Local

MIDDLETON–The City of Middleton Plan Commission approved a design review submitted by Future Foam to construct a new industrial building at 2314 Parview Rd. The business plans to expand its operations in Middleton adding up to 40 new hourly positions. 

Future Foam is headquartered in Council Bluffs, IA. The company established its business in Omaha, NE in 1958 and now has locations throughout the US and globally. It has had a presence in Middleton since 1977 and currently employs about 150 people. 

Future Foam currently has a building at 2210 Parview Dr. which was extended into 8430 Murphy Dr. around ten years ago. The company manufactures polyurethane foam products for furniture, bedding, and flooring. 

General manager at the Middleton operation, Pete Dahl, said a lot of people are not aware of the company and what it does.

MIDDLETON–The City of Middleton Zoning Ordinance and Zoning Map have been undergoing an over hall after only seeing minor changes since the 1980s. The city will hold a series of open houses to get community input on the project.

The city is nearing completion of a draft new Zoning Ordinance and is making the initial “working draft” available for review. This summary guide serves to assist interested residents on key questions that may arise during their review of the proposed new Zoning Ordinance and the Zoning Map that will accompany it, according to the city’s website. 

MIDDLETON–Widening of CTH M to four lanes between Oncken and Willow Roads is to begin next week in a $18.4 million state and local project.

The project is greatly reduced in scope from initial plans to widen the road from the CTH Q intersection to Willow Road where CTH M becomes a four-lane route.

“It’s been an ongoing project for years but the results of the environmental process and public (input) determined that the road wouldn’t be widened for the whole stretch,” said Brian Rice, a Dane County Highway Department engineer.

The project components include adding:

• A multi-use trail connecting Gov. Nelson State Park to SH 113

• Resurfacing CTH M from Willow Road to STH 113

• A second left turn lane from CTH K to CTH M

• Adding a bridge over Six Mile Creek, just east of CTH K intersection

• An urban median between traffic lanes from Oncken Road to Willow Road

MIDDLETON–The Middleton Common Council reviewed a draft report regarding parks and public facility needs in the city at their meeting on Sept. 5. As the city continues to grow in population and density, land for parks and public access is becoming more limited. The report will be given a public hearing on Oct. 3 before the council takes any action.

The city worked on the report over the last 18 months to complete a public facility needs assessment, include updates for statutory changes, and provide an analysis of current parkland and improvement needs. The report was prepared by Carla Gogin of Baker Tilly accounting firm.

MADISON–A huge electronic billboard erected along the Beltline Highway without city permits may have to come down.

According to an Aug. 7 order from Dane County Judge Nia Trammell:

In May 2022, Adams Outdoor Advertising Ltd. installed a two-sided, 48-foot-wide, 14-foot-high digital sign, mounted on a 35-foot-high pedestal just west of Beltline and south of Nursey Drive

Months before, the city declined to grant Adams a sign permit as the property, zoned Planned Development District, doesn’t allow outdoor advertising structures without a variance.

The ordinance allows signs to be displayed on buildings but not signs that aren’t an accessory to the property’s principal use.

Since the Adams’ billboard is a permanent stand-alone structure not associated with the property on which it is built, the city considers it a prohibited off-premises sign.

MIDDLETON–Real estate developer Terrence Wall is questioning modern burial practices involving embalming the deceased and sealing them in concrete casks. Wall plans to begin selling plots at what would be the second natural burial cemetery in the state next year and possibly creating more sites throughout the state through his nonprofit the Wisconsin Foundation.

Natural burial is the interment of the body of a dead person in the soil in a manner that does not inhibit decomposition but allows the body to be naturally recycled. It is an alternative to typical contemporary Western burial methods and modern funerary customs.

When Wall’s father passed away in 2017, he began thinking more about the typical burial methods used in the US and it didn’t sit right with him. He says it’s gross, but it is also terrible environmentally. 

MIDDLETON–The Middleton Fire District held an open house on the afternoon of Aug. 26 at Fire Station 1 in City of Middleton.

Long lines formed for both the kids fire truck rides and all ages aerial fire truck rides, and the popular event also offered a firefighting obstacle course, a bounce house and food trucks. In addition, there was a vehicle extraction demonstration as well as a fire demonstration using the department’s fire training trailer. 

Fire Chief Aaron Harris spoke before the fire demonstration and answered question afterward. Harris explained that a fire ignition team would go in first and light the fire, followed by a group of firefighters, who would take the call, ride in on a truck and put it out. 

He said that although the firefighting gear was hot when worn outside a fire, it keeps firefighters cool for a few minutes while they are inside a fire. 

MIDDLETON–The 60th annual Good Neighbor Festival may have been the best yet. Sunday’s parade capped the three-day fest featuring 72 entries. Bands, cloggers, race cars and floats traveled the nine-block route along Franklin Avenue.

This year, the Middleton High School March Band was awarded the Best Overall Entry, with LSM Chiropractic taking the Best Business Entry, Vennelag Lodge of Mount Horeb was the Best Non-Profit Entry, the Middleton Wranglers 4-H Club won the Best Youth Group Entry and the Madison Pipes & Drums took the Best Entertainment category.

Adrianne Machina, Katy Nelson, and Jim Wexler served as parade judges and Perry Hibner emceed the event.

Chek out some of the fun with these pictures from throughout the weekend, starting off with family fun might.

TOWN OF MIDDLETON–Two residents were honored Monday with the “Friend of the Town” award for their efforts on behalf of the Town of Middleton’s safety and municipal operations.

Dr. Beth Neary, a pediatrician, was made a co-friend for 2023 for her efforts to inform and educate the town board and residents on the harmful effects of lead exposure to children, said Town Chair Cynthia Richson.

Neary proved to be a valuable resource as Richson began to dig into the impact on residents and schoolchildren from airborne lead emissions emanating from the exhaust of airplanes using leaded aviation gas at Middleton Municipal Airport-Morey Field.

“It was a pleasure to work with Cynthia whose an advocate for health care,” Neary told the board Monday.