2022 was an exciting year to be a reporter covering the local economy. I began the year diving into big questions about why Wisconsin was struggling to provide the care its youngest and oldest residents need, and to look after the needs of that stretched-thin workforce. I ended the year uncovering major challenges facing Madison-based businesses like EatStreet and American Family Insurance.
In between, I followed local workers as they organized in seldom-unionized sectors, like coffee shops and video game studios. I tracked efforts to make child care more affordable and accessible across the state, and to attract more workers to jobs in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
I followed Amazon’s successful effort to bring a major distribution…
