🏃 UW runners say former coach was abusive

💰 Mayor’s Capital Budget Includes $90M in Key Projects

• Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway unveiled her proposed 2026 capital budget Tuesday, which includes money for building a new Fire Station No. 6, adding a child care facility to Madison College’s south campus, and creating a new public health clinic.
• In total, the budget includes $29.2 million for street improvements, $25 million for parks, and $17.5 million for the city’s affordable housing fund. The budget was introduced at Tuesday’s city council meeting and will next go to the finance committee for review. [City of Madison, WKOW]

⚖️ Bradley’s Exit Leaves Supreme Court Race Wide Open

• Saying she didn’t look forward to another term as a “minority member of the court,” Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley announced she would not run for reelection in April 2026.
• While Bradley had indicated in April that she would run again, financial records showed she had raised no money. She told WisPolitics that her focus will instead be to “rebuild the conservative movement.”
• The decision leaves Court of Appeals Judge Chris Taylor, a former Democratic member of the Assembly representing Madison as the only declared candidate currently for the April 7, 2026 election. [WPR, WisPolitics]

🏃 Former UW-Madison Athletes Accuse Coach of Abuse

• Five UW-Madison cross country athletes say that former coach Mackenzie Wartenberger was emotionally abusive to them through bullying, body shaming, and dismissing injury concerns.
• Lexi Westley, now an assistant coach for cross country at Rutgers, said she lived in a “constant state of fear” under Wartenberger, who resigned three years ago.
• The accusations resemble those leveled against former UW-Madison women’s basketball coach Marisa Moseley. Five former players have filed a federal lawsuit against Moseley and other UW-Madison officials. [WPR, CBS Sports]

Madison has a wealth of great historical architecture to enjoy. Fans of local landmarks love to take walking tours and snap photos of the slobbering Saint Bernard gargoyles atop St. Bernard Church, the beer-drinking gargoyle that adorns Breese Stevens Field, and the electricity-powered gargoyle that leans against the iconic Orpheum Theater sign.

Actually, those gargoyles don’t really exist on Madison landmarks. They, and many others, only exist in the imaginations of Madison authors Jim Good and Bob Kann. The duo have written a new humor book, “The Gallery of Lost Gargoyles,” that features illustrations and histories of 21 fictional Madison gargoyles.

In addition to being funny, the book is a love letter of sorts to Madison from Good and Kann, who both moved to the city in the 1970s. Kann talked about how the book came to be in a recent Q&A.

Answers have been edited for length and clarity.

Who came up with the idea of fictional Madison gargoyles?

I asked Jim if he had an idea for a new project, and he said he'd like to make lino cuts of about 20 iconic buildings in Madison, and attach gargoyles to them. And he asked me which buildings I would suggest. So I sent them a list of buildings. I sent them some history and stories from the buildings I knew about, and he asked me if I wanted to collaborate. So that's what sort of brought us together.

How did the collaboration process work?

Jim is trained as an architect, and so he provided descriptions of the architectural features of each building. We would have a biography of the gargoyle. There would be a section we called “Memories and Local Lore,” which is essentially what happened during the tenure of the gargoyle on that building, and what are the legends and rumors that arose. And finally, “Removal and Current Status,” what circumstances led to the gargoyle being removed? And if we know where it is now, where is it?

Very early, it became quite apparent to both of us, although we never spoke about it, that we're both committed to making this the funniest book possible.

⬆️ Last Week’s Photo

It’s located on the wall of Lombardino’s Restaurant on Old Middleton Boulevard!

🎉 Congratulations to Tricia M., Walt N., and Ashley B. on being the first three people to guess correctly!

⬇️ This Week’s Photo

Do you know where this lamb statue is located? A few clues:

• It’s in downtown Madison
• It’s in an iconic local restaurant
• I’m guessing a lamb wouldn’t be happy with the signature item this restaurant serves!