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Madison Boats Kicks Off Their New Season with Two Events...plus More Updates

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Hi Everyone, 

Spring has sprung in all its glory. My daffodils and tulips are up, beckoning me to tend to my garden. Lots of yard work and house projects, and lots to do all around District 13. Here are two events sponsored by Madison Boats that you may find interesting: 

Wingra Boats Season Opener and Lake Blessing  

Join Wingra Boats at 9am this Saturday as they open their season with their 7th annual lake blessing to be held at the boat house in Wingra Park. Open to the community, this event will include a lake blessing by Thomas Redbird and his family, who are members of the Water Spirit Clan of the Ho-Chunk Nation. Coffee and bagels will be provided. Following the lake blessing, Wingra Boats opens its season at 10am. 

Brittingham Boats Neighborhood Gathering 

Brittingham Boats is hosting a neighborhood gathering with these fun Spring activities:  

10am–12pm: Monona Bay Cleanup with Friends of Monona Bay  

12pm: Neighborhood Potluck. Please bring a dish to pass. Hot dogs, brats + drinks provided by local sponsoring businesses.   

1pm: Speakers on upcoming neighborhood development projects, followed by Monona Bay Neighborhood Association annual meeting.  May 10 is also opening day for Brittingham Boats, so you may stick around after to rent a boat and explore Monona Bay.  

Here are the rest of this week's updates: 

Boards, Commissions, and Committee Meetings 

Note: This is not a complete list of meetings for this upcoming week. All meetings and their details can be found at the Meeting Schedule page. 

  • Common Council: The Common Council meeting will take place on Tuesday, May 6, at 6:30 p.m. in hybrid format. Agenda items include assisting the development of the former Voit farm property, as well as adding disorderly conduct directed at a city transit officer to Madison General Ordinances. 
  • Board of Public Works: The Board of Public Works meeting will take place on Wednesday, May 7, at 4:30 p.m. in virtual format. Agenda items include approving plans and specifications for public improvements required to serve Phase 1 of the Subdivision known as Starkweather Plat. 

If you would like more information about becoming a member of a City board, commission, or committee, please visit the page linked here. 

Announcements and News Releases 

  • N Shore Drive Path & E Madison Bikeways Projects: The first projects for the East Madison Bikeways and North Shore Drive Path will start on Monday, May 5th. Projects will include pedestrian and bicycle enhancements, as well as improved pavement markings. Expect minor traffic control changes… [posted May 2, 2025] 
  • What You Need to Know About Low Mow May 2025: The Building Inspection Division is again letting residents know that it will be suspending the enforcement of the City of Madison’s grass length ordinance during May as part of “Low Mow May” to help support the local pollinator population. [posted May 1, 2025] 
  • City of Madison Celebrates New Affordable Homes : After developing 22 other homes in the Mosaic Ridge subdivision, the City partnered with Wisconsin Partnership for Housing Development and Madison Area Community Land Trust to build two additional land trust homes. [posted April 30, 2025] 
  • MPD releases 2024 Annual Report: It is a long-standing tradition for the Madison Police Department to share its annual report with the community. In 2024, the MPD remained committed to our mission statement, “We, the members of the Madison Police Department, are… [posted April 30, 2025] 

Please visit the City news webpage to find additional news and announcements and to subscribe to receive notification of news releases as they are posted. 

Events 

  • Warner Family Fun Night, Friday, May 9: Join us at WPCRC for Warner Family Fun Night! Families can create art projects, play in the game room or the gym, watch a movie or win some prizes playing bingo!  
  • Bird & Nature Adventures | Owen, Saturday, May 10: Explore Owen Conservation Park on gentle trails through historic oak openings on a hillside with an Ice Age kettle and along restored prairies with beautiful vistas on this high point overlooking the west side of Madison. 
  • Bird & Nature Adventures | Turville Point, Sunday, May 11: Month of Maying.  Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it, let’s do it, let’s fall in love!  Join Naturalist Kathlean Wolf for a free fun family friendly outing to enjoy Spring birds, bugs, flowers, and the burst of life occurring around you. 

Additional upcoming events can also be found on the City events calendar.  

Lastly....

This past Saturday I joined fellow alders and city staff on a tour of small businesses. While we didn't visit any in District 13, it was a wonderful time celebrating the vitality of several local businesses that had received financial assistance from the city in the form of low-interest loans and seed grants. It was encouraging to see how these public investments are creating jobs and building generational wealth, opening doors that had otherwise been closed. 

Yes, there's a sociopath in the White House, and, yes, there's uncertainty in the economy. But there's also lots of good being done on a local level. 

Now's a good time not to lose focus of that. The sun is poking through the clouds, and the pall that's been overhead since last November need not rob us of the many things to celebrate, of the essential goodness of community, of our shared humanity. In other words, there's nuance in the present moment, and recognizing all that's good is as important as opposing all that's not. 

Hope to see you outside this week.

Take care and stay safe,

Tag

 

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District 13 - Alder Evers

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