News Conference

Wear Orange Day, bringing together public officials, concerned citizens, and community organizations, to call for an end to gun violence. The Violence Prevention Unit at Public Health Madison & Dane County is organized the event at Centro Hispano on Saturday June, 6 2026 "Gun violence is a serious and urgent threat to public health and safety. In Dane County, someone dies from gun violence approximately every 10 days through suicides, accidents, and homicides," said Director Janel Heinrich. "These deaths are preventable. We owe it to ourselves, our neighbors, our children, and our community to practice safe gun ownership." The Wear Orange movement(external) began after the 2013 death of Hadiya Pendleton. A Chicago man shot and killed the 15-year-old girl while she hung out at the park with friends. Now, every June, communities across the country stand together to wear orange and raise awareness. In a show of support, Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and County Executive Melissa Agard issued joint proclamations declaring Saturday, June 6 Gun Violence Awareness Day in Madison and Dane County. "We are committed to taking a holistic approach to preventing violence in the City of Madison. That commitment is paying off in the form of progress. In 2025, we saw a drop in violent crimes(external) in the city," said Mayor Rhodes-Conway. "But our work is not done, and this weekend, we're asking you to get involved. Wear orange to honor survivors of violence. Practice safe storage. Join us at an event and meet your neighbors. Every step towards safety makes our community better." Community action is crucial to creating and maintaining public safety. It starts with responsible gun ownership in the home. Securing firearms using trigger locks and gun safes ensures the weapon doesn't end up in the wrong hands. “Everyone in our community deserves to feel safe - at home, in our schools, in our parks, and everywhere in between. Wear Orange Day is a chance to honor lives lost to gun violence and to take that first step toward action together," said County Executive Agard.

The Community Development Division and the Madison Area Community Land Trust are holding a ribbon-cutting event for two new twin homes (4 total units) in the Owl Creek neighborhood, a project the mayor attended the groundbreaking for in October 2024.

This event will feature remarks from the Mayor, MPD, MFD, and the Public Health's Violence Prevention Unit.

PFC President Mary Schauf will swear in Police Chief John Patterson in a short ceremony.

The Greater Madison Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is hosting a media event as part of The Week Without Driving—a nationwide challenge that invites elected leaders and community members to go without driving their personal vehicle for a week, or even just a day or a trip. The goal is to highlight the barriers faced by nondrivers, including people with disabilities, older adults, children, and people who cannot afford a car.

Cardiac on Campus, a student-run organization on the UW-Madison campus, has partnered with the Madison Fire Department and City of Madison to make AEDs more accessible in the downtown area. At this ribbon cutting, we will celebrate the installation of two SaveStation® towers containing ZOLL® AEDs, which offer 24/7 public access to these lifesaving tools. Representatives from partnering agencies will explain why access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs) is critical for cardiac arrest survival, how to use these SaveStations and AEDs, and why this initiative places special focus on the campus and downtown areas.

City staff, Alders, and stakeholders speak before cutting the ribbon to officially mark the completion of a number of significant reconstruction projects in the corridor that has spanned over nearly a decade of planning, designing and construction.

Press conference for the official launch of 20 is Plenty which is part of the Vision Zero initiative.

Alder Dina Nina Martinez-Rutherford leads the Disability Pride Flag Raising Ceremony.

This news conference will be kicking off the Wear Orange Weekend events coming up the weekend of June 6-8.

The City of Madison is proud to unveil two collection trucks with murals on them. Inspired by a request from a local child, the city selected two murals designed by local artists that were painted on these trucks.

The City of Madison is celebrating the 150th anniversary event at the Central Library following a marching band parade from the capital square.

Madison Public Library, Madison Parks, and City of Madison Engineering will be hosting the Imagination Center groundbreaking event at Reindahl Park.

DPCED is working with the Madison Area Community Land Trust on an event to celebrate the opening of two new affordable homes on Dunns Marsh Terrace that were made possible through a partnership with the City of Madison.

The Autumn Ridge Path creates a shared-use path connection between Milwaukee St. and Commercial Ave (north of Highway 30), including a new bridge over Highway 30. The project improves safety and accessibility for non-motorized modes of transportation to cross Highway 30, better connecting neighborhoods on either side of the highway. The Autumn Ridge Path expands the greater bike network of the area, as the path connects (via local streets) to the existing overpass over Stoughton Rd (Highway 51) at Portland Pkwy, through the Eastmorland neighborhood to the recently constructed Garver Path, and finally to the Capital City Trail and Downtown Madison-area. Long term plans include extending this path network further to the northeast. 

Transgender Day of Visibility is a day to celebrate transgender and non-binary people in our Madison community. It's also a day to raise awareness of discrimination and violence members of this community face, especially transgender people who are black, indigenous, or other people of color. As a city, we see you, and we stand with you.