The Capital Times on LinkedIn: Culver's co-founder Craig Culver to speak at Cap Times breakfast (2024)

On Wednesday, Sept. 18, join us at The Barrymore for this special Cap Times Idea Fest event, featuring two fascinating panel discussions.6 p.m. | Has the craft beer bubble burst?Recent financial troubles at high-profile Wisconsin craft breweries have clouded the future for what had been a growth industry. Chris Drosner of Milwaukee Magazine moderates a panel featuring Billy DuPlanty of Young Blood Beer Co, Jessica Jones of Giant Jones Brewing, LLC, Russ Klisch of Lakefront Brewery and Isaac Showaki of Octopi as they take a look ahead at the future for one of the state’s signature products.7:30 p.m. | How can we afford to live in Madison?Rapidly rising rents and home prices in Madison are a source of great frustration for home-seekers and local leaders, who predict that the city’s population will continue to grow quickly, putting even more economic pressure on the existing housing supply. Cap Times local government reporter Allison Garfield moderates a panel featuring Joe Bernard, AICP, Amani Latimer Burris, Ian Carter and Bill Connors as they discuss how Madisonians can afford to live here.This event is free for all attendees with pre-registration, or tickets are $5 at the door. Register now:https://lnkd.in/gfVuYWhj.Presented by the Madison Community Foundation.

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At 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 17, join us at Madison College's Goodman Campus to hear from Valerie Crespín-Trujillo, PhD, MPP of Ascendium's Education Philanthropy, Karen Menéndez Coller of Centro of Dane County, Zong Her of Madison Area Technical College, Matthew Kures of UW-Madison Extension Community Economic Development Program and Francisco Soza of Literacy Network.Learn more and register to attend for free: https://lnkd.in/geW8emj6.

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Less than a year after opening, Middleton woodworking studio The Joinery has seen such demand that it’s moved to a warehouse at 8508 Fairway Place, a space three times as big as its first.For a monthly fee of $95 per household, the business offers members unlimited, 24/7 access to a woodshop filled with an assortment of high-end saws, planers, computer numerical control routers and more. Members get a discount on The Joinery’s classes, which include sessions on watercolor, book making and stained glass.A student rate of $45 a month is available for high school and college students, though members under 18 must be accompanied by a parent.On Saturday, the business will host a grand opening celebration where the public is invited to tour the new space and see projects built by members. The event, which runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., will feature brats, burgers and beer. People who miss the event can check out the studio at monthly open houses. Theshared shop was a dream of co-owner Steven Ricks, a product development manager at Middleton company Electronic Theatre Controls.

As students filed into schools Tuesday for their first day of the academic year, Madison schools Superintendent Joe Gothard, Ed.D. welcomed them with high fives and cheers.Some kindergartners tearfully clung to their parents. Others were eager to meet their peers and teachers as they sauntered into school with confidence.“It’s a joyous day. It’s an emotional day,” Gothard said outside Midvale Elementary School on Madison’s west side. “It’s really fun to just interact with people and understand where they’re at.” Gothard is entering his first full school year as thenew leader of the Madison Metropolitan School District. He spent Tuesday morning greeting students and parents at Midvale, Van Hise Elementary School and Hamilton Middle School.“My mind is everywhere, making sure that all of our schools are successful on this first day,” he said.Gothard’s task for the day was to help ease the transition into school for kindergarteners, sixth graders and high school freshmen whose classes began Tuesday, he added. Their peers in all other grades begin school Wednesday.“There have been some challenges, but I feel like this year we’ve been able to overcome and start in a much better place,” said Gothard, who previously worked in Madison schools and grew up in the city. “I want to make sure I’m supporting and getting to know this community so I can best support our schools.”

As inflation calmed last year, Wisconsin workers’ buying power grew at a record rate, according to a new report from the High Road Strategy Center, a University of Wisconsin-Madison think tank.The center’s annual“State of Working Wisconsin” reportshows what’s changed for workers of different races and genders in the last year.This year’s report shows a tight labor market has led to Wisconsin wage growth that “far outstrips the usual increases.” From 2022 to 2023, inflation-adjusted hourly wages rose by 97 cents to $23.90. That jump is the highest the state has seen in four decades, tied with the increase from 2018 to 2019. On average, hourly wages grew by 7 cents each year since 1979.The growth in real wages comes after high inflation drove buying power down in 2022, the center found.Nationally, median wages were already higher ($23.82 in 2022) but rose by much less than in Wisconsin: 16 cents over the year.Wages rose the most for workers who earn less. Over the last four years, wages for Wisconsin workers at the 20th percentile — workers earning more than 20% of the workforce — rose by 8%. Wages for the 50th percentile rose by 3.9%. Wages for the 80th percentile rose by 0.9%. Because lower-income workers are disproportionately Black and Hispanic, the increases reduced racial and ethnic wage gaps in the state. Since 2019, Black women’s inflation-adjusted wages have risen by 19%, compared to 1% for white men and 4% for white women. Wages for Hispanic women rose by 7%, while wages for Black men rose 4% and wages for Hispanic men rose 2%. “The wage trends are moving towards equality,” Laura Dresser, associate director of theHigh Road Strategy Center, said in an interview.

It became clear early on toUW-Cinemathequeprogram director Jim Healy that one summer wouldn’t be enough time to honor David Bordwell.The acclaimed film scholar and University of Wisconsin-Madison professor, who died in March, left behind dozens of books and essays. He inspired generations of film lovers who benefited from his insights into cinema, from the tiniest details of what’s happening on screen to the overarching sweep of film production history.“There’s not enough we can do to show our appreciation for the guy,” said Healy, one of several programmers of the free on-campus film series at 4070 Vilas Hall. “You could probably make the case that everything we do (has) him for an inspiration. I’m not saying he liked and loved every film we showed. But his influence is impossible to deny. We’re really grateful.”In June and July, the UW-Cinematheque showed six films that showcased the breadth and depth of Bordwell’s passion for movies, ranging from Joel and Ethan Coen’s “Blood Simple” to Yasujiro Ozu’s “Record of a Tenement Gentleman.” In many cases, the films were followed by a video essay that Bordwell had recorded about the movie for the Criterion Collection.Healy soon began planning to extend the series into the fall. “Thank You, David Bordwell (Part 2)” kicks off at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 30 with a screening of Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel.”

Elaine Fang bought a bike for her son a few years ago, but he rarely used it. He went off to college, leaving the bike unused, flat and falling apart.Fang tried to pump up the flat tires herself. She knew she must be doing something wrong or the bike was in need of repair.Seeking answers, Fang heard about a Care and Repair program being run by the Madison Public Library (Madison, WI) in a partnership with several bicycle organizations, such as Wheels for Winners and Dream Bikes, at the Ashman Branch on Madison’s west side.The Madison Public Library is hostingCare and Repair eventsacross the city until Nov. 15. The new program is designed to help people learn how to fix household items, clothing, crafts and bicycles.“I think people want to learn how to make their things last longer, and in Madison there is of course a drive to be more sustainable and intentional with the resources we consume,” said program coordinator Melissa Ernst in a statement from the library. “These programs are a way to empower people by teaching the skills needed to do their own repairs in several different areas.”When Fang brought her son’s bicycle in to be fixed, she got more than she’d bargained for. The volunteers fixed her bike and taught her how to complete repairs next time.“My bike has just been sitting, and I don’t know how to deal with it,” Fang said. “They showed me how to do it. It probably is better than just doing it for me, so I know how to do things in the future myself.”Volunteers said they’ve participated in close to a hundred bike repair events around Madison over the past couple of years. Monday’s event was the second in the partnership between the bike organizations and the library, with a third event planned for Aug. 29 at Goodman South Library.

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Amazon says it will work with local builders and laborers to construct its new Cottage Grove distribution center, set to break ground next month. The decision comes after state and local leaders sent a letter to the trillion-dollar company urging Amazon to contract locally.The estimated 3.4 million-square-foot facility, to be built on a stretch of farmland at the corner of county highways TT and N, was approved by the Cottage Grove Village Board about two years agodespite vocal community opposition. It remains unknown just how many construction workers the project will take, but the company estimates the center itself will provide about 1,500 jobs. “The construction of a fulfillment center is a collaborative process that involves numerous contractors and subcontractors working together,” Sam Stephenson, a spokesperson for Amazon, wrote in an email to the Cap Times. “Across the country, we’ve formed strong partnerships with local economic development groups that help facilitate this process by connecting us and our general contractors with local trades and companies that support necessary functions to help construct our facility.”Amazon is outsourcing its construction contracting for the center to Ryan Companies US, Inc., a Minnesota-based management company, which Amazon told the Cap Times will “source a majority of the labor locally.”“Ryan Companies is committed to working closely with local builders and contractors for this project,” Chaz Miller, project manager for Ryan, wrote in a statement emailed to the Cap Times. “Our goal is to ensure that this Amazon project has a substantial portion of the work sourced locally, supporting Wisconsin-based businesses and contributing to the regional economy. We are actively engaging with local trades and companies to facilitate the construction process and ensure that the project benefits the local community.”The management company did not specify to the Cap Times which local builders or contractors it was in talks with, nor what portion of the building would be completed by local firms.