Things the Chippewa Valley is Good At

Once in a while, even we humble Midwesterners have to brag, which is why our poll asks readers to name Things the Chippewa Valley is Good At. For the fourth consecutive year, the same set of attributes landed in the top three, though they’ve shuffled around a bit. In this year’s poll, readers put farmers markets at No. 1, a conclusion that’s hard to dispute when the warm weather arrives and the bounty of the earth is put on display for excited shoppers. As with last year, drinking comes in the second-place spot, just as Eau Claire did when USA Today named it the second drunkest city in the U.S. in 2018. And speaking of alcohol consumption, that often goes hand-in-hand with the Valley’s many music festivals, which dropped to No. 3 after ranking first last year. — Tom Giffey