Opinion
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Don’t delay on police records
Under the state’s open records law, state and local officials are required to respond to records requests ‘as soon as practicable and without delay.’ Read more
Freepik
Let the market overbuild
The Madison city council's rejection of a 12-story student housing project is an exception to an overall positive change in the council to fight for lower housing prices by simply approving more housing. Read more
Jul 8, 2023
When ambitious is a dirty word
The ongoing debate over Godlewski’s appointment as secretary of state and her vision for that office demonstrates, once again, what women are in for when they make the big decision to run and serve: they cannot win, even when they do. Read more
Jun 2, 2023
Lukasz Palka
Wrongful delays shield Madison police records from public view
The police department is statutorily required to provide requested records 'as soon as practicable and without delay.' While the law is imprecise, a 14-month wait is, a 14-month wait is, however you slice it, delay. Read more
May 8, 2023
Tommy Washbush
Picking on poor people is a poisonous pastime
The welfare referendum on the April 4 ballot was insidiously misleading. Anyone reading the question would think able-bodied, childless adults are not already required to work to receive public assistance in our state. But that’s not true. Read more
Apr 5, 2023
Politics be damned
Gov. Tony Earl, who died Feb. on Feb. 23 at age 86, pursued progressive reform despite the political and personal risks. It probably cost him a second term. Read more
Mar 8, 2023
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Coming to terms with our ancestors’ sins
I have reached a point where I can now celebrate the intersectionality of the aspects of my life that make me unique. But I continue to question whether we have a moral obligation to pay for the sins of our fathers. Read more
Feb 6, 2023
Wisconsin Historical Society
There are good reasons to landmark Madison's Filene House
John Rolling says he nominated Filene House for landmark designation because it “is one of those rare treasures that should be preserved as legacies for the Madison community.” Read more
Jan 27, 2023
10:00 AM
What I learned from my mom
Bill Lueders' mom died in late December, just a few weeks shy of her 99th birthday. In her final years she was sadly evicted from the senior care facility where she had lived for 10 years. Read more
Jan 18, 2023
2:00 PM
Progressive NIMBY-ism on display in Madison debate over proposed zoning changes
I’m saddened by the debate that has developed around transit-oriented development zoning in our neighborhood. TOD is good policy. Read more
Jan 17, 2023
9:00 AM
Tommy Washbush
The golden age of rail, 2.0
Opinion | Madison has become a business destination at a time when Wisconsin as a whole is very much in need of economic revitalization and innovation. Better transportation services are a net gain for all communities around Wisconsin. Read more
Jan 6, 2023
1:00 AM
How Dane County is making Wisconsin less red
On the heels of Dane County’s influential role in the midterm election, Republican legislative leaders are suddenly talking about working across the aisle with Evers ahead of the next legislative session. Read more
Dec 3, 2022
9:00 AM
Let’s have a contest for Madison mayor
Opinion | Only one potential candidate has emerged to challenge Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, who is up for re-election in April. A competitive race would be good for the city. Read more
Nov 8, 2022
12:15 PM
In the July issue
Teaching an old party new tricks
Few in politics are better at raising money than Ben Wikler. The nonprofit Wisconsin Democracy Campaign estimates that, between his election as party chair in spring 2019 and this spring, Wikler-led Democratic committees have raised a stunning $110 m Read more
Happy Isthmus rebootiversary #2
In April 2021 Isthmus became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. We returned to print in August 2021, 17 months after the shutdown. We have not missed a month since and are now a small staff of 6.5. Read more
Two of Madison’s first rap crews regroup for a Mad Lit concert
An Aug. 11 show will bring two of the city’s earliest rap crews back to the stage for the first time in a long while: Fresh Force and Black Poets Society. Read more
The Borough Beer Co. & Kitchen’s comfort food menu
Borough’s cautious start with its brewing program seems to have given them license to really put the kitchen to the test, and with more than a few clear successes. Read more
Behind the Isthmus cover: August 2023
Triangulador, a self-taught artist, has earned deserved cult status for turning abandoned mattresses into works of art. For the cover of the August issue of Isthmus, he photographed one of his most recent curb creations. Read more
