By Abha Thakkar
Past Northside News Editor
Hello again,
It’s been awhile since I had the opportunity to sit down and write for the Northside – I appreciate Justin’s invitation to do this for the newspaper’s 30th anniversary. I had the deep privilege of serving this community for almost 15 years, first as NPC’s associate director and managing editor of the Northside News from 2001-2007, and then as its editor starting in 2013 and executive director from 2015-2021.
The Northside has always felt like home to me, but, for the first time, I actually find myself living here. I now shop in Northside stores, get carryout from Northside restaurants and walk my dog on Northside streets. Everyday I see the mural at the edges of the tunnel at School Rd and Northport. I drive past Troy Gardens and under the railroad bridge on Troy Drive. I watch the expansion of Warner Park center. I get to eat tomatoes from the Northside Farmers Market. Many of these iconic Northside places owe, in some part, their existence to the Northside News.
I still have the opportunity to work with the neighborhood centers and the library, Rooted and the River Food Pantry – all the groups that submitted regular updates. I still collaborate with some of the former elected officials who sent us columns for each issue. And I see all the landmarks every day – the neighborhood signs, the community parks, the shopping centers, the businesses – we know their stories because the Northside News covered them in hundreds of articles over the years.
I also hear the occasional sirens and wonder whether those loud noises are gunshots or a car backfiring. I wonder if something serious has happened in one of the neighborhoods I have cared for over the years, and I remember the days when it was my job to convene us to process, grieve and heal together. The Northside News was our vehicle – for bringing people together, for helping us make sense of our shared experiences.
And I remember the birthing of each issue – a cycle of intense labor for days leading up to publication followed by a period of relative rest and then a gearing up again: meeting with writers, selling ads, collecting content, preparing photographs, copy editing articles, writing headlines, creating the pagelist, laying out pages, counting ads, proofreading mock-ups and then hitting “submit” on the final package. Northside News nights were notoriously unpredictable – will we wrap up at 10 pm (almost never), midnight (usually) or 4 am (yes, once in awhile)? And then breathlessly opening the paper several days later, hot off the press, to finally see our hard work take shape and to see which mistakes we inevitably missed.
We forged bonds during those endless days – I still miss the descent into loopiness and quiet desperation – with Jim, Dave, Dana, Lauri, Mary, Terrie, Oona, Erika, Rita, Colin, Marcus, Beth and Anita, among many other beloved staff members and volunteers. It was sometimes harrowing, always a labor of love.
Now I work with communities and organizations countywide, and I wish every neighborhood had a Northside News – not just for information-sharing but for the ways in which it helped forge the Northside’s identity. “Northside” – one word, capitalized. (I still correct people). It gives this quiet side of town a sense of “us,” of cohesion, of history. It captures our story, distinct and special from the rest of this city.
And most importantly, the Northside News has been a vehicle for the transformation of our community. The paper was and continues to be a tool for bringing our collective vision to life. Imagine the health and possibility for our democracy if every community had a free, vibrant, nonprofit, neighborhood newspaper to help it organize and amplify its shared goals.
The Northside News is the Northside’s paper of record – it is also the record of some of the most transformative people and places in my life – from age 26 to age 50. I grew and changed and learned and evolved along with the Northside. I thank Tim Carlisle for bringing this lovely little publication into being. I thank Jim Powell for everything he taught me. And I thank the hundreds of volunteers and staff who helped us make it real, issue after issue. It is a gift to be part of this legacy.
Maybe I’ll see you around the Northside.
By Jim Powell
Past Northside News Editor
It was a great privilege to work for the Northside Planning Council (NPC) alongside so many dedicated, creative, thoughtful and passionate Northsiders during my time as lead organizer and publisher/editor of the Northside News from 2001–2008.
The transformation of Madison’s long-neglected Northside — often previously labeled as part of the “east side” — into a distinctly recognized part of the city is due in large part to NPC. Leaders like Tim Carlisle, Gerianne Holzman, Darlene Horner, Marge Pitts, Paul Rusk, Char Tortorice, Paul Van Rooy and many others had already achieved so much by the time I was hired in February 2001. Tim was a tremendous inspiration and mentor, even after he left to start Dane County United, an ambitious broad-based social justice coalition in which both NPC and I remained heavily involved.
Troy Gardens evolved into a nonprofit organization, and we hired its first farmer and executive director. My 10-year-old daughter began volunteering there and continued for eight years, thanks to the mentorship of Claire Strader, Sarah Shatz and Jake Hoeksema.
NPC led the expansion campaign for Lakeview Library, founded the East Side PTO Coalition to advocate for schools often overlooked by the district, addressed the food desert that emerged when Kohl’s closed, launched the Northside Farmers Market, and helped bring Pierce’s Market — followed later by the Willy Street Co-op — to the Northside TownCenter.
We introduced the North Star Awards to recognize those doing impactful work and to inspire others to do the same in service of our community.
My most treasured memories come from working closely with people while developing leadership training programs — both through the NPC Leadership Circle and the citywide Grassroots Leadership College, which we co-founded with other planning councils. These programs trained hundreds of neighborhood leaders in understanding power dynamics, building community capacity, and advocating effectively with government and business — while also fostering respectful recognition when those institutions supported us.
We produced the bimonthly Northside News in a chaotic but exhilarating way, carrying on Tim’s intense work style. With the help of talented volunteer contributors, we reported major stories, crafted headlines, laid out pages and drove the paper to the Black Earth printer — all within a grueling 40-hour, three-day stretch. Exhausting, yes — but deeply rewarding. Many thanks to Dana Slowiak, Dave Marshall, and Kris Meyer for their tireless support during those marathons.
To successfully bring resources and improvements to the Northside, we adopted an advocacy journalism approach to the newspaper, which was effective in promoting our goals, building community support, and informing decision makers of what the Northside wanted. Some disagreed with this approach, but the results speak for themselves.
I was fortunate to hire Abha Thakkar, who became an extraordinary organizing colleague and Northside News managing editor. Her talent, drive, humor and ability to collaborate with me (not an easy feat!) helped NPC achieve so much. We shared fun, momentum and purpose — especially during the Northside Neighbor-to-Neighbor pilot of the Dane County Timebank mutual credit system.
Our success hinged on the commitment of our volunteer leaders. Their reciprocity made the long evenings and weekends worthwhile. I’d like to thank — among many others — Lenny Alston, Janet Aronson, Vernon Blackwell, Dayna Dalton, Ray Hellmer, Susan Hill, Willy Holden, Darlene Horner, Jill Jokela, Greg Lofgren, Michael Shinners, Jeff Shokler, Laura Vogel, Lisa Wiese and Cyndi Wood.
I apologize to the many dozens more who participated in campaigns or served as NPC members for not mentioning them. At our peak, we had 35 members and alternates representing neighborhood associations, community centers, churches and businesses — all deeply committed to building a stronger Northside.
We regularly surprised public officials and business leaders with our preparedness and clearly defined goals, holding them to high expectations in pursuit of the greater good. Their positive responses were deeply gratifying, especially for our volunteers, who saw firsthand how collective action drives change.
My time with NPC profoundly shaped me. It made me a better person and laid the foundation for success in the endeavors that followed. Over the past 30 years, “Northside” has not only become a reality — it remains Madison’s best-kept secret and an incredible place to live.
