🤢 Flu got you down? Here’s what to eat

🚌 Metro Transit Cuts Back Bus Service For Repairs

• Bus service on two of the city’s most central routes is being temporarily reduced to allow for much-needed bus repairs, Metro Transit announced Tuesday.
• Service on Route B, which stretches north-south from Caddis to Fitchburg, will be reduced to every 30 minutes during parts of the day, and service on A1, which runs east-west from Sun Prairie to Junction Road, will be cut back to every 60 minutes. Metro Transit said the change is temporary and they hope to be back to normal service as soon as possible. [City of Madison]

🏫 Sun Prairie School Officials Excoriated Over Allegations

• An independent investigation concluded that officials at Sun Prairie West High School failed to properly look into allegations against an employee now charged with child sexual exploitation.
• Robert Gilkey-Meisegeier, the school’s former dean of students, has been charged with 13 counts of possession of child pornography and two counts of child sexual exploitation.
• The report says that rumors about an inappropriate relationship between Gilkey-Meisegeier and a student had been circulating around the school during the 2023-24 school year, but administrators failed to take any formal action. [WKOW]

✈️ Venezuela Airstrikes Strand Marie’s Soul Food Owner

• Marissa Holmes, owner of Marie’s Soul Food on Monroe Street, has been stranded in St. Thomas since Jan. 3 after President Donald Trump ordered airstrikes in Venezuela.
• The U.S. military shut down airspace in the Caribbean during the strikes, and Holmes said it will be another week before she can take a rescheduled flight home. The restaurant will remain closed in the meantime, and Holmes hopes customers will return to help her recover from the unexpected lost business. [News 3]

Mocktails. N/A drinks. Zero-proof cocktails. They go by a lot of different names, but alcohol-free cocktails are all the rage lately, from THC- and CBD-infused drinks to concoctions that have no intoxicating effects but taste as good as the real thing.

When the Milwaukee Record launched its first N/A Day event in 2022, founder Tyler Maas said it was difficult to find enough brands making the drinks. But as N/A drinks have become a growing presence on store shelves and on craft cocktail lists, N/A Day has grown with it, with annual events for “Dry January” in both Milwaukee and Madison. Think Great Taste of the Midwest but with just N/A options!

“It’s gotten to the point where, just for the sake of space, we have to leave a few people out,” Maas said. “It’s a real, viable thing.”

Madison’s N/A Day takes place on Saturday, Jan. 10 at The Bur Oak, with two sessions from noon to 2 p.m. and from 2 to 4 p.m. For $20 ($30 at the door), attendees can sample over 60 different products from 20 or so distributors, ranging from national heavyweights like Athletic Brewing to locals like Madison’s Mr. Teas Kombucherie.

Maas talked about the exploding interest in N/A drinks, and the uncertain future of the THC industry in Wisconsin.

So what is an N/A beverage? Are there different terms for THC-infused drinks versus ones that don’t have any mood-altering effects?

It’s just not having alcohol in it. So, just to be fully clear to anybody who might be reading, if it involves THC, I’m asking the vendors that they warn people (at the event) that something might not work with their recovery or their lifestyle.

How have zero proof beverages gone over in Wisconsin, which has a pretty pronounced drinking culture?

If you were to do a statewide poll, I think the numbers (of people who drink N/A products) would be pretty low. I think what this offers is something for the people who want to experience some other new beverages, or learn about some new products. In a famously over-indulging state of Wisconsin, we’re just offering an alternative.

We’re not trying to change anyone’s minds or advocate against alcohol. I certainly enjoy it myself. But I just want people to know if they want to explore these other options, there are a lot of very good things out there. And a lot of them are locally made.

Describe how the N/A Day event will go.

It’s structured like a beer festival, so you walk in and you pay your entry fee, and that will get you unlimited samples from all the vendors. They’ll be there to answer questions, and a few of them will have their products on sale. It’s just a low-risk way to see what’s out there and to actually taste it yourself, and to meet some of the people that either make it or sell it.

One of the cool perks of being a City Cast Madison Neighbor is the chance to give a Neighborhood Shoutout. Members get to highlight a business, a nonprofit, a person, or some other thing that makes Madison just a little better, and we amplify their Shoutout in the newsletter and on the podcast!

📣 Lauren B. wants to pump up The Strength Collective! "A new 24/7 gym in Monona. They have a huge focus on quality and community. I love that you see the owners in there daily, walkin' the walk. One of the owners is a world powerlifter!”

📣 Jane H. wants to shout out Green Life Trading Co.! “They have the best rosemary scented laundry detergent and bulk chai tea!”

📣 Karen R. is serving up praise to Isthmus Eats, “for proving that meal kits can be convenient, include locally sourced ingredients, not wrapped in tons of packaging, and still affordable. They make home cooking easy and delicious!”

I’ll bet you’re reading this and thinking about something in Madison that you’d love to give a Neighborhood Shoutout to. This is a great time to become a City Cast Madison Neighbor and send us your Shoutout!