💗 Apparently Madison is a top city for singles

💘 Madison Is A Top City For Singles? Really?

• It may not seem that way to those looking for love on the dating apps, but a recent study by WalletHub ranked Madison as one of the Top 10 cities for singles in the country.
• WalletHub ranked 180 large U.S. cities on 35 different “dating friendly” indicators, ranging from the price of a two-person meal in a restaurant to the number of online dating opportunities. Madison came in No. 7 on the list, and No. 2 when it comes to dating opportunities.
• 🎧 Swipe Right! On the City Cast Madison podcast, the team gave their picks for their favorite date spots in Madison, from free to cheap to spendy. [WalletHub, 🎧 City Cast Madison]

❄️ City Drop-off Sites Now on Winter Hours

• Winter is definitely here, and the Madison Streets Division drop-off sites at 4602 Sycamore Ave. and 402 South Point Rd. are now on winter hours.
• The sites are open from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, and closed the other three days of the week. The dropoff site at 121 E. Olin Ave. is closed until spring. [City of Madison]

💸 Workers Fired For Unionizing Will Get Back Wages

• The owner of a Madison screen printing company has to pay his employees $8,000 in back wages, according to a court settlement negotiated by the state Department of Justice.
• After the workers at Crushin’ It Apparel voted unanimously to unionize in 2022 and presented owner Jeremy Kruk with a list of demands, Kruk closed the business and fired the workers. He then reportedly reopened the business under a different name.
• Under the settlement Kruk has 20 days to pay the workers back pay plus interest. [Cap Times]

As Bianca Martin and I chatted about on today’s episode of the City Cast Madison podcast, Madison has a lot of movie lovers but not a lot of movie theaters. In the last decade, Marcus Westgate Cinemas, Market Square Cinemas, and AMC Madison 6 all closed, so if you live in the city and want to see a movie, you have to pack up a car and drive to the edges of town (Marcus Point, Flix Brewhouse Madison) or beyond (AMC Fitchburg 18, Marcus Palace in Sun Prairie).

Or do you? What Madison lacks in traditional theaters it makes up for in unexpected and offbeat places to see movies. Here’s a list of places you might not know about, or might not expect to get the big-screen experience.

Barrymore Theatre

In addition to showing live music and comedy, the east side gem has gone back to its roots as a movie theater by booking more and more one-night-only movie screenings. The stars of “Napoleon Dynamite” screened the movie there this fall, and a recent screening of the Wisconsin-made “Hundreds of Beavers” drew a packed house.

UW Cinematheque

This free film series in Vilas Hall on the UW-Madison campus curates an eclectic mix of new indie movies, restored classics and retro crowd-pleasers. Filmmakers like Alexander Payne and Whit Stillman have even presented their movies there and held audience Q&As afterwards.

Union South Marquee Theatre

Students on the UW Wisconsin Union Directorate Film Committee program this lovely theater on Union South’s second floor with recent hit movies like “Challengers” and “A Quiet Place: Day One” with old favorites like “Clue” and the original “Mean Girls.” And it’s all free.

Madison Public Library

Several library branches show free movies on the regular, such as Hawthorne Library’s Anime Club and Goodman South’s Friday Family Films series. Also worth checking out is the Cinesthesia monthly series at the Central Branch – “Black Swan” is playing Wednesday.