I often mark the return of spring by its feeling of abundance in contrast to the sparse cold of winter. Even the damp, the muck, the wet chill, signal the presence of something new and growing. 

Amid the absences of winter, this issue of the Northside News felt like our own fearless groundhog, the omen of an early spring. The number of submissions we received, in addition to the centerspread feature on mayoral and district 12 alder candidates, pushed this issue to 32 pages from its usual 28. In full color for the first time (at least in years), the plenty of pages feels luxuriously vibrant for a fading January. 

Thank you to our new printer, Capital Newspapers, for helping us to usher in a new year and full edition. The Northside News has had a wonderful partnership with JB Kenehan for the last seven years, and we’re glad that we can continue working with a local publisher despite the transition this month.

The prolific chaos of producing an issue of the paper is a bimonthly spring of its own. Thank you, also, to the team behind the scenes, for wading through the muck of it — to the volunteer writers, to Abha and Lauri and Colin, to our visual editor, Erika, and to Rita, our submissions manager. Editing, formatting, laying out, filling in and proofreading 32 large pages of content is no easy feat. 

While I’m writing this, Madison is blanketed by more snow than we’ve had all winter, but by the time we pull this paper from the shelves in preparation for the next one, the thaw outside may better match the humming abundance of the February/March issue. 

On pages 16-20, you’ll find information about the mayoral and district 12 alder candidates, including Q&As, upcoming forums and election details. As you prepare for the Feb. 19 primary election, myvote.wi.gov is one online resource to use and share for information about registration, polling places and previewing your ballot choices.

We will also publish updates about programs like FoodShare and WIC online at northsidenews.org throughout the federal shutdown. In the meantime, see page 12 for a January press release on Wis. food and nutrition programs.