The top story on isthmus.com — "Madison East students grill Ron Johnson" — came to us by accident. U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson is not exactly a fan of the press, and he does what he can to avoid us. So it’s no surprise reporters were not invited to one of his few recent public appearances, a last-minute stop at East High School to take some questions from government classes. It was one of the kids in the class who gave staff writer Allison Geyer a video of Johnson being eviscerated by a gaggle of high schoolers for almost an hour. Johnson stumbles through equivocal answers about school funding, teacher evaluation and North Korea. “One of these kids for senator,” one commenter wrote.
No. 2 was a little more controversial. Dylan Brogan’s Snapshot of Gene Bennett, called "Eggs over sleazy," made some enemies. No one much liked Bennett, whose bar Bennett’s Meadowood Country Club has been home to “porn in the morn” over Saturday breakfast for decades. But apparently hate-watching is real, because you guys spent a combined 1,700 hours reading an article about him.
There’s nothing so divisive at the No. 3 spot, "Chiseled hometown face shows up on The Bachelorette." Contributor Chris Lay heard that a local fella would be on the reality-TV juggernaut and pitched a series of stories about Peter Kraus’ search for love. Apparently, Peter’s gap-toothed smile won you all over.
Coming in at the No. 4 slot was "Tell All: We've lost our son to the radical left," which lit a real fire under some of you. The advice column, a question from a mother concerned over her son’s newfound radical bent, dipped into parenting and politics. It was like touching two third rails at the same time. It was our most-commented-on story of the year, no contest.
Speaking of not-at-all-controversial topics, Dave Cieslewicz’s “Citizen Dave: Foxconn deal goes from bad to bizarre” lit up the internet. One of a few articles Cieslewicz wrote about the proposed Foxconn deal, this one focused on how quickly the lipstick came off the pig once the deal was public.
In "Madison settles Tony Robinson lawsuit,” No. 6., Steven Potter marks the end of a painful chapter in Madison’s history. Legally, at least. The frequency of Robinson’s name in articles and comments throughout the year shows that the teen’s death at the hands of police is never far from Madison’s mind.
Police issues continue at No. 7, Bill Lueders’ story "Secrets and lies in Sun Prairie." That story dealt with an officer who wrote bogus tickets for seat belt violations and the police department’s unwillingness to share any information related to the officer’s misconduct. A follow-up story got to the bottom of the violations.
Another Tell All sneaked into the top 10, with “Tell All: Why do Madisonians dress like slobs?” clocking in at No. 8. This one also got a ton of comments, most of them attacking the person who complained about Madison’s lack of dress code — while also lamenting their fellow citizens’ choice of clothes. “Hey, that’s only okay when I say it!”
Madison behavior was also at issue in No. 9, “Is Madison's flag offensive?” Madisonians love their flag, even if many of them can’t pick it out of a lineup, but Dylan Brogan’s story highlighted accusations of cultural appropriation for its use of a Zia Pueblo sun symbol. For a minute there, politicians talked about changing the flag — but we haven’t heard anything since.
A round of graffiti finishes out the top 10. The title of Dylan Brogan’s story says it all: “Swastikas and 'Trump Rules' found on plaque outside Madison synagogue building.” The offending scrawls, on a plaque outside the Gates of Heaven commemorating antifascist fighters, were cleaned up within hours, but the community already felt the damage. There was some debate over whether the graffiti was anti-Semitic or pro-fascist, but you can usually assume what the swastika means.
1. Madison East students grill Ron Johnson
3. Chiseled hometown face shows up on The Bachelorette
4. Tell All: We've lost our son to the radical left
5. Citizen Dave: Foxconn deal goes from bad to bizarre
6. Madison settles Tony Robinson lawsuit
7. Secrets and lies in Sun Prairie
8. Tell All: Why do Madisonians dress like slobs?
9. Is Madison's flag offensive?
10. Swastikas and 'Trump Rules' found on plaque outside Madison synagogue building