Coolest Thing Made in Iowa contest is down to its Final Four. Which product made the cut?
Butter Braids and Winnebagos are gone. Dobson Pipe Organ Builders of Lake City joins Sukup Manufacturing, Musco Lighting and Vermeer Corp. in the quest to be named the manufacturer of the Coolest Thing Made in Iowa.
Left in the Final Four for the coveted first-time title are:
Custom-built pipe organs from Dobson Pipe Organ Builders of Lake City. The company makes the organs for churches, schools, public spaces and private individuals.
Musco Sports Lighting from Musco Lighting in Oskaloosa. The company makes and installs lights used at sports venues all over the world, including for the Olympics.
The Vermeer ZR5-1200 self-propelled baler from Vermeer Corp. in Pella. The highly maneuverable, self-propelled vehicles automate much of the hay-baling process.
Safe T Homes from Sukup Manufacturing in Sheffield. Sukup uses the same sturdy design as it does for its grain bins to make metal housing that can withstand extreme weather condition in developing countries.
The final round of voting starts May 20 and runs through May 29, with the winner being announced at the Iowa Association of Business and Industry annual meeting on June 5 in the Quad Cities. Individuals can vote once per day, per device at coolestthingia.com/contest-information/vote.
Sponsored by the Iowa Association of Business and Industry and MidwestOne Bank, this marks the first year for the contest in Iowa, which is joining nearly 20 states that name a coolest product annually.
Votes number in the tens of thousands, contest sponsor says
While the contest sponsors are not releasing vote totals until the end of the competition, Kelsey O’Connor of ABI said the number of votes cast so far has been “in the tens of thousands” and has grown since the first round, which started with 67 candidates.
Products eliminated in the just-ended voting on the Elite Eight were:
Butter Braid Pastries from Country Maid, Inc. of West Bend. Sold through fundraisers, the pastries have helped thousands of organizations raise over $320 million for various causes.
Explosion-proof electric motors from Bodine Electric Co. of Peosta.
Tiki Bar Boats, floating bars on pontoon boat platforms from Big Huts in Princeton.
Winnebago Revel camping vans from Winnebago Industries in Lake Mills.
The contest gives ABI and MidwestOne the opportunity to spotlight a big component of Iowa’s economy: manufacturing. It accounts for more than 17% of the gross state product and in excess of 14% of Iowa’s employment, at 225,000 workers, and generated over $38 billion in economic output in 2021, according to the National Association of Manufacturers.
Kevin Baskins covers jobs and the economy for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at kbaskins@registermedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Coolest Thing Made in Iowa announces its Final Four
