✂️ Is the Dane County Board too large?

🗳️ What the Assembly Did (and Didn’t) Get Done This Session

• The Wisconsin Assembly ended its 2025-26 session last week with votes on bills to extend Medicaid coverage for low-income mothers from 60 days to a year, and to require insurance companies to cover screenings for women at increased risk of breast cancer. Both measures had been blocked in the GOP-controlled chamber for months.
• Left unresolved for now is what to do with the state’s $2.4 billion budget surplus, after Gov. Tony Evers rejected a Republican proposal that included tax cuts and no general school aid.
• This session is the last for Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who announced his retirement. The Senate will continue its session into March, and both chambers could still be called back into a special session. [Wisconsin Watch]

✂️ Should Dane County Board Size Also Be Cut?

• As discussions resurface about the size and makeup of the Madison City Council, one Dane County Board Supervisor is suggesting that his board needs a trim as well.
• Supervisor Jeff Weigand suggested on WISC-TV’s “On the Record” that the board should shrink by 10 members, which could save the county $130,000 per year. The board currently has 37 members, the second-largest in the state, and larger than the boards of Milwaukee, Waukesha, La Crosse, and Brown counties.
• Weigand said the money saved by eliminating 10 part-time salaries could go into a merit fund that the Dane County Sheriff could use to honor first responders. [News 3, 🎧City Cast Madison]

🌮 It’ll Be Raining Tacos When Ohio Tavern Reopens in March

• The new owners of the Ohio Tavern on Madison’s east side say they plan to reopen the historic bar known for karaoke nights and street tacos in mid- to late-March.
• The building at 224 Ohio Ave. has housed a tavern of some sort since the end of Prohibition, but has been closed since Jan. 4. Four new owners, who bring together experience from stints at places like Merchant, State Line Distillery, Gib’s Bar, and Northstreet, said the bar will focus on draft and bottled cocktails rather than crafting from scratch.
• The owners hope to add more events, such as having distillers and other alcohol brands host pop-ups and masterclasses. [Cap Times]

Emily Winter may have just moved back to Madison last fall, but she wears her love for the community literally on her sleeve. On her left forearm is a tattoo of a red cardinal, a homage to her time as editor-in-chief of the Daily Cardinal at UW-Madison.

Winter left Madison for an internship on Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report,” and embarked on a career in comedy that included writing for The New Yorker and The New York Times and performing standup shows around the country.

When she and her husband, fellow comedian Chris Calogero, moved to Madison in October, they began looking for a place to host a monthly comedy/variety show. They found it in an unlikely place — a train car. “TrainCar Comedy” is held in a stationary railcar/event space called the Local Motive, located on the rails next to The Harvey House off E. Washington Avenue.

Last month’s inaugural show sold out, and the upcoming show on Feb. 26 will feature sets from both Winter and Calogero, as well as Milwaukee comedians Dana Erhmann and Simba Soto, Madison comedian Charlie Kojis, and Madison musician Nell Blevins.

Over coffee at the Colectivo on Williamson Street, the couple talked about the pros and cons of doing comedy in a train car, how to design the perfect comedy show, and their favorite places to eat and drink in town:

How are you finding the comedy scene in Madison?

Winter: I've been really excited just with our little train show. I promote these giant traveling shows, and when we found the train, it was like a perfect small place to try out some new jokes. Like if I’m writing something I want to submit to The New Yorker, let’s try it out and see how the audience reacts, and I can record it and listen so I can make it better. One thing about Madison is that people are smart.

Calogero: People are really nice and open to recommending you for things, and people are throwing their own shows. Madison has this big town/small town feel, which is very cool. Everybody’s been very welcoming. There’s no ego about it.

Why did you decide to start the monthly train car shows?

Calogero: Emily is always very on top of wanting to throw a show when we're in a new place, because it does give you some cachet in the scene. For us personally, it allows us to control a modicum of stage time, and if we aspire to have repeat customers, it forces us to write new jokes. It’s a good give-and-take for us and for the comedians. We’re introducing you to comedians, maybe some different variety acts. So it just works out for everybody.

Winter: I was just scouring venues online, and I came across this place, and the owner was super receptive to the idea. It’s so cute and classy, and the cocktails are way too cheap. They have the best martini I’ve ever had.

What’s it like to do comedy in a train car?

Winter: It's both good and challenging. Comedy loves low ceilings, getting people squished together, nice and tight, when there's not too many distractions. So in that regard, it's the perfect comedy space. But then again, it is a tube, so you kind of want there to be like more people sitting across. But it is dark, and so hopefully people feel comfortable to laugh and enjoy themselves and not feel self-conscious.

Meet Johnny! He’s a 3-year-old, 55-pound American Foxhound/Beagle mix who is friendly, goofy, and curious. He lets his nose lead the way while going on walks, but does pretty well on his leash. He plays fetch, loves treats, and also knows sit, lie down, and shake.

He enjoys running along the fence with other dogs at his shelter, and played well with dogs at his previous home. Johnny also lived with a cat and wanted to play with him, but the cat wasn’t interested. Because, cats.