April 2022

Megan Button has been a part of Middleton’s girls softball team for just a few short games.

And she’s already made history.

Button, a freshman pitcher for the Cardinals, set a school record by striking out 19 batters in an 8-1 win over Madison West on April 6. Middleton improved to 3-2 overall and 2-0 in the Big Eight Conference.

“Megan Button has been a phenomenal addition to our pitching rotation this year,” Middleton coach Brittany Carl said. “She's calm, cool, and collected, and always one step ahead. She's an incredibly cerebral player. She picks up on the little things hitters do and uses that to her advantage.”

Button allowed just two hits and West’s lone run was unearned. Button faced 23 batters — two over the minimum — and threw strikes on 76 of 111 pitches (68.5%).

Middleton’s baseball team enjoyed a terrific week, winning all three of its games.

The Cardinals defeated visiting Waunakee, 3-2, on April 6. The Cardinals also swept a doubleheader from Madison East — 12-0 and 16-0 — on April 5.

Middleton is now 4-1 on the young season and 2-0 in the Big Eight Conference.

• Middleton 3, Waunakee 2 — The Cardinals scored three runs in the final two innings — including two in the seventh — to rally past the Warriors on April 7.

In the bottom of the seventh, Jackson Rademacher singled with one out and went to second on a passed ball, then moved to third on an error. Steven Paulsen then reached on a fielder’s choice bunt that scored Rademacher and tied the game, 2-2.

After a fly ball out, Paulsen stole second and moved to third on an error by the Waunakee second baseman. Paulsen then scored the game-winning run on a passed ball.

MIDDLETON–The once continuous whirl of sump pumps at some homes in the Hidden Oaks subdivision has been largely silenced credited by drier weather and efforts by the city of Middleton.

Sump pumps ran continuously after the August 2018 flood in many damp basements in the 120 homes in this far west subdivision. Hidden Oaks residents could see Glacial Lake Middleton swell just to the south, as the flood knocked out the pump that once lifted water over a berm before it flowed into a culvert under USH 14.

That prompted Ald. Luke Fuszard, a Hidden Oaks resident, to petition in 2019 to reactivate the long dormant Drainage District 19, formed 100-plus years prior, to improve agriculture production in lands bordering Black Earth Creek.

Hidden Oaks homeowners hoped the district would lower the level of Glacial Lake Middleton and reduce the time their sump pumps operated.

CROSS PLAINS–Plans for a top-to-bottom restoration of a historic downtown building into and eclectic mix of entertainment, workshops and lodging advanced Monday to the Village Board.

Named after its address, The 2100 American Legion Drive project, plans to be a seven-day-a week event center for weddings, workshops, lessons, an art studio and activities for children and adults.

An art studio will operate in the basement featuring glass blowing lessons and retail sales.

Weddings, fundraisers, lessons, fitness classes, pop-up shops, music and corporate parties are among the uses envisioned for the main floor. Yoga classes and other lessons could begin as early as 5:30 a.m. and parties may continue to bar time, according to information supplied to the Cross Plains Plan Commission, which recommended rezoning the property Monday night.

A two-bedroom apartment is planned for the top floor and would be the village’s first short-term rental living unit.