Plus, Madison’s IKEA will crowd out three stores ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌
Monday, August 24 

Your Daily Guide

Good morning, Madison! Before we get into today’s news, I just wanted to pause and say thank you. The news lately has been non-stop and we’ve worked hard to get you the latest information while also stepping back to bring context and make sense of the impact on our city.

We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback about our coverage, and we’ve also seen an uptick in people becoming members. If you also value the work of our local team, consider supporting us and becoming a City Cast Madison Neighbor. Thank you so much for being with us. It means a lot!

What Madison's Talking About

A multi-story round building with a sign reading "American Family Children's Hospital."

A baby who was recently released from American Family Children’s Hospital is the smallest surviving baby ever in the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. (UW Health)

👶 ‘Miracle Baby’ Leaves Madison Hospital: A baby who weighed less than a can of soda upon birth has left the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at American Family Children’s Hospital after 375 days. Raelynn Kubiske weighed 12.5 ounces when she was born in July 2025, making her the smallest surviving baby in the NICU’s history. [WMTV]

👷 West Side IKEA Will Displace Three Stores: The IKEA under construction on Madison’s far west side may be small by IKEA standards, but it’s still big enough to displace three businesses. Bed, Bath & Beyond, Party City, and an eye clinic have all moved out to make room for the 35,000-square-foot store, scheduled to open later this year. [🔒WSJ]

🚧 Walter Street Closed For Utility Work: Walter Street at Milwaukee Street will be closed today through Wednesday for construction crews to install utility work for a nearby private development. [City of Madison]

🏥 Epic Unveils New AI System: At its Users Group Meeting last week that drew 74,000 people to its Verona campus, Epic Systems announced Ergo, a new AI tool that will integrate systems to provide personalized health care information for customers. [Cap Times]

🖼️ Chazen Says Goodbye to Major Benefactor: As the Chazen Museum of Art prepares to open its renovated gallery space next month, the museum is saying farewell to one of its most generous benefactors. Rosemary Ho Chen died Aug. 12 at the age of 97. She and her late husband Simon K. Chen donated their Chinese art collection to the museum. [Cap Times, Chazen Museum of Art]

🎧 Daily Pod Plug: Today on the City Cast Madison podcast, the team talks about two pretty different but both very important topics. District 2 Ald. Will Ochowicz joins the conversation to discuss traffic safety and the Downtown Area Plan, and later in the show Period Products Pantry Founder and Executive Director Carol Aspinwall shares her organization's vision and efforts to address period poverty.

PODCAST

Go With the Flow: Downtown Traffic and Period Products

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Take the City Cast Madison News Quiz!

Francesca Hong and David Crowley stand onstage.

Do you know who was behind the fake poll in the Democratic primary? (Both photos by Scott Olson / Getty Images)

It’s been a while since we’ve had a news quiz in the newsletter, and a lot has happened. So test your knowledge of what’s happened in Madison lately!

1.What was the name of the company that released a fake poll in the Wisconsin gubernatorial Democratic primary?

  1. Median Strategies
  2. Poll Position
  3. Political Testing
  4. Phony Baloney Consultating
Take the quiz!
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What To Do

Monday, Aug. 24

Tuesday, Aug. 25

More Madison Events

📰 Extra! Extra! Another university might brag that they came in at No. 5 on USA Today’s list of top party schools in the United States. But for UW-Madison, it’s something of a disappointment, right? Tulane, Alabama, Florida State, and Georgia all came ahead of us on the list 🎉

– Rob Thomas

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