WISCONSIN IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Fifteen Wisconsin Towns Receive Midwest Living Honor 

Congratulations to 15 Wisconsin cities for their recent recognition by Midwest Living magazine as a "Best Small Town Getaway in the Midwest." Wisconsin had the distinct privilege of having 15 cities honored on the list, more than any other state. The 100 towns featured on the list were selected from among 8,500 Midwest towns. The editors ranked them on a number of attributes including attractions, vibe, scenery, walkability, shopping, dining, lodging, arts scene, outdoor activities, and more. The cities include: Door County's Ephraim and Fish Creek (#1 ranking), Bayfield (#7 ranking), Elkhart Lake, Lake Geneva, Spring Green, Cedarburg, Eagle River, Mineral Point, Green Lake, New Glarus, Ashland, Hudson, Port Washington, Baraboo, and Cambridge.

Wondering About the Wonders of Wisconsin? 

Wonder no more, because the people have voted and the "Wonders" have been named. Some of the top vote-getters in their categories included Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Cave of the Mounds, Stand Rock in Wisconsin Dells, the Wisconsin Capitol Building, Milwaukee Art Museum, House on the Rock, Holy Hill National Shrine of Mary, Lambeau Field, American Players Theater, Great River Road, and Mt. Horeb Mustard Museum. Check out all the results online. 

Food Mood Ring Drives Media to Popp's Resort 

It just goes to show that you never know where and how the press will cover your travel opportunity. At the recent Journal Sentinel Sport Show in Milwaukee, Welcome Center Manager Lorrie Wickman caught a journalist's attention with the Department's popular Food Mood Ring. The writer followed up with an article about the ring and, based on Lorrie's recommendations, profiled Popp's Resort near Crivitz. Read the story here. 

Recent Media Hits for Travel Green Wisconsin 

One of the more frequent subjects to appear in Wisconsin in the Spotlight is the Travel Green Wisconsin program, which is still generating much media interest especially in light of April's annual Earth Day celebration. A recent full-page article and photo ran in the business section of The Wisconsin State Journal. Read WSJ reporter Sandy Cullen's story.  Also, Mary Bergin published a recent piece for Milwaukee's Shepherd Express about the "Greening of Wisconsin." 

Chicago Media Reception Nets Another Success Story 

Travel writer Lisa Davis made an appearance at Wisconsin's Media Reception in Chicago last fall. The meeting led to an invitation to visit Kohler Waters Spa. Here is her article for Just Say Go online. 

Wisconsin Shipwrecks in the News 

Shipwreck diving off Wisconsin's great lakes coasts has been all over the print news in recent weeks. The May 21st issue of Forbes features an article centered around the Schooner Lucerne located in the Apostle Islands. Also, a Scuba Diving magazine article lists the Prins Willem V, a Milwaukee area wreck, as one of the Top 10 wreck dives in the country. The May 2007 issue of Sports Diver magazine offers an article titled "Wrecked in the Cheesehead State," while the current issue of Advanced Diver magazine will run an article about wreck diving and maritime tourism in the Manitowoc and Two Rivers area. Kudos to the Wisconsin Historical Society's Maritime Preservation and Archaeology Department. They get our "Publicity Hound" award for this issue of Travel Wisconsin News. Read one of the articles here.

Teal Wing Golf Club, Challenging Golfers in Hayward 

Teal Wing Golf Club was named one of "America's 50 Toughest Courses" in the March issue of Golf Digest, citing "it's tight with lots of trees." However, Teal Wing Golf Club would like to let duffers of the world know that while it's "a forest course built under strict environmental standards…Teal Wing also offers forward tees that let grandma and kids enjoy the game too." We'd be remiss if we failed to mention that Whistling Straits and Blackwolf Run also made the list, which you can see here. 

Mineral Point Named Distinctive Destination 

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, the country's largest private, nonprofit preservation organization, recently named Mineral Point "One of America's Dozen Distinctive Destinations." Mineral Point was selected from 63 destinations in 27 states that were nominated by individuals, preservation organizations and local communities to be selected for this annual list of unique and lovingly preserved communities in the United States.

Woodson's "Birds in Art" Featured in Birding 

A seven-page illustrated article on the Woodson Art Museum's renowned Birds in Art exhibit appeared in the Jan/Feb 2007 issue of Birding, the national publication of the American Birding Association. Enjoy it here. 

Milwaukee Brats, Beer and Shopping Make News 

Cooking Light magazine recently ranked Milwaukee 8 out of 20 of the best cities to "eat smart, be fit and live well." The story also talks about the area's many attributes. Women's Wear Daily, a key retail clothing trade publication, listed Milwaukee as #10 on its list of the top U.S. metro areas with the highest retail business growth from 2003 to 2006.  Milwaukee was also the subject in a recent Coastal Living magazine feature, while writer Jennifer Price did a piece titled "Something Brewing in Milwaukee" for the TravelLady.com website. 

Wollersheim Wines Win International Awards 

Wollersheim Winery has earned some very prestigious awards, from California no less. The New World Wine Competition held in March had over 2,000 entries from the Americas, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Prairie Fumé took awards in all three categories, gold medal, best of class, and best of varietal. In addition, Prairie Blush, Dry Riesling and White Riesling wines all received a Silver Medal at the competition, which took place in California.

And News From Around the World … 

Great news from Germany, three articles were recently published as a result of last winter's Northwoods Fam Tour. Two articles by writer Matthias Grass plus Dr. Volker Mehnert's piece in Frankfurter's Allgemeine Zeitung (Germany's version of The New York Times) produced over $150,000 in ad equivalency for the state.

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