📝 The race for Dane County

🗳️ Are You Ready For Spring Elections?

• On April 2, voters will cast ballots in the presidential primary and Dane County Supervisory races. Ten incumbents have decided not to seek re-election, 21 incumbents are running unopposed, and two districts will have primaries.
• In Districts 13 and 36, a primary election will be held Feb. 20 because three candidates are each vying for those seats. The two candidates with the most votes in the primary will progress to the April election.
• Not sure which district you’re in? You can find out here.
• The bigger picture: County supervisors play an important role in local operations. Dane County-elected leaders oversee the jail, Henry Vilas Zoo, Dane County Regional Airport, Alliant Energy Center, and landfill and lake management for example. [Channel 3000, Dane County]

🍎 Madison Schools Look To Phase Out Letter Grades

• The Madison School District is launching a new pilot program to get rid of letter grades in favor of a scale that measures students skills on a range from "advanced" to "emerging.”
• The pilot will be run in most ninth-grade classes at East High School. Homework won’t be graded under the new system and attendance and behavior will still be taken into account when students get their overall grade for the class.
• The move is an attempt to better track how well students meet standards and measure how their overall academic performance progresses over the course of the year.
• Related: The City Cast Madison team dug into this story in a recent podcast episode. Listen to our thoughts here! [MMSD, Wisconsin State Journal, City Cast Madison 🎧]

📣 Planned Parenthood Wisconsin Workers Want a Union

• Employees of the non-profit recently announced the formation of a union and management has indicated it won’t oppose the effort. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin didn’t outright recognize the union voluntarily but rather opted to hold a formal election supervised by the National Labor Relations Board.
• If certified, the union would cover more than 100 Planned Parenthood nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and other health care workers across Wisconsin.
• “Collective bargaining will center our experience, expertise, and passion from the frontlines to mold the way we deliver care,” one employee said in a statement. [Wisconsin Examiner, WisBusiness]

💗 Madison’s Best Date Spot Is…

• To be determined by you! I’m on the hunt for Madison’s favorite places to go, things to see, and activities to do with a date. Help a girl out and fill out this form. You might even get a shoutout in an upcoming newsletter.

Why Was Our Mayor in Dubai? We Asked Her.

Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway was in Dubai in December to attend the world’s largest climate conference. For the first time, mayors around the world were formally invited to the United Nations Climate Conference, the COP28, to share ideas for tackling climate change locally. It’s a shift toward recognizing that while nations argue over global climate agreements, many cities are quietly leading the way on finding ways to cool the planet.