City Cast Madison

Madison is said to have more bikes than cars. And with 200 miles of bike trails in the area, there’s a lot to explore. So we turned to biking aficionado Grant Foster of Madison Bikes for his favorite trips. He’s got tips for everyone from newbies to those ready to make a weekend out of it. Plus, basic bike maintenance. Grant’s recommendations:  If you’ve got 30 minutes or less: Downtown Loop along State Street and Capitol (2 miles) Lake Mendota shorefront to Picnic Point (3 miles) Wingra Lake Loop through the UW Arboretum (6 miles) Lower Yahara River Trail (6 miles)  If you’ve got an hour or two: Lake Monona Loop (12 miles) Cap City Loop: Lake Farm Park to Seminole Hwy, through the Arboretum and back to Lake Farm via Wingra and Cap City paths (16 miles) Day Trippin’ Badger State trail south to Paoli and back (17 miles round-trip)  Bike Camping Military Ridge trail west to Blue Mounds State Park and back (46 miles round-trip) Lake Farm Park south to Lake Kegonsa State Park and back (20 miles round-trip) Lake Farm Park east to Sandhill Station State Campground and back (60 miles round-trip) Also mentioned on today's show:🦋 Blooming Butterflies at Olbrich Botanical GardensWanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

If you’ve been to a Wisconsin bar, you’ve likely seen a pull-tab machine. Pop in a buck and out comes a rectangle cardboard card that may get you a cash prize of up to $250. Tea Krulos got the bizarre backstory of this unofficial — yet legal — lottery. He joins City Cast Madison to explain how Wisconsin Souvenir Milkcaps (as they're officially known) became a thing.For more on Wisconsin Souvenir Milkcaps, read Krulos' article "The Unlikely Story Behind Pull-Tabs in Wisconsin" published by Milwaukee Magazine.Also mentioned on the show:🎂 UW Madison’s 175th BirthdayWant more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

Dylan Brogan, Bianca Martin and Molly Stentz are here to roundup the week’s news. Factory farms sue over pollution permits, west side neighbors rally to save a pet pig, and musicians get paid after local journalism intervenes. Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

Move over brewers, Madison distilleries are having a moment. And they’re making more than just brandy for your Old Fashioned. Fifteen years ago, Madison had exactly one distillery, and it was pretty new. Now, there’s at least ten in the area, if you count companies producing spirits for their own cocktails.Our pal Lindsay Christians, food editor at The Cap Times, is here with the latest on local spirits.🍸 Join us every Thursday as we explore Madison's food culture, from the brewers and bakers to the chefs and cheesemakers.Distilleries and cocktail companies mentioned on today’s show:Imaginary Factory (Madison)Old Sugar Distillery (Madison)Plain Spoke Cocktail Company (Madison)State Line Distillery (Madison)Yahara Bay Distillers (Madison)Dancing Goat Distillery (Cambridge)Doundrins Distilling (Cottage Grove)J. Henry and Sons (Dane)Wollersheim (Prairie du Sac)Awildan Distilling (Sun Prairie)Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

Looking for a good place to swim in the Madison area? Worried about blue-green algae in the lakes? Wondering what pools and beaches are open these days? Maybe you want some personal recs on the best spots to take the little ones. Alisa Sleep, one of the founders of the Madison Mom parenting site, joins us to share her faves. Here’s the Madison Mom guide to local pools, splash pads and beaches. Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

Madison’s professional men’s soccer team, officially called Madison Forward Football Club, is on a winning streak. They’re currently ranked second in their league, USL League One. What’s behind the flamingoes’ rally?We catch up with captain Mitch Osmond about what’s going right this season. 🦩Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

Next time you’re at Olin Turville Park, say hello to new park staffers Donna, Nancy, Emma, Janelle, Midnight and Dorito. Don’t be mad if they don’t talk back, though. They’re goats. These goats are on assignment cleaning up brush and invasive species in many Madison parks. They belong to Greg Haak and Brooke Hushagen of HaakHagen Goat Grazing, who set the herd up inside a portable electric fence and let them graze. Goats are natural browsers, and the idea is that they’ll naturally eat their way through the park, cleaning up unwanted vegetation and reducing the need for herbicides. Producer Molly Stentz tracked down the goat wranglers to learn how it’s working.Mentioned in the episode: 🐐 Want to volunteer as a goat checker?🎢 The Dane County Fair is this weekendWanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

The City Cast team rounds up the week’s news, including the Madison City Council paving the way for more high-end apartments downtown, the ongoing renovations at Woodman’s on Milwaukee Street and Top Chef coming to Madison. Bianca Martin and Molly Stentz share your thoughts on our Tourist Trap week. And we announce some big media news with a special guest, our CEO David Plotz. Did you miss our Tourist Trap Week? Check out our takes on Madison-area tourist attractions:  Taliesin 🎧 The House on the Rock 🎧 Cave of the Mounds 🎧 National Mustard Museum 🎧 And enjoy La Fête de Marquette this weekend! 🎡Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram! Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

In the heart of downtown Middleton lies the National Mustard Museum. They claim the world’s largest collection, with more than 6,000 bottles on display. The free museum is in the basement and the main floor is a gift shop with all kinds of mustard imaginable. There’s even a tasting bar. Of course, the entire City Cast Team - Bianca Martin, Dylan Brogan and Molly Stentz - had to check it out on our most excellent summer road trip of local tourist attractions. Did we cut the mustard? What did we miss? Let ‘er rip…Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. Check out photos and videos from our journey on Twitter and Instagram.Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

It’s Day Three of our whirlwind adventure visiting some of Wisconsin’s most famous tourist attractions. Today, we head to Cave of the Mounds near Blue Mounds, Wisconsin. It’s a privately owned cave that’s listed as a National Natural Landmark due to its educational and scientific value. For a fee, you can take a self-guided tour of the quarter-mile long limestone cave and see stalactites, stalagmites and fossils.Did you go on a field trip here as a kid? Have another fun memory? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm and we might play it on the show. We’re also sharing our favorite photos and videos on Twitter and Instagram.Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the Madison Minutes morning newsletter. Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast ads at citycast.fm/advertise.