Welcome once again to Madison Mentions: our weekly journey through national newspapers from the past week where we see what the rest of the country is reading about Madison.

Madison’s Associated Press reporter, Ryan Foley, was recently honored by the Associated Press Managing Editors when he received the John L. Dougherty award. The award is given to an AP reporter with less than three years' journalism experience with the AP and less than five years' total news experience. Congratulations to Ryan for his hard work being recognized.

Madison golfer Sherri Steinhauer was in Scotland last week playing on the Old Course at St. Andrews. Her plans for the course once forbidden to women are revealed by the LA Times: “Sherri Steinhauer, the defending champion who also won at Lytham in England in 2006 and is from Madison, Wis., has grand plans for the famed Swilcan Bridge. She'll have her picture taken.”

A look at the history of ice cream from the Sac Bee reminds us that in 1881 Madison pioneered the sundae: “1881 - The owner of a soda fountain in Madison, Wis., placed a scoop of ice cream into a soda glass, topped it with chocolate sauce and called it a sundae because it was sold only on Sundays. The price was 5 cents.”

The Press Enterprise reminds us that the Madison Scouts Drums and Bugle Corp are polishing the brass as they prepare to compete in Drum Corps International World Championships at the Rose Bowl.

In regards to the Minnesota Bride Collapse Lt. Joseph Conway of the Dive Team at the Madison, Wis., Fire Department is quoted by ABC News: “Losing your composure during a crisis situation will hinder your ability to make decisions that could ultimately be your key to survival.
‘You've got to think methodically,’ says Lt. Joseph Conway of the Dive Team at the Madison, Wis., Fire Department. ‘Otherwise, what happens first is you'll hit the water and then you'll try to get out and you'll forget you didn't unbuckle your seat belt.’”

David Punch, executive producer on IFC comedy series “The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman,” reflects in the LA Times on his days in Madison: “Just after college, David Punch moved with a friend from San Francisco to Madison, Wis. They had intended to open a laundromat with a bar in the back, to be dubbed ‘the Backwash,’ but quickly realized they were in over their heads. ‘We had a great name but didn't have any other information, such as how unqualified we were to run a business,’ says Punch, 42. These were hard times for Punch: ‘We were pretty poor, and I sold my blood for money. It's tough to build a career out of that. It's a good summer job, but there's not much of a future in it.’”

Former Madisonian and Atlanta Braves fan Richard Arndt tells his story of acquiring and selling Hank Aaron’s final homerun ball to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Nobody knew that would be Aaron's last home run. But a member of the Milwaukee grounds crew named Richard Arndt knew there was always a chance. And for one time in his life, he felt he was in exactly the right place at the right time. Arndt, who grew up a Braves fan in Madison, Wis., secured home run ball No. 755 and sold it 23 years later for some $650,000.”

The Arizona Republic takes a hard look at the question “how young is too young to put a child on a diet?” The Arizona Rep spoke with Madison dietitian and family therapist Ellyn Satter, author of the book "Your Child's Weight: Helping Without Harming.” Satter said: "more and more of the hysteria is being focused on birth weight and infancy. I've talked with women who want to manage their weight gain during pregnancy, and if their babies turn out to be at all chubby, it makes them feel bad, like they've done something wrong."