside counsel. [Madison365, Spectrum News]

💻 Learn About City’s Proposed Data Center Rules: As staff work on a proposed framework for zoning regulations for data centers in Madison, the city has scheduled a public information meeting on Oct. 27. The meeting will be held virtually, and you can register to attend here. [City of Madison]

🚬 UW Gets Grant For Tobacco Recovery Treatment: To help people recovering from tobacco addition, UW-Madison’s Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention has received an $11.1 million grant from the National Cancer Institute. The money will be used to implement tobacco-use treatments at 16 community health centers in Wisconsin and Massachusetts. [Daily Cardinal]

🍨 Hazelnut Tiramisu or Rock’n Raspberry? The Chocolate Shoppe has named the three finalists out of 2,000 submissions in its 2026 Create a Flavor contest. Customers can vote until Oct. 18 whether they want Hazelnut Tiramisu, Rock’n Raspberry, or Sweet Dreams are Made of Cheesecake (who am I to disagree?) in the regular freezer rotation. [Chocolate Shoppe]

💸 Fighting For Equal Pay For Latinas: On average, a Latina employee makes 53 cents for every dollar paid to a white, non-Hispanic male. Oct. 8 is Latina Equal Pay Day, and on the City Cast Madison podcast today, executive producer Hayley Sperling and creative producer Jade Iseri-Ramos talk to Midwest Mujeres founder Araceli Esparza about the battle for pay equality, as well as Midwest Mujeres’ annual “Voices and Dreams” storytelling event on Nov. 1. [Equal Pay 2 Day, 🎧 City Cast Madison, Midwest Mujeres]

Your Favorite Spots To Meet Your Neighbors in Madison

We’re in the middle of our fall membership campaign this week (have you heard?), and one thing we keep stressing is the importance of community, of meeting your Madison neighbors out in the world and building community together. The City Cast Madison team who makes the newsletter, makes the podcast, makes the social media posts – we all live here too!

In that spirit, every time somebody signs up for the City Cast Madison newsletter, we send them a welcome message and ask them this question: What’s your favorite place in your neighborhood and what makes it special?

Here are some of the answers we received – it seems everybody has a different favorite spot to get together. We hope City Cast Madison has become one of those favorite spots for you, too, and that you’ll consider supporting us as a City Cast Madison neighbor.

Taylor B. loves to visit Period Garden Park. “It’s a city park flower garden maintained by volunteers. Magical!”

Nicole F. gets away from it all at Pheasant Branch Conservancy. “I love to get my exercise there. It’s peaceful, beautiful and safe to enjoy alone. It doesn’t feel like you are in the middle of a city.”

John H. loves to get a meal at Gloria’s Mexican Restaurant. “Super friendly and authentic/great food.”