Mark Treinen

“I think he’s going to show the world that he is an Olympic champion,” Eric Heiden told ⁦@CapTimes⁩ about #JordanStolz. captimes.com/sports/their-g…

Much of the mourning for the late great @washingtonpost has rightly focused on how democracy dies in darkness at the national level, which is hugely important. But the evisceration of Metro coverage is every bit as devastating because there is no comparable news outlet keeping local governments and institutions honest. Eight of my 20 years at the Post were spent on Metro, which was the heart and soul of the Post under the legendary @dongrahamdc1. The undertakers now running the paper have all but wiped out the metro staff, leaving just 12 reporters, according to reports, to cover a region of 6.5 million people. We had twice that many journalists in Fairfax alone back in the day. And it mattered. Reporters are the eyes and ears of the community, keeping tabs on people in power. We were there for every supervisors meeting, every school board meeting. We pored through planning commission documents and campaign filings. When county officials wasted taxpayer money, raised taxes on overstretched homeowners, gave sweetheart zoning deals to developers who filled their election coffers, we were there. When teachers who sexually abused students were quietly transferred to other schools to do it all over again, we were there. We were there for the more uplifting stories too, the cops who broke a cold case, the educators who turned around a struggling school, the residents who rallied to help neighbors in trouble, the student athletes who won the big game, the entrepreneurs who started something new. Our friend @SariHorwitz who has won more Pulitzers than I can count, wrote so movingly online about the Post (facebook.com/share/p/1AZLTT…). To recognize how indispensable local coverage is, you need only look at her holy-shit investigations of a broken child welfare system, rampant police shootings and the corporate-fed opioid crisis, stories that opened eyes and led to change. Democracy is not just what happens at the White House and the Capitol but in our own backyards. The Post has just turned the lights down at home too.

The Madison businesses closing Friday for anti-ICE ‘national shutdown’ via ⁦@CapTimes⁩ captimes.com/news/business/…

Would you like to record your state government in action? In Wisconsin, you'll need permission from lawmakers first. With the state's version of C-SPAN off the air, they're now enforcing a rule that allows only credentialed people to record meetings: cbs58.com/news/license-t…

It’s the Legislature’s first floor session since WisEye shut down due to a lack of funding. These signs are outside the Assembly chamber warning cell phones and cameras are banned in the gallery, among other items. I’ve never seen these signs before

“As we head into 2026, consider this our invitation to look more closely at the world around you.” captimes.com/entertainment/…

Sidebar: We also asked Dr. Underly, multiple times, for an opportunity to speak with her about our findings before we published them (not just a canned quote, a real conversation to help us understand her view). And we have asked multiple times since. She's declined every time.

As for her continued demand for a "correction," Dr. Underly has not identified a single inaccurate fact in the reporting. I get that she doesn't like the scrutiny and doesn't agree with the headline, but we continue to stand by its accuracy. # 30 #

I really can't let this stand @DrJillUnderly @WISCTV_News3. The superintendent's continued claims of DPI transparency and our reporting's inaccuracy are problematic. Thread. channel3000.com/video/for-the-…

It was incredibly moving to assemble this list of the ways @CapTimes stories had an effect in 2025. captimes.com/entertainment/…

BREAKING: Maia Pearson, the VP of the Madison School Board, was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct this weekend. The Independent Police Monitor (where she is also a board member) is reviewing the incident. This story will be updated: captimes.com/news/education…

From the publisher: The Cap Times had a strong 2025 — with much more to come captimes.com/opinion/paul-f… via @fanlund

How Rob Reiner helped Ben Wikler pull off the biggest state party fundraiser in Wisconsin history. Maybe U.S. history. captimes.com/opinion/john-n… via @NicholsUprising

After the ALCS shooting, legislators floated several bills on how to prevent school shootings, but little action has been taken — frustrating advocates who hoped the deadly incident close to home might spark change. @oherken for @CapTimes captimes.com/news/governmen…

Opinion | The paper that keeps on giving; the Cap Times turns 108 captimes.com/opinion/dave-z… via @DaveZweifel

Wisconsin schools are making “confidentiality” deals with teachers accused of sexual misconduct. There’s no law against it, but there could be. captimes.com/news/education… via @danielle_duclos