You need new friends, face(book) it 💻

Madison, WI Facebook groups

computer screen open to facebook groups tab

Find a fitting community from the comfort of your own home. | Photo by 608today team

Facebook is more than just a place to keep up with your cousin’s friend you met that one time at a holiday party, it’s a treasure trove of niche communities.
We found a few hyper-local groups we think our readers may enjoy + included a step-by-step to finding a community that checks all of your boxes.

⚽ Get active

UW-Madison Pickup Soccer | One of the largest activity-based groups in the city where fellow footballers frolic.
Madison Yoga Community | Calling all yogis. Whether you teach, practice, or want to start learning — this group keeps up with all things yoga in the 608.

🍽️ Foodies

Madison Area Food Life | If your friends are getting sick of you posting every meal on Instagram, this one is for you.
Madison Area Food Traders + Discussion | Did your garden overproduce? Use this page to barter, trade, or offer food items for free.

🧠 Learn

Forgotten Wisconsin | Learn more about the significance of local landmarks + read hyper-local historical tidbits.
Historic Madison Photo Group | Fascinated with history? This group serves as a time machine to view Madison as it was in the past.

❤️ Help

Pay it Forward Madison | A place to give your time, resources, energy, and ideas to your neighbors in need.
Dane County Neighbors Helping Neighbors | Stay up to date on community news in this group that also serves as a safe, judgment-free space to ask for help.

Find the right group for you:

From your Facebook home page, navigate to the Groups tab on the left side.
Choose Discover to see groups your friends are in + groups Facebook thinks you’ll like.
Use the search bar to input specific keywords.
Under the Filters tab, select Groups + search: Madison, WI.
Introduce yourself to your new best friends.

While you’re on Facebook, go ahead and find 608today on there and give us a like. Thanks, friend.

Click here to have your event featured.

Today

Ice Clinic - Spins | Tue., Oct. 11 | 4:15-4:45 p.m. | The Shell, 1430 Monroe St. | Free | Single-day class for adults focusing on a specific skating skill, technique, or trick. ⛸️
Kaleta & Super Yamba Band | Tue., Oct. 11 | 8-11 p.m. | The Bur Oak, 2262 Winnebago St.| $15 | Enjoy this band fronted by Afrobeat + Leon Ligan-Majek aka Kaleta.

Wednesday

Maggie Ginsberg in Conversation with Laura Anne Bird | Wed., Oct. 12 | 5:30-6:30 p.m. | Kismet Books, 101 N. Main St., Verona | Free | Maggie Ginsberg, local author of “Still True,” will be joined in conversation by Laura Anne Bird, author of “Crossing the Pressure Line.” 📚
Clean Lakes 101: Willow Creek Landscape Master Plan | Wed., Oct. 12 | 8-9 a.m. | The Edgewater Hotel, 1001 Wisconsin Pl. | Free | See the master plan presentations for Madison’s Waterfront Redesign Challenge.

Thursday

Becoming Dr. Ruth | Thu., Oct. 13 | 7:30-9:30 p.m. | The Brink Lounge, 701 E. Washington Ave. | $25 | This solo show recounts the life of the iconic Dr. Ruth Westheimer.
Paint Your Pet | Thu., Oct. 13 | 6:30-8:30 p.m. | Wine & Design, 167 S. Fair Oaks Ave. | $55 | Paint your pet on a wine glass while supporting the Puppy Up foundation for human + canine cancer research. 🐶

Friday

80s Rewind - Stranger Things Edition | Fri., Oct. 14 | 9 p.m. | Crucible, 3116 Commercial Ave., Madison | $5 | Kick back during this month’s 80s video dance night inspired by the Netflix hit.
BoDeans | Fri., Oct. 14 | 7:30-10 p.m. | Stoughton Opera House, 381 E. Main St., Stoughton | $50 | Enjoy countless tunes you’ll know from the first note played by the nationally-acclaimed Waukesha rock band. 🎶

We have a monthly guide filled with events + activities you can plan for in advance. Click the button below to bookmark ideas for upcoming date nights, family outings, and time with friends.

100+ MORE EVENTS

Celebrating what makes 608 healthcare great 🩺

Presented by a 608today Partner

Discover the good work our local healthcare professionals do for you and your loved ones. | Photo via Pexels

This week is National Healthcare Quality Week — a time to celebrate the sacrifice + hard work that healthcare professionals do every day to keep us healthy. From mending broken bones and healing our loved ones to being there through life’s challenges and transitions, 608 healthcare professionals have our backs. 🩺

Check out what UnityPoint Health is doing to deliver excellent healthcare quality for all Madisonians.^

Content marked with a ^ is created by our Branded Content Studio — see more of their work + learn how they can create engaging paid content for your brand here.

Weather

74º | Mostly sunny | 22% chance of rain

Edu

MMSD is expanding PINE, The Program for Inclusion and Neurodiversity Education, to local middle + high schools. This program aims to help staff understand how to work with a range of learners in their classrooms. (Cap Times)
A Belleville teacher was one of 43 participants representing their different countries at CERN. This international teaching program is designed to inspire + invigorate teachers who want to bring a passion for STEM-related topics into their classrooms. 📚 (Madison.com)

Health

UW-Madison will now have overdose rescue boxes in place throughout campus. These kits will include Narcan nasal spray + detailed instructions in an effort to boost harm reduction in the city.

Community

Madison Public Library’s program, Teejop & Beyond, is back. Native presenters from different nations around the Great Lakes region will lead programs highlighting both traditional + contemporary practices, stories, and community relationships.
The US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, recently paid a visit to the Badger Rock Neighborhood Center. Linda enjoyed a tour of the garden + a panel discussion regarding how the community center is helping to battle local food insecurity. 🍲 (Cap Times)

Feel Good

World War II veteran, Clarence Osland, shares his wisdom of “don’t go by the books all the time” during his 100th birthday celebration. Learn more about his experiences + what they can teach us. 🍰 (NBC 15)

Plan Ahead

The 112th annual UW-Madison homecoming is next week + the Alumni Association announced the list of activities commencing Wed., Oct. 19. The famous flamingos will flock to Bascom Hill on Thurs., Oct. 20, donate here to help fill the hill. 🦩 (Channel 3000)
This month’s Madison Night Market will take place this Fri., Oct. 14 on State Street. Local vendors will be joined by the WI Science Festival for a night of shopping + science.

DYK

Did you know you can set up shop in our online retail store? We’re looking to support local brands in our 608today shop. We want to work with you. Send us an email to get started.

Trending

Fast-track those holiday shopping plans. For the first time, Amazon is hosting a second Prime Day with the Prime Early Access Sale running today, Oct. 11 and tomorrow, Oct. 12. Snag tech like earbuds or kitchen appliances at Black Friday prices — 45 days in advance.*

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Safe to say, the 608 is a great place to live

Madison, WI ranks high on safest cities list

The most populated cities in the country have been ranked based on the home + community, natural disaster, and financial safety of each destination. Madison landed high on the charts in the No. 13 spot out of the 182 cities evaluated.

safe city map.png — Map above lays out nation’s safest cities. See key for ranking details.

What do you think?
The following are questions regarding a city’s safety posed by WalletHub to a panel of experts:

What steps should local authorities take to help reduce the public costs associated with cleanups after major natural disasters?
What measures can police departments take to increase public trust? How important is it to have a police force that is representative of the local community?
What can consumers do to increase their financial literacy?

We want to ask our panel of experts (you) their thoughts on these questions as they pertain to Madison. Shoot us an email letting us know what you think about our ranking + these questions. You might see your response in a future newsletter.

THE WRAP

Today’s issue was written by Ally.

Editor’s pick: I braved the lunchtime food cart lines at Library Mall today for a chicken arepa from Caracas Arepas. It may become a fast favorite of mine.

Missed yesterday’s newsletter? We talked about an AI version of Madison.

Connect with us.

Editorial: Ally Geiger, Ryan Waldman, Dayten Rose, Josh Kranzberg, Ashlea Hearn, Emily Shea | Send us a scoop, question, or feedback.

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