The hefty issue you hold in your hands is the 18th edition of our Best of the Chippewa Valley Reader Poll. For 18 years, you’ve voted on your favorite local stuff in ever-growing numbers – this year nearly 17,000 of you placed more than 165,000 votes – making this poll the clear leader on taking the measure of what our community likes and loves. Instead of blue ribbons, your votes determine the gold badges that go to businesses, places, and ideas across the community. You’ll see those everywhere – on windows, billboards, TV commercials, service trucks, and right here in our pages.

Just as all the poll winners are justly proud of their accomplishments (which you can earn about online here), we’re proud to live in a community that can produce so many truly great things. While being an indispensable resource within the community, above all else the poll is meant to be fun! As you may have gathered from the prize-winning poultry on the cover, we’ve gone with a county fair theme for this year’s issue, because what’s more fun than a shindig like that? There are prizes a-plenty, lots of treats to enjoy, and thrills to be had on the midway. Likewise, this issue is full of all the award-winners you can imagine, and can direct you to all the best experiences in the Chippewa Valley year round (and not just for a week on the fairgrounds).

For 18 years, through constant changes and challenges, our community continues to push forward, celebrating our past while forming a better future. And that’s what our Best of the Chippewa Valley Reader Poll – and everything we do at Volume One – has always been about.