Episodes

  • 56 | Marshfield Maple Fall Fest and fun into the holidays, plus US 10 from Highground to Grottos

    56 | Marshfield Maple Fall Fest and fun into the holidays, plus US 10 from Highground to Grottos
    Sep 9 2025
    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.
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    29 mins
  • 55 | Books, Brats, and Boats: Busy August in Sheboygan!

    55 | Books, Brats, and Boats: Busy August in Sheboygan!
    Aug 1 2025
    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!
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    14 mins
  • 54 | AMC History: Kenosha's Homecoming Weekend Car Show & Taste of Wisconsin, plus a ride on Highway 21

    54 | AMC History: Kenosha's Homecoming Weekend Car Show & Taste of Wisconsin, plus a ride on Highway 21
    Jul 17 2025
    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/
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    20 mins
  • 49 | Flag Day began in Wisconsin. Learn about the history and museum with Dave Janik

    49 | Flag Day began in Wisconsin. Learn about the history and museum with Dave Janik
    Jun 12 2025
    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!
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    15 mins
  • 48 | Visit Kenosha: Restaurant Week, History, Creative Fun & more with Meridith Jumisko

    48 | Visit Kenosha: Restaurant Week, History, Creative Fun & more with Meridith Jumisko
    Feb 18 2025
    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!
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    31 mins
  • 47 | Visit Racine County west to east and get hyped with Cari Greving!

    47 | Visit Racine County west to east and get hyped with Cari Greving!
    Dec 2 2024
    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!
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    57 mins
  • 46 | Wisconsin Dive Bars and Road Trips with Jared Schutz

    46 | Wisconsin Dive Bars and Road Trips with Jared Schutz
    Nov 14 2024
    Wisconsin Dive Bars can be found everywhere in the state and lately they've been getting the love nd recognition they deserve. Jared Schutz is a Wisconsin dive bar authority, having catalogued over 700 visits so far on his Wisco_Dive_Bars_ accounts on socials and his WiscoDiveBars.com website, which maps them all out. With several thousand visits to go, State Trunk Tour Host Eric Paulsen joined Jared for a candid conversation on the dive bar culture, uniqueness, and value to their local communities. We discuss how Jared got started tracking and sharing these dive bars, how Busch Lights came his rating scale, which bar caused him to give the most negative rating and why, how this endeavor has led him to multiple partnership and even his own brand of vodka, and of course we discuss some specific dive bars and the road trips that lead you there. In this episode, definitely a "part one" of multiples, we focus on dive bars in western Wisconsin. Locations from Kenosha to Superior and near Dubuque up to Door County also get shout-outs in this comprehensive study one of Wisconsin's most precious resources. Dive in and enjoy this episode with Eric and Jared and prepare to plan your road trips to explore these Wisconsin dive bars!
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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • 45 | Central Wisconsin State Fair fun and tons of new and cool stuff in Marshfield with Matt McLean

    45 | Central Wisconsin State Fair fun and tons of new and cool stuff in Marshfield with Matt McLean
    Aug 14 2024
    Host Eric Paulsen is joined by Matt McLean from Visit Marshfield to preview the Central Wisconsin State Fair, which kicks off August 20th through the 25th. National artists performing live, rodeo, demolition derby and all the other fun Fair activity (including the "Kiss A Critter" contest), food, kids' events, and more. We also preview some of the great events leading into fall and winter including Maple Fall Fest and the Rotary Holiday Lights with LITERALLY MILLIONS of lights at Wildwood Park. Regardless of season, shopping in downtown Marshfield is pretty sweet, with unique boutiques, a great independent record store (with Dave's Guitars right there), plus a new candle company, ice cream shop, and more. Activities at Wenzel Family Plaza and the new Van de Hey Waters, a bevy of good restaurants, and art and history installations make for tons of fun activities in Marshfield. Outside of town, you can enjoy Jurustic Park and a variety of creameries and cheese factories, outdoor recreation at Powers Bluff and numerous state natural areas, golf, nature parks, and even one of Eric's favorite signs in the state - that tells you what the road is NOT. Also covered? Some good places to stay and of course where to catch local brews. We cover it all in this episode of the State Trunk Tour Podcast!
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    24 mins