🏫 UW picks interim chancellor

🏫 Eric Wilcots Named UW Interim Chancellor

• Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman has named Eric Wilcots, currently the Dean of UW-Madison’s College of Letters and Science, to serve as interim chancellor after Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin steps down at the end of the school year.
• Mnookin is leaving Madison to take a job as president of Columbia University in New York City, and Wilcots will officially take charge on May 17. Wilcots has been at UW-Madison since 1995, beginning as a lecturer in the Astronomy Department and becoming a faculty member before serving as dean starting in 2020.
• A search for a permanent replacement for Mnookin will begin later this year. [Universities of Wisconsin, UW-Madison News]

🏗️ Sun Prairie Rejects ‘Derby District’ Development

• The Sun Prairie City Council on Tuesday rejected a proposed 134-acre development that would have included new apartments, hotels, stores, restaurants, and senior living facilities.
• The development, dubbed the “Derby District,” would have been built along County Highway C and Windsor Street, and had received conditional approval from the city’s Plan Commission. But residents at Tuesday’s meeting spoke out against the lack of single-family homes in the plan, and worried that the district would draw business away from Sun Prairie’s downtown businesses. [WMTV]

🚨 Dane County Sheriff Running For Re-Election

• Kelvin Barrett will run this November for a second full term as the first Black sheriff in Dane County’s history. Barrett was appointed Dane County Sheriff by Gov. Tony Evers after Sheriff David Mahoney retired in 2021. He was elected to his first full term in 2022.
• If re-elected, Barrett wants to hire 50 new deputies to address staffing issues in his department, and also wants to continue to focus on programs that support rehabilitation for convicted criminals. [News 3]

🧊 Señor Machetes Chef and Co-Owner Detained By ICE

• Noel Quintana, the chef and co-owner of Señor Machetes restaurant at 121 E. Main St., was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and is being held in custody in Indiana, friends say. Quintana is an immigrant from Mexico who has lived legally in the United States for decades since he moved to the country at the age of 16 to go to school.
• Quintana, who opened Señor Machetes in 2019, was detained at O’Hare International Airport while flying home from Mexico. Ofelia Garcia-Anchondo, Quintana’s wife and the restaurant’s co-owner, is hosting a fundraiser at the restaurant on Friday, and the family is accepting contributions via GoFundMe for legal expenses and to keep the restaurant operating.
• 🎧 Dig deeper: This is just the latest example of Madison’s food community pulling together to help one of their own. On the City Cast Madison podcast today, executive producer Hayley Sperling talks to REAP Food Group interim executive director Noah Bloedorn about how the group’s Dane County Food Action Plan attempts to make Madison’s food systems resilient and equitable. [Cap Times, GoFundMe, 🎧 City Cast Madison]

If you didn’t get your plane ticket to head down to New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras, there are still plenty of ways to bring a little Bourbon Street to Madison for Fat Tuesday on Feb. 17. Here’s what’s going on in town, from places to get some New Orleans cuisine to local bands that are letting the good times roll.

A Taste of New Orleans

The Madison dining scene is a little light on Big Easy favorites lately – the beloved New Orleans Takeout closed in 2017 after 32 years, and last summer Rue Bourre served its last jambalaya.

But there are still lots of places to go in Madison for Mardi Gras fare. North of the Bayou Brewery on Atlas Avenue on the east side (it’s that big pink building off Stoughton Road) has jambalaya, etouffee, and red beans and rice on its menu along with New Orleans-influenced bar food (zydeco nachos anyone?)

Down in Fitchburg, St. Charles Station carries on the tradition of Liliana’s under Chef Dave Heide. In addition to regular menu items like blackened catfish and shrimp and grits, they’ve got a special four-course Fat Tuesday meal that starts with oysters rockefeller and ends with rum praline cheesecake.

In Middleton, Louisianne’s has been a long-time favorite for diners looking for crawfish cheesecake or catfish Louisianne. Expect servers to go all out on Fat Tuesday with costumes, makeup and more.

And if you’re looking for King Cake and paczki, two bakery favorites for Fat Tuesday, reserve them in advance at Bloom Bake Shop, the revived Lane’s Bakery in Middleton, or Clasen’s Bakery in Middleton. Clasen’s will even throw in a few beaded necklaces with your King Cake.

Is there something you love about Madison that you think more people should know about? Our City Cast Madison Neighbors get the opportunity to send Neighborhood Shoutouts, celebrating a business, a nonprofit, or some other cool thing that makes the city just a little bit better.

📣 Eli W. wants to shout out Atlas Improv! “I took an intro to improv class when I first moved to Madison, and was the best way to meet new people.”

📣 Anna L. gets a kick out of Three Treasures Martial Arts! “More than martial arts — this local school builds strength, confidence, and a supportive community you’ll actually want to join.”

📣 Abby B. wants you to know about Alpenhaus Market! “I'd like to encourage readers to take a trip to New Glarus and visit my new shop in town while you're there! It's called Alpenhaus Market and offers a collection of vintage home decor, along with local artisan goods.

“With 20+ shops and restaurants within a few walkable blocks, New Glarus is a great day trip to take from Madison to help beat the winter blues!”

Speaking of our members, we want to welcome a bunch of new City Cast Madison Neighbors! Welcome to Mary W., Mary M., Audrey S., Suzanne S., and Andrew G.!

If you want to join them, become a member and send us your own Neighborhood Shoutout!