Your Daily Guide

🔭 Meet Nobel Prize Winner on Campus: UW-Madison Professor Francis Halzen, who won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics, will appear at 2:30 p.m. Friday in a celebration at the Memorial Union Great Hall. He’ll talk in a “fireside chat” with interim Chancellor Eric Wilcots about his work on the IceCube telescope in Antarctica. If you can’t make it in person, UW is also livestreaming the event. [UW-Madison]

🏫 Six Madison Schools Make Top National Rankings: U.S. News & World Report has ranked six Madison schools among the top public schools in the state. Shorewood Hills Elementary was ranked No. 6 statewide out of 1,265 public elementary schools, while Van Hise and Randall elementary schools were among the state’s top 100. Velma B. Hamilton and Georgia O’Keefe middle schools also ranked within the state’s top 100 middle schools, and Madison West High School ranked No. 38 out of 616 public high schools. [WMTV]

🗳️ Madison To Test Election Equipment: The public is invited to watch on Saturday as the Madison City Clerk’s office tests its election equipment ahead of Election Day. The test of the tabulators begins at 9 a.m. [City of Madison]

⌛ Mt. Zion Digs Up a Piece of Its History: As Mt. Zion Baptist Church prepares to demolish an older wing of the historic South Madison church, officials uncovered a time capsule buried within its walls since the early 1960s. The nearly-forgotten metal box was found behind the address plaque, and included letters, a ring, and a dollar bill donated by members of the congregation. [Madison365]

🌭 Original Racing Sausage Costumes Come to Madison: As the Milwaukee Brewers play Game 1 of the World Series against the Tampa Devil Rays at 7 p.m. tonight, the original Brewers Racing Sausages costumes are being restored at Madison’s State Archive Preservation Facility. The costumes, first introduced in 1993, will eventually be put on display at the new Wisconsin History Museum when it opens in December 2027.

• Meanwhile, a Brewers fan in Baraboo is selling two unopened “Milwaukee Brewer Bar” chocolate bars dating back to the team’s last World Series appearance in 1982. He’s asking $1,000 for the bars that originally sold for 59 cents each. [WKOW, WMTV]

💬 Crowley, Tiffany Square Off in Sole Debate: The two candidates for Wisconsin governor engaged in their first and only debate of the campaign Wednesday in Milwaukee. Democratic candidate David Crowley and Republican candidate Tom Tiffany sparred over affordability, data centers, marijuana legalization, and more.

• 👀 Too long, didn’t watch? I recap the debate today on the City Cast Madison podcast with host Bianca Martin and creative producer Jade Iseri-Ramos. Plus, Bianca talks about Amtrak choo-chooing closer to Madison, and Jade talks about Tuesday’s contentious 12-hour City Council meeting about the police monitor. Plus, it’s Bianca’s last show! Listen and give her a big sendoff! [WPR, 🎧 City Cast Madison]

Meet Bowie, known as “Bobo” to his humans! He’s a four-year-old Great Pyrenees rescue with two true loves in his life – cuddles and cheese. (Cheese usually comes out on top.) He’s “sweeter than frozen custard,” part gentle giant and part goofball. In other words, he’s perfect.

We’re still collecting photos of your favorite pets in their Halloween costumes! Email them to us at madison@citycast.fm (and be sure to tell us your pet’s name!), and we’ll share them in the newsletter next week and on our Instagram page! 👻