🌱 $50 City Recycling Charge + UW Family Gardening Day + GYT Campaign

Hey, Madison! It's Wednesday, so let's get you started with everything you need to know going on around town today.

First, today's weather:

Cloudy, a thunderstorm; mild. High: 66 Low: 33.

Here are the top three stories today in Madison:

1. Madison households participating in the city's recycling program could soon pay about $50 more per year to cover the costs. On Monday, Madison's Finance Committee endorsed legislation for a "resource recovery special charge," which would apply to all curbside recycling customers. The committee voted 4-1 to endorse the fee of approximately $4.10 each month; the full City Council could take up the charge as soon as Apr. 19. (Madison.com)
2. Have a green thumb? You won't want to miss UW Family Gardening Day, a free, family-friendly event happening on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus on May 7. From 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., gardeners-to-be of all ages can enjoy displays, demonstrations, and hands-on activities with seeds, plants, and soil. Attendees can also take home plants and seeds for their own gardens. (wisc.edu)
3. Public Health Madison and Dane County (PHMDC) have an important message for residents: "Get Yourself Tested." The national "GYT" campaign encourages people to get tested for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV — a particularly important reminder amid a significant drop in STI testing across the county.“This campaign couldn’t come at a more important time, after regular health checkups and screenings have unfortunately taken a backseat during the pandemic for many people, including getting tested for STIs,” said Madeleine Armstrong, a nurse with PHMDC. (WKOW)

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Today in Madison:

• Clean Lakes 101: Lake Mendota - The Good, The Bad, The Present At The Edgewater Hotel(8:00 AM)
• IceBreaker 2022, Hosted By Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce At Kohl Center (11:00 AM)
• COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic At South Madison Branch Library (12:30 PM)
• Ian's Pizza Dough-Nation Night For Literacy Network At Garver Feed Mill (5:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• Over 250 local Wisconsin producers will soon set up bright and early on the capitol square for this season’s Saturday Market on the Square. Click to learn more about the longstanding Madison event. (Channel3000.com - WISC-TV3)
• A Dane County organization raised over $83,000 for area restaurants and donated food to families in need. Dane Buy Local announced Monday that 5,633 quarts of soup were sold this year through the Soup’s On! campaign, which is a collaboration of various area businesses and organizations to support restaurants. (WMTV – NBC15)
• Calling all prospective Madison homebuyers: don't miss this week's local real estate roundup, courtesy of Patch and Redfin. (Madison Patch)

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That's it for today. See you all tomorrow morning for another update!

— Sean Peek

About me: Sean Peek is a writer and entrepreneur with a degree in English Literature from Weber State University. Over the years, he has worked as a copywriter, editor, SEO specialist, and marketing director for various digital media companies. He currently co-owns and operates content creation agency Lightning Media Partners.