This July, I can't get up early enough to beat the heat for my morning walk. Well, I guess I could, but this morning, I didn't. I got down to the river around 8:30 and the fog hadn't quite burnt off. It was one of those mornings when the water is so … [Read more...]

This Saturday, I had the honor of being bookseller for a day at our local indie bookstore, Village Lights. The Indie Bound tradition started in 2013 with Sherman Alexie and involves authors all around the country selling books on Small Business … [Read more...]

I wish I could be writing here about how fabulous Chautauqua was this year. Or about the Wild Ponies at Red Bicycle Hall, the first in the RiverRoots concert series. Or the Madison Area Arts Alliance showcase of local artists that took place at … [Read more...]

If you're like me, at some point you've looked at a building in downtown Madison and thought, "I wonder what the upstairs looks like." For the first time this October, you'll get a chance to find out through the Madison Main Street Loft Tour. It's … [Read more...]

The making of a community is no easy thing. The best attempts often fail. You can understand exactly what makes a good community and spend large portions of your life studying just that and still not know how to make it happen yourself. A good … [Read more...]

Needless to say, a lot's been going on in Indiana the past week or so. And a lot's been going on in our own little neck of the woods. I'd like to tell you just a bit about what I've seen, here on the ground in the Hoosier state, where we don't have … [Read more...]

Just in case you missed it, last week the Madison Area Arts Alliance received great news from the Indiana Arts Commission that Madison has been named to the State Cultural Districts Designation Program. This designates us as an official cultural … [Read more...]

The river is up, but no, that's not quite right. The river is vast and indifferent. When you spot it at the end of the street through the gaps between buildings, you feel that it's wrong. Your heart beats faster. Your palms sweat. Fight or … [Read more...]

I'm sitting outside as I write this and nothing else really matters. The stars are shining. From our balcony, we can see people passing by. We have traveled far enough away to be warm. This is what we left behind. Not the town itself, which is … [Read more...]