Traverse City Named “Greatest Midwest Town” by Midwest Living Magazine

Traverse City Wins “Greatest Midwest Town”
Title from Midwest Living Magazine

TRAVERSE CITY – Thanks to tens of thousands of votes cast by its fans, friends and local residents over the past six weeks, Traverse City has been declared the “Greatest Midwest Town” by Midwest Living Magazine.

As a result, Traverse City will be featured in the magazine’s July/August cover story and celebrated at an on-site event this summer hosted by Midwest Living’s editorial content director, Trevor Meers, and publisher Mark Josephson.

“I can’t think of a better town to represent what the Midwest has to offer,” said Meers, as he congratulated Traverse City for winning the competition.

In January, the magazine’s editors selected Traverse City as one of 12 communities – one from each Midwestern state – to compete for the title of “Greatest Midwest Town.” From then until the end of February, nominee towns and their fans were encouraged to cast daily votes to demonstrate their popularity. Other communities nominated in the contest included Galena, IL; Medora, ND; Duluth, MN; Lawrence, KS; Branson, MO; Put-in-Bay, OH; Columbus, IN; Rapid City, SD; Nebraska City, NB; and Bayfield, WI.

Traverse City’s strongest challenger, however, turned out to be the plucky Iowa town of Decorah, a college community along the Upper Iowa River with a strong Norwegian-American flavor. For weeks it was a close contest between the two towns, but fans and residents of Traverse City eventually mustered the votes to prevail.

Brad Van Dommelen, president and CEO of Traverse City Tourism — the community’s official destination marketing organization — found the result gratifying.

“We are very pleased to receive this recognition amongst the other great Midwest towns,” said Van Dommelen. “This demonstrates the positive destination brand that Traverse City has built and the enthusiasm of our residents and visitors towards our community.”

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