American politics, the strange ways of divided government, a sharply divided citizenry, and especially the Electoral College, can seem bewildering to Europeans.

This year the Cap Times decided to help Germans to better understand American political culture by sending a reporter and a photographer on tour of many communities, including Madison’s sister city of Freiburg. Photographer Ruthie Hauge and reporter Erin McGroarty have just returned from that tour, along with their photos and reporting, and their exhibit, Scenes from a Divided Wisconsin, will be shown at Madison’s Arts and Literature Laboratory.

Hauge and McGroarty will speak on Tuesday, December 17 about what their experiences covering Wisconsin, and what they learned explaining it all to Germans.

Erin McGroarty joined the Cap Times in May 2023, where she reports on policy and government. Before moving to Madison, Erin covered politics for four years in her home state of Alaska. Her work can be found in the Cap Times, Wisconsin Watch, Poynter, the Chicago Reader, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and the Juneau Empire.

Ruthie Hauge is the Photo Director at The Cap Times, where she has worked for almost five years. She previously worked at Sun-Times Media in the Chicago area and operated her own photography business. She as twenty years of experience in photojournalism and has won seventy-five photojournalism awards. Explore her portfolio at ruthiehauge.com.

All photos by Ruthie Hague, except as indicated

Web posting by WORT Producer Nicholas Wootton

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