Best Community Advocate Dr. Steve Kristo has been helping people have their best smiles for years by providing the highest quality orthodontic... read more » 1 Dr. Steve Kristo 2 Dr. Selika Ducksworth-Lawton 3 Andrew Werthmann (Eau Claire City Council)
Best Employer Once again, Jamf (215 Riverfront Terrace, Eau Claire) was voted the No. 1 place people want to work in the Chippewa... read more » 1 Jamf Apple Device Management for Your Enterprise, School or Small Business 2 Royal Credit Union 3 PESI
Best Local Business Advocate Mike Conner (executive director of PESI) feels giving back to the community is important, as demonstrated last spring... read more » 1 Mike Conner of PESI 2 Brandon Riechers (Royal Credit Union) 3 Nick Meyer (Volume One, The Local Store, The Oxbow Hotel & The Lakely)
Best Networking Group or Event Young Professionals of the Chippewa Valley’s mission is to engage and empower young professionals through... read more » 1 Young Professionals of the Chippewa Valley 2 100 Women Who Care in Eau Claire 3 Polka Dot Powerhouse
Best Project in Progress Last Year The old Kmart on Clairemont Avenue in Eau Claire has been vacant for years, leading many of us to wonder if anything... read more » 1 Old Kmart demolished / Hy-Vee being built 2 River Prairie Development 3 Cannery District (Eau Claire)
Best Shop Pet Woof! Nothing makes a shop a friendly place quite like a trusty animal sidekick, and for Chippewa Vallians, Kaya at... read more » 1 Kaya at Raggedy Man 2 Brutus at The Brewing Projekt 3 Mr. Fluffypants at Together Farms
Best Teacher / Professor It has been a heckuva year, and no one has handled it quite as gracefully as local teachers. Angie Kitchner (Mondovi... read more » 1 Angie Kitchner (Mondovi 4K) 2 Colleen Chmelik (Altoona Middle School) 3 Lauren Lierman (Altoona Middle School)
Best Thing The Chippewa Valley has a lot to brag about, and at the top of the list for the fourth consecutive poll are the Lights... read more » 1 Lights on the Phoenix Park Bridge 2 Ramone’s Ice Cream Parlor 3 Olson's Ice Cream
Best Use of Taxpayer Dollars Last Year If there’s one thing folks aren’t too fond of, it’s paying taxes. But when that money goes to... read more » 1 CARES Act (federal COVID relief) 2 Public Education 3 Eau Claire Police Department
Best Volunteer Opportunity This year’s best volunteer opportunity is a trifecta repeat of the best of 2020! Bob’s House for Dogs (E3015... read more » 1 Bob's House for Dogs 2 Feed My People Food Bank 3 Eau Claire County Humane Association
Biggest Thing We Should Make Happen Soon If there’s one thing readers consistently choose when asked about the “Biggest Thing We Should Make Happen... read more » 1 Trader Joe's 2 Affordable Housing 3 Chick-fil-A
Favorite Local Nonprofit Nothing says Wisconsin culture quite like helping others, and these three nonprofit organizations excel at doing just... read more » 1 Bob's House for Dogs 2 Feed My People Food Bank 3 Eau Claire County Humane Association
Most Bizarre Local News Story As if 2020 wasn’t bizarre enough, a few local stories had us all scratching our heads, with the Joe Luginbill... read more » 1 Joe Luginbill scandal 2 COVID surge in Eau Claire among worst in nation 3 Undercover agents bust EC bar for illegal dice game
Most Disappointing Thing in the Past Year Nothing disappointed Chippewa Vallians quite like local residents who don’t follow COVID precautions. With all the... read more » 1 Local residents who don't follow COVID precautions 2 Joe Luginbill’s fall from grace 3 All the drug use in area
Most Memorable Happening in the Past Year Nothing encapsulated 2020 quite like the global pandemic that shut down everything we hold dear. That’s why... read more » 1 Local impact of COVID-19 pandemic 2 First Hmong woman elected to EC City Council 3 Record October snowfall in EC
Most Overrated Thing in or About the Valley If anyone says “Bon Iver” one more time, a significant number of Chippewa Vallians might just lose it... read more » 1 Bon Iver 2 Oakwood Mall 3 Pablo Center at the Confluence
Most Underrated Thing in or About the Valley This year in particular, teachers deserve a round of applause – and then an encore. Whether they were teaching... read more » 1 Teachers 2 Irvine Park Zoo 3 Public Libraries
Things the Chippewa Valley is Bad At We all have to suck at something, and for the Chippewa Valley, that something is affordable housing. It’s a... read more » 1 Affordable Housing 2 Dealing with the meth problem 3 Helping the homeless
Things the Chippewa Valley is Good At This year, local farmers markets absolutely crushed it, pivoting amid a pandemic to support vendors and the public to... read more » 1 Farmers markets 2 Beer 3 Arts/Music
Your Favorite Local Elected Official While he’s been in the rankings a couple of times, this is the first year Eau Claire County Sheriff Ron Cramer... read more » 1 Ron Cramer (Eau Claire County Sheriff) 2 State Rep. Jodi Emerson 3 Andrew Werthmann (Eau Claire City Council)