Your Daily Guide

🎒 Crowley Proposes Rent Hike Protections For Students: Democratic candidate for governor David Crowley has proposed a package of renters’ rights bills, including more support for students and a cap on annual rent hikes. The “Fair Deal For Wisconsin Renters” comes amid concerns over housing supply and costs, especially in towns like Madison with a growing population. [Cap Times]

🏗️ $17 Million Apartment is a Homecoming For Developer: The 44-unit Park Lofts building opened last week on South Park Street from developer Julian Walters, who grew up in the neighborhood. Walters was born into foster care, and his building includes 11 units for young people who have aged out of foster care, as well as offices for JustDane to support those residents. [🔒WSJ]

🧑‍⚕️ Nurses File Charges Against SSM Health: Alleging that the health system threatened and fired employees during their two successful efforts to unionize, over 1,200 nurses at St. Mary’s and Dean Medical filed federal charges against SSM Health. The charges were filed with the National Labor Relations Board. [WKOW]

🏫 UW Creates New Position To Address Sexual Misconduct: After two recent reports of alleged sexual assault tied to off-campus fraternities, UW-Madison created a new position dealing with sexual misconduct within the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life.

• On Oct. 16, Badgers Against Sexual Assault will host a rally on the Library Mall for survivors to share their stories and to raise money for the campus rape crisis center. [WMTV, Instagram]

🛒 Long Awaited Park Street Grocery Store Opens: Maurer’s Urban Market opened Oct. 10 on South Park Street after being in the works for almost a decade. District 13 Ald. Tag Evers and owner Kristi Maurer worked for years to bring the grocery store to the area, worried that it might become a food desert if the nearby Pick ‘n Save closed.

• Plans to raze that store fell through, but Maurer’s says it offers a more modern shopping experience to its customers, including a sushi bar and a Caribou Coffee shop. [Maurer’s Urban Market, WKOW, 🔒WSJ]

🐻‍❄️ Is Nora the Polar Bear Pregnant? A gentleman never asks, but Henry Vilas Zoo keepers are watching her, and say she’s gained a lot of weight recently. However, they won’t know for sure for a while – you can’t get a pregnancy test for polar bears at Walgreens. [News 3]

🐱 ‘Terrible’ Cat Seeks Home: This Reddit post reads like the worst “Take Me Home Tuesday” ever. [Reddit]

One thing’s for sure, you won’t walk away from the Wisconsin Book Festival’s 25th annual Fall Celebration Oct. 15-18 without something new to read.

The festival’s annual event, put on at the Madison Public Library and its foundation at the Central Branch and a few other locations, offers something for every kind of reader. Whether you want the hottest new literary fiction, the most thought-provoking nonfiction, some new bedtime stories to read to the kids, or even some tips for your own writing project, they’ve got you covered. And it’s all free.

On the City Cast Madison podcast today, host Bianca Martin is joined by festival Director Jane Rotonda and Madison writer Jeff Oloizia, host of the “Writing Forward” podcast that just launched its second season. They talk about highlights of this year’s festival, Wisconsin’s literary tradition, and the books that every Madisonian should read.

Here’s a few recommendations for every kind of book lover to enjoy at the fest. As a note, the Madison Public Library is a sponsor of City Cast Madison (you’ve probably seen their ads in this newsletter!). But this article is produced with 100% editorial independence.

For the Political Junkie

Sweating about the upcoming midterms? Former Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler has the prescription for progressive angst in his new book “This Is The Plan: How To End America’s Meltdown and Save Democracy.” Wikler offers a hopeful and specific list of action items for individuals and small groups to get the country back on track. Can’t wait? Wikler was on the City Cast Madison podcast last year to talk about the future of Wisconsin’s Democratic party. (6 p.m. Oct. 17, Madison Central Library)

For the Rocker

It’s hard to believe that the Strokes’ debut album “Is This It” was released a quarter-century ago, ushering in a new era of guitar rock in the ‘00s that included bands like The Killers and Franz Ferdinand. In his new book “Is This It: The Never Ending Rise and Fall of The Strokes (and Rock ‘n Roll),” rock critic Steven Hyden chronicles the band, and how their career shows the ever-changing impact of rock music on popular culture. (6 p.m. Oct. 16, Madison Central Library)

For Science Lovers

The book festival always coincides with the Wisconsin Science Festival, and sponsors several collabs of science-related books. Check out Siri Carpenter’s anthology “The Best Science Stories and How They Work,” which looks at 11 stories by science journalists, with Carpenter’s commentaries on what makes them compelling. (4:30 p.m. Oct. 16, Discovery Building)