Isthmus - Madison news & culture since 1976
@isthmusmadison.bsky.social
Informing and engaging active Madisonians with in-depth and independent community journalism.
Attendance at the 2026 Wisconsin Film Festival was UP. Grant Phipps, in his Isthmus debut, reports: isthmus.com/arts/arts-be...
The 2026 Wisconsin Film Festival captivated committed crowds
An impressive 61 of the 120 screenings sold out, reports the fest's director of operations, Ben Reiser.
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Wondering what's up with the Madison Public Market? Same here! Isthmus has tried since late December to schedule an interview with market CEO Keisha Harrison, who came on board with the market in July 2024. All interview requests have either been ignored or declined. isthmus.com/food-drink/q...
Questions we have about the Madison Public Market
People have questions about the opening of the Madison Public Market, and answers are in short supply.
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We have four stories up about Tuesday's spring election: From @liamberan.bsky.social: "In beating the conservative-backed candidate for state Supreme Court, Chris Taylor didn’t just win in reliably blue counties; she won handily in some red ones." isthmus.com/news/news/th...
The Wisconsin GOP puts up little fight as Chris Taylor cruises to victory
Taylor didn’t just win in reliably blue counties; she won handily in red ones such as Jefferson and Ozaukee.
isthmus.com
The spring general election is TOMORROW! Are you prepared? Consider consulting our Voter Guide for the whos, whats, hows and whens: isthmus.com/news/news/sp...
Spring 2026 Isthmus voter guide
Voters will decide races for state Supreme Court, one-third of the Dane County board and multiple Madison school board and city council races on April 7.
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Isthmus is 50! There are a few ways to celebrate with us this month: isthmus.com/news/news/is...
Isthmus celebrates 50 years in print!
Today Isthmus is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, grateful for generous support from its readers and local advertisers.
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While Wisconsin may not be known as “a hotbed for hip-hop,” says Menkhu Ara Maat, co-curator of the exhibit, “it is here and it’s been here for decades.” Steven Potter reports: isthmus.com/arts/arts-be...
50 years of Wisconsin hip-hop
“Lead Between the Rhymes,” an exhibit at the Wisconsin Historical Society, culminates with a town hall-style community meeting on Feb. 28.
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"Everything is so expensive. Taxes are up. It's hard to find labor. Right now is about time to sell [our] building and say sayonara.” isthmus.com/news/news/Re...
Hong Kong Café, Choles Floral could be demolished for 113-unit apartment building on Regent Street
Development continues to transform one of Madison’s busiest corridors, as Chicago-based developer Peerless Development plans to build a mixed-use apartment building on the sites of Hong Kong Café and ...
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There is no current indication that Madison is a target of ICE. But city officials are taking steps to prepare. @liamberan.bsky.social has more: isthmus.com/news/news/wh...
What is Madison doing to prepare for ICE?
There is no indication that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is currently planning operations in Madison. City officials are preparing for what they’d do if such a situation arose.
isthmus.com
There's an election on April 7 in Madison, with a primary on Feb. 17. Here's who's running for what, by @liamberan.bsky.social: isthmus.com/news/news/wh...
Who’s running for office in Madison this spring?
The April 7 election includes races for state Supreme Court, the Madison city council, Dane County board and Madison school board.
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scoop: Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says new federal guidelines may make a widely-supported breast cancer screening bill unnecessary, telling @isthmusmadison.bsky.social he's "looking into whether or not Wisconsin has to do it." Advocates for the bill disagree. isthmus.com/news/news/vo...
New federal mandates may make breast cancer screening bill unnecessary, says Vos
A bill requiring insurance coverage for advanced breast cancer screenings easily passed the state Senate in October. But Speaker Robin Vos has refused to advance it in the Assembly.
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Shorewood Hills trustee Shabnam Lotfi verbally abused village staff, slammed her fists on a desk, and threatened employees’ jobs on Nov. 25, according to a police report. More from @liamberan.bsky.social: isthmus.com/news/news/po...
Police report: Shorewood Hills trustee verbally abused village staff
Trustee Shabnam Lotfi is coming under scrutiny from her fellow board members for an incident that occurred in village hall on Nov. 25.
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WI Supreme Court races have become everything they were never meant to be — highly partisan, astronomically expensive political battles in which the candidates’ ideologies overshadow their qualifications. A @wisconsinwatch.org report: isthmus.com/news/cover-s...
Courting cash
More than $140 million was spent on a Wisconsin Supreme Court election. Loose campaign finance laws, lax recusal rules, a purple electorate, and even the spring election cycle all help explain why hig...
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Today is #GivingNewsday for nonprofit newsrooms like Isthmus and we're trying to raise $3,300 before midnight. All donations up to $1,000 will be matched TWICE! For more information, head to isthmus.com/sponsored isthmus.com/news/giving-...
On Giving Newsday, help Isthmus pay a printing bill!
With donations up to $1,000 made before Dec. 31 TRIPLED thanks to matching funds, we can pay for one printing bill today if we raise $2,500.
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Meeting Wednesday night in a room holding the radio station’s vast vinyl record collection, WORT-FM’s board of directors heard heated feedback from volunteers upset at the loss of two longtime staffers and other decisions made without consulting or informing them. isthmus.com/news/wort-ra...
WORT radio volunteers sound off on layoffs, finances
A heated feedback session followed the layoffs last week of two staffers and other changes.
isthmus.com
The Wisconsin Senate approved a bill to expand insurance coverage for breast cancer exams by a vote of 32-1. Advocates say Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is blocking action due to pressure from insurance companies. @liamberan.bsky.social story: isthmus.com/news/news/ad...
Vos is blocking breast cancer screening bill, advocates say
The bill would require insurance companies in Wisconsin to cover supplemental diagnostic examinations for women with dense breast tissue.
isthmus.com
501(c)(3) nonprofit status means that we depend on reader donations to support the work we do, so it’s important that readers understand who we are. In April, Isthmus will celebrate five years as a nonprofit and 50 years as a newspaper. isthmus.com/opinion/from...
Isthmus is a nonprofit, pass it on!
Isthmus will celebrate five years as a nonprofit next year yet some people in the community are unaware of the transition and many changes at the paper.
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A radar malfunction means an $18,500 pilot study to collect speed data on Williamson Street collected no usable data on vehicle speed. The data is likely not salvageable, says a deputy traffic engineer. isthmus.com/news/news/ma...
Malfunction means Willy Street traffic pilot didn’t capture speed data
A malfunction prevented radars from capturing any usable speed data during the lane closure test on Williamson Street. City officials didn’t notice until within the last two weeks.
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How much energy would it take to operate a 600-acre data center proposed for the town of Vienna? "About two-and-a-half times the electricity that all of Dane County uses currently," says the director of Dane County’s Office of Energy and Climate Change. isthmus.com/news/vienna-...
Vienna data center could use 2.5x the energy consumption of Dane County, says official
A proposed data center 30 minutes north of Madison could have substantial environmental impacts on Dane County.
isthmus.com
Thomas Bartell, a protester in his 60s, sported a yellow Madison West High School T-shirt, where he volunteers as a tutor. Owing to the “No Kings” theme, he duct-taped an “x” over the crown on mascot Reggie the Regent’s head. isthmus.com/news/news/ic...
ICE raids, health care top concerns at Madison 'No Kings' rally
Madison was among the thousands of ‘No Kings’ rallies held around the country protesting President Donald Trump’s policies on immigration, health care, and cuts to the federal workforce.
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Health issues kept two McFarland residents from attending anti-Trump rallies in downtown Madison, so they organized their own. They're running the suburban town's "No Kings" rally on Saturday: isthmus.com/news/news/sm...
Small-town Wisconsin gears up for ‘No Kings’ rallies
Protests against Trump 2.0 aren’t limited to Wisconsin’s big cities — activist groups in smaller communities and rural towns will be demonstrating too.
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Isthmus sat down with deputy city engineer Chris Petykowski to get some answers on things we all might want to know during the construction on one of Madison’s busiest arteries. isthmus.com/news/news/ev...
It's happening! How to be prepared for John Nolen Drive construction
A city engineer has answers to your questions about the construction project on Madison's most scenic artery.
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A thorough breakdown of John Nolen Drive's importance to Madison and what's going to happen during its reconstruction, starting this month. isthmus.com/news/cover-s...
A causeway runs through it
The John Nolen causeway, a relatively new gateway to Madison’s downtown, will be under construction for the next couple of years. Read how it might impact you.
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Madison's Forward Theater Company opens its season with a simple, powerful production. "This is the story of a friendship. Of how I got a new job. A story of love and balance and time. And the smallest of chances." isthmus.com/arts/stage/f...
Forward Theater launches its 17th season with the powerful ‘Primary Trust’
Connection is key in the inventive yet simple story
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Korte says she takes full responsibility for the story’s “multiple factual inaccuracies,” including a made-up source, which she attributes to the use of a company-installed AI program on her work computer. But she says there is more to the story. isthmus.com/news/news/wi...
Wisconsin State Journal reporter fired for AI misuse speaks out
Fired from the Wisconsin State Journal after filing a story riddled with errors, reporter Audrey Korte shares her side of the story.
isthmus.com
Miller's book depicts a Madison that’s long gone, a small town looking for community, where the field hosted contests between teams from Gardner Bakery and Borden Dairy, as well as the city’s high schools. isthmus.com/arts/books/m...
Madison’s ballpark, Breese Stevens Field
A new book delves deep into the history of Breese Stevens Field.
isthmus.com
According to Dodds, a main goal of the Public Tech Media Lab will be to teach journalists how to use open source technologies to create their own AI systems that align with their values and needs. More from Judith Davidoff: isthmus.com/opinion/from...
Journalism in the age of AI
A new UW-Madison lab aims to help newsrooms develop in-house artificial intelligence tools that reflect their own values and needs.
isthmus.com
Madison to move forward with test removal of rush hour lanes on Willy Street. @liamberan.bsky.social has been on top of this issue: isthmus.com/news/news/tr...
Rush hour lanes on Willy Street to be removed as part of test
The lanes are set be removed from Willy Street from early September to late October, as part of a test estimated to cost $24,000.
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Council VP MGR Govindarajan says he does not support the additional funding and might also consider further cuts. “I definitely would not want to give them the funding that they're requesting at the moment, because I don't know what they're doing with that funding.” isthmus.com/news/news/ma...
Madison’s independent police monitor ignores records requests, city attorney intervention
The Office of the Independent Monitor, created to be a check on the Madison Police Department, has failed to fulfill records requests from Isthmus and ghosted the City Attorney’s Office as well.
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Steven Walters looks back at the 2018 Democratic #WISGOV primary for indications of what might happen in 2026: isthmus.com/news/news/20...
“I would like to see us make Willy a less comfortable street for commuters." More from @liamberan.bsky.social about what city and Marquette Neighborhood leaders are hoping to try on Willy Street to stop cars from crashing into storefronts: isthmus.com/news/news/tr...
Transportation commission urges testing removal of Willy Street rush hour lanes
There have been 122 crashes on Williamson Street over the last five years, a number significantly higher than comparable city streets.
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