The start of a new year is a chance to reset. Donate those books you never got around to reading. Reconnect with those friends you lost touch with during a busy year. And hope for a better year, whether it’s wanting the best for your community or doing a little better for yourself.
We asked Madison for your New Year’s hopes and resolutions, and wow, did you deliver. On the City Cast Madison podcast today, host Bianca Martin and executive producer Hayley Sperling play some voicemails from Madisonians about what they want to see in 2026, and share their own hopes.
Here’s a selection of some of the responses we got. Thanks to everyone who left us a voicemail or wrote us. And Happy New Year!
“Something I want to focus on for this next year is simply being more present. I feel we live in this world of TikTok and Instagram and multitasking around the clock. One thing I'm gonna try focusing on this next year is just find some little moments, and it could be a few minutes here or there, or five minutes or something like that every day, but just truly be present when you're drinking that coffee or trying to read a news article.”
– PJ Liesch, UW-Madison entomologist, aka “The Wisconsin Bug Guy”
“My wish for Madison is that we embraced living in the cold and in the north. Instead of complaining about all this gorgeous, fluffy stuff around us, we looked at it with curiosity and excitement, like probably we did when we were little. I grew up in Minnesota and winter was celebrated. So let's all get outside and clear our minds and lungs with some deep breaths of glorious cold winter air.”
– Ellen Carlson, executive director, WayForward Resources
“I hope that Madison as well as the entire state of Wisconsin can pass no cost school meals for all students K-12. I also hope that we can find funding to support local farmers in selling into schools as other institutions like universities, hospitals, and child and adult care centers.”
– Allison Pfaff Harris, Reap Food Group Farm2School director
“ My resolution for 2026 for Madison is to celebrate creativity and actively resist AI in all its forms. Chat GPT won't make us kinder or smarter or more interesting. Generative AI is bad for artists. It's awful for the planet.”
— Lindsay Christians, Cap Times food and culture editor
“I hope we all are just a little bit less wasteful in our lives. I know that's really on brand for the recycling coordinator, but I kind of mean that in the physical sense where we're making less trash, making better choices for what we're recycling, donating more of those things that way. But also maybe just being blessed with our time and seeking more joyful things.” – Bryan Johnson, Madison recycling coordinator
“ I'd love to see food businesses do cool stuff. I always think that there's this tendency with new restaurants to want to please everybody. I want the restaurant to just do exactly what they want to do. I feel like there's no better example of that than Osteria Papavero. That guy cooks exactly what he wants and I love that.”
– Ashley Rodriguez, Cap Times culture reporter
“Much better architecture. Many of the current new downtown buildings show little imagination and do not highlight the high level creativity of Madison citizens. Too many ugly, non-distinctive tall boxes.” – Vicky T., City Cast Madison reader
