🍺 It’s the end of an era for student drinking

🗳️ Candidates For Governor Rush to Throw Hats in Ring

• After Gov. Tony Evers announced last week that he would not seek a third term in office in 2026, potential candidates didn’t waste any time in announcing that they would be running to succeed him.
• Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley announced Friday that they would both seek the Democratic nomination next year. Madison state Sen. Kelda Roys has said she is “seriously considering” a run as well, but has not yet announced. [WMTJ, Cap Times]

🍞 Hello, Baked Lab. Goodbye, Churchkey Bar & Grill.

• Owner and baker Shawn Bolduc is planning to expand his sweet treat business, Baked Lab, into a storefront on Atwood Avenue this winter. Baked Lab will open at 2044 Atwood Ave., offering cake slices, cookies, and other goodies, along with wine and espresso.
• Meanwhile, Churchkey Bar & Grill, a staple of off-campus student drinking for decades, announced on Instagram that it would close. The 110-year-old building on University Avenue had been a chapel and funeral home before becoming a bar over a half-century ago. “This wasn’t just a bar,” the owners wrote. “It was a legacy.” [Madison Magazine, WKOW]

⚖️ Abundant Life Shooter’s Father Will Stand Trial

• A judge ruled that the father of the teenage shooter in the Abundant Life Christian School shooting last December must stand trial on charges that he allowed his daughter access to guns.
• Dane County Court Commissioner John Rome issued the order against Jeffrey Rupnow, who is charged with two counts of intentionally giving a weapon to a minor and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Rupnow contends he did not physically give Natalie Rupnow the guns and did not know she was planning to commit a violent act.
• The Dec. 16 shooting left teacher Erin Michelle West and 14-year-old student Rubi Vergara dead, and six others wounded. Natalie Rupnow also took her own life [AP, 🎧 City Cast Madison]

Need to relax, refresh, and recharge? Madison has plenty of wellness spas to practice a little self-care in hectic times.

On the City Cast Madison podcast today, host Bianca Martin takes a spa day and talks to Roshelle Ritzenthaler, co-owner of Saunaday, a new Madison business that melds ancient bathhouse traditions with modern design and conveniences to calm the mind and restore the spirit.

Here are a few other places in Madison (and one just out of town) to take your next spa day. Check out these spots on Overlook Maps!

Kosa Spa

Located in the Garver Feed Mill, owner Shilpa Sankaran draws from Ayurveda, an ancient Indian practice of natural healing that roughly translates to “the science of healing. Kosa combines massages and facial treatments with masala chai and golden tea. Kosa also offers a “social wellness club” that includes a hot stone sauna and cold rain plunge.

The Edgewater Spa

Whether you’re staying at Madison’s iconic hotel or just visiting, the spa offers a variety of massages, facials and other wellness treatments for both couples and individuals. Pair your treatment with a yoga class on the pier overlooking Lake Mendota.

Kneaded Relief Day Spa

Overlooking a beautiful prairie landscape in Fitchburg, this destination wellness spa offers facials and skin care, massages, manicures and pedicures, and personal training and nutrition coaching for long-term physical well-being.

Float Madison

Take the plunge and enjoy a flotation therapy experience in one of Float’s private, soundproof float rooms or pods, where skin-temperature mineral-rich Epsom Salt water relaxes joints and muscles and relieves the senses.