Your Daily Guide

🖼️ The Chazen is Closing Until Fall. JUST Until Fall.

• Some Madison art lovers were unpleasantly fooled by an April 1 social media prank that claimed the museum would be closing after 56 years. Turns out, it is closing...but only for a few months while they finish renovations to the adjoining Elvehjem building and reinstall its permanent collection.
• The museum’s galleries will close to the public April 6 and will reopen sometime this fall, museum officials said. The museum’s lobby and cafe will stay open throughout the renovations.
• 😆 No fooling! On the City Cast Madison podcast today, we talk about the Madison-based pranks that were played on us this April Fool’s Day, the ones that delighted us and the ones that traumatized us. We also get into the city’s new pedestrian plan, the race for Dane County Circuit Court, and big changes coming to Wisconsin Hoofers’ building. [Facebook, 🎧 City Cast Madison]

🎻 Visa Problems Forces WCO To Change Final Concert

• The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra is changing its final performance of the 2025-26 season because the featured guest musician, pianist Salome Jordania, is experiencing delays with her visa application.
• Instead of Jordania performing a concert called "Saint-Saëns & Salome" on April 17, pianist Ying Li will perform in a concert called “Schumann in Spring.” CEO Joe Loehnis said it’s the third time this season that the orchestra has had to change its schedule because of visa issues.
• The WCO also announced its 2026-27 season this week, which includes a full-stage collaboration with Madison Ballet. The orchestra is also looking for young artists to design the poster for this summer’s Concerts on the Square. [Fox47, WCO, News 3, Instagram]

🏗️ City Officials Want To Speed Up Zoning Approval Process

• Homeowners could get approval for renovation projects much more quickly under a city proposal to speed up the process in some instances, leaving city staff more time to focus on larger projects.
• Currently, 4,000 single and two-family homes are located in areas across the city zoned for “planned development,” which were a popular way in the ‘70s and ‘80s to allow developers more flexibility. But such developments have fallen out of favor, and residents living in them are effectively “frozen in time,” and facing more onerous restrictions, city officials said.
• Under the proposal, those properties would be rezoned to put them in line with neighboring areas, making it easier for their owners to add a deck or a new patio door. [Cap Times]

🤷 UW President Doesn’t Know Why Regents Want Him To Go. But He Won’t.

• Universities of Wisconsin System President Jay Rothman said the Board of Regents have told him to resign or retire. But, in a letter obtained by the Associated Press, Rothman said he hasn’t been given a reason, and he isn’t budging.
• The board held an emergency closed-door meeting Wednesday night to discuss personnel matters. Rothman said he has been told that if he doesn’t leave, the board will start the process of terminating him. [WPR]