Isthmus Cover Stories
Nate Helbach is a fresh face in Madison’s development scene with big ideas
At just 25, Nate Helbach is driving some big development projects in Madison and beyond. He is looking outside conventional thinking for development practices, financing models and building materials, especially when it comes to using mass timber. Read more
Feb 1, 2024
Can ‘social housing’ help address Madison’s affordability crisis?
As Madison faces continued growth and a housing shortage, the city is taking a more active role in developing projects on city-owned land. Read more
Dec 7, 2023
Epic and Microsoft partner up
Epic and Microsoft are focused on a huge challenge in healthcare: the ‘inordinate amount’ of time consumed documenting physician-patient interactions. Cost savings, improved productivity and higher job satisfaction could result. Read more
Nov 2, 2023
What gender-affirming care means in Wisconsin
Misinformation is plentiful about what gender-affirming care means. Three Wisconsin families share their experiences seeking medical services for their transgender children. Read more
Oct 4, 2023
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
Aug 3, 2023
Time to get a gun
Iris Pullan decided that if she couldn’t beat America’s gun culture, she would join it. So last year, she took a free class with the Liberal Gun Club’s Wisconsin chapter. And late last year, she purchased an AR-15-style rifle. Read more
Jul 6, 2023
Opportunity lost
Critics say Epic’s noncompete agreements needlessly restrict former employees from earning a living and seriously retard the growth of health-information technology firms spurred by Epic’s extraordinary success. Read more
Jun 1, 2023
2:45 PM
‘We’re in our forever home’
Enbridge Energy wants to continue to operate a pipeline on or near Wisconsin's Bad River Band reservation. The Ojibwe want it shut down, arguing that a potential rupture threatens their way of life and future. Read more
May 4, 2023
9:00 AM
‘It doesn’t have to stay like this’
The 2021 youth risk behavior survey found that half of all Wisconsin public school students surveyed reported experiencing “significant problems with anxiety.” Read more
Apr 6, 2023
8:00 AM
The Madison mayor's race is a referendum on the last four years
The results of the February primary for Madison mayor were the most lopsided in two decades. Heading into the April 4 general election, Mayor Rhodes-Conway may be in the strongest position of any incumbent mayor in recent history. Read more
Mar 9, 2023
9:00 AM
Supreme divide
The Wisconsin Supreme Court race could decide the future of reproductive rights in Wisconsin, determine whether the state’s political maps will continue to favor Republicans, and have huge implications for future fights over election rules. Read more
Feb 2, 2023
6:00 AM
Guilty until proven innocent
Keith Findley not only pioneered Wisconsin’s Innocence Project, but helped cofound and for several years head the Innocence Network, a worldwide coalition of some 70 innocence projects. Read more
Jan 5, 2023
7:00 AM
In the March issue
A crime of compassion?
In 2017 three animal rights activists removed three beagles from a dog breeding facility outside of Mount Horeb. The defendants face felony burglary and felony theft charges and are set to go on trial in Dane County court on March 18-22. Read more
Chakari Daezhare is finding her voice
Chakari Daezhare has been creating songs at a blistering rate. Last year, she released two EPs as well as a couple of singles. Then, in early January, she dropped her first full album. Read more
‘Rent down’ effect squeezes Madison tenants
The new owner of the Royal Arms apartment complex on Madison’s west side isn’t budging on large rent hikes despite tenant protests. Read more
A viewing cheat-sheet for the ‘Top Chef’ visit to Wisconsin
Madison, Milwaukee and other Wisconsin locations will be featured on the upcoming 21st season of Top Chef, a culinary reality show that sets itself apart by showcasing and celebrating a different region of the country each season. Read more
Behind the Isthmus cover: March 2024
Self-taught photographer Allison Gallipeau walks every morning, camera in tow, no matter the weather, and takes photos along the way. Her cover shot was taken along the bike path on John Nolen Drive. Read more