👀 UW faculty want to unplug Flock cameras

🗳️ Dane County Has a New Ballot Printer

• Dane County and the city of Madison have updated and upgraded their ballot printing process, which election officials say will help them get ballots and poll books out faster.
• The county has contracted with Madison-based WPS Data Logistics for the task. While this is the company’s first time printing ballots, they’re no stranger to handing sensitive information. WPS has contracted with the federal government for decades, handling material like tax forms, health insurance information, and military documentation.
• The bigger picture: The change comes after the Wisconsin Elections Commission mandated the city make operational changes to its voting processes after 193 absentee ballots went uncounted in the November 2024 election. WPS printed ballots for the February primary and election officials said everything went smoothly.
• Ever wonder how ballots get from printer to polls? Last week, WPS opened up their facility to journalists in an effort to bring more transparency to the process. [Wisconsin Examiner, Cap Times]

👀 UW-Madison Faculty Balk at Controversial Flock Cameras

• Eight AI-powered surveillance cameras placed around the UW-Madison campus by campus police have received pushback from a group of university faculty and staff. The Flock cameras not only record passing cars, but document information on the vehicle that can be shared with other law enforcement agencies.
• Privacy advocates, such as ACLU Wisconsin policy analyst Jon McCray Jones, are concerned that information could be used for mass surveillance, and could be misused by police officers. A Milwaukee officer was recently charged for allegedly using Flock cameras to track two people, one of whom he was in a relationship with.
• Campus police say they’ve put strict guardrails on the data so that it can only be shared with Wisconsin agencies, not the federal government. The Faculty Senate is discussing a resolution that would ban Flock cameras and bar federal immigration officers from being on campus. [ 🔒WSJ, Wisconsin Examiner, UW-Madison, 🎧 City Cast Madison]

🏫 John Zumbrunnen Selected As UW-Madison Provost

• After serving nine months as UW-Madison’s interim provost, John Zumbrunnen was selected Monday to be the university’s permanent provost.
• The provost is the academic leader of the school and the second-highest ranking official, below the Chancellor. Zumbrunnen has been interim provost since Charles Isbell Jr. left to become chancellor at the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign.
• Zumbrunnen will take office in the midst of a turbulent time for the university, which is dealing with budget cuts and the search for a new chancellor to replace Jennifer Mnookin, who is leaving May 17 to lead Columbia University. [Daily Cardinal]

St. Patrick’s Day is next Tuesday, March 17, although the celebration starts this weekend, as restaurants roll out the corned beef and cabbage, Irish bands take the stage at local pubs, and little plastic leprechaun hats can be spotted up and down State Street.

Here’s how to celebrate the holiday in Madison whether you want to have fun with the kids, or you’re out with the grownups. Sláinte!

Great Irish Food

Longtable Beer Cafe

Billed as a “Local Wisconsin Take on St. Patrick’s Day,” this Middleton restaurant and bottle shop is offering a special menu March 14-17, featuring a corned beef sandwich with Fox Heritage Farms beef brisket, bangers and mash with the “bangers” also from Fox Heritage, and pints of dry Irish stout from McFleshman’s Brewing Company in Appleton.

Orchard

This Verona restaurant has a St. Patrick’s Day menu that includes corned beef burnt ends mac ‘n’ cheese, vegan “cock”-a-leekle soup, and Irish pizza featuring corned beef, pickled cabbage and “something green.”

The Deliciouser

Chef Patrick O’Halloran has prepared a special five-course menu for St. Patrick’s Day, promising time-honored Irish dishes revisited with Deliciouser’s signature spice blends. Guinness and whiskey will be flowing.

Coopers Tavern

This gastropub on the Capitol Square is always a fave for St. Patrick’s Day. From March 14-17, you get to enjoy a full Irish-themed menu that includes a Sconnie Egg for starters, corned beef and cabbage and cottage pie for an entire, and a wedge of Guinness chocolate cake for dessert.

Fun Irish Activities

Shamrock Shuffle

Madison’s Shamrock Shuffle on March 14 is a benefit for the Boys & Girls Club of Dane County. Start time for the 5K (run and walk) and 10K races is 10 a.m. in the 600 block of State Street, so come dressed in green and get ready to sweat for a good cause.

St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Head to the Capitol Square on Saturday for an afternoon of fun, starting with the raising of the Irish flag in the Capitol Rotunda by the Dane County Shamrock Club at noon. After a short program that includes Irish step dancing and music, head outside for the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade around the Square starting at 1:30 p.m.

⬆️ Last Week’s Photo

This photo is from Mickie’s Dairy Bar!

🎉 Congratulations to Wait N., Rue K, and Tricia M. for being the first three people (of 80!) to guess correctly!

⬇️ This Week’s Photo

Can you guess where this mural is? If you don’t know the building, I’ll accept what street it’s visible from as an answer.

A few clues:

• The mural is located in Monona
• It’s called “Water, Land and Sky,” and was created by local artist Rhea Ewing and painted by community volunteers.
• Know where it is? WELL done!