March 2022

It was a memorable season for Middleton’s boys basketball team.

The Cardinals went 17-10 overall, finished in second place in the Big Eight Conference and reached the WIAA Division 1 sectional semifinals.

Middleton capped that big year by having a pair of players earn all-Big Eight Conference honors.

Junior guard Gavyn Hurley was the Big Eight’s Player of the Year and a unanimous first-team all-conference selection. Senior guard Logan Raffel was a second-team all-conference selection.

Hurley led the Cardinals in scoring at 15.7 points per game and in rebounding (6.9). Hurley was also first on the team in assists (3.0) and steals (1.9), shot 42% from the floor and 64% from the free throw line.

Hurley scored a season-high 31 points against Verona and had 30 points against Janesville Craig. Hurley also had 15 rebounds against Madison West, 14 boards against Janesville Craig and finished the year with four double-doubles.

MIDDLETON–The Middleton Area Progressives (MAP) organization will host a virtual Meet the Candidates Forum featuring individuals vying for positions on the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District Board of Directors and the City of Middleton Common Council. The forum is scheduled for March 23 from 6-8 p.m. via Zoom. The 2022 Spring Election will be held on April 5.

MIDDLETON–The Middleton Common Council approved the hire of a new city administrator at its regular meeting March 15.  

In an email current announcing the hire, City Administrator Mike Davis said, “Bryan’s references and background check were very favorable, and he came to terms provided by the Selection Committee in their meeting last Saturday.”

Gadow will start on May 2, which will provide him with four working days of overlap with Davis.  

Prior to his appointment as Middleton City Administrator, Bryan Gadow has served as the City Administrator and Economic Development Director for the City of Monona since 2019. He brings over 16 years of local government experience to the Middleton community.

Gadow previously served as the Village Administrator of New Glarus from 2015-2018.

CROSS PLAINS–Maple sap needs temperatures above 45º during the day and 25º at night to flow up the trunk and through taps for syrup making. Cold temperatures this winter meant the sap wouldn’t flow, and during the Open Kettle Farms Open House last weekend, the business had produced just 30 gallons of syrup. 

“This is the latest it’s been since we started,” said Jan Noll, who started up the maple syrup production with her husband Tim 10 years ago.

“We’ve got a ways to go,” added Tim.

Tim wasn’t too concerned as temperatures reached that 45º mark on March 13 and the clear, sweet liquid began to drip from spouts on a stand of maples at the Cross Plains farm.

The goal this year is to produce 250 gallons of syrup, which Tim said comes at a ratio of 50 gallons of sap to one gallon of finished syrup. “We have a lot of red maples, and they’re not as sweet,” he explains.