State Trunk Tour

In this State Trunk Tour episode, we cover the latest on the Ice Caves on Lake Superior and go over a few of the events this weekend before taking a deeper dive into Kenosha Restaurant Week, which kicks off Saturday, February 21st and runs through March 1st this year. Joining us will be Meridith Jumisko from Visit Kenosha to discuss the 80+ restaurants, bars, diners, drive-ins, and more across Kenosha County that will have special deals, meals, and more. This is a great opportunity to hit the SE corner of Wisconsin and deliciously explore Kenosha County! Listen in for more...

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s December, and you probably have holiday shopping on your mind. Kenosha is a great place to road trip to for their downtown holiday markets right now! They also have some great events at their major museums downtown Saturday, December 6th and at other points during the holiday season, PLUS you can interact with REAL reindeer at Paris Deer Park in Kenosha County near Union Grove! Throughout the holiday season and beyond, both the city of Kenosha and Kenosha County offer plenty of fun and interesting places to exlore. We talk with Meridith Jumisko of Visit Kenosha to get details in this tidy 10-minute episode.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The World’s Tallest Glass Tree is once again going up at Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. It’s the centerpiece of science, art, and holiday fun that can be had the weekends of December 5-7 and 12-14, 2025. Rob Elliott and Jason Mack join host Eric Paulsen for a quick, fun, informative conversation on how they seek to break the world record yet again building this glass tree with the active help of visitors, how you can learn about the infinite possibilities of glass, and it’s all part of an artisan market with crafts, food, and fun activities both weekends. It takes place at Yerkes Observatory along Highway 67 in Williams Bay just off Geneva Lake with a free shuttle from the nearby high school. In less than 10 minutes, find out all about it right here!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holiday Lights are getting full swing across Wisconsin for the season, and it’s also a great time to see the stars - the real ones in the sky - and take in some amazing shows at Wisconsin’s planetariums! In this episode, we talk with Dr. Teri Gee from the Barlow Planetarium in Menasha about their Holiday shows, including Family Astronomy Night on Friday, November 28th with NorthEast Wisconsin Stargazers (NEWSTAR) and how you can enjoy the shows and science Barlow has to offer throughout the season and all year.
Barlow Planetarium is owned by Winnebago County and you can find them on Midway Road just off the U.S. 10/Highway 441 freeway as well as Highways 47 and 114, minutes off I-41 or from downtowns Appleton or Oshkosh.
Wisconsin has quite a few planetariums, including the legendary Yerkes Observatory (much more on that in the next episode!) and we have a guide for you on them on StateTrunkTour.com for your road trip pkanning and pleasure. A lot of handy info in under 15 minutes!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we preview Marshfield's Maple Fall Fest, which promises tons of tasty fun this weekend, with Visit Marshfield's Matt McLean. Looking ahead, we check out Seehafer Acres for fall fun in the area, the Marshfield Rotary Winter Wonderland holiday lights show with up to 2 million lights and a dazzling array of light, light shows, and a ton of festive activities, running just after Thanksgiving into New Year's. We also cover the remarkable Wildwood Park and Zoo, including the two Kodiak bears that are pretty rare to find in any zoo in the U.S... and they can walk above you on a bridge! Marshfield also holds the magic of Jurustic Park, and the downtown "Jurustic Park Trail" that offers metal art throughout the multi-block walk that can combine with great shopping and dining. And, for creatives, Board + Brush lets you craft your own artistic Marshfield memory. The Upham Mansion offers history and a unique look into 19th century living... on the nicer side!  We also cover the Blue Heron Brewpub, the beer selection at Hop and Grape, the unique Nutz Deep II (quite the eye-catcher on Central Avenue), along with some other shops and restaurants. Just outside Marshfield, Powers Bluff, the Mead Wildlife Area, the Wood County Parks, and the four season fun you can have within minutes of town may surprise you. We cover it all right here.
After talking with Matt, Eric takes you on a highlight tour of U.S. 10 from Neillsville past Marshfield to just before Stevens Point, which offers a number of fun stops on a roadtrip across central Wisconsin - including to Marshfield.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

August is a busy time in Wisconsin with State Fair and so many other fun events. Sheboygan really gets into it with events like Johnsonville Brat Days, back for Saturday, August 2nd; Bookworm Gardens Fairyfolk Festival August 5th-10th; and then the BIG Mercury Racing Midwest Challenge Friday, August 8th through Sunday the 10th. We get together with Shelly Harms of Visit Sheboygan to discuss these plus the expansion of Food Truck Mondays in town and all the new developments and Instagramable sights along the lakefront and around the city. VisitSheboygan.com has more details on all the events, as does StateTrunkTour.com. 
Plus, we tip you off to more fun events around the state as August begins and you prepare for fun road trips across Wisconsin!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meredith Jumisko from Visit Kenosha joins host Eric Paulsen for a look at Kenosha's Homecoming Car Show, hosting classic cars and showcasing the city's amazing history of automobile manufacturing. AMC - American Motors - cars take center stage but many other classics will be on display. It's part of the larger event that also includes a cruise-in, a parade, a Gremlin event, a Block Party. Swap Meet, and even Sunday's racing over at Great Lakes Dragaway (and yes, Eric mimics the classic commercials they used to run.)
On top of that, the annual Taste of Wisconsin runs Friday, July 27th through Sunday the 29th at HarborPark, so it's an amazing two-fer when you Visit Kenosha!

After, we highlight a few other events in Kenosha and coming up around the state, plus a quick look at Highway 21 from Oshkosh over to Coloma, as an example of the magic you'll find along different highways across the Wisconsin.

More on the Homecoming Car Show: https://statetrunktour.com/event/kenosha-homecoming-car-show/ 

More on Taste of Wisconsin: https://www.visitkenosha.com/events/annual-events/taste-of-wisconsin/

Link to Visit Kenosha here: https://www.visitkenosha.com/

Link to State Trunk Tour here: https://www.statetrunktour.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Flag Day is a national holiday, celebrating the United States flag every June 14th. But did you know it started in Wisconsin? We learn the history with Dave Janik, President of the Waubeka, Wisconsin-based National Flag Day Foundation, as well as discuss the annual celebrations in town commemorating Flag Day and discover the often under-the-radar Americanism Center Museum that you can visit in town any time of year.
Plus, a busy mid-June weekend is in store. Along with Flag Day, we have events around the state to share from Milwaukee's Lakefront Festival of the Arts to Door County's Steel Bridge Songfest. A 5-minute Weekend Preview begins this episode ahead of our conversation with Dave Janik. All in this episode of the State Trunk Tour Podcast!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kenosha is Wisconsin's 4th largest city, right in the state's SE corner smack dab between Milwaukee and Chicago. This dynamic city has flavors of both Wisconsin and Illinois, with Lake Michigan fun, a dynamic downtown, and unexpected gems to boot. Museums showcase Kenosha's history from Wooly Mammoths to dinosaurs as well as the making of cars, mattresses, underwear, tools, and more. It's still a manufacturing powerhouse and the area plays as hard as it works. It features the Nation's Oldest Velodrome - a mecca for bike racing - as well as natural wonders from Lake Michigan beaches to inland parks with prairies, springs, and forest to explore. Craft breweries, college and semi-pro sports, classic delis, food trucks and festivals around food, cars, marathons and more offer options a'plenty. A vibrant and diversifying restaurant scene means Kenosha has palate-pleasing options from across the world, whether you want a fusion of foods from distant continents or a good old fashioned amazing cheeseburger and a shake from a classic drive-in. Starting with Kenosha Restaurant Week and then getting into everything else, we talk with Meridith Jumisko from Visit Kenosha to cover it all. 
VisitKenosha.com has more!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Real Racine is now Visit Racine County... but the whole county is real. Real fun with a lot of real options! In this State Trunk Tour Podcast, we cover everything Racine County with Cari Greving, Executive Director of Visit Racine County. We generally go from west to east, giving love to the small towns and their surprising array of things to see and do (much of it walkable), through the countryside with everything from wineries to barn quilts to observatories that are literally astronomical. We check out the lakefront with lighthouses, light shows for the holidays, and lit architecture both in and out of the City of Racine. Water fun on Lake Michigan or inland rivers like the Root and the Fox. New boutique hotels, restaurants, the classic Racine Zoo, and even a spot you can pick up an Indian Motorcycle and experience a road trip a whole new way. Be sure you check out Racine County's Visitors Center too, along Highway 20 just west of I-41/94. We cover it all with Cari in this episode of the State Trunk Tour Podcast. You WILL find yourself wanting to plan a few visits, maybe around a variety of themes!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.