What Is The Coolest Thing Made In Wisconsin? 2025 Contest Winner Announced

Earlier this fall, a contest got underway to name what the coolest thing made in Wisconsin is. After weeks of narrowing down the field of nearly 150 products, we now know who the winner is.

The "Coolest Thing Made In Wisconsin" contest is an annual competition organized by Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) and Johnson Financial Group, who have teamed up to put on this contest annually since 2016.

Winners over the years have included the innovative "Milwaukee Eight" motorcycle engine made by Harley-Davidson in Milwaukee, a Mobile Autonomous Robotic Cart (known as MARC) made by MūL Technologies in Mequon, and Jolly Good Soda made by Krier Foods in Random Lake, WI.

As someone in the Northland, I was excited to see that there were four different products made in Northern Wisconsin in the running for the title of 2025's Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin.

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Sadly, none of those products made it into the final bracket for this year's contest. Some things that did make it into the final 16 include things like Carbliss from Plymouth, WI, Brawny 3-Ply Paper Towel made by Georgia-Pacific in Green Bay, WI, and Sargento Natural American Sliced Cheese made by Sargento in Plymouth, WI.

In the end, the winner was the Search and Rescue 1000 Island Airboat, made by 1000 Island Airboats in Marion, Wisconsin. Here's a video showing off one of these airboats:

These airboats are used by numerous government agencies from the federal level down to municipalities across the country. Designed especially for winter conditions, 1000 Island Airboats says these airboats are made to "effortlessly transition from open water to ice and back again in heated comfort" thanks to an enclosed cabin space for occupants.